We’re already one-third of the way through the 2019/20 Premier League season.
That’s gone fast, hasn’t it?
No club will be happier through the opening three months of the campaign than Liverpool, who have established an eight-point advantage at the top of the table.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have won 11 and drawn one of their 12 matches and look primed to end their long wait to win the Premier League.
Leicester City and Chelsea have also been impressive, with both ahead of reigning champions Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United have disappointed, with all three needing to improve if they are to finish in the top four.
Watford, Norwich City and Southampton are the three clubs in the relegation zone.
Stats-based team of the season
The way things are going, there will be many Liverpool players in the 2019/20 PFA Team of the Year.
Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have all been magnificent for the leaders.
But would they get in if the team was based on stats?
WhoScored, one of the most accurate player rating databases, have formulated the best XI through the first 12 gameweeks, and there are a few surprises.
Three Liverpool players make it, one fewer than the number of Man City players.
Virgil van Dijk, who could win the 2019 Ballon d'Or award, doesn’t get in.
Check out the full XI below.
GK | Tim Krul | WhoScored rating: 6.99
Norwich City are bottom of the league and their best player has been their goalkeeper. That’s not good.
Krul saved two penalties against Manchester United and has been a bright spark in an otherwise disappointing campaign.
RB | Ricardo Pereira | 7.62
The 26-year-old right-back has proven to be a real threat for Leicester, scoring two goals for the Foxes.
He edges out Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold, who has a rating of 7.36.
CB | Joel Matip | 7.52
Matip is the Liverpool representative at the heart of the defence, not Van Dijk.
The Cameroonian pips his teammate, whose rating is 7.22.
They’re the best centre-back duo in the league right now.
CB | Willy Boly | 7.35
Wolves’ Boly was really impressive in his first eight league games but a fractured left fibula suffered last month has derailed his season.
It’s a blow to Wolves that the Frenchman will be out for several months.
LB | Andy Robertson | 7.30
Who else?
One goal and four assists in 12 matches is an incredible return for the Liverpool left-back.
RM | Riyad Mahrez | 7.74
Whether it’s been as a starter or from the bench, Mahrez regularly makes an impact for Manchester City.
He’s in the team ahead of teammates Sterling (7.64) and Bernardo Silva (7.57).
Perhaps the Algerian deserves more than the 458 minutes of game time he’s got this season.
CM | Wilfred Ndidi | 7.71
Leicester went from N’Golo Kante to Wilfred Ndidi. That’s impressive recruitment.
The 22-year-old does the dirty work while his teammates grab the headlines.
Ndidi can stake a claim to be the best defensive midfielder in the league, ahead of Liverpool’s Fabinho (7.07 rating).
LM | Kevin De Bruyne | 7.85
Any concerns that De Bruyne may never be the same player after an injury-hit 2018/19 have been erased this season.
The Belgian already has nine assists. That’s more than double the second-best assists tally.
De Bruyne is arguably the best centre-midfielder in the world right now.
RW | Bernardo Silva | 7.57
Silva has had to wait to be a regular in Man City’s starting line-up but it’s been worth the wait.
With five goals and two assists, the Portuguese star is finally getting the credit he deserves.
ST | Tammy Abraham | 7.46
Joining Vardy in attack is Chelsea’s young striker Tammy Abraham.
The 22-year-old has been thrust into the limelight by Frank Lampard and he’s been a revelation, scoring 10 goals in 11 starts.
Chelsea may have their forward for the next decade.
LW | Raheem Sterling | 7.64
Sterling’s development under Pep Guardiola has been obvious and it’s continued in the 2019/20 season.
The England international has contributed with seven goals and an assist in the league.
Sterling is in the form of his life right now.
The full XI:
Notable absentees:
- James Maddison: 7.67
- John McGinn: 7.48
- Sadio Mane: 7.48
- Rodri: 7.47
- Jamie Vardy: 7.43
- Christian Pulisic: 7.42
- Roberto Firmino: 7.42
- Sergio Aguero: 7.40
- Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7.36
- Mohamed Salah: 7.33
- Virgil van Dijk: 7.22
It's quite surprising that more Man City players are included than Liverpool players given how good the Reds have been this year.
But at the end of the day, a Premier League winner's medal will mean so much more to the squad than inclusion in the Team of the Year.