Midfield
Center-midfield: Ander Herrera – Manchester United
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Manchester United’s slow start to the season continued with a poor 0-0 draw to struggling Burnley at home, though that can be attributed to an inhuman performance put in by their goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
One of the leading lights in this season of gloom, however, has been Spanish midfielder, Ander Herrera. Often overlooked by Louis Van Gaal during his tenure as the Red Devils’ boss, his presence in midfield always seems to up the tempo of United’s play.
Also excellent at making third-man runs into the box, he chips in with the odd goal or two from midfield. Jose Mourinho seems to trust him a lot more and this was repaid with an incredible performance at Anfield, making 11 interceptions, the highest in the Premier League in this season.
Alternative: Leroy Fer (Swansea City)
Center-midfield: Etienne Capoue – Watford
Capoue was bought by Tottenham after some excellent performances for Toulouse led him to be nominated for Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year. Injuries and stiff competition in midfield led to him never establishing himself in the team and being sold to Watford.
However, since then he has upped his performances significantly. He has become a mainstay in the Watford team looking to establish itself as a mid-table Premier League side. He played 33 games last season as Watford finished a respectable 13th and started the current season strongly, already having 4 goals to his name.
Alternative: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Right-wing: Jason Puncheon – Crystal Palace
The speedy winger, under Yannick Bolasie’s shadow last season has come to the fore in this one. A constant attacking outlet for Palace, his pace and trickery are fundamental to their style of play. Also doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the Eagles have struggled these past few games when he has been missing through injury.
Surprisingly (or maybe not), he was the Premier League’s most creative player after 6 games before his injury, creating more chances (22), than Kevin De Bruyne (20), Willian (20), and even the likes of David Silva and Mesut Ozil.
Alternative: Ross Barkley (Everton)
Left-wing: Michail Antonio – West Ham United
A very versatile player, he never gets the spotlight he deserves due to the sheer brilliance of Dimitri Payet. Bought from Nottingham Forest at the start of the 2015-16 season, he was often used to cover at fullback than play at his preferred position on the wings.
He played himself into contention in the team, always putting in a good performance when called up, ending last season with an impressive 9 goals, 8 coming in just 26 league appearances. He has started this season very well, already scoring 5 goals in just 9 appearances, putting him as one of the leading scorers in the league.
Alternative: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City)
Attacking-midfielder: Dusan Tadic – Southampton
Another one of Southampton’s perennially underrated performers, Tadic has been in top form for both club and country this season. Directly involved in ALL of Serbia’s last 10 goals (4 goals, 6 assists), he was also the league’s top chance creator before the 10th round of fixtures began with 27.
Bought from FC Twente for a bargain £11m back in 2014, he always causes problems for opposition teams with his delivery from set-pieces and trickery in wide and central areas. Tadic had an impressive record of 7 goals and 12 assists in just 2293 minutes last season and has similarly started this one on a strong vein of form.
Alternative: Juan Mata (Manchester United)
