EPL100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 5
Welcome back, Premier League football. Ten games stretched from Saturday afternoon through to Monday night, beginning with Liverpool taking on Tottenham and ending with a south coast rivalry (of sorts), it was absolute bliss. Please stop taking international breaks!
To help you chew over all the action and assess how every team and player got on, B/R returns with another season of the EPL100, ranking the best players in the Premier League by position. It's important to note this ranking's movements covers the last two gameweeks' worth of performances, as there was no EPL100 after Gameweek 4.
Only performances in the 2018-19 Premier League season affect this ranking; reputations, cup performances and European showings matter not.
To be eligible, players need to have started more than 50 percent of the games—so, in this case, three out of five or more.
In a situation where a player has played in multiple positions (example: Bernardo Silva), they will fall into the category they've played the most minutes in. If those values are level, they will fall into the category they most recently played in.
Goalkeepers
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The porous nature of Burnley's midfield and defence is ensuring Joe Hart is kept very busy. Ahead of the international break, he impressed against Manchester United with a penalty stop. Afterwards against Wolves, he made save after save to bail the Clarets out.
With regard to Alisson's fall down the rankings, remember this takes into account his error against Leicester City. Saturday's performance against Spurs was much better, with his grip being firm when taking in shots, but it's not enough to stop the slide.
Biggest rise: Joe Hart (New!)
Biggest fall: Alisson Becker (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Neil Etheridge (Stay) | Cardiff City |
| 2 | Joe Hart (New!) | Burnley |
| 3 | Alex McCarthy (+1) | Southampton |
| 4 | Rui Patricio (+2) | Wolves |
| 5 | Lukasz Fabianski (+5) | West Ham |
| 6 | Ben Foster (-4) | Watford |
| 7 | Ederson Moraes (-2) | Manchester City |
| 8 | Asmir Begovic (New!) | Bournemouth |
| 9 | Alisson Becker (-6) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Wayne Hennessey (New!) | Crystal Palace |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
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Daryl Janmaat's place at the top of this section is far from secure. With Cesar Azpilicueta, Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold all finding their groove, he's got a real job on to hold them at arm's length.
Matt Doherty enters the ranking at No. 5. He took a few games to get up to speed to life in the Premier League but is now showing his best level. The man of the match against Burnley on Sunday, he attacked with purpose and defended studiously.
Kieran Trippier drops like a stone due to two poor showings in a row.
Biggest rise: Matt Doherty (New!)
Biggest fall: Kieran Trippier (-7)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Daryl Janmaat (Stay) | Watford |
| 2 | Cesar Azpilicueta (+1) | Chelsea |
| 3 | Kyle Walker (+2) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Trent Alexander-Arnold (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Matt Doherty (New!) | Wolves |
| 6 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (+1) | Crystal Palace |
| 7 | DeAndre Yedlin (+3) | Newcastle United |
| 8 | Adam Smith (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 9 | Kieran Trippier (-7) | Tottenham |
| 10 | Hector Bellerin (New!) | Arsenal |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
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That Benjamin Mendy would total four assists by this point is a somewhat believable claim; that Jose Holebas would too is distinctly less so. Still, credit to the Greek set-piece master: He's been effective from dead balls and strong defensively too.
This group feels very strong. From Holebas to Ben Chilwell in seventh, it's packed with top performers. Marcos Alonso's a creative monster, Andrew Robertson's incredibly reliable and Luke Shaw's really finding his feet.
Jonny enters the top 10 after successive solid showings in clean-sheet victories for Wolves.
Biggest rise: Jonny (New!)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Jose Holebas (Stay) | Watford |
| 2 | Marcos Alonso (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 3 | Andrew Robertson (+1) | Liverpool |
| 4 | Luke Shaw (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Benjamin Mendy (-2) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Jonny (New!) | Wolves |
| 7 | Ben Chilwell (-2) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Patrick van Aanholt (-1) | Crystal Palace |
| 9 | Ryan Bertrand (Stay) | Southampton |
| 10 | Nacho Monreal (-2) | Arsenal |
Centre-Backs
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Consistently high-performing centre-backs are in short supply right now. There are some wild shifts in this section (some names, such as Harry Maguire and Steve Cook, have completely disappeared) and that's representative of the up-and-down play in this position.
At least you can count on Virgil van Dijk and Aymeric Laporte to put together consecutive strong games, and they're clearly ahead of this pack. The ones from Craig Cathcart to Toby Alderweireld are pretty good too, but from Chris Smalling down, they're either struggling for consistency or dipping in and out of the XI.
Biggest rise: Ryan Bennett (New!)
Biggest fall: Steve Cook (Out!)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Virgil van Dijk (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Aymeric Laporte (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Craig Cathcart (+3) | Watford |
| 4 | Joe Gomez (+4) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Ryan Bennett (New!) | Wolves |
| 6 | Antonio Rudiger (+3) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Jan Vertonghen (-2) | Tottenham |
| 8 | Michael Keane (Stay) | Everton |
| 9 | Toby Alderweireld (+1) | Tottenham |
| 10 | Chris Smalling (New!) | Manchester United |
| 11 | John Stones (-7) | Manchester City |
| 12 | Christian Kabasele (-9) | Watford |
| 13 | Willy Boly (Stay) | Wolves |
| 14 | Conor Coady (+5) | Wolves |
| 15 | Jannik Vestergaard (-3) | Southampton |
| 16 | Federico Fernandez (New!) | Newcastle United |
| 17 | James Tomkins (New!) | Crystal Palace |
| 18 | Shane Duffy (+2) | Brighton |
| 19 | Jamaal Lascelles (New!) | Newcastle United |
| 20 | Issa Diop (New!) | West Ham |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
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In stark contrast to the centre-backs, we're spoilt for quality when it comes to central midfielders.
James Milner's irrepressible performance against Tottenham keeps him in first, while colleagues Naby Keita and Georginio Wijnaldum also retain spots inside the top 10.
Bernardo Silva transfers over from the attacking midfielders/wingers—he's been back and forth all season—and takes third after a scintillating showing against Fulham. David Silva wasn't bad either.
Abdoulaye Doucoure, Etienne Capoue, Jean Michael Seri and Wilfred Ndidi weren't at their best this week. Mateo Kovacic was, though, and has enough appearances under his belt to enter the rankings now.
Biggest rise: Mateo Kovacic (New!)
Biggest fall: Etienne Capoue (-8)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | James Milner (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Ruben Neves (Stay) | Wolves |
| 3 | Bernardo Silva (+8) | Manchester City |
| 4 | David Silva (+7) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Joao Moutinho (+7) | Wolves |
| 6 | Naby Keita (-3) | Liverpool |
| 7 | Jorginho (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Georginio Wijnaldum (+1) | Liverpool |
| 9 | Fernandinho (+7) | Manchester City |
| 10 | Mateo Kovacic (New!) | Chelsea |
| 11 | N'Golo Kante (-7) | Chelsea |
| 12 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (-6) | Watford |
| 13 | Etienne Capoue (-8) | Watford |
| 14 | Jean Michael Seri (-6) | Fulham |
| 15 | Philip Billing (New!) | Huddersfield Town |
| 16 | Ilkay Gundogan (-1) | Manchester City |
| 17 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (New!) | Southampton |
| 18 | Tom Cairney (-1) | Fulham |
| 19 | Mario Lemina (New!) | Southampton |
| 20 | Aaron Mooy (New!) | Huddersfield Town |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
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Eden Hazard's hat-trick against Cardiff City sends him roaring to the top of this section. He's now the Premier League's top scorer on five goals and has played superbly every time he's taken to the pitch.
Backing him up are Raheem Sterling and Ryan Fraser—two similarly productive wingers who have really enjoyed the early stages of this season. A bit further down, Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah continue to perform well.
Helder Costa of Wolves is fighting for his spot in the XI every time he takes to the pitch as the club's record signing, Adama Traore, is breathing down his neck. So far, it's only inspired Costa to new heights.
Biggest rise: Ryan Fraser (+14)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Eden Hazard (+2) | Chelsea |
| 2 | Raheem Sterling (+2) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Ryan Fraser (+14) | Bournemouth |
| 4 | Roberto Pereyra (-3) | Watford |
| 5 | Sadio Mane (+1) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Mohamed Salah (+1) | Liverpool |
| 7 | Richarlison (-2) | Everton |
| 8 | Lucas Moura (-6) | Tottenham |
| 9 | Pedro (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Gylfi Sigurdsson (Stay) | Everton |
| 11 | Andre Schurrle (+3) | Fulham |
| 12 | Helder Costa (New!) | Wolves |
| 13 | Willian (New!) | Chelsea |
| 14 | Theo Walcott (-6) | Everton |
| 15 | James Maddison (+1) | Leicester City |
| 16 | Will Hughes (+3) | Watford |
| 17 | Felipe Anderson (-4) | West Ham |
| 18 | Dele Alli (-6) | Tottenham |
| 19 | Nathan Redmond (New!) | Southampton |
| 20 | Demarai Gray (-5) | Leicester City |
Strikers
7 of 7
Sergio Aguero hasn't scored in three games, but fortunately for Manchester City, he has turned provider, laying on two assists in his last two appearances. It's enough to keep him on top.
Danny Ings and Roberto Firmino are the two big positive movers, each stepping up three spots, and their performance hallmarks are actually quite similar: work rate, creativity and key goals scored.
Aleksandar Mitrovic drops six spots. He has not shown his best form in the last two fixtures.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+3)
Biggest fall: Aleksandar Mitrovic (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Sergio Aguero (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Callum Wilson (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 3 | Troy Deeney (+1) | Watford |
| 4 | Wilfried Zaha (+1) | Crystal Palace |
| 5 | Danny Ings (+3) | Southampton |
| 6 | Roberto Firmino (+3) | Liverpool |
| 7 | Andre Gray (Stay) | Watford |
| 8 | Glenn Murray (New!) | Brighton |
| 9 | Aleksandar Mitrovic (-6) | Fulham |
| 10 | Romelu Lukaku (New!) | Manchester United |
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
