EPL 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Matchday 32
Did someone say "run-in"?
We've hit the final stretch of the Premier League season; only seven (or six) games remain for clubs to seal their fates, whether they're title-chasing, UEFA Champions League-chasing or simply survival-chasing.
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 games—so in this case, 16 (or more) out of 31 or 32.
Players who have appeared in multiple positions (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah and Bernardo Silva) 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 has been the best in each position this season. So if a Team of the Season was crowned right now, the No. 1s in each category would be our choices.
Goalkeepers
1 of 7
Three of Hugo Lloris' last four Premier League games have made for grim viewing, with the trip to Anfield on Sunday bringing yet another error. He's had some really good games this term, too, but those tend to be forgotten in the face of gaffes.
Martin Dubravka, whose active, front-footed performance against Arsenal on Monday was pretty good, jumps above the Frenchman, as does Kepa Arrizabalaga, whose season on the whole can now be considered better simply because he's made fewer costly errors.
Kasper Schmeichel joins us in 10th, replacing an out-of-form Rui Patricio.
Biggest rise: Martin Dubravka (+1), Kepa Arrizabalaga (+1)
Biggest fall: Hugo Lloris (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Alisson Becker (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Lukasz Fabianski (Stay) | West Ham United |
| 3 | Bernd Leno (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 4 | David De Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 5 | Ben Foster (Stay) | Watford |
| 6 | Ederson Moraes (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 7 | Martin Dubravka (+1) | Newcastle United |
| 8 | Kepa Arrizabalaga (+1) | Chelsea |
| 9 | Hugo Lloris (-2) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 10 | Kasper Schmeichel (New!) | Leicester City |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
2 of 7
After a couple of dull weeks, the right-back section has exploded into life!
Kyle Walker and Ricardo Pereira both put in imperious performances for their teams in their respective 2-0 wins, the former even smashing the post with a vicious shot and the latter creating multiple chances.
We also welcome a debutant in Yan Valery, who now has enough appearances to feature. His first few performances for Southampton's first team were pretty hesitant, but as his confidence has grown, he's shown what an asset he can be on the flank.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Matt Doherty, DeAndre Yedlin (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Trent Alexander-Arnold (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Stay) | Crystal Palace |
| 3 | Kyle Walker (+1) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Ricardo Pereira (+1) | Leicester |
| 5 | Matt Doherty (-2) | Wolves |
| 6 | Cesar Azpilicueta (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 7 | Ashley Young (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Seamus Coleman (+1) | Everton |
| 9 | Yan Valery (New!) | Southampton |
| 10 | DeAndre Yedlin (-2) | Newcastle |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
3 of 7
It's the turn of the left-backs to cool off, it seems, with little happening in the upper echelons. To find action we need to look further down the list, where Danny Rose drops two, creating room for Matt Ritchie and Ryan Bertrand to move up one.
Ritchie's battling showing at the Emirates Stadium raised eyebrows for the right reasons, with his headed goal-line clearance the highlight of a busy night.
Bertrand wasn't flashy against Brighton but played his part in a clean sheet win and brings a measure of calm to Southampton's defence.
Biggest rise: Matt Ritchie, Ryan Bertrand (+1)
Biggest fall: Danny Rose (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Andy Robertson (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Luke Shaw (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 3 | Lucas Digne (Stay) | Everton |
| 4 | Ben Chilwell (Stay) | Leicester |
| 5 | Jonny (Stay) | Wolves |
| 6 | Sead Kolasinac (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 7 | Jose Holebas (Stay) | Watford |
| 8 | Matt Ritchie (+1) | Newcastle |
| 9 | Ryan Bertrand (+1) | Southampton |
| 10 | Danny Rose (-2) | Tottenham |
Centre-Backs
4 of 7
This week's headline centre-back is Kurt Zouma, who rose higher than Issa Diop to head home and begin a dominant 2-0 Everton win on West Ham's turf on Saturday. Diop drops to 20th; his rough patch continues.
Antonio Rudiger was once again left with an awful lot of last-man defending to do but acquitted himself pretty well, pushing him back into the top five. Jan Bednarek and Sokratis Papastathopoulos both move up two thanks to commanding displays.
Nathan Ake impressed in spite of Bournemouth's 2-0 defeat, but his +1 movement is more to do with Conor Coady's performance to forget than that.
Biggest rise: Kurt Zouma (+3)
Biggest fall: Multiple (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Virgil van Dijk (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 2 | Aymeric Laporte (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | John Stones (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Michael Keane (Stay) | Everton |
| 5 | Antonio Rudiger (+1) | Chelsea |
| 6 | Toby Alderweireld (-1) | Tottenham |
| 7 | Victor Lindelof (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Sokratis Papastathopoulos (+2) | Arsenal |
| 9 | Jan Bednarek (+2) | Southampton |
| 10 | Fabian Schar (-2) | Newcastle |
| 11 | Jannik Vestergaard (-2) | Southampton |
| 12 | Kurt Zouma (+3) | Everton |
| 13 | Shane Duffy (Stay) | Brighton |
| 14 | Jan Vertonghen (-2) | Tottenham |
| 15 | Willy Boly (-1) | Wolves |
| 16 | Lewis Dunk (Stay) | Brighton |
| 17 | Nathan Ake (+1) | Bournemouth |
| 18 | Conor Coady (-1) | Wolves |
| 19 | James Tarkowski (New!) | Burnley |
| 20 | Issa Diop (-1) | West Ham |
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
5 of 7
There were few middling performances among our central midfielders this week; instead, most seemed to file orderly into three categories: brilliant, poor or absent.
Among the brilliant were Bernardo Silva, Idrissa Gueye, Etienne Capoue, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. They all had defining impacts on their team's strong performance.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Declan Rice, Paul Pogba, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves were nowhere near their best, while Moussa Sissoko missed an incredible chance to win Tottenham the game at Anfield.
N'Golo Kante, Lucas Torreira, Harry Winks and Granit Xhaka were all absent, while Fabinho and Fernandinho played sparing minutes off the bench (though Fabinho made a real difference for his side, re-stabilising the midfield area and providing a platform for Liverpool to win).
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Ruben Neves (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Bernardo Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | David Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Georginio Wijnaldum (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Declan Rice (Stay) | West Ham |
| 6 | Paul Pogba (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 7 | Fabinho (+1) | Liverpool |
| 8 | N'Golo Kante (-1) | Chelsea |
| 9 | Joao Moutinho (Stay) | Wolves |
| 10 | Moussa Sissoko (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 11 | Lucas Torreira (Stay) | Arsenal |
| 12 | Harry Winks (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 13 | Idrissa Gueye (+1) | Everton |
| 14 | Etienne Capoue (+1) | Watford |
| 15 | Abdoulaye Doucoure +1) | Watford |
| 16 | Ruben Neves (-3) | Wolves |
| 17 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (+1) | Southampton |
| 18 | Ilkay Gundogan (-1) | Manchester City |
| 19 | Ashley Westwood (+1) | Burnley |
| 20 | Granit Xhaka (-1) | Arsenal |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
6 of 7
Sure, he was credited with an assist for Lucas Moura's goal, but Christian Eriksen's performance was another somewhat disappointing one—a concerning trend over the last few months.
We're now in a position where you can argue pretty easily that the likes of Nathan Redmond and Richarlison have had a better overall season.
Leicester's appointment of Brendan Rodgers as manager has been kind to James Maddison, who has played his part in three straight wins. Incredibly, he ranks second only to Memphis Depay in chances created (89) in Europe's top five leagues this term.
Biggest rise: Multiple (+1)
Biggest fall: Christian Eriksen (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Sadio Mane (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Mohamed Salah (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Heung-Min Son (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 6 | Leroy Sane (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 7 | Diogo Jota (Stay) | Wolves |
| 8 | James Maddison (+1) | Leicester |
| 9 | Ryan Fraser (-1) | Bournemouth |
| 10 | Anthony Martial (+1) | Manchester United |
| 11 | David Brooks (-1) | Bournemouth |
| 12 | Nathan Redmond (+1) | Southampton |
| 13 | Richarlison (+1) | Everton |
| 14 | Christian Eriksen (-2) | Tottenham |
| 15 | Gylfi Sigurdsson (Stay) | Everton |
| 16 | Felipe Anderson (Stay) | West Ham |
| 17 | Jesse Lingard (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 18 | Gerard Deulofeu (Stay) | Watford |
| 19 | Willian (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 20 | Dele Alli (Stay) | Tottenham |
Strikers
7 of 7
The best player on the Emirates Stadium pitch on Monday night was Alexandre Lacazette. It's not the first time that statement's rung true this season and probably won't be the last.
His mix of finishing, selfless build-up play and aggression isn't a common combination, and once again the Gunners benefitted from it. He's now on 20 goals and assists this Premier League season, a brilliant return.
On the same pitch, Lacazette's opposite number Salomon Rondon struggled. He's usually very economical when working up front on his own, but this time he was wasteful, linking more poorly than usual and snatching at a chance when he should have passed in the first half.
Biggest rise: Alexandre Lacazette (+2)
Biggest fall: Salomon Rondon (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Sergio Aguero (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (+1) | Arsenal |
| 3 | Harry Kane (-1) | Tottenham |
| 4 | Alexandre Lacazette (+2) | Arsenal |
| 5 | Callum Wilson (-1) | Bournemouth |
| 6 | Raul Jimenez (-1) | Wolves |
| 7 | Marcus Rashford (+1) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Roberto Firmino (+1) | Liverpool |
| 9 | Salomon Rondon (-2) | Newcastle |
| 10 | Jamie Vardy (Stay) | Leicester |
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
