'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Premier League title race is getting exciting with league leaders Liverpool dropping points in 1-1 draws against Leicester City and more recently against West Ham. To make matters worse, Liverpool are going through an injury crisis with Giorgino Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold all sidelined. Defending champions Manchester City take on Everton tomorrow with the chance to go top of the League on Goal difference. Pep Guardiola will be determined to take advantage of Liverpool's slip up and personnel vulnerabilities while Jurgen Klopp will be desperate to cling on to first place.
Post-January, the Premier League, kicks into its business end, games in February and March bringing in fatigue with the games coming thick and fast, slip-ups, shocks and high-intensity football can be expected from all the sides. Players on this list have largely been consistent throughout the season. Much like the last edition of this article, there are a set of players who will not be in contention of a spot due to their lack of game time. This time around the minimum amount of game time is earmarked at 50% of their respective club's minutes, i.e. approximately 1,125 Minutes. All results are calculated taking certain variables based on the player's individual stats and running them through a special formula, and none of the rankings are based on a player's reputation, only current form and stats from this Season are taken into consideration. So let's jump straight into it then!
#10 Anthony Martial - Score: 23.2 (New entry)
Anthony Martial did not qualify for the last Premier League Player of the Month rankings because he didn't meet the minimum game time requirements. Even this time around, the Frenchman just made the cut having played only 1,209 minutes, which is just above the minimum 1,125 minutes mark.
Martial is in the mix largely because of his 8 goals and 1 assist this Season. The former Monaco player also has a decent 81% successful pass percentage.
#9 Harry Maguire - Score: 24.2 (=1)
Harry Maguire has been one of the better centre-backs in the Premier League. The 6'4" towering defender has made his presence felt in the league and Leicester City are fortunate to have him in their backline. He was #9th position in last month's rankings and his consistency has seen him retain his ranking for this month as well. Maguire has three goals in the league, the highest by any centre-back and is extremely potent at putting an end to attacks, his 101 clearances are a testament to the fact.
The England International definitely has a bright future for both club and country. If Maguire can continuously improve his defensive stats at the same rate and pitch in with the odd goal, he is likely to keep his place in the Premier League player of the month rankings.
#8 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Score: 24.3 (-2)
Aubameyang has been the centre of Arsenal's attack force and with 15 goals and 4 assists, the Gabon International has been the Gunners most potent goal threat. Arsenal's form in the Premier League has been indifferent with 2 losses and 2 wins in their last four games hampering their hopes of a top 4 finish. Inconsistencies seem to have crept in Aubameyang's game as well as he goes from #6th position to #8th place in the Premier League player of the month ranking.
Aubameyang has only scored 1 goal and created another since the last rankings and Unai Emery will want his talisman to be more consistent. If Aubameyang will need to go higher up on this ranking, he will desperately need to work on his passing with a successful pass percentage of only 75.9%. To go with that, he doesn't create enough chances during the game that will make him move higher up the rankings.
#7 Paul Pogba - Score: 24.7 (+3)
Manchester United are unbeaten in ten games under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Paul Pogba has been a huge part of United's incredible run. Pogba has scored 9 goals and assisted 8 this Season, he has been solid in midfield especially with his passing. The Frenchman has created 33 chances this Season with a pass accuracy of 83.9%. Pogba's feud with Jose Mourinho and eventual sidelining all seems like it was years ago and the Frenchman has definitely moved on from that torrid period.
His improved performances have resulted in him going from #10th position to the #6th position in the Premier League player of the month rankings. Pogba is progressing well in these rankings considering he had broken into the top 10 only last month, even United seem to have progressed as they are now only 2 points adrift of the Top 4.
#6 David Silva - Score: 25.4 (-3)
Silva has been in absolute control of Manchester City's midfield and is one of the best players to have signed for Manchester City ever. Silva was one of the early Sheikh Mansoor signings and his transfer to the Club laid the foundation for Manchester City to become the force in English football that they are today. David Silva's form and numbers have dropped and therefore his rank has dropped down three places since the last Premier League Player of the Month rankings.
Silva has registered only one assist since the last rankings and the number of chances created seemed to have also dried up. With Liverpool slipping up Manchester City will be looking to capitalise on the situation and will leave no stone unturned in trying to retain the Premier League trophy. David Silva will need to step up and given his track record in crunch moments, you can expect him to do exactly that.
#5 Raheem Sterling - Score: 25.4 (=)
Raheem Sterling has improved immensely under Pep Guardiola and has gone from strength to strength. It's hard to believe that in an attempt to sign Alexis Sanchez, Man City were ready to trade Sterling for Sanchez. The Irony is that now Arsenal desperately need a winger and they turned down the chance to sign him. Sterling has looked extremely potent on the wing with 10 goals and 8 assists, he has created 48 chances with an 85.8% pass accuracy.
Sterling has scored one and assisted one since the last rankings and the English winger will be looking to improve on that record. He hasn't dropped at all on the Premier League player of the month rankings retaining his 6th place ranking. But you would expect a player of Sterling's quality to finish way higher on this list. With Man City playing some crunch games ahead, Sterling will be looking to take his game up a notch.
#4 Mohamed Salah - Score: 27.9 (=)
Mohamed Salah has to make the list given that he is the top scorer in the league with 16 goals. The Egyptian has been pretty creative this season as well and has contributed with seven assists in the Premier League. Salah can move up the rankings given his significant potency in front of goal and the fact that he has also created 46 chances in the league when only Eden Hazard, David Silva and Raheem Sterling have created more. Where the Egyptian lacks majorly is with his passing accuracy which is at an underwhelming 76%.
Most player's on the list have their passing accuracy in the mid-80s and Salah will be looking to get up there with his competitors. Salah is right up there when we talk about the Premier League best player awards but for now he's ranked at 4th.
#3 Sergio Aguero - Score: 28.4 (+4)
Sergio Aguero is time and again proving his class in the Premier League and is reaffirming his title as a big match player season after season. Whether we talk about his title-winning goal in injury time vs QPR way back in 2012 or a hattrick vs Arsenal to put the title race back on track. Aguero is a big match player and is always dependable in front of goal. The Argentine has scored 14 Goals this season, which is the most by any Manchester City player and the third most in the League.
Aguero has also gone on to create 7 goals for his teammates, taking his total involvement to 21 Goals. Furthermore, the Argentine has improved his passing stats with a successful pass percentage of 85.6% that has seen him astronomically move from #7th place to #3rd in the rankings.
#2 Leroy Sane - Score: 28.6 (=)
Leroy Sane is undoubtedly one of the most talented young players in Europe. The German International arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Schalke in 2016 and has gone from strength to strength in his 3 seasons under Pep Guardiola. Sane has the numbers and the talent to play every game for Manchester City but with Guardiola's tactical changes and the competition amongst the squad is hampering his progress. So much so that Sane played no part in Manchester City's 3-1 win over Arsenal.
Sane still makes #2nd place on the Premier League Player of the month rankings. 8 goals and 9 assists in only 1387 minutes of game time that has given Sane the best goals/assists to minutes ratio in this list. With the fixtures coming thick and fast for Man City, Leroy Sane could very well be Guardiola's trump card in the title race.
#1 Eden Hazard - Score: 29.1 (=)
Eden Hazard had a very underwhelming January in the Premier League which meant Chelsea had an underwhelming run in the Premier League. The Blues dropped 7 points from their 4 games in January and Hazard was largely ineffective in his role as a false nine. Chelsea still managed to hold onto 4th place in the points table courtesy a 5-0 victory against Huddersfield Town and Arsenal's 3-1 loss to Manchester City. Hazard seemed to have returned to his best following a return to his favourite left-wing position.
The Belgian has scored 12 goals and tops the assist charts with 10 to his name, he has scored 2 and has assisted one since the last rankings and in the end, his exemplary performance against Huddersfield was enough to retain the top spot in the Premier League player of the month rankings.
