EPL100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 6
Just one perfect team remains in the Premier League: Liverpool. Their 3-0 win over Southampton made it six wins from six, and then the following day Chelsea drew a blank against West Ham.
That Saturday saw an incredible number of goals fly in, as four teams hit three or more and Manchester City managing a whopping five, while Sunday was more anaemic—just two were scored across 180 minutes.
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.
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 at least 50 percent of the games—so, in this case, three out of six (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
1 of 7
Just as we all suspected, the best goalkeeper through six weeks of the 2018-19 Premier League season is...Joe Hart?
He's been incredibly busy, as that Burnley defence subjects him to plenty of shots and lots of work, and he's responded with some very good performances. Excellent against Southampton, Manchester United, Wolves and Bournemouth this weekend, he deserves top billing.
Below him is a clutch of excellent performers in an incredibly strong section. When Petr Cech is only 10th following that display against Everton, you know the goalkeepers are on song.
Biggest rise: Martin Dubravka (New!)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Joe Hart (+1) | Burnley |
| 2 | Rui Patricio (+2) | Wolves |
| 3 | Lukasz Fabianski (+2) | West Ham |
| 4 | Neil Etheridge (-3) | Cardiff City |
| 5 | Martin Dubravka (New!) | Newcastle |
| 6 | Alex McCarthy (-3) | Southampton |
| 7 | Ben Foster (-1) | Watford |
| 8 | David De Gea (New!) | Manchester United |
| 9 | Ederson Moraes (-2) | Manchester City |
| 10 | Petr Cech (New!) | Arsenal |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
2 of 7
It's been tight in the top five for weeks, so while Daryl Janmaat's drop of five seems seismic, there's been little to split the players, and this sort of move has been coming. All it was going to take was one rough showing.
Janmaat provided that against Fulham, where he lost his individual battle with Luciano Vietto and ended up costing his side. But for Ben Foster's one-on-one prowess, the damage could have been even greater.
Into his place jumps the reliable Kyle Walker, with Trent Alexander-Arnold hot on his tails. On a weekend where Cesar Azpilicueta could have taken top spot himself, he disappointed somewhat, struggling with Felipe Anderson a little and almost refusing to attack while Chelsea were on the ball.
Biggest rise: Timothy Fosu-Mensah (New!)
Biggest fall: Daryl Janmaat (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Kyle Walker (+2) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Trent Alexander-Arnold (+2) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Cesar Azpilicueta (-1) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Matt Doherty (+1) | Wolves |
| 5 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (+1) | Crystal Palace |
| 6 | Daryl Janmaat (-5) | Watford |
| 7 | DeAndre Yedlin (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 8 | Timothy Fosu-Mensah (New!) | Fulham |
| 9 | Pablo Zabaleta (New!) | West Ham |
| 10 | Adam Smith (-2) | Bournemouth |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
3 of 7
Like Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso was a little disappointing in attack on Sunday, but his clean sheet in conjunction with Jose Holebas' off day against Fulham is enough to create a switch at the summit.
Jonny's pestering performance at Old Trafford sees him swap spots with opponent-on-the-day Luke Shaw, while Andrew Robertson's typically steady showing against Southampton sees him close the gap to the top two.
Biggest rise: Jonny (+2)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Marcos Alonso (+1) | Chelsea |
| 2 | Jose Holebas (-1) | Watford |
| 3 | Andrew Robertson (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 4 | Jonny (+2) | Wolves |
| 5 | Benjamin Mendy (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Luke Shaw (-2) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Ben Chilwell (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 8 | Patrick van Aanholt (Stay) | Crystal Palace |
| 9 | Nacho Monreal (-2) | Arsenal |
| 10 | Ryan Bertrand (-1) | Southampton |
Centre-Backs
4 of 7
All three of Wolves' centre-backs place inside our top 10, as Ryan Bennett moves into second, Conor Coady into eighth and Willy Boly into 10th. It's hardly the scenario we envisaged at this point, but it is indicative of the promoted club's excellent defending.
Michael Keane returned from a hairline fracture in his skull to impress against Arsenal, hardly skipping a beat despite spending a month out, and Federico Fernandez is continuing to shine with new club Newcastle United.
Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld were quite good against Brighton and can feel aggrieved to have moved down; sometimes, though, even if you're good, those competing with you are better.
Biggest rise: Federico Fernandez (+7)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-4)
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
5 of 7
James Milner's solid, mediating 45 minutes off the bench against Southampton is enough to nail down top spot for him here, but beware the approaching pack: Portuguese trio Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva are closing that gap fast.
Chelsea's Jorginho and N'Golo Kante both drop down this week, as against West Ham the former misplaced quite a few passes in the second half while the latter was ineffective throughout.
Etienne Capoue receives a big boost following his dominant showing at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Biggest rise: Etienne Capoue (+7)
Biggest fall: N'Golo Kante (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | James Milner (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Joao Moutinho (+4) | Wolves |
| 3 | Ruben Neves (-1) | Wolves |
| 4 | Bernardo Silva (-1) | Manchester City |
| 5 | David Silva (-1) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Etienne Capoue (+7) | Watford |
| 7 | Naby Keita (-1) | Liverpool |
| 8 | Jorginho (-1) | Chelsea |
| 9 | Mateo Kovacic (+1) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 11 | Georginio Wijnaldum (+1) | Liverpool |
| 12 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (Stay) | Watford |
| 13 | Ilkay Gundogan (-1) | Manchester City |
| 14 | Jean Michael Seri (Stay) | Fulham |
| 15 | N'Golo Kante (-4) | Chelsea |
| 16 | Philip Billing (-1) | Huddersfield Town |
| 17 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Stay) | Southampton |
| 18 | Tom Cairney (Stay) | Fulham |
| 19 | Mario Lemina (Stay) | Southampton |
| 20 | Ashley Westwood (New!) | Burnley |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
6 of 7
Eden Hazard looked lively and dangerous at the London Stadium on Sunday, the only mark against his name being that he was too team-oriented and that, on occasion, he wasn't ruthless enough to take a shot on goal himself.
It's a performance good enough to hold off Raheem Sterling, but only just, as the Manchester City man did a rather decent Hazard impression in Wales, jinking round Cardiff City defenders at will.
Richarlison's return from suspension was combative and effective, as expected, but even more impressive was James Maddison's creative and set-piece skills on show against Huddersfield Town.
Biggest rise: James Maddison (+7)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-6)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 2 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Mohamed Salah (+3) | Liverpool |
| 4 | Ryan Fraser (-1) | Bournemouth |
| 5 | Sadio Mane (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Richarlison (+1) | Everton |
| 7 | Roberto Pereyra (-3) | Watford |
| 8 | James Maddison (+7) | Leicester City |
| 9 | Pedro (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Helder Costa (+2) | Wolves |
| 11 | Lucas Moura (-6) | Tottenham |
| 12 | Andre Schurrle (-1) | Fulham |
| 13 | Felipe Anderson (+4) | West Ham |
| 14 | Willian (-1) | Chelsea |
| 15 | Will Hughes (+1) | Watford |
| 16 | Gylfi Sigurdsson (-6) | Everton |
| 17 | JB Gudmundsson (New!) | Burnley |
| 18 | Theo Walcott (-4) | Everton |
| 19 | Dele Alli (-1) | Tottenham |
| 20 | David Brooks (New!) | Bournemouth |
Strikers
7 of 7
Another goal, taking him to four for the season, keeps Sergio Aguero at the top of the strikers section.
An off day at Burnley sees Callum Wilson drop from second—a position he's held for a month—with Troy Deeney jumping into his spot and colleague Andre Gray following him into third.
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Raul Jimenez are both playing very important roles for their clubs up top, while Alexandre Lacazette now has enough starts to join the party.
Biggest rise: Andre Gray (+4)
Biggest fall: Callum Wilson (-4)
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
