As we enter into game week 13 in the premier league, I just want to look back and assess the past 12 games in the premier league this season. It’s as exciting as ever with City leading the pack with an impressive unbeaten run this season while the other big clubs are also doing their best to catch up with the leaders. As always relegation struggles have already began and big names like West Ham and Everton are in the thick of things at the bottom of the table. We assess each premier league team and how they have fared, their best performances and their best player so far.
AFC Bournemouth
The optimism among the Bournemouth faithful before the start of the season was very high, they secured the signature of premier league veteran Jermaine Defoe and signed
Nathan Ake permanently from Chelsea after he was recalled by parent club, Chelsea after an impressive half season with the Cherries coupled with manager Eddie Howe committing his future to the club. However, that optimism was cut short, Bournemouth had a very slow start to the season with four consecutive losses. Jermaine Defoe has not really given them the spark they need upfront and the team in general has been setup to be conservative especially in defense so the team is almost always focused on defending than scoring. They have however conceded a total of 14 goals and scored 11 goals. Last week’s 4 nil win against Huddersfield was probably their best performance with Callum Wilson stealing the show with a wonderful hat-trick after his return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Best Performance: The four nil win against Huddersfield.
Best Player: Andrew Surman is the star man in midfield and he leads the way in terms of delivery, recoveries and pass distribution in midfield and has two goals to his name.
Arsenal
Arsenal also entered this season in a state of mixed feelings, fans were excited about the club’s purchase of star striker Alexandre Lacazette the feeling around the emirates was lifted after the fans questioned the board’s decision to extend the contract of Arsene Wenger for another two years. After that remarkable opening day win against Leicester, they suffered defeats to Stoke and Liverpool coupled with news about star men Alexis and Ozil refusing to sign new contracts with the former nearly on the verge of joining Manchester City on deadline day. The mood around the emirates then began to waver. They rallied and went on a four game unbeaten run including an impressive performance in a goalless draw with holders Chelsea. Then the loss against Watford caused people to question the board and the mentality of big name stars and the whole playing body.A silky performance against Everton was the response with the Alexis, Lacazzette, Ozil trio starting for the first time this season. Arsenal, as always have defensive issues and Arsene Wenger looks not to have solved the defensive midfield conundrum with Xhaka not actually fitting well into that role. The 3 back system is a step in the right direction but normally leaves full backs Hector Bellerin and Saed Kolasinac exposed most times.
Best Player: There are many contenders for this spot like Saed Kolasinac who has been phenomenal since joining on a bossman from Schalke and Lacazzette who is the clubs top scorer this season. But Nacho Monreal is by far the best player for Arsenal this season. Playing in the back three he has the highest number of tackles and interceptions and behind Xhaka and Kolscielny in the area of passing and clearances respectively. He scored the important equaliser against Everton in a match they won 5-2.
Best Performance: The two nil win against Spurs in match week 12. The fact that they won ugly after everybody virtually ruled them out in the build up to the game.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton have not given a bad account of themselves this season after they earned promoted from the championship to the premier league. After a harsh welcome reality check to the premier league which included loses to Man City on opening day and another loss to Leicester, they began to ease themselves into the league. Chris Houghton’s side after drawing with Watford away from home convincingly beat West Brom at home. Important wins and draws against the mid table teams like struggling West Ham, Everton, Southampton and Swansea coupled with a win against fellow promoted rival, Newcastle have put them comfortably in the top half of the table in ninth and they will definitely be happy with their achievement so far.
Best Player: Pascal Groβ has by far been the best player for Chris Houghton’s men this season. He has been directly involved in 8 of the 13 goals that Brighton have scored so far this season with 5goals and 3assists
Best Performance: The 3 nil win against West Brom at home; that kind of kicked start their season.
Burnley
Burnely are probably the most improved team this season after Manchester City. Sean Dyche and his squad have been impressive enough to earn their manager some solid interest from Everton after Ronald Koeman was sacked. With 6 wins, two losses and 4 draws, Burnely have grinded the results with an unbeaten home record with Turf Moor being a fortress. Results like the win against Chelsea at the bridge on opening day and the draw against Spurs have shown the grit of Sean Dyche’s side which sees them lie in 7th place on the premier league table level on points with Arsenal and Liverpool and only one point behind 4th placed Spurs. The team plays as a defensive unit with Jeff Hendicks, Robbie Brady and Steven Defour giving the team the creative spark when it’s needed.
Best Player: It’s hard to point out the best player for Burnley this season but we could mention names like James Tarkowski, Robbie Brady and Steven Defour have been phenomenal.
Best Performance: The opening day victory against Chelsea at the Stamford Brigde.
Chelsea
The premier league Champions got off to the worst possible start losing at home to Burnley and since then the team has responded fairly well to lift themselves up to 3rd on the table,a point behind Manchester United and nine behind leaders Manchester City. After a run of three straight wins, Chelsea were brought back down to earth by flying Manchester City followed by a loss to struggling Crystal Palace. Word around the bridge was that the dressing room was disorganized as the media began to question a whole lot of issues including Conte’s transfer policies(especially with the sale of Nemanja Matic to rivals Man United) and eventually the big news was that Michael Emenalo, resigned from his post as the club’s Chief transfer negotiator. Four wins have followed including the solid one nil win against rivals Manchester United. Antonio Conte has said that Chelsea have not hit the heights they hit last season because he has tried to tweak and alter formations in certain games.
Best Player: Surely has to be Alvaro Morata who has settled quickly into the the English football set-up. He has been directly involved in 12 goals this season with 8 goals and 4 assists.
Best Perfomance: The one nil win over United was a great performance but that 2-1 win over Spurs at Wembley was exceptional. After losing to Burnley on opening day, they needed to respond positively and they did in that game with Marcos Alonso the star man in that game.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have had a season where every time an adjective comes up to describe their season one word always came up, ‘worst’ and that is enough to explain it. However after the sacking of Frank De Boer and the hiring of former England manager, Roy Hogdson things have become a bit better (at least they have won a game and drawn two). The return of Wilfred Zaha has given the team some life and Roy Hodgson would hope things turn around quickly or else they might find themselves fighting to survive all season long given their prolonged presence at the foot of the table. The wins and draws should begin to trickle in order to keep hopes of staying up alive.
Best Player: Wilfred Zaha definitely. 3 goals including those scored against Chelsea in what was Palace’s first and only win of the season.
Best Performance: That win against Chelsea brought a glimmer of hope and is by far their best performance of the season.
Everton
Everton started the season as the second biggest spenders in the league after city. Ronald Koeman was given the chance and funds to bring in talent he desired to bring the goodison park and that’s exactly what he did. The Everton faithful were excited and talks about Everton breaking into the top four became prominent. However things have not gone according to plan. With only 3 wins in a 12 game run where they have lost 6 matches is a worry and were even wallowing in the relegation zone at some point. Koeman seemed to have drunk too much of the transfer cup and seemed not to know how to manage his team since he had so much options in many positions. Then the improvisations and the playing of players in their wrong position began in a desperate bid for results. The 5-2 loss at home to Arsenal was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Ronald Koeman was sacked and caretaker manager David Unsworth was asked to take temporary charge. They have managed a win and a draw in the three matches he has been in charge and he has stated clearly his intent to keep the job.
Best Player: Outcast striker Oumar Niasse was recalled by the manager (who forced him out of the club, taking even his jersey number and locker from him) and he repaid the faith with 5 goals this season.
Best Performance: At the time, it wasn’t probably their best but given the form City are in now as compared to the form Everton are in now, the 1-1 draw with City is definitely their best.
Huddersfield Town FC
Huddersfield have also not given a bad account of themselves after earning promotion to the premier league for the first time.David Wagner has instilled that German flavor of football into his players; disciplined, defensively solid and not afraid to attack even in games where one would feel as a newly promoted side, they would sit back and defend. Started on a very good note with two wins and a draw and have pushed on nicely in the league with four wins and two draws including that brilliant win over Man United.
Best Player: Aaron Mooy. The former Manchester City player has been at the thick of things in the midfield with his contribution in terms of passing from midfield making him the best passer in the team. His goal against United will forever be remembered by the Huddersfield faithful.
Best Performance: The win against United at home was exceptional.
Leicester City FC
Leicester have had a not so good season with issues about player transfers (especially with Riyad Mahrez and Adrien Silva) and management issues especially with the uncertainty about Craig Shakespeare’s future taking up the post as permanent manager. After a run of three defeats and two draws, Craig Shakespeare was sacked and Claude Puel was hired. Leicester are in a period where they are struggling to come back to their best and players like Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and new signing Vicente Iborra must step up to the task. Claude Puel would look to bring the best out of this squad in the weeks to come.
Best Player: Jamie Vardy deserves a shout after scoring a total of six goals this season but Harry Macguire has been the true best performer for Leicester this season. He has been well composed and marshalled the defense well with age catching up to Wes Morgan and Robert Huth. A threat in set piece situations and a good passer of the ball from defense and rates second only behind Wilfred Ndidi in terms of successful pass completion.
Best Performance: It’s hard to point out a game in which Leicester played very well but you could mention games like the opening day defeat to Arsenal and the defeat to Liverpool. The win against Everton was a solid two nil win in which they fought hard to win.
Liverpool
Liverpool are a team who are managing Champions league football and league football for the first time in some years and they have managed to keep the boat sturdy. Their attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and new signing Mohammed Salah have been mesmerizing on a good day. The defense is however the problem and Jurgen Klopp seems to be in a dilemma about the issue. That’s the story of Liverpool’s season so far, a potent,goal scoring attacking unit and a weak and shaky defense. 24 goals scored and 17 conceeded is a testament to that fact. Losses against fellow big boys City by a five goal margin and the 4-1 loss to Spurs would have kept Klopp thinking but that 4nil thrashing of Arsenal was great to watch.
Best Player: Mo Salah. 9 goals in 12 games makes him the club’s and the league’s top scorer so far.
Best performance: The 4nil win over Arsenal. Liverpool was at their attacking best and more essentially did not concede on the day. They ended up winning over Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and signed him during the international break.
Manchester City
Brilliant, clinical, resolute, scintillating most times and magical. These are but a few adjectives that I can think of but they have been more than a beauty to watch this season. They have the best of everything in the league(goals scored, pass accuracy, total shots on target and clean sheets) hence their position at the summit of the table. Unbeaten so far this season with the only blip the draw against Everton and Pep Guardiola has managed to assemble a squad that are not worried even if a player misses out. Therefore he has the luxury of rotating his squad even in the big games. Concerns about playing both Aguero and Gabriel Jesus together upfront have been put to bed and those about their defensive frailties have been answered. City have been perfect and it’s hard to see who would put up a performance much better than theirs to be able to stop them.
Best Player: Difficult to actually pick one out. Lots of names to mention and lots of performances by different players for the team that is worth mentioning. Aguero, Silva, Gabriel Jesus, De Bryune and Leroy Sane. I will leave you to be the judge.
Best Performance: That 7-2 win over Stoke came in a time where wins like this are rare and we always like to see plenty goals in a match (at least that is why we watch football). The one nil win over rivals Chelsea was actually great to watch and the manner in which De Bruyne smashed in the lone goal just edges it. Winning against a rival by a lone goal which was a pile driver from De Bruyne; how satisfying.
Manchester United
Manchester United are nearly as perfect as neighbors City, except for results like the two loses against Huddersfield and Chelsea. Jose Mourinho has built up a team of steel who have the potency going forward and the speed and trickery in the legs of Martial and Rashford with Lukaku leading the attack.. Major injuries to Pogba and Ibrahimovic have hampered their progress a little (that is probably the difference between United and City; the squad depth). After a run of 7 matches unbeaten, they drew with Liverpool and lost to Huddersfield. Questions began to arise about Mourinho’s approach and the form of players like Lukaku and Mkhitaryan who have both seen dips in form after impressing in the first few games. The return of Paul Pogba brings about a new breath of aura around the dressing room but Mourinho would have to keep on winning to close the gap on City.
Best Player: Despite his recent form Lukaku has been the best player for United with 8 goals.
Best Performance: Against Spurs Mourinho got the sweetest of victories after Martial slotted past Lloris in a very cagey match that saw them earn all 3 points.
Newcastle United
Raphael Benitez steered Newcastle back into the premier league after deciding to stay on when they were relegated.And given the emergence of a lot of off field issues concerning owner Mike Ashley and some management members, Benitez has managed to steer the ship in a sturdy direction. Four wins, 6 losses and two draws not a bad record after 12 games. Ater two losses on the trot in the first two games, they responded with a magnificent win over Newcastle which sparked a run of three victories on the bounce. Lately with tree losses on the bounce, Newcastle and Benitez are off colour with the recent 4-1 loss to United a major setback.
Best Player: Matt Ritchie has been phenomenal in midfield and makes the team tick whenever he is up for it.
Best Performance: The three nil win against West Ham for the sweetest victory one could get after losing two on the trot.
Southampton
Southampton are a team still handling the change in management from the hands of Claude Puel into the Mauricio Pelligrino era. Tactical disciplinarian and lover of the Spanish flair of playing football, Pelligrino has tried to imprint this into the players and many have questioned his handling of the Virgil Van Dijk saga and asked him to field the player since his team is in dire need of defensive experience. With only three wins and five loses, there is definitely a defensive problem and Pelligrino needs to restore that into his team.
Best Player: Oriel Romeu is a bright spot in the midst of the dark and has taken up the defensive midfield role and made it his own. He leads the way in interceptions, aerial duels won, tackles and has the most successful pass rate.
Best Performance: Probably the one nil win over West Brom in which Sofiane Boufal scored that splendid solo goal.
Stoke City
Stoke no longer play the negative football they are characterized with and Mark Hughes has invested in real attacking talent coupled with midfield experience. The purchase of Jese and Fletcher is a real statement of intent and it has in many aspects paid off. However they have endured difficult times with only 3 wins and five loses including the demoralizing 7-2 loss to Manchester City. It’s difficult for a team like Stoke, who were once labeled as a team that played negative football to transition into the new style Mark Hughes is directing them towards.
Best Player: Eric Maxim Choupo Moting. Involved in 6 goals this season, including his header against United that earned them a draw.
Best Performance: The one nil win over Arsenal was great but it definitely has to be the 2 all draw with united. Stoke showed real character to grind results from that game.
Swansea City
Back to factory reset for Swansea and they are wallowing in the bottom of the table bracing themselves for a real relegation fight all season. Paul Clement has not been in the news recently regarding him losing his job but Swansea at this rate will soon be forced to kick him out. Just two wins from 12 games, 8 loses and 2 draws Swansea are second bottom with 8 points and have not won any of their last four games. Paul Clement needs to find some inspiration from somewhere to motivate his boys.
Best Player: Youngster Tammy Abraham, on loan from Chelsea is their best player so far with his involvement in a total of 5 goals this season (4goals and an assist).
Best Performance: For Swansea to go to the Wembley stadium and not concede against the Spurs attack, it’s a marvelous feat and that display of defensive shrewdness is their best this season.
Tottenham Hotspurs
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have played some of their best football this season. Harry Kane, Son, Vertonghen, Cristian Ericsson, Hugo Lloris and full backs Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies have been a joy to watch. Fearless, relentless and resolute, the Spurs team are no push overs and Pochettino has given the players some amount of confidence and the players play on the pitch with such confidence. After the dramatic loss to Chelsea, they put together a run of 7 games unbeaten including that superb performance against Liverpool. Harry Kane has been the goal getter, banging in the goals and anytime he doesn’t play or come to the party, like in last week’s derby day loss to Arsenal, the team suffers. Pochettino would have to place some faith in summer signing Llorente and Son a little bit more going forward.
Best Player: All hands might point to Harry Kane but Jan Vertonghen is their best player so far. Good, solid defender who is not afraid to enter into a tackle hence, he is Spurs top guy in terms of tackles, interceptions, clearances, aerial duels won and has the highest pass delivery rate.
Best Performance: Harry Kane’s show against Liverpool in the 4-1 drubbing of Liverpool at Wembley.
Watford
Watford have been very impressive so far this season. Marco Silva deserves the plaudits for how he has taken this Watford team and made them into a solid unit. After drawing with Liverpool on opening day, a four game run followed before the 6nil loss to City. However, players like new signing Richarlison, Doucoure andCleverly have been phenomenal.
Best Player: Richarlison. The sensation of the season with 5 goals and two assists.
Best Performance: The opening day draw with Liverpool was awesome but it surely has to be the 2-1 win over Arsenal at home.
West Bromwich Albion
West Brom have not won a game since match day 2 and have lost four matches on the trot in the last four games resulting in Tony Pulis losing his job as manager at the Hawthorns. The losses were deemed unacceptable by the board and Pulis had to go. After the board finally decided to invest in transfers in a summer that saw Jay Rodriguez, Kieran Gibbs, Grzegorz Krychowiak and veteran Gareth Barry join the club. West Brom has had a laboring 10 game run in which their best has been to gather just six points.
Best Player: Can’t really point one out. You tell me.
Best Performance: The opening day win over Bournemouth
West Ham
West Ham started the season with Slaven Bilic and have parted ways with him after a season blighted with poor performances. West Ham have won only 2 matches in 12 and have hired David Moyes to mob up the dirt. West Ham have conceded a total of 25 goals this season scoring only 11 and that is heart wrenching and frightening for David Moyes. Chicarito, Andy Carroll And Andre Ayew have been out of sorts and the defence, almost always leaves Joe Hart open. David Moyes must turn things around quickly else they would be sucked into the relegation battle as they are already in 18th position.
Best Player: The experience of Pablo Zabaleta has been a great influence on this West Ham team and his contribution to the game has been immense and his desire and hunger unquestionable. It’s rather unfortunate he is on the losing side most times.
Best Performance: The win against Huddersfield was probably their best since they managed to score twice and not concede.
The Green Turf 
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