Welcome to the Sportskeeda Power Ranking of attackers in the Premier League. The ranking is done after every gameweek on a cumulative basis to decipher the final top 10 come May. The main criteria for ranking the players is their contribution to goals, either by scoring them, or creating them which includes deflections and penalties won as well.
When two or more players are involved in an equal number of goals, the type of assist (direct or deflected), the importance of the goal/assist, the consistency in performances and the minutes per goal/assist is considered to rank them.
So, a player scoring/assisting in three consecutive games will have a higher ranking than a player picking the same number of goals/assists in one game and drawing blanks in the rest. Similarly, a player scoring winning goals, having better minutes per goal/assist will occupy a higher position.
Also Read – SK Power Ranking: Top 10 EPL attackers – Gameweek 21
The power rankings further act as a guide for players of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) because the list consists of the most consistent players, as well as relevant statistics for fantasy managers to act upon.
Firstly, the previous Gameweek’s poll on the best attacker for Gameweek 22 saw Harry Kane nab the win with 65% of the votes. His superb hat-trick for Spurs did the trick for him in the end. You can vote for this week’s best attacker at the end of the article.
In Gameweek 22, Liverpool’s title hopes suffered a serious dent as they lost to bottom-dwellers Swansea at home. Manchester City and Tottenham played out an entertaining draw as they dropped points along with Manchester United, who salvaged a point thanks to Wayne Rooney’s record-breaking goal in injury time. Arsenal left it late to secure 3 points and Chelsea extended their lead at the top with a routine win.
A relatively low-key week for the top attackers and yet some interesting changes in the hierarchy took place.
Let us begin by taking a look at a relatively lengthy watchlist for this gameweek.
Watchlist
Adam Lallana
Gameweek 21 ranking – 9th
Lallana has hit a slump in form in recent games and it can be echoed in the team’s results as Liverpool have failed to win in the last 3 games. While the work-rate and creativity are still on display, the end-product has gone missing and it has coincided with a change in position from central midfield to the front three.
Jermain Defoe
Gameweek 21 ranking – 10th
Defoe failed to score for Sunderland as they lost to West Brom on a gameweek where Swansea pulled off a sensational win at Liverpool to move out of the bottom three. Defoe is shouldering the task of preventing Sunderland from getting relegated and when he fails to score, the Black Cats more often than not drop points.
Chris Brunt
Gameweek 21 ranking – N/A
The West Brom player is known to have a sweet left foot and he used it to great effect to score an absolute belter of a goal from the edge of the box that slalomed into the net. The goal brings him to the watchlist for this gameweek.
Raheem Sterling
Gameweek 21 ranking – N/A
The Manchester City winger is having a fine season under Pep Guardiola although the hesitation to shoot still persists, especially with his weaker left foot. The trend continued against Spurs as he preferred not to shoot with his weaker foot. However, he was involved in Kevin de Bruyne’s goal and it was his cross that Hugo Lloris spilled for the Belgian to score.
Mesut Ozil
Gameweek 21 ranking – N/A
The Arsenal playmaker re-enters the ranking in the watchlist with a fine assist for Arsenal’s opener against Burnley, scored by Shkodran Mustafi. He needs to get his consistency back to make it into the top 10.
Andre Gray
Gameweek 21 ranking – N/A
The Burnley forward scored a fine penalty in injury-time against Arsenal to equalize for Burnley and makes his way into the watchlist. Despite the late equalizer, Arsenal managed to scrap a win and Gray’s goal went in vain.
Now, let’s find out the top 10 attackers after Gameweek 22.
#10 Diego Costa
Gameweek 21 ranking – N/A
Match performance – one goal and league’s joint-top scorer
After all the talk about the training bust-up with Antonio Conte and the latter’s explanation that Costa missed last weekend’s game due to injury, the striker was named in the starting XI and all was forgotten. Costa put Chelsea into the lead as normal service resumed at Stamford Bridge.
Costa had another good chance when set up by Cesc Fabregas, but his shot was blocked by the Hull keeper. The goal is sufficient for the league’s joint-top scorer to re-enter the power ranking at 10th place.
Fantasy Tip – Diego Costa has been involved in 6 goals in his last 7 starts for Chelsea.
#9 Olivier Giroud
Gameweek 21 ranking – 7th
Match performance – no goal/assist and end of scoring streak
Olivier Giroud’s four-game scoring streak came to an end against Burnley as he failed to score despite playing for most of the game. Arsenal did manage to win the game, so the Frenchman can breathe easy.
The blank sees him drop to 9th in this week’s power ranking and with Diego Costa breathing down his neck, Giroud needs to step up to prevent further drop in position.
Fantasy Tip – Olivier Giroud has scored in 4 out of the last 5 gameweeks.
#8 Michail Antonio
Gameweek 21 ranking – Watchlist
Match performance – one powerful shot leading to goal and enters top 10
Two players have ensured that West Ham do not miss Dimitri Payet and they are Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio, with the latter in terrific form for the London side. After becoming the first player this season to record 3 assists in a single game, Antonio was involved in a single goal this gameweek against Middlesbrough.
He unleashed a rasping shot from outside of the box that was parried by Victor Valdes into the path of Andy Carroll who quickly buried the ball to score his second goal. The contribution sees Antonio enter the power ranking for the first time and he is bound to become an important player for the Hammers, especially with Payet’s future in limbo.
Fantasy Tip – Michail Antonio has been involved in 4 goals in his last 2 games, but is up against Manchester City and Southampton in the next two games.
#7 Ryan Fraser
Gameweek 21 ranking – 6th
Match performance – no goal/assist and needs to find consistency
The 22 year-old Bournemouth midfielder failed to make a defining impact in his team’s drawn match with Watford. However, his good performances in recent gameweeks hold him in good stead in the power ranking.
Fraser and the no. 6 ranked player have been involved in 7 goals since gameweek 14 and the players in 5th and above have been involved in 10 goals or more in the same period. It is to be observed that the top 5 are carving open a mini-gap and a good amount of consistency will be required to break into the top half from now on.
Fantasy Tip – Ryan Fraser has been involved in 4 goals in the last 4 gameweeks.
#6 Cesc Fabregas
Gameweek 21 ranking – 8th
Match performance – one assist and an impact substitution
Fabregas once again failed to make the starting XI against Hull City and came on as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining. This has been a feature in most games this season and more often than not, he manages to contribute to a goal in that time. That was the case in this game as well.
He floated a delightful ball to the far post from a set-piece which was duly headed in by Gary Cahill to give Chelsea a two-goal cushion. He could have picked up another assist when he released Diego Costa behind Hull's defence but for a good save from the goalkeeper.
Fantasy Tip – Cesc Fabregas has assisted 6 goals in the last 9 gameweeks, more than any other player and despite starting on the bench for 5 of them.
#5 Harry Kane
Gameweek 21 ranking – 5th
Match performance – one assist and an important one
Harry Kane could not continue his fine scoring form against Manchester City after last week’s hat-trick against West Brom. In a match dominated by City in the first-half and then Spurs falling behind by two goals, Kane underlined his impact on the side by picking up a crucial assist.
With 15 minutes to go, Kane played a delightful back-heel pass inside the box to find the onrushing Son Heung-min, who finished coolly to bring Spurs level. Mauricio Pochettino’s side eventually took the point at Etihad and although Kane failed to score, he did have a match-changing impact and that is the hallmark of a top player.
Fantasy Tip – Harry Kane has been involved in 8 goals in the last 5 gameweeks and faces Sunderland and Middlesbrough in the next two fixtures.
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Gameweeks at top – 3
Gameweek 21 ranking – 2nd
Match performance – no goal/assist and a rare off-game
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been one of the most consistent performers along with Alexis Sanchez since gameweek 14 and his blank against Stoke comes as a surprise. Manchester United dominated for large periods of the game after falling behind to a Juan Mata own goal and rescued a point thanks to Wayne Rooney’s record-breaking goal in injury time.
Jose Mourinho’s men are now unbeaten in 13 games in the league and Zlatan has played a pivotal role in that run. He needs to quickly get back among the goals if he needs to reclaim the top spot.
Fantasy Tip – Zlatan is up against Hull and Watford at home in the next 3 gameweeks and given his form this season, he can be expected to score big points in them.
#3 Dele Alli
Gameweek 21 ranking – 4th
Match performance – another header and becoming a clutch player
Dele Alli is slowly but surely turning out to be a top player for Tottenham. After the wonderful assist last week against West Brom, Alli instigated the comeback for Spurs against Manchester City with a well-timed header. Alli was subdued for most of the first-half and started to grow into the game after Pochettino shifted to a back four from a back three.
Alli’s runs and heading ability have seen him score a good number of them in recent weeks and once again he timed his run well to meet a superb cross from Kyle Walker with a slight deflection from Aleksandar Kolarov. The goal started the comeback as Spurs managed to pick a point.
Fantasy Tip – Dele Alli has been involved in a goal/assist in each of his last 6 gameweeks.
#2 Alexis Sanchez
Gameweeks at top – 4
Gameweek 21 ranking – 3rd
Match performance – one Panenka and league’s joint-top goalscorer
If further evidence was needed on the world-class ability and the match-winning potential of Alexis Sanchez, then this match can provide one. After Burnley equalised in injury-time throught a penalty, Arsenal won a penalty deep into injury-time and Sanchez was the one who decided to take it.
He calmly scored a Panenka penalty through the middle to clinch the win for Arsene Wenger’s side. This underlined the Chilean’s ability to hold his nerves in such situations and lifts him to 2nd place in the power ranking.
Fantasy Tip – Alexis Sanchez is the only player to be involved in a goal/assist in 8 of the last 9 gameweeks.
#1 Christian Eriksen
Gameweeks at top – 1
Gameweek 21 ranking – 1st
Match performance – no goal/assist and holding on to top spot
After climbing to the top of the rankings last gameweek, Christian Eriksen drew a blank in this gameweek in Tottenham’s draw at Manchester City. The game saw Spurs falling 2-0 behind before staging a comeback to share the spoils.
However, Eriksen holds on to the top spot this gameweek with his competitors not doing enough to push him out of the top spot. With fixtures against Sunderland and Middlesbrough coming up, the Dane will be licking his paws to strengthen his stay at the top of the rankings.
Fantasy Tip – Christian Eriksen has been involved in a goal/assist in 5 of the last 9 gameweeks and yet sits at the top despite other attackers showing more consistency. This shows he performs once every 2 games for sure and scores big hauls in those games as well.
