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We're halfway through yet another exhilarating Premier League season that's has thrown up its fair share of surprises and upsets.
Liverpool leads the pack at the halfway mark, having dropped only six points so far. Tottenham Hotspur are a surprise entry at second, trailing Klopp's men by six points, with Manchester City and Chelsea rounding off the top 4.
On the other end of the table, only 2 points separate Burnley, Fulham, and Huddersfield in the relegation zone. New boys Wolverhampton Wanderers have settled into the Premier League well, sitting 10th on the table with 26 points.
Unai Emery faced the herculean task of replacing Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, and the Spaniard's intelligent moves in the transfer market and his impressive tactics have taken Arsenal within two points of Chelsea at 4th place.
Chelsea themselves haven't been too bad, apart from recent defeats to Leicester and Wolves. Maurizio Sarri is still getting accustomed to life in England, and the Europa League seems a very attainable target in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City started the season where they left off until three defeats in four matches derailed their title challenge. They find themselves a point below a brilliant Tottenham team that is still yet to draw this term.
We've seen 3 managerial changes. Slavisa Jokanovic has been replaced by Fulham with Leicester City cult hero Claudio Ranieri, and Southampton removed Mark Hughes, roping in eccentric Austrian Ralph Hasenhüttl.
But the most high profile and the most shocking departure of the season is Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese tactician being sacked by Manchester United after an underwhelming start to the season. A 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield was the final nail in his coffin.
Interim boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has made a brilliant start, scoring a total of eight goals in two their wins against Cardiff and Huddersfield. With Chelsea and City slipping up in recent games, the race for the top 4 has come alive in a matter of days.
With only Southampton and West Ham left to play, let's take a look at the best XI of the Premier League after Gameweek 19.
GK: Alisson (Liverpool)
25 matches into his Liverpool career, there really isn't much fault you can find with the Brazilian keeper right now. He's provided a stable, level-headed alternative to Mignolet and Karius, he's good with the ball at his feet, and he leads the Golden Glove charts with 12 clean sheets. That's 4 more than anyone else.
Alisson was Klopp's biggest arrival last summer. He took a gamble in spending £55.5 million and breaking the world record fee for a goalkeeper (albeit only for 3 weeks), but the 26-year-old has managed to solve arguably the biggest issue Liverpool have faced for the better part of a decade.
Rival fans will probably point out his mistakes against Leicester and Manchester United, but let's not forget that he still has plenty of time to improve.
RB: Matt Doherty (Wolves)
The only player in this XI from outside the top 6, Doherty has settled into life in the Premier League remarkably well. In an expensively assembled Wolverhampton squad filled to the brim with Portuguese talent, the Irishman stands out as one of their longest serving players.
Having played every single match so far, Doherty already has an impressive 3 goals and 3 assists. For a team that has scored only 20 goals so far, those are quite some stats.
Defensively, Wolves have conceded only 22 goals, and although the 26-year-old plays as a right wing-back, he's done his job incredibly well. Alexander-Arnold and Walker are other contenders for this position, but Doherty has to be given his due credit for brilliantly adapting to the pace and physicality of the English top flight.
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Perhaps the least surprising selection. Klopp's £75 million gamble has paid off big time for Liverpool. Based on current form, van Dijk is probably the best centre-back in England, and certainly one of the top 3 in Europe. The Reds will definitely be harboring lofty domestic and continental ambitions this season, and if the Dutchman can maintain the level of his performances, they can certainly end their 28-year title drought.
Alongside Alisson, van Dijk will probably go down as one of the best pieces of business Jurgen Klopp has pulled off in his reign at Anfield.
CB: Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Laporte was City's most expensive signing when they bought him for £57 million from Bilbao, and he's proven to be worth every single penny so far.
There are few players immune from Guardiola's notorious rotation policy, and the 24-year-old Frenchman is one of them. He's been rested only once in the league this season and has displayed a maturity that is way beyond his age.
Perhaps most importantly, he's excellent on the ball, which is one of the most important criteria for a Guardiola centre-back. In Laporte and Stones, City have an excellent defensive partnership for several years to come.
LB: Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
It's no coincidence that 3 players from the best defensive team in the division form the back line of this XI. But Andy Robertson's contributions this season go beyond just stopping oppositions from scoring.
The former Hull City man has 3 assists in 17 Premier League appearances this season. Liverpool's current midfield has a distinct lack of creativity, which means that a large burden of creating goalscoring chances falls to their attacking full backs.
Robertson's meteoric rise since arriving at Anfield has even been rewarded by his international manager Alex McLeish, who appointed him as Scotland's captain earlier this year.
CDM: Lucas Torreira (Arsenal)
One of the signings of the summer, Lucas Torreira has become one of Unai Emery's most important players at Arsenal. The Uruguayan took some time to get settled at the Emirates and has made 19 league appearances this season, scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists.
But that's not why Emery made the 22-year-old Arsenal's most expensive signing of the summer. Torreira has added some much-needed bite to the Gunners' midfield, usually alongside Xhaka or Guendouzi. His aggressive and combative style of play is integral to Emery's tactics.
CDM: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Manchester City's over-dependence on Fernandinho was evident in their recent losses to Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Leicester, but the fact that City are still only seven points behind Liverpool is an indicator of how good he's been this season.
The extraordinary ease with which Guardiola coped in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne was a testament to City's incredible squad depth, but the fact is, they don't really have anyone who can fill Fernandinho's shoes right now. The Brazilian will turn 34 next May but has managed to carry on his brilliant form from City's record-breaking 17/18 season.
Guardiola played John Stones in midfield against Palace due to an injury to Fernandinho, an experiment that spectacularly blew up in his face. Pep's first priority in January will have to be a long-term heir in holding midfield to maintain the pressure on high-flying Liverpool.
CAM: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
David Silva has arguably been as good as, if not better than, his Portuguese teammate this season, but Bernardo gets my vote because of how well he has adapted to his new central midfield role.
Silva was a prolific right winger in Leonardo Jardim's 4-4-2 system at Monaco, and he was initially signed to provide quality and squad depth out wide. Thanks to De Bruyne's knee issues this season, Guardiola has shifted him to central midfield, and the 24-year-old has effortlessly filled the Belgian's shoes.
He has 5 goals and 4 assists from 17 starts in the league this season. In fact, he's been so good that he might even keep De Bruyne out of the squad when he returns.
RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Salah has, at times this season, played as a lone striker in Klopp's 4-2-3-1 system, but he still remains one of the best wingers in the Premier League.
A slow start to the campaign led some fans to dub him a 'one season wonder'. However, a hat-trick against high flying Bournemouth and his subsequent return to goalscoring form have dispelled any lingering notions of his 32 goal haul in 17/18 being a flash in the pan.
With 12 goals so far, Salah is level with Harry Kane on second among the league's leading goalscorers. Liverpool's imperious talisman is all set to continue leading the Reds to greater heights.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
The fact that Aubameyang is still Arsenal's first choice striker in spite of Lacazette's return to form speaks volumes about his talent and performances this season.
The Gabon international has 13 goals in 19 appearances, leading the race for the Golden Boot at the halfway mark. He's been incredibly prolific for the Gunners since joining them from Dortmund in January, scoring 25 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions.
The 29-year-old's telepathic partnership with Lacazette gives quite a few options for Unai Emery in the attack, with the Spaniard sometimes playing a modified 4-4-2 with the duo up top. It's no wonder then, that only Man City have more goals than Arsenal this season.
LW: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
It seems hard to believe, but Eden Hazard has elevated his game to another level this season under Maurizio Sarri. The Belgian has been involved in 19 goals in just 15 starts in the league so far.
Even as the rumors linking him with Real Madrid gain traction, Hazard has gone about his job with incredible professionalism. Sarri has adapted his system at Napoli to provide him with more positional freedom on the left wing, from where he scored a hat-trick against Cardiff in September.
The poor form of Morata and Giroud has led Sarri to experiment with Hazard as a false 9, similar to the role Mertens played at Napoli, with Pedro and Willian flanking him. This tactic has been equally devastating, so much so that Sarri is keen to recruit Christian Pulisic in January to allow Hazard to continue playing centrally.
