Premier League Team of the Half-Season
We've reached the halfway stage of the 2018-19 Premier League season. Liverpool are on top, Huddersfield Town are propping everyone else up, we have an intriguing title race budding and at least six teams that look capable of getting relegated.
It never disappoints, does it?
We've used this natural juncture in the campaign to take stock of who the best players have been, creating a starting XI out of them. Think of it as a Team of the Half-Season.
Only Premier League performances are considered when selecting the players, and they must have played at least 75 per cent of the games to be included. After all, you are essentially nominating the best player in each position, and you wouldn't bestow that award on someone who hasn't been a major factor over the course of the campaign.
GK: Lukasz Fabianski, West Ham
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Goalkeeping storylines have hardly been in short supply this season. David De Gea's errors, Martin Dubravka's excellence, Kepa Arrizabalaga's price tag and Alisson Becker's possessing all three of those attributes have made for plenty of intrigue.
That's all helped Lukasz Fabianski's brilliant campaign fly a little under the radar. Felipe Anderson and Issa Diop have proved to be stellar signings, but Fabianski might still prove to be West Ham United's best of the season thanks to a string of brilliant performances.
He has continually made excellent one-on-one stops, displayed safe handling, impressed aerially and even has a penalty save to his name. Add all that to the fact that he's made no major errors of note, and it means he pips Alisson, Dubravka and Ben Foster to this berth.
Alternative selection: Alisson Becker, Liverpool
RB: Matt Doherty, Wolves
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For Matt Doherty to be claiming the title of best right-back at the halfway stage is remarkable; he and Wolves have been so good that it's easy to forget they have only just been promoted to the division.
Nuno Espirito Santo's 3-4-3 formation is perfect for Doherty. It unleashes the full spectrum of his athleticism, allowing him to shuttle forward into space and tussle with markers going back the other way. His crossing has been good, but even more impressive has been his appetite for goals—he has three already.
What's interesting (and impressive) is that Doherty hasn't been anything close to a flat-track bully, either. He's performed well against the majority of top sides rather than just prey on the poor ones.
Alternative selection: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crystal Palace
CB: Aymeric Laporte, Manchester City
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Manchester City have cooled off lately, struggling for form, but their half-season defensive record still averages out at less than one goal conceded per game. That's impressive no matter which way you slice it.
Only two defensive players have featured in every game played. One is the goalkeeper, Ederson Moraes, and the other is the ultradurable Aymeric Laporte at centre-back.
Despite playing with eight different people in his defensive line since August, Laporte has rarely skipped a beat. His collection of dominant showings in the channel and spectacular raking crossfield passes far outweighs his collection of errors.
Alternative selection: Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
CB: Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
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There's a strong argument that through 19 games, Virgil van Dijk has not only been the best defender in the Premier League but the best player—regardless of position.
Without wanting to take too much away from Joe Gomez's excellent campaign, it just looks so easy playing alongside the giant Netherlands international. He repels attacks with ease, gliding across the pitch to snuff out danger and dominating 50/50 duels with strikers.
The only thing his season had been lacking was a goal, and he even provided that against Wolves on Matchday 17, clipping a cross past Rui Patricio in nonchalant style.
He's the glue that holds the best defence in the league together. No other player finds his level of brilliance quite so consistently. The fact that the Reds have only conceded seven goals this season isn't all down to him, but he's the biggest factor.
Alternative selection: John Stones, Manchester City
LB: Andy Robertson, Liverpool
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Not only is Andy Robertson your working-class hero, but he's also been your best left-back in the Premier League this season. It was another easy choice; no player has come close to his performance levels on a consistent basis this season.
Marcos Alonso started more strongly, but his influence has badly waned. Benjamin Mendy's injuries have removed him from contention.
Robertson, meanwhile, has motored along in reliable fashion, getting through endless amounts of running, flashing in low, dangerous crosses, and defending with commitment and strength.
Alternative selection: Ben Chilwell, Leicester City
CM: Lucas Torreira, Arsenal
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Initially, Lucas Torreira was heralded as the midfielder Arsenal had needed for close to a decade. He's since surpassed that epithet, graduating to the status of one who can do everything and anything, for whom there simply are no boundaries.
Once installed in the starting XI, he brought a measure of balance and tenacity the Emirates Stadium hadn't seen in years. Then he started to find his rhythm and has since been scoring scissor-kicks and lofting perfect through balls into strikers' paths.
He plays with the sort of grit and edge that makes him a wholly unpleasant opponent.
Alternative selection: Bernardo Silva, Manchester City
CM: Fernandinho, Manchester City
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That Manchester City have suddenly looked so defensively vulnerable since Fernandinho hurt his groin (back-to-back losses recorded over Christmas) is testament to the job the Brazilian does. It's possible that despite speaking of him in glowing terms over the past 18 months, we were still underrating him.
He's good for the odd goal and the odd assist, and he's adept at keeping the opponent's ball from moving left to right easily. His real value comes from his anticipation, aggressiveness and ability to snuff out counter-attacks before they've even really started.
He treads a thin line in doing so, committing tactical fouls often (and largely escaping punishment for them), but there's no one better in the Premier League at pinning opposing teams in their own third by anticipating, tackling, disposessing and recycling.
Alternative selection: David Silva, Manchester City
Wing: Eden Hazard, Chelsea
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Chelsea are undergoing a fairly radical tactical makeover under Maurizio Sarri, whose ideas are almost the polar opposite of Antonio Conte's in certain areas.
Aiding that transition has been midfield maestro Jorginho, but saving them from embarrassment on more than one occasion has been Eden Hazard, who is continually relied upon to make the difference in the final third in the games wherein Chelsea struggle to impose their system.
Playing from either the left flank or as a false nine, he's responded with goals, assists, key passes and dribbles in spades. No player in the Premier League has a higher combined goals and assists tally than Hazard (19), who has stepped up in the absence of a striker who can pull his weight.
Alternative selection: Leroy Sane, Manchester City
Wing: Raheem Sterling, Manchester City
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Raheem Sterling is on pace to hit the 20-goal mark in the Premier League this season—you know, that figure most strikers struggle to hit, let alone wingers.
Looking past the impressive numbers (nine goals, six assists), his game has visibly taken on another level or two. The movements he's making are flummoxing defenders, and the goals he's scoring are a little easier on the eye.
With his favourite creator, Kevin De Bruyne, back in action, Sterling's production could well increase in 2019.
Alternative selection: Felipe Anderson, West Ham
Striker: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
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Things started a little slowly this season for Mohamed Salah—and by slowly, we mean he only scored three goals in his first eight games—but since the calendar flipped to December, he's turned on the jets.
With five goals and three assists this month (and there's still a game left), he's ending 2018 in blistering fashion, with his work having helped Liverpool to the top of the Premier League at Christmas.
Now playing as a striker in Jurgen Klopp's rejigged 4-2-3-1 formation, he's still feeding off Roberto Firmino's flicks. Salah is still pulling wide to find space, but he's also finding himself in scoring positions more than ever.
Alternative selection: Callum Wilson, Bournemouth
Striker: Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
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This season saw Harry Kane net his first career August goal. From that point, it was clear he was going to have a campaign to remember.
Eleven more have followed in the Premier League since then, placing him joint-second in the race for the Golden Boot. He's been everything you would expect him to be: lethal in the box, creative in supply for others and consistent in his standard-setting for the team.
He takes up the final spot in this XI, though some would suggest it belongs to Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has scored one more (13). Where Aubameyang falls short is in the overall performance stakes—there are times when a goalless game from him means he offered nothing, which is never the case with Kane.
Alternative selection: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
