EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 24
There's nothing like a red-hot midweek slate of Premier League action to keep us warm on these freezing-cold January nights.
A lot happened over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, with all 20 sides in action, so if you're looking to catch up on things or fill in the inevitable gaps, you've come to the right place.
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 per cent of the games—so in this case, 12 (or more) out of 23. That rules out the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho for the time being.
Players who have appeared in multiple positions (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah) are categorized by the spot they've played in most. If those values are level, they fall into the category for the role they played most recently.
The idea is for our rankings to give you an idea on a week-to-week basis of who the best in each position has been this season. So if a Team of the Season was crowned this early, the No. 1s in each category would be our choices.
Goalkeepers
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It might seem strange that a goalkeeper who conceded three moves to the top of the pile this week, but check in on Lukasz Fabianski's performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and you'll see why. Without his excellence, it could have been six or seven.
What also helps his ascent is that Alisson Becker, while also making a few brilliant stops, had a ropey night in distribution against Leicester City and actually caused his teammates a fair few headaches.
Bernd Leno lost his clean sheet in the dying minutes against Cardiff City but played well—his kicking and throwing were on point—while Hugo Lloris moves down after his poor decision against Watford cost a goal.
Biggest rise: Lukasz Fabianski, Bernd Leno (+1)
Biggest fall: Alisson Becker, Hugo Lloris (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Lukasz Fabianski (+1) | West Ham United |
| 2 | Alisson Becker (-1) | Liverpool |
| 3 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 4 | Ederson Moraes (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 5 | Ben Foster (Stay) | Watford |
| 6 | Martin Dubravka (Stay) | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Bernd Leno (+1) | Arsenal |
| 8 | Hugo Lloris (-1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 9 | Kepa Arrizabalaga (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Rui Patricio (New!) | Wolves |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
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As impressive as Ricardo Pereira was in phases against Liverpool, he also lost his marker on a number of occasions, which led to good chances. It's a performance that opened the door for another to seize his throne, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka duly stepped in.
The Crystal Palace right-back once again showed why he is thought of so highly, producing an immense one-on-one performance on the flank. His tackling ability is top notch—it's so hard to get round him—and in order to do so, his opponents had to triple up on him!
Further down, Pablo Zabaleta's drop is indicative of his performance against Wolves, Adam Smith moves over to the left-back category and we welcome DeAndre Yedlin in at 10th on the back of impressive form in January.
Biggest rise: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Ashley Young (+2)
Biggest fall: Pablo Zabaleta (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (+2) | Crystal Palace |
| 2 | Ricardo Pereira (-1) | Leicester City |
| 3 | Trent Alexander-Arnold (-1) | Liverpool |
| 4 | Matt Doherty (+1) | Wolves |
| 5 | Kyle Walker (-1) | Manchester City |
| 6 | Hector Bellerin (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 7 | Ashley Young (+2) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Cesar Azpilicueta (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 9 | Pablo Zabaleta (-2) | West Ham |
| 10 | DeAndre Yedlin (New!) | Newcastle |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
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It's pretty rare nowadays that Andrew Robertson is outshone by a fellow left-back on the same pitch, but Ben Chilwell managed it on Wednesday night.
The Leicester City man not only grabbed an assist for Harry Maguire's goal, but he defended the back post superbly and showed his aerial prowess on a number of occasions. It's not enough to see him grab first here—not by a long shot—but it's a performance that deserves praise.
Lucas Digne lasted just 11 minutes against Huddersfield Town before being sent off, so he drops down one, and Adam Smith's run at left-back has gone on long enough for him to call this section home.
Biggest rise: Luke Shaw (+1)
Biggest fall: Lucas Digne, Ben Davies (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Andy Robertson (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Ben Chilwell (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 3 | Jonny (Stay) | Wolves |
| 4 | Luke Shaw (+1) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Lucas Digne (-1) | Everton |
| 6 | Jose Holebas (Stay) | Watford |
| 7 | Marcos Alonso (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 8 | Sead Kolasinac (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Adam Smith (New!) | Bournemouth |
| 10 | Ben Davies (-1) | Tottenham |
Centre-Backs
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Startlingly few of our top centre-backs enjoyed good midweek slates. Virgil van Dijk was partially at fault for Leicester City's goal, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones struggled with Newcastle United's robust style, while the less said about Chelsea's "defensive effort" against Bournemouth, the better.
It paves the way for Michael Keane to take fourth spot. He at least performed well as Everton got back on track with a clean-sheet victory, and the same can be said for Wolves' trio too, helping Ryan Bennett step into the top 10.
Jannik Vestergaard continues to rise after another strong, proactive performance on the south coast, while Issa Diop falls again after caving inward at Molineux.
Biggest rise: Michael Keane, Jannik Vestergaard (+3)
Biggest fall: Issa Diop (-5)
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
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Fernandinho errors are rare, so tally up this most recent one against Newcastle United and remember it. It doesn't jeopardise his seat at the top—one mistake doesn't derail an incredible season—but it's a reminder that he is human.
The biggest plummet this week is Jorginho's four-place drop. Games in which he's been almost completely anonymous are becoming too frequent, and he's on the verge of dropping out of the top 20 altogether.
Georginio Wijnaldum and Joao Moutinho were probably the best performers in this section over the gameweek.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+2)
Biggest fall: Jorginho (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | David Silva (+1) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Bernardo Silva (-1) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Georginio Wijnaldum (+1) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Lucas Torreira (+1) | Arsenal |
| 6 | Declan Rice (-2) | West Ham |
| 7 | Paul Pogba (+1) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Joao Moutinho (+2) | Wolves |
| 9 | N'Golo Kante (-2) | Chelsea |
| 10 | Ruben Neves (+1) | Wolves |
| 11 | Moussa Sissoko (-2) | Tottenham |
| 12 | Harry Winks (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 13 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (Stay) | Watford |
| 14 | Idrissa Gueye (Stay) | Everton |
| 15 | Etienne Capoue (+1) | Watford |
| 16 | Ander Herrera (+1) | Manchester United |
| 17 | Mateo Kovacic (+2) | Chelsea |
| 18 | James Milner (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 19 | Jorginho (-4) | Chelsea |
| 20 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Stay) | Southampton |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
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It's now five gameweeks since Eden Hazard played well. Chelsea's rough patch of form has many factors mixed into it, but the Belgian's disappearance counts as one of the most influential.
He loses further ground on Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane despite the Manchester City duo disappointing at Newcastle United too. At the very least, Heung-Min Son stepped forward to carry the torch for the top five.
David Brooks rises into the top 10 on the back of a phenomenal performance against Chelsea in which he scored, assisted and tied the defence in knots.
Biggest rise: Diogo Jota (+4)
Biggest fall: Felipe Anderson (-4)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Leroy Sane (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Heung-Min Son (+1) | Tottenham |
| 4 | Eden Hazard (-1) | Chelsea |
| 5 | Roberto Firmino (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 6 | Anthony Martial (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Ryan Fraser (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 8 | Sadio Mane (+1) | Liverpool |
| 9 | David Brooks (+3) | Bournemouth |
| 10 | Diogo Jota (+4) | Wolves |
| 11 | Jesse Lingard (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 12 | Christian Eriksen (-4) | Tottenham |
| 13 | Dele Alli (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 14 | Felipe Anderson (-4) | West Ham |
| 15 | Gylfi Sigurdsson (Stay) | Everton |
| 16 | James Maddison (+3) | Leicester City |
| 17 | Nathan Redmond (-1) | Southampton |
| 18 | Matt Ritchie (New!) | Newcastle United |
| 19 | Roberto Pereyra (-2) | Watford |
| 20 | Pedro (Stay) | Chelsea |
Strikers
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As a result of most of our top 10 strikers playing well, there isn't much movement. Sergio Aguero, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Salomon Rondon, Alexandre Lacazette and Raul Jimenez all scored, meaning all but Aubameyang remain gridlocked.
Richarlison's strike against Huddersfield Town launches him back into the top 10, replacing Wilfried Zaha. The Crystal Palace man impressed and scored against Southampton...but also got sent off in the closing minutes.
One player who was surprisingly quiet was Mohamed Salah—Leicester City did a good job on him—but no other player is a genuine threat to his position as No. 1 at this stage.
Biggest rise: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (+1)
Biggest fall: Harry Kane (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Mohamed Salah (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Sergio Aguero (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (+1) | Arsenal |
| 4 | Harry Kane (-1) | Tottenham |
| 5 | Callum Wilson (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 6 | Marcus Rashford (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Salomon Rondon (Stay) | Newcastle |
| 8 | Alexandre Lacazette (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Raul Jimenez (Stay) | Wolves |
| 10 | Richarlison (New!) | Everton |
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
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