Top 5 players who need to regain their form

Sometimes even the most elite players go through a rough patch during a season or through entire seasons altogether. It could be wise to give them a break from the starting line-up and remove the spotlight in order to help hem regain their confidence and fitness.

Since the World Cup, many players seem to be going through a rough patch of form. Players like Diego Costa, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane who had really impressive World Cups have not found their feet for their respective clubs.

With the competition in the top 5 leagues heating up, it is time for these 5 players to step up for their respective clubs:

#5 Diego Costa

Costa has found the back of the net just 3 times so far

The Brazil-born Spanish international re-signed for Atletico Madrid in January 2017 from Chelsea and much was expected of him.

He scored 7 goals and assisted another 6 in the second half of last season. After having an above par World Cup with Spain, it was expected much of him and Griezmann to guide Atletico to a title charge this season.

But that has not been the case for both Costa and Atletico Madrid. Costa, having appeared 8 times in the league for Roji Blancos has failed to open his account in the league so far.

Costa's creative play hasn't also been up to mark this season, with just 1 assist and 8 chances created to his name. His poor form has resulted in Atletico not being able to convert the draws into wins and they now have 5 draws and a loss in the opening 11 games.

If Diego Simeone wants to mount a title challenge, he has to drop Costa and start using Gelson Martins or Kalinic to fill the Spaniard's void. Right now, Atletico are 4 points behind league leaders Barcelona and there is still time for them find their groove and win their first league title since 2013/14.

#4 Franck Ribery

Ribery is yet to open his account this season

Franck Ribery has had a decorated career with Bayern Munich, guiding them to a treble in the 2012-13 season to go along with 8 league titles in the process.

Having been at Bayern for the better part of a decade, he has been an ever-present figure for the Bavarian giants. But at 35, he is still starting ahead of the likes of Serge Gnabry, who may be young and still not the finished product, but has shown immense potential for success when given game time.

This season, the Frenchman has appeared 13 times for Bayern in all competitions and has registered only a solitary assist. It is may be time for Niko Kovac to drop the Bavarian legend and give game time to youngsters to prove their worth and potentially save his job.

#3 Aaron Ramsey

Ramsey has fallen out of favour at the Emirates

The Welsh midfielder was arguably Arsenal's best player last season, in what was a disappointing campaign for the Gunners all round.

This season, he started off brightly and was stated by the manager for Ramsey to extend his contract with the Gunners. But it hasn't exactly been the case and looks like he would leave for a free next summer, with Arsenal backing out of contract negotiation.

Last season, he was the sole contributor for Arsenal throughout the season, having been involved in 17 goals (7 goals, 10 assists) in just 24 appearances.

It was only after the arrival of Aubameyang did Arsenal get some boost in the attacking third, but it proved to be too little too late as Arsenal finished 6th in the league and were knocked out by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final.

Although Ramsey was an important figure for Arsenal last season, in the recently concluded game against Liverpool, Arsenal looked much better without the Welshman on the pitch.

Ramsey operates in a No. 10 role for Arsenal nowadays and with Ozil already being a specialist in that role, it seems only better performances could get him to regain his place back in the team.

#2 Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku has been dropped in the last 2 games

When Manchester United signed Romelu Lukaku last season, much was expected of the big Belgian to fill the void left by their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who didn't feature much due to a knee injury.

He did start off brightly, but endured a dry spell in-between, but was again back to his best towards the end of the campaign. Finally, he finished with 27 goals in all competitions for Mourinho's men and was highly praised for his performances.

He was also influential for Belgium in their run at the World Cup, which was cut short by France in the semi-finals. At the beginning of this season, Lukaku started off well, scoring 4 goals in the opening 6 fixtures before enduring a goal drought in the subsequent 8 games.

This dry spell has forced Mourinho to drop his trusted lieutenant in attack and forced Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford to play as the centre-forwards. With Martial firing on all cylinders, Lukaku needs to get his head right and get back to scoring ways.

#1 Karim Benzema

When Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, many expected this as the perfect opportunity for Benzema and Bale to step up and prove that they can still win games without the Portuguese international's presence.

Real Madrid did start off well, with Benzema grabbing 4 goals in 5 games for the Los Blancos. But ever since, he has not contributed much and is going through a rough patch yet again.

Real Madrid brought back Mariano from Lyon this summer to add some depth in their striker position. But the Dominican hasn't featured much and it is time to give the young man games ahead of the French international, who is clearly on a decline.

Santiago Solari, the interim manager right now, needs to drop Benzema and give Mariano a run of games to see what he is capable of, and hope to improve Real Madrid's position.

Edited by Debjyoti Samanta