Prediction: The Premier League team of the year 2010-11

The Season is up and running and there will be exciting football coming along your way till the end of May 2011. Predictions will continue till the end of the season, as to who will lift the coveted English Premier League title.

Coming to Predictions, well, I can have my take on who will be the best in this year's edition of the EPL, can't I? At the end of every season, the PFA names 11 players as the best players of the season according to their position and I will be presenting my prediction as to who would make the final eleven at the end of the season.

It will be tough to pick out 11 players among a horde of exquisitely talented players. So, I have also listed some players who could compete for the best player in that category.

Note: These are only predictions and everyone is free to debate controversial omissions / inclusions from this list of players. Also, I have not necessarily included representatives from all major teams in this list.

Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina (Liverpool)

Liverpool are fortunate to have one of the best keepers in the world, let alone the premier league. The Spanish keeper has excelled between the posts for Liverpool.

Last year, he was pipped by Joe Hart to the goalkeeper spot in the PFA team of the year. Even though, Liverpool FC had a torrid season, last year, Pepe Reina was one of the most consistent performers for the club.

Forget the howler against Arsenal, he still has 37 games to enhance his reputation and with the talent that he possesses, Reina is bound to excel in a lot of matches.

Expect Pepe Reina to have yet another fine season and claim the place in the PFA team of the year. He is capable of inspiring this Liverpool side to greater heights and provides a lot of stability to the team, along with efficient organisation of the defence.

Competition: 

Joe Hart (Manchester City), Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester United), Petr Cech (Chelsea)

Left Back: Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

He has borne the brunt of the criticism on issues surrounding his personal life, but his football remains to be of very high standard. Chelsea has been resolute in warding off advances from Real Madrid regarding Ashley Cole, because losing a player of Cole's calibre is bound to hurt the champions.

He did not have a great World Cup in South Africa but if his game against West Bromwich Albion is of any indication, he still retains his impressive talent and can continue to enthrall Chelsea fans with his performances.

Ashley Cole has never been a very popular figure in England, but his quality is undeniable, which is why he is still England's no.1 left back. Adept at defending and not afraid of putting in hard tackles, he can really be of great assistance to the centre backs.

Also, he is a menace (to the opposition) when he makes overlapping runs on the left wing, harassing opposition defenders and always, getting involved in the play. He will get in crisp and accurate crosses into the box and with Chelsea, having players like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in their line-up, there will be a good number of goals scored from these crosses.

Competitiors:

Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Alexander Kolarov (Manchester City), Gael Clichy (Arsenal)

Centre Back: Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal)

Arsenal made, arguably, the best signing of last season when they brought the former Ajax captain, Thomas Vermaelen. Not the tallest of defenders, but certainly skilled, he was one of Arsenal's players of the season.

This season provides him with the opportunity to lead the defence with the exit of Sol Campbell and the expected exits of Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas. He will, probably, partner the inexperienced Laurent Koscielny at the heart of defence.

He has great aerial ability and his ball control is better than some of the strikers in the Premier League. He had a marvellous debut season in the EPL, where he managed to break into the PFA team of the year. There is, absolutely no reason to doubt his credentials for retaining his spot in this year's team as well.

The fact that he was the amongst the highest goal-scoring defenders in the Premiership only bolsters his case for a place in the best eleven players in the league.

Competitors:

John Terry (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Kolo Toure (Manchester City)

Centre Back: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Manchester United has not been very active in the transfer market, this season and has chosen to invest in young talents Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez, this summer. But, it can be overlooked that Manchester United's best dealing, this summer, has been to retain the services of Nemanja Vidic.

He has been one of the stars of the Premier League and is among the best defenders in Europe. The Serb will be integral to Manchester United's hopes of winning the Premier league. His absence contributed to the club's worries, last season but now that he is fit, fans will hope to see the best of Vidic.

Tall and strong, Vidic possesses every aspect that is required of a quality defender. Never to back away from a challenge, he is the man to anchor the defence for Manchester United. With Rio Ferdinand missing the start of the season, it is imperative that Vidic establishes a good partnership with his new partner.

Competitors:

John Terry (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Kolo Toure (Manchester City)

Right Back: Jerome Boateng (Manchester City)

Roberto Mancini, manager of Manchester City, made Jerome Boateng his first signing of the summer, which has been filled with new acquisitions on astronomical wages. Manchester City were short of a quality right back, last season, and Jerome Boateng is expected to solve the crisis.

The 11 million transfer from Hamburg is one of Mancini's less hyped signings, but he has shown his quality in the past. Though it will be tough adjusting to the rigours of the Premier League, this lad can show his quality in England.

He had a good World Cup, this year and will hope to start the season on a similar vein of form as he had in the World Cup. He can also fill in as a central defender, which will add some depth to that area as well.

He has the pace to deal with the best of wingers and has shown impressive attacking qualities. he can cross the ball, pretty decently, which will aid in Manchester City, mounting aerial attacks. Surely, it is an astute move by Mancini to sign the versatile defender and it is my guess that he will prove his worth, this season.

Competitors:

Brainslav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)

Defnsive Midfielder: Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Reports from prestigious English newspapers say that the Ivory Coast international is the highest paid player in the Premiership. Mancini has spent around 25 million on acquiring the services of Yaya Toure from Barcelona.

Not for nothing will Yaya Toure be paid such astronomical wages. He has had a successful career, winning many major trophies. It is this experience that could prove invaluable to the Citizens, apart from his impressive talent.

He is a professional in every sense, and desires to win trophies with City. Even though he looked off the pace against Tottenham, he is too good to struggle with the pace of the game in the long run. Expect Yaya Toure to be at his best in the upcoming weeks.

Touted to the new "Patrick Viera" at a very young age, he has got all necessary attributes, required to make him the best defensive midfielder in the EPL. Add to that the fact that he will enjoy a great rapport with brother Kolo Toure, who will playing at Centre Back for City, and these two could form a partnership between defense and midfield, which could be decisive in taking Manchester City forward.

Competitors:

Alex Song (Arsenal), Micheal Essien (Chelsea), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United) 

Left Winger: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal)

The dimunitive winger has quality written all over him, but it is his inconsistency which is hampering him from becoming one of the best players in the Premiership. He made a great impression in his first season, but was inconsistent last year.

He proved why he was one of the best with his performances away at Old Trafford and at Anfield, but he did not have a great season in terms of consistency of such performances. If he is capable of striking a rich vein of form, this year, there is no reason why he cannot break into the PFA team of the year.

He has started off at Anfield, this season in disappointing season, where he was anonymous for most of the match. But just as is the case with Reina, it is unfair to judge anything based on one performance and he can establish his credentials as a genuine contender with some good performances in the next few months.

Blessed with a lot of pace, he can jinx his way past a horde of defenders and can supply killer balls to the forwards. Even though he is very short, he still has a lot of strength and aggression to hold his own against towering defenders.

Competitors:

Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Luis Nani (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City), Steven Pienaar (Everton)

Right Winger: James Milner (Aston Villa)

Even though James Milner's future at Aston Villa is in question, he impressed in an Aston Villa shirt when he played in their curtain-raiser and even bagged a goal for his efforts and was applauded by Villa fans.

Whether he does move or not, he is an exciting young talent who has the capability to produce something special, every now and then. He had an impressive season with Aston Villa, last season and was one of the England internationals to escape intense scrutiny from the media.

He excelled in the centre of the midfield, last year, and might don the same role this year. But if he does make the expected switch to Manchester City, there is a good probablility that he will play in the right wing, which was the position he played in before switching to the centre in the previous season.

Milner is a young, strong and versatile player, who has it in him to carry his team a long way. He has great vision and his crossing ability will be beneficial to any team. He can develop along the season, but there is no reason to stop him replicating his marvellous performances from last season.

Competitors:

Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Attacking Midfielder: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Arsenal fans would have heaved a sigh of relief when they read the official statement from Cesc Fabregas commiting to the club for this season. He is their most influential player and is the key ingredient to success for this young Arsenal side.

If in spite of missing a large chunk of the matches on account of injury, he managed to cement a place in the best eleven players in the Premier League, there is no concrete basis as to why to cannot retain his place in that side.

He is one of the league's elite players and his decision to stay with Arsenal will only enhance the quality of league. He has got amazing vision, technical finesse and is the heart and soul of this Arsenal team. He is also the captain of the side at only 23 years of age and this only shows what he means to this squad.

He was Arsenal's leader in goals and assists, last season and Arsenal will hope that he can lead them to glory, which has eluded them in the recent past. It might be his last season with his beloved Arsenal, and he will surely look to sign off with style.

Competitors:

Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Luka Modric (Tottenham)

Centre Forward: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

Who has the highest number of goals in the EPL 2010-11? Didier Drogba. Having already scored a hat trick in the opening encounter, he looks to lead Chelsea to a successive title victory in this edition of the EPL.

Drogba did not bother to clear ludicrous rumours linking him with Manchester City; instead, he has come out all "goals" blazing in the brand new Chelsea kit. He is as passionate as ever and will give his heart out to conquer any challenge in front of him.

Drogba is strong, technically and physically and possesses the strength, guile and ability to trouble opposition defenders, who might be forced to commit errors. He has been very consistent in scoring goals and this season might not be very different to the last one, which was a successful one for him.

Another aspect of his game, which can be overlooked, is his set-piece delivery. He has scored many goals from free-kicks, which are deadly and have the power and direction to beat quality goalkeepers. Looking forward to yet another power-packed season for Drogba.

Competitors:

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Centre Forward: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

"El Nino" is staying at Liverpool for another seaon, to make sure the Kop sing their hearts out at Anfield. There is lot of optimism at Liverpool FC after their inspiring performance against Arsenal and with Fernando Torres staying, Liverpool will be looking to forget their memories of last season.

With the acquisition of Milan Jovanic and the talented Joe Cole, Liverpool will be stronger this time but things will click only when El Nino comes to the party. He did score goals last season but struggled to cope with various injuries.

He will hope to have better luck with injuries, this time and if he does have an injury-free season, it is possible that Liverpool will regain their Champions League spot. Torres has it in him to produce brilliant and dazzling performances, which would leave the opposition dazed.

Aguably the most clinical and complete strikers in the Premiership, he has all characteristics required of a striker. He has a lot of pace and makes incisive runs at the heart of defence ,making life difficult for all the opposition defenders. 

He had a woeful World Cup personally, even though Spain won the Championship, and will look to regain his best form when he starts for Liverpool in the new no.9 shirt.

Competitors:

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)