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EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 31
March 20, 2018EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 31
The FA Cup took centre stage this week, with semi-final berths at stake, but humming along in the background were four Premier League games. Liverpool thrashed Watford, while Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Everton all earned crucial victories.
It hasn't generated much in terms of movement, but we do have a leadership change in one category.
We have updated our lists to take into account the latest gameweek. 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
Eight of our top 10 goalkeepers for the season were out of action this weekend, leading to zero changes in the category.
Only Jordan Pickford (conceded one) and Jonas Lossl (conceded two) played, and their performances don't merit a move up.
It gets better, we promise.
Biggest rise: None
Biggest fall: None
| 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 (Stay) | Everton |
| 7 | Thibaut Courtois (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Mat Ryan (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 9 | Kasper Schmeichel (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Jonas Lossl (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
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 did well, offering less in attack than Trent Alexander-Arnold but still measuring in a few crosses.
Gomez moves up to fifth, surpassing Kieran Trippier (who wasn't in league action) 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
Liverpool fans are about ready to christen Andrew Robertson the best left-back in Europe, and while we're not quite there ourselves, it is clear he's been the best in the Premier League this season.
With only 18 starts to his name, it wasn't an easy choice to elevate him to the No. 1 spot—it's hardly a huge body of work, but previous table-topper Ben Davies has just 21.
Robertson has been scintillating of late, endearing himself to the Anfield crowd with a serious of battling displays and brilliant low crosses.
Biggest rise: Andrew Robertson (+1)
Biggest fall: Ben Davies (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Andrew Robertson (+1) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Ben Davies (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 3 | Fabian Delph (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Ashley Young (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Marcos Alonso (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Stephen Ward (Stay) | Burnley |
| 7 | Sead Kolasinac (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Ryan Bertrand (Stay) | Southampton |
| 9 | Ben Chilwell (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Charlie Daniels (Stay) | Bournemouth |
Centre-Backs
Of our top 20 centre-backs, just four played; two performed well, two didn't.
Christopher Schindler struggled with the physicality of Christian Benteke, while Kurt Zouma's level fluctuated against Everton.
On a more positive note, Virgil van Dijk was, well, Virgil van Dijk against Watford, and James Tomkins scored a vital goal in Crystal Palace's survival push.
Biggest rise: Virgil van Dijk (+3)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| 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 (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Andreas Christensen (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Davinson Sanchez (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Nacho Monreal (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Harry Maguire (+1) | Leicester City |
| 11 | Christopher Schindler (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 12 | Lewis Dunk (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 13 | Kurt Zouma (Stay) | Stoke City |
| 14 | Virgil van Dijk (+3) | Liverpool |
| 15 | Antonio Rudiger (-1) | Chelsea |
| 16 | Alfie Mawson (-1) | Swansea City |
| 17 | James Tomkins (+1) | Crystal Palace |
| 18 | Phil Jones (-1) | Manchester United |
| 19 | Shane Duffy (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 20 | Federico Fernandez (New!) | Swansea City |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
The notable change in this section is the swapping of Mousa Dembele and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The latter has endured a rather difficult week or so, travelling to the Emirates Stadium and Anfield and seeing his team beaten a combined 8-0 scoreline over the two games. He hasn't even begun to play as well as he's capable of doing, and that sees him drop below Dembele.
Further down, Lewis Cook bounced back from a poor showing against Tottenham Hotspur with an improved performance against West Bromwich Albion, so moves up one.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | N'Golo Kante (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Nemanja Matic (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Paul Pogba (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 6 | Mousa Dembele (+1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (+1) | Watford |
| 8 | Aaron Ramsey (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Eric Dier (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 10 | Emre Can (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 11 | Jack Cork (Stay) | Burnley |
| 12 | Mario Lemina (Stay) | Southampton |
| 13 | Wilfred Ndidi (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 14 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 15 | Lewis Cook (+1) | Bournemouth |
| 16 | Aaron Mooy (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 17 | Georginio Wijnaldum (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 18 | Jonathan Hogg (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
| 19 | Cesc Fabregas (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 20 | Davy Propper (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
This section is largely populated by the Premier League's top six, and when only one of them play, it leads to a distinct lack of movement across the board.
The only switch we have is Sadio Mane and Mesut Ozil flipping. The Liverpool man played well against Watford, playing a part in several goals, but in the wake of Mohamed Salah's four-goal, one-assist showing, he's been somewhat overlooked in the praise stakes.
It's a marker of just how good Kevin De Bruyne has been this season that Salah's four strikes, taking his Premier League tally to 28 for the campaign, aren't enough to supplant him at the top.
Biggest rise: Sadio Mane (+1)
Biggest fall: Mesut Ozil (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Leroy Sane (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Christian Eriksen (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Riyad Mahrez (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Heung-Min Son (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Sadio Mane (+1) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Mesut Ozil (-1) | Arsenal |
| 11 | Jesse Lingard (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 12 | Alexis Sanchez (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 13 | Juan Mata (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 14 | Jose Izquierdo (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 15 | Anthony Martial (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 16 | JB Gudmundsson (Stay) | Burnley |
| 17 | Dele Alli (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 18 | Bernardo Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 19 | Willian (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 20 | Marcus Rashford (Stay) | Manchester United |
Strikers
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 here.
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 outperforming 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