EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 30
There are eight games left in the Premier League, and as we enter the home stretch, only one thing is clear: Manchester City will win the title. Everything else—Champions League berths, second spot and the three relegation places—is still no closer to ironing itself out.
We have updated our lists to take into account the latest gameweek of action. They are divided into seven position groups and based solely on performances in the Premier League in 2017-18.
To be eligible, a player must have taken part in at least half the games his team has played.
Goalkeepers
1 of 7
No changes in the top five, but cast a glance a little further down and there's plenty to take in.
Asmir Begovic's handling error against Tottenham Hotspur sees him drop out of the top 10, with Jonas Lossl taking his place. Kasper Schmeichel is a little unlucky to move down, but Mat Ryan did save a penalty, after all.
The goal Thibaut Courtois allowed through his legs was the latest in a line of shots he's conceded that have been so close to his body you feel he should have saved them. That should concern Chelsea fans.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Ederson (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Nick Pope (Stay) | Burnley |
| 4 | Lukasz Fabianski (Stay) | Swansea City |
| 5 | Hugo Lloris (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 6 | Jordan Pickford (+1) | Everton |
| 7 | Thibaut Courtois (-1) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Mat Ryan (+1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 9 | Kasper Schmeichel (-1) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Jonas Lossl (New!) | Huddersfield Town |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
2 of 7
Wahey, some movement! Not a lot, but it's an improvement on the goalkeepers at the least.
Joe Gomez returned to Liverpool's starting XI for the first time in weeks and impressed, offering less in an attack in than Trent Alexander-Arnold, but perhaps a little more defensively. They really are two very different options.
Gomez moves up to fifth, surpassing Kieran Trippier (who didn't play) and Kiko Femenia, whose team he helped beat 5-0 on Saturday.
Biggest rise: Joe Gomez (+2)
Biggest fall: Kiko Femenia (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kyle Walker (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Antonio Valencia (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Victor Moses (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Matthew Lowton (Stay) | Burnley |
| 5 | Joe Gomez (+2) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Kieran Trippier (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Kiko Femenia (-2) | Watford |
| 8 | DeAndre Yedlin (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 9 | Cedric Soares (Stay) | Southampton |
| 10 | Hector Bellerin (Stay) | Arsenal |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
3 of 7
Ashley Young's excellent performance against Mohamed Salah on Saturday lifts him two spots and into fourth. Few full-backs can hold their heads high after facing the Egyptian this season, and the Manchester United man's not even a natural in that position.
Ryan Bertrand endured a difficult afternoon in Newcastle and moves down as a result, while Sead Kolasinac improved greatly on his performance from the weekend before, working the flank and the overlap well against Watford.
Biggest rise: Ashley Young (+2)
Biggest fall: Ryan Bertrand (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Ben Davies (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Andrew Robertson (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Fabian Delph (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Ashley Young (+2) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Marcos Alonso (-1) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Stephen Ward (+1) | Burnley |
| 7 | Sead Kolasinac (+1) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Ryan Bertrand (-3) | Southampton |
| 9 | Ben Chilwell (New!) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Charlie Daniels (Stay) | Bournemouth |
Centre-Backs
4 of 7
We saw some strong central-defensive performances this weekend—but not necessarily from the recognised stars of the division.
Jamaal Lascelles impressed against Southampton, Ben Mee and James Tarkowski were super solid against West Ham, Alfie Mawson was brave against Huddersfield Town, and James Tomkins transcended a poor Crystal Palace showing against Chelsea with a strong individual display.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+2)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Jan Vertonghen (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Cesar Azpilicueta (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 3 | Nicolas Otamendi (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | James Tarkowski (Stay) | Burnley |
| 5 | Ben Mee (Stay) | Burnley |
| 6 | Jamaal Lascelles (+2) | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Andreas Christensen (-1) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Davinson Sanchez (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Nacho Monreal (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Christopher Schindler (+2) | Huddersfield Town |
| 11 | Harry Maguire (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 12 | Lewis Dunk (-2) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 13 | Kurt Zouma (Stay) | Stoke City |
| 14 | Antonio Rudiger (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 15 | Alfie Mawson (Stay) | Swansea City |
| 16 | Phil Jones (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 17 | Virgil van Dijk (-2) | Liverpool |
| 18 | James Tomkins (+1) | Crystal Palace |
| 19 | Shane Duffy (-1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 20 | Federico Fernandez (New!) | Swansea City |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
5 of 7
It's time to move Nemanja Matic above Paul Pogba in the central-midfield rankings. The Serb has been playing superbly of late, proving decisive in multiple games, and he is the only Manchester United outfielder yet to miss a league game. You have to respect that.
Further down, we saw some surprisingly poor showings from the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Emre Can, Lewis Cook and Mario Lemina, so they all drop; Aaron Mooy, Wilfred Ndidi and Jack Cork were only too happy to capitalise on that.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | N'Golo Kante (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Nemanja Matic (+1) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Paul Pogba (-1) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (Stay) | Watford |
| 7 | Mousa Dembele (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Aaron Ramsey (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Eric Dier (+1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 10 | Emre Can (-1) | Liverpool |
| 11 | Jack Cork (+2) | Burnley |
| 12 | Mario Lemina (-2) | Southampton |
| 13 | Wilfred Ndidi (+3) | Leicester City |
| 14 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (-2) | Liverpool |
| 15 | Aaron Mooy (+3) | Huddersfield Town |
| 16 | Lewis Cook (-2) | Bournemouth |
| 17 | Georginio Wijnaldum (-2) | Liverpool |
| 18 | Jonathan Hogg (+2) | Huddersfield Town |
| 19 | Cesc Fabregas (-2) | Chelsea |
| 20 | Davy Propper (-1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
6 of 7
He may have started the season a little slowly, but Heung-Min Son's recent rabid form has him closing the gap on this season's top performers fast. He's up to eighth now; just a few weeks ago, he was sat in the lower reaches with Dele Alli.
Raheem Sterling made a return from injury against Stoke City and looked superb, sharpness coursing through his play and a relentless work rate crowning a top performance.
Two players who did not look themselves were Jose Izquierdo (-4) and Sadio Mane (-3).
Biggest rise: Heung-Min Son (+6)
Biggest fall: Jose Izquierdo (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Raheem Sterling (+1) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Leroy Sane (-1) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Christian Eriksen (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Riyad Mahrez (+1) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Heung-Min Son (+6) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Mesut Ozil (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Sadio Mane (-3) | Liverpool |
| 11 | Jesse Lingard (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 12 | Alexis Sanchez (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 13 | Juan Mata (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 14 | Jose Izquierdo (-4) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 15 | Anthony Martial (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 16 | JB Gudmundsson (Stay) | Burnley |
| 17 | Dele Alli (+1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 18 | Bernardo Silva (-1) | Manchester City |
| 19 | Willian (New!) | Chelsea |
| 20 | Marcus Rashford (New!) | Manchester United |
Strikers
7 of 7
Roberto Firmino was brilliant against Watford, a workhorse, a creator and a goalscorer, but he'll need a few more similar performances before he overtakes Harry Kane in these stakes.
The only other player in the top 10 to play a Premier League game was Wilfried Zaha and it was hardly his best, with Christian Benteke arguably out-performing him for once.
Biggest rise: None
Biggest fall: None
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Harry Kane (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Roberto Firmino (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Sergio Aguero (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Romelu Lukaku (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Jamie Vardy (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 6 | Wilfried Zaha (Stay) | Crystal Palace |
| 7 | Gabriel Jesus (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 8 | Alvaro Morata (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 9 | Glenn Murray (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 10 | Chris Wood (Stay) | Burnley |
All statistics via WhoScored.com
