Gameweek 16 saw the 20 Premier League teams take part in mid-week action for the first time this season. A total of 21 goals were scored in Gameweek 16 including a rare hat-trick in what proved to be a good night for attackers.
Also read: Power Ranking: Top 10 EPL attackers - Gameweek 15
With some new entrants into the list, let us first take a look at the waitlist for this Gameweek.
Watch-list
Christian Benteke
Gameweek 15 ranking – 5th
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The Palace striker’s goalscoring run ended in a loss to Manchester United and he finds himself out of the top 10.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Gameweek 15 ranking – 6th
It was a night to forget for the Englishman as Arsenal lost to Everton and Chamberlain failed to make any meaningful impact on the game.
Salomon Rondon
Gameweek 15 ranking – N/A
The West Brom striker scored a 13-minute hat-trick against Swansea, thereby becoming the 2nd player since Everton’s Duncan Ferguson in 1997 to score all three goals with the head. The performance earns Rondon a spot on the watch-list.
Jamie Vardy
Gameweek 15 ranking – 8th
The Leicester striker could not add to his stunning hat-trick against Manchester City as Leicester slumped to a loss against Bournemouth.
Now, without further ado, let’s delve into the top 10 attackers in the league after Gameweek 16.
#10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Gameweek 15 ranking – N/A
Match performance – one assisted assist and the match winner
The self-proclaimed “God of Manchester” makes his entry into the power rankings for the first time. Zlatan was involved in both the goals for Manchester United against Crystal Palace underlying his impact to the side. His chested ball from Juan Mata’s set-piece delivery was deflected into Paul Pogba’s path for United’s opener.
After Palace equalised, United found the match-winning goal from a Pogba pass that Zlatan picked up with a well-timed run and a superb finish to hand Jose Mourinho the victory and in the process, start his climb up the power rankings.
#9 Mesut Ozil
Gameweek 15 ranking – 4th
Match performance – missed chances and first loss since opening day
The mean streak Mesut Ozil has exhibited in the past couple of Gameweeks in front of goal came to an end against Everton. Further, the missed chances in either half were reminiscent of the Ozil of old who struggled in front of goal. He should have definitely put Arsenal in front in the second-half when Alexis Sanchez squared the ball to him inside the box. However, he blasted the ball over missing a glorious chance.
A worrying factor for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger would be the assists laid by the German this season. So far, Ozil has only two assists to his name and while his goal tally has improved this season, Wenger would definitely love to see the 28-year old rediscover his form of last season where he assisted a season-record nineteen goals.
#8 Diego Costa
Gameweek 15 ranking – 3rd
Match performance – A rare blank
Diego Costa had one of those rare off days in what is turning out to be his best season in England. The striker once again put in a shift, constantly troubling the Sunderland defence and proving to be a thorn in David Moyes’ side.
However, he could not find the back of the net in spite of having good opportunities, especially from Marcos Alonso’s cross in the first-half where he entered late into the box with no Sunderland player tracking him. Antonio Conte will, however, be pleased with his striker’s performance and Costa will look to climb the rankings in the coming weeks.
#7 Cesc Fabregas
Gameweek 15 ranking – N/A
Match performance – one goal and nailing first-team spot
The former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder was unable to dislodge Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante from Chelsea’s midfield and had to endure a spell on the sidelines. However, when provided with opportunities in the last few weeks, he has put on classy performances.
Fabregas’ exquisite long ball led to the equaliser against Manchester City before he assisted Costa’s goal in last week’s win against West Brom. He went one step further against Sunderland by making a good run towards goal, exchanging passes with Willian and calmly placing the ball in the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box.
The goal turned out to be the winner and Matic now has a task on his hands as the Spaniard’s performances in the first team will make him hard to be benched.
#6 Sadio Mane
Gameweek 15 ranking – 2nd
Match performance – missed end-product
Sadio Mane dropped four places to 6th this Gameweek as he failed to register a goal or assist in Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Middlesbrough in spite of being involved in all the goals. Mane spotted Clyne’s run that led to the first goal before he was fouled in the build-up to the second and third goals.
Further, Mane could have had a hat-trick as he missed a plethora of chances. He hit the post in the dying minutes of the first-half before missing chances to score in the second-half. His contributions notwithstanding, Mane was much more deadly before the international break. Hopefully, he can sign off with a bang in the upcoming matches before heading out for the African Cup of Nations.
#5 Divock Origi
Gameweek 15 ranking – 10th
Match performance – one goal, one assist and finally realising his potential
While team-mates and results have taken full attention of the media and supporters, Divock Origi has been effectively chipping in since he came on as a substitute against Sunderland. Since then he has scored in every league game so far and also picked up an assist against Middlesbrough for his efforts.
Origi led the line admirably and calmly slotted the ball home from Adam Lallana’s pass on the hour mark. He turned provider a few minutes later as he picked out Lallana’s late run into the box for Liverpool’s third, securing three points. The consistency with which the Belgian is performing belies his age and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping for more of the same from the 21-year old.
#4 Chris Brunt
Gameweek 15 ranking – Watch-list
Match performance – two assists and Baggies’ provider-in-chief
After drawing a blank last week against Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion’s chief creator was at it again this Gameweek against Swansea as he assisted two of the three goals scored by Salomon Rondon to make a comeback into the top 10 list.
Brunt delivered two fantastic crosses from the left wing that found Rondon’s head. The pace and the accuracy of the deliveries were perfect and Brunt picked up two assists as he finds form after a slow start to the season.
#3 Adam Lallana
Gameweek 15 ranking – N/A
Match performance – two goals, one assist and Liverpool’s most improved player
The Englishman makes a direct entry into the top 3 of the power rankings with a Man of the Match performance against Middlesbrough to add to his goal from the previous Gameweek against West Ham. Lallana has finally added an end-product to his flair and work-rate making him the perfect Klopp player and the results are there for all to see.
Lallana made a great run into the box to head home Nathaniel Clyne’s beautiful cross at the far post. The Englishman turned on the screw in the second-half as he made another trademark run to receive the ball and put it on a plate for Origi to score Liverpool’s second. Origi returned the favour for Lallana’s second as the latter made a late run into the box with a lot of space to thump the ball past Victor Valdes. This was a complete performance from Lallana and he is the most improved player at Liverpool.
#2 Christian Eriksen
Gameweek 15 ranking – Watch-list
Match performance – two goals, one goal-post assist and a top performance
Christian Eriksen scored his second brace in three games to march up to 2nd in the rankings. In what was an outstanding display as Spurs beat Hull 3-0, he was involved in all three goals, scoring two and helping Victor Wanyama score one.
The Dane scored his first after Danny Rose drove into the box and found Eriksen, who arrived late, to receive the pass. He then scored his second by being at the right place, this time at the far post to meet Kyle Walker’s driven pass across goal.
He aided the third goal when his sumptuous free-kick was pushed away onto the post by the keeper, only to fall in the path of Wanyama to bury it into the net. A top-notch performance from Spurs’ chief wizard.
#1 Alexis Sanchez
Gameweek 15 ranking – 1st
Match performance – one free-kick and Merseyside Blues
There has been a lot of chatter on whether Sanchez needs a rest given the number of matches he has played this season and also due to the shift he puts in every time he is on the pitch. A tough away match against Everton was definitely not the game to rest and Arsene Wenger got that part right.
Sanchez responded by scoring the opener and the only goal for Arsenal with a deflected free-kick that found its way into the goal after meeting Ashley Williams’ foot on the way and changing its course to confound Everton keeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
He should have picked up an assist in the second-half when Ozil missed a decent chance to score. The goal takes Sanchez’s tally to twelve goals for the season and he keeps his number one spot for another Gameweek.
