With less than 15 games left, the teams in the bottom half will look toward their main men to help them stay and fight for another year in the Premier League. The players below have already shown what they can do in the first half of the season, but its the second half that counts. Goals, assists and even blocks will count, as the Matchday 38 slowly approaches.
The list includes players from all over the football pitch, the players who have managed to shine despite their team lagging behind in the bottom half of the Premier League table, and who will be influential in the second half of the season.
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Here are the top 5 players from the bottom half of the Premier League table:
#5 Oriol Romeu
Following the departure of Victor Wanyama in July for £14 million, Southampton was in desperate need of a defensive midfielder and up stepped Oriol Romeu. Cast off by both Chelsea and Barcelona, he finally arrived at St Mary’s during the 2015/2016 season and has since managed to become a first team player.
This season, however, has seen his value shoot up with brilliant performances during the first half of the season. He played a crucial role in stopping Jürgen Klopp’s team and helped Southampton reach the EFL Cup final. He knew exactly when to drop in to help the back four and when to press to win the ball back. It was the performance that Southampton will need him to repeat on multiple occasions over the coming weeks.
The Spaniard has played all but one game in the Premier League so far and leads the club in tackles, blocks and interceptions.
Romeu has just signed a four and a half year contract keeping him at Southampton till 2021, so he now has a vested interest in making sure that the Saints stay in the Premier League.
#4 Gylfi Sigurdsson
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been instrumental so far for the Swans contributing with 14 goal and assists so far. With another crucial winner against Southampton, the Icelandic international has proven himself despite rumours linking him away from the club. Now with Swansea fighting for a place in the Premier league, Sigurdsson will be the player the entire team will look up to. Despite a few bad performances, he seems to have played through that and now hit a fine vein of form.
Despite playing for a team that’s struggling in the bottom half of the table, Sigurdsson has still managed to rack up stats better than that of Mesut Ozil, world record signing, Paul Pogba, and Eden Hazard.
Critics, fans and the new Swansea manager, Paul Clement, was full of praise for the 27-year-old after the Southampton match, and said, “He is a serious guy, very professional, really works at his game. He spends extra time on the training field, particularly on his finishing and his set-plays, and he’s a very important player for this team.”
#3 Wilfried Zaha
With a month off for the African Cup of Nations, Wilfried Zaha proved influential as he won the man of the match award in the 2-0 win against Bournemouth. The winger has the ability to play either as a standard winger putting dangerous balls in towards Christian Benteke or play behind the tall Belgian striker. Now with Palace languishing 3 points off the bottom, Zaha will have to be at the top of his game and provide Benteke with a lot more support.
He definitely looks 10 times the player he was a few years ago and already has more than double the assists as compared to his previous two seasons. Former teammate Yannick Bolasie has compared to this season’s Zaha to Barcelona’s Neymar, saying, “I do think the penny has dropped for him and, as a player - development-wise, I think with the right coach the guy's got ability of someone like Neymar. I'd go that far.”
All said and done, despite Zaha doing his part scoring and assisting goals, Palace have still gone on to lose but now with Sam Allardyce in as manager, they should have a fighting chance.
#2 Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe may be way past his prime but that certainly doesn’t stop the Englishman from scoring goals at a consistent rate. More than half of Sunderland’s total tally of 20 is because of the veteran striker. While a lot of the goals he scores are from penalties, he has the ability to score in tough games, with a double against Liverpool to give Sunderland the desperately needed point.
However, despite his age, he has shown nothing to suggest his decline and is definitely a player that Sunderland will look up to as they fight for a place in the Premier League. Defoe on the other hand, will want to beat his own personal best record. Current Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said, “He’s a very good striker with a lot of experience and great movement. The ball may well be too far from his position but he is involved and very clever.”
#1 Michail Antonio
With the loss of Dmitri Payet who left for Marseille during the winter transfer window, Michail Antonio will have to step up to the plate and help the Hammers recover. The 26-year-old has had a sensational season so far scoring 8 goals. He has been the standout performer for West Ham after Payet, but now it seems that all the pressure is on him.
Quick, strong and delicate with the ball, Antonio has the ability to do a lot of damage if he’s played as a winger but he’s willing to play where his manager wants him to. His loyalty has been rewarded with West Ham giving him a new 5-year contract, doubling his current wage.
But despite his brilliant performances, maybe it’s a bit much to ask him to replace someone as prolific as Dmitri Payet. However, with Robert Snodgrass arriving, Antonio will have someone who can take the pressure of his shoulders and together they can make Payet seem like a distant memory.
