De Bruyne to Almiron: The Premier League Team of the Season so far
The World Cup causes a huge divide in the middle of the season, meaning clubs have had to fit in as many games as possible before the tournament begins in November.
With the majority of clubs having played 14 or 15 games, we take a look at who would make the Team of the Season if it were to be voted at the current point in the campaign.
GK - Nick Pope (30, Newcastle United)
Newcastle have the best defensive record in the league with just 11 goals conceded and six clean sheets. A big contributor to that has been Pope, who joined in the summer from relegated Burnley.
The Englishman has made 41 saves so far, and has been reinstated to the national team as a result - with a spot at the World Cup confirmed albeit likely as third choice.
DEF - Kieran Trippier (32, Newcastle United)
Another member of the Newcastle back line, Trippier has been fantastic both offensively and defensively this season. He has scored once and provided three assists while forming a formidable partnership on the right-hand side with Miguel Almiron.
Trippier looks set to start at the World Cup later in November, in part due to the absence of Reece James but also due to his superb form in the opening months of the campaign.
DEF - William Saliba (21, Arsenal)
Arsenal currently sit top of the league and have conceded the joint-fewest goals in the division alongside Newcastle.
Despite signing in 2019, Saliba has had to deal with loans away from the club before finally nailing down his spot in the side. Since the start of this season, he has been arguably the best defender in the league and is a huge factor towards the Gunners' continued success at the top of the table.
DEF - Lisandro Martinez (24, Manchester United)
Martinez joined United in the summer with lots of questions over how he would deal with the physicality of the Premier League, being a central defender but only standing at 5'9". After getting through a tough opening two games, the Argentine has proved doubters wrong and slotted seamlessly into United's back four.
He has formed a good partnership with Raphael Varane (29), while adding a defensive solidity that the Red Devils haven't seen in years - helping them rise up the table in the process.
DEF - Joao Cancelo (28, Manchester City)
There has actually been a lack of consistently high-performing left-backs in the Premier League this season, with Cancelo comfortably above the other players in his position. The Portuguese defender is one of the first names on the team sheet for City and has a huge influence at both ends of the pitch.
While he hasn't yet hit the heights he did last season, Cancelo is still ahead of any other Premier League left-back, particularly with his usual competition such as Andy Robertson (28) and Ben Chilwell (25) barely featuring due to injury.
MID - Miguel Almiron (28, Newcastle United)
While the defensive strength of Newcastle has already been mentioned, Almiron has helped to revolutionise their attack. The Paraguayan just keeps on going from strength to strength, scoring eight times this season including seven in his last seven games.
Despite criticism from fans and fellow pros alike, Almiron looks like a completely different player this campaign. His goals have contributed to the Magpies having the third best attack in the league - scoring a total of 28 times in the 14 matches they have played.
MID - Granit Xhaka (30, Arsenal)
Another polarising player who has had a significant turnaround during the 2022/23 season, Xhaka has gone from hated to loved at the Emirates stadium.
A major part of this has been the huge turnaround in the Swiss midfielder's form, becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Arsenal midfield. Xhaka has started every game and played 1153 minutes from a possible 1170, with the Gunners losing just one game on their rise to the top of the league.
MID - Kevin De Bruyne (31, Manchester City)
The Belgian has the most assists in the league with nine from the opening 13 games, and has again been key to everything that City do.
De Bruyne has formed a formidable partnership with Erling Haaland and is establishing himself as the best midfielder in not only the Premier League but the whole of Europe.
MID - James Maddison (25, Leicester City)
Despite Leicester struggling this season, Maddison has been a shining light for the Foxes. He has six goals and four assists, standing out from the rest of a poor Leicester side. It also puts him right up there with the most goal contributions in the whole division (10), behind only Haaland (21), De Bruyne (12), Harry Kane (12) and Gabriel Jesus (11)
His form has led to a well-overdue England call-up, with Maddison knocking on the door of the national team for some time now.
FWD - Harry Kane (29, Tottenham Hotspur)
In the past, Kane had struggled to make an instant impact on a campaign and would usually grow into it over time, However, this time around he has hit the ground running with 11 goals in 14 games.
With Dejan Kulusevski (22) missing through injury and Son Heung-min (30) not at his usual standards, Kane has spearheaded the Spurs attack and helped to keep them in the top four. His goals would probably have a lot more attention if it wasn't for the last player in the side.
FWD - Erling Haaland (22, Manchester City)
No surprises here, Haaland is the final player to make our Team of the Season so far. The Norwegian has been the standout player in the division, netting an incredible 18 goals in just 12 appearances - including hat-tricks in three consecutive home games.
His goal record takes attention away from the other strikers in the league, many of which have superb records themselves, which just goes to show how well Haaland has taken to the competition.
Honourable mentions
Alisson Becker (30, Liverpool), Ben White (25, Arsenal), James Tarkowski (29, Everton), Sven Botman (22, Newcastle United), Alex Iwobi (26, Everton), Thomas Partey (29, Arsenal), Bruno Guimaraes (24, Newcastle United), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (27, Tottenham Hotspur), Leandro Trossard (27, Brighton), Gabriel Martinelli (21, Arsenal), Aleksandar Mitrovic (28, Fulham), Phil Foden (22, Manchester City), Ivan Toney (26, Brentford).
