EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 34
Manchester City have been crowned Premier League champions with five games to spare. They've been so dominant they've wrapped up the title by mid-April, and that's reflected in the positions of their players in the EPL100.
They only lead three categories, though—right-back, central midfield and attacking midfield—with the other four in the possession of other clubs' talents. Who could possibly have played so well this season that they hold a better rank than City's stars? Here, you can find out.
We have updated our lists to take into account Matchday 34. They are divided into seven position groups and are 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
For a while, we've looked set for a David De Gea-Ederson-Nick Pope finish in the top three, but if the latter keeps up this stunning form, he might just nip into second before season's end.
Thibaut Courtois turned in his first genuinely convincing performance since Chelsea played West Bromwich Albion in February, limiting Southampton to "just" two goals on Saturday with some acrobatic saves.
Biggest rise: Jonas Lossl (+2)
Biggest fall: Asmir Begovic (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 2 | Ederson (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Nick Pope (Stay) | Burnley |
| 4 | Lukasz Fabianski (Stay) | Swansea City |
| 5 | Jordan Pickford (Stay) | Everton |
| 6 | Thibaut Courtois (+1) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Kasper Schmeichel (-1) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Jonas Lossl (+2) | Huddersfield Town |
| 9 | Mat Ryan (Stay) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 10 | Asmir Begovic (-2) | Bournemouth |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
2 of 7
Matthew Lowton's imperious streak of form continues, and that, combined with Antonio Valencia's underwhelming showing against West Bromwich Albion, paves the way for the two to switch.
Further down, DeAndre Yedlin's rise continues as he jumps up two, swapping with Kieran Trippier. The American looks a genuine coaching triumph of Rafa Benitez's at the moment, with his steady improvement over the course of 2017-18 undoubtedly a key factor in the Magpies' own cruise to safety.
Biggest rise: DeAndre Yedlin (+2)
Biggest fall: Kieran Trippier (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kyle Walker (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Matthew Lowton (+1) | Burnley |
| 3 | Antonio Valencia (-1) | Manchester United |
| 4 | Victor Moses (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Kiko Femenia (Stay) | Watford |
| 6 | DeAndre Yedlin (+2) | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Joe Gomez (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Kieran Trippier (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Hector Bellerin (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Florent Hadergjonaj (New!) | Huddersfield Town |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
3 of 7
Another week, another super performance from Andy Robertson. There's now a fair bit of distance between him and the chasing pack.
Fabian Delph put in an accomplished performance at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, drifting into midfield from left-back and helping overwhelm Tottenham Hotspur in the centre. He moves above Marcos Alonso and Ben Davies, while Ashley Young drops below Stephen Ward.
Biggest rise: Fabian Delph (+2)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Andy Robertson (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Fabian Delph (+2) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Ben Davies (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 4 | Marcos Alonso (-1) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Stephen Ward (+1) | Burnley |
| 6 | Ashley Young (-1) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Sead Kolasinac (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Arthur Masuaku (Stay) | West Ham United |
| 9 | Ryan Bertrand (Stay) | Southampton |
| 10 | Ben Chilwell (Stay) | Leicester City |
Centre-Backs
4 of 7
Remarkably, even in a 3-1 home loss in which his colleagues were firmly second-best, Jan Vertonghen still came out of Tottenham's match with Manchester City with immense credit. He was brilliant, keeping the score down to a respectable level.
The same cannot be said for his partner, Davinson Sanchez, who endured something of a horror show. He remains in seventh place because one poor performance doesn't change much at this late stage, but any more and questions will have to be asked.
Biggest rise: Alfie Mawson (+2)
Biggest fall: Lewis Dunk (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Jan Vertonghen (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 | Nicolas Otamendi (+1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Cesar Azpilicueta (-1) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Ben Mee (Stay) | Burnley |
| 5 | James Tarkowski (Stay) | Burnley |
| 6 | Jamaal Lascelles (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Davinson Sanchez (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 | Nacho Monreal (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Harry Maguire (+1) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Andreas Christensen (-1) | Chelsea |
| 11 | Christopher Schindler (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
| 12 | Virgil van Dijk (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 13 | Kurt Zouma (Stay) | Stoke City |
| 14 | Phil Jones (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 15 | Antonio Rudiger (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 16 | James Tomkins (Stay) | Crystal Palace |
| 17 | Alfie Mawson (+2) | Swansea City |
| 18 | Nathan Ake (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 19 | Lewis Dunk (-2) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 20 | Florian Lejeune (New!) | Newcastle United |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
5 of 7
Last week we moved Paul Pogba into fourth place and praised him wildly, with his impact on the Manchester derby representing tangible proof of the brilliance we all know he's capable of.
This week, though, we're forced to move him back down to fifth and to criticise him. His performance against West Bromwich Albion was erratic and poor, and he was removed early in the second half having picked up a yellow card for deliberate handball.
There are some interesting shifts toward the bottom of this section, with Luka Milivojevic the pick of the bunch.
Biggest rise: Luka Milivojevic (+4)
Biggest fall: Abdoulaye Doucoure (-4)
| 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 | Mousa Dembele (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 7 | Aaron Ramsey (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Jack Cork (Stay) | Burnley |
| 9 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (+3) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Eric Dier (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 11 | Emre Can (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 12 | Mohamed Diame (+2) | Newcastle United |
| 13 | Jonjo Shelvey (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 14 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (-4) | Watford |
| 15 | Luka Milivojevic (+4) | Crystal Palace |
| 16 | Wilfred Ndidi (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 17 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (+3) | Southampton |
| 18 | Lewis Cook (-3) | Bournemouth |
| 19 | Aaron Mooy (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 20 | Mario Lemina (-3) | Southampton |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
6 of 7
Yet another stellar performance from Sadio Mane moves him up another couple of spots, with the Senegalese riding the momentum of a great calendar year so far up to seventh place.
Manchester United's insipid attacking display on Sunday costs Anthony Martial (-2), Juan Mata (-4) and Marcus Rashford (drops out of the rankings). Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard stand pat for now but must do a lot better against Bournemouth this week.
Biggest rise: Willian (+2)
Biggest fall: Juan Mata (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Leroy Sane (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Christian Eriksen (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 5 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Sadio Mane (+2) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Heung-Min Son (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Mesut Ozil (-1) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Riyad Mahrez (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 11 | Jesse Lingard (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 12 | Alexis Sanchez (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 13 | Dele Alli (Stay) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 14 | Willian (+2) | Chelsea |
| 15 | JB Gudmundsson (+2) | Burnley |
| 16 | Bernardo Silva (-1) | Manchester City |
| 17 | Jose Izquierdo (+1) | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 18 | Juan Mata (-4) | Manchester United |
| 19 | Matt Ritchie (New!) | Newcastle United |
| 20 | Anthony Martial (-2) | Manchester United |
Strikers
7 of 7
For the first time in months, we have a new name atop the strikers section.
Roberto Firmino rises to the summit and accepts the crown, with his performance this week heavily outdoing Harry Kane's, therefore forcing the switch.
Firmino's goals-and-assists tally (22) falls a little short of Kane's (27), but the Brazilian's all-round performances—pressing, linking, passing and creating—have been trumping everyone else's for a while.
He's a key part of Mohamed Salah's ridiculous goalscoring campaign and the man Jurgen Klopp trusts as the focal point in his potent attack.
Biggest rise: Chris Wood (+2)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Roberto Firmino (+1) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Harry Kane (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 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 (+1) | Manchester City |
| 8 | Chris Wood (+2) | Burnley |
| 9 | Marko Arnautovic (Stay) | West Ham United |
| 10 | Alexandre Lacazette (Stay) | Arsenal |
All statistics via WhoScored.com
