The Betting.Betfair Premier League XI: We pick the finest performers in the top-flight so far

7Jan 2013

Premier League

A breathless Premier League season took  a brief pause this weekend as the FA Cup took centre stage so what better time to reflect on the first 20-odd games and pick our current finest XI?  Armed with the memories of many hundreds of minutes sat watching top-flight football in Betfair towers, here is our team of the season so far (playing traditional 4-4-2 for simplicity's sake).

 

Goalkeeper: Simon Mignolet

The season hasn't quite gone to plan for Martin O'Neill at Sunderland but how bad would it have been without Mignolet betwixt the sticks? Part of the burgeoning ranks of brilliant Belgians in the Premier League, the 24-year-old has made more saves than any other keeper in the top-flight but has still helped his team to seven clean sheets in 21 games. True, Sunderland have conceded plenty but it's rarely Mignolet's fault when the Black Cats are on the wrong end of a drubbing. The Black Cats are 7.0 to finish in the top 10, but with the back four improving, the team coming together and Mignolet in the no.1 shirt, that could make for a tasty trade in coming weeks.

 

Left-back: Leighton Baines

Leighton John Baines is getting on for nearly a decade in top-flight football and he seems to get better with every season, arguably playing his best football ever this season. A huge danger both from deadball situations and with the ball at his feet in the opposition half, the marauding Baines has a contender for finest left foot in the Prem - witness that freekick at St James' Park - and must be a genuine danger to Ashley Cole's hold on the England leftback position. This Everton team deserves a trophy and the FA Cup could be the one, they are 13.0 to do so. One last thing in Baines' favour - the finest sideburns in English football.

 

Centre-back: Branislav Ivanovic

Defensive partners have come and gone and come back again but big Branislav just gets on with it, missing just one game so far, scoring four goals and keeping eight clean sheets in what has been a surprisingly effective back four. The Serbian can play right as well as central. Handy.

 

Centre-back: Ryan Shawcross

Stoke boast the league's best defence and Shawcross is a vital part of that unit. Arsenal and Spurs have both drawn blanks on Ryan's watch as have a host of mid-ranking Premier League sides. Stoke have conceded three goals in each of their last three games (Shawcross missing one through suspension) so have they lost their mojo? We'll see...

 

Right-back: Pablo Zabaleta

An unheralded figure among City's starry lineup - the £6.45m signing from Espanyol has been one of the steadiest figures in the champions' team this year. Solid at the back and a threat upfront, Zabaleta stands out among a generally uninspiring bunch in the Premier League this year.

 

Right-wing: Juan Mata

Yes, he is left-footed but the right isn't too bad is it?! Though not part of the John Terry-Frank Lampard-Ashley Cole axis at Stamford Bridge, Mata is already one of the older heads at Chelsea and is perhaps the Blues' key man. A scorer of 13 goals in all competitions, the Spaniard has seven in the league - the same number as Fernando Torres but almost certainly scored from a tenth of the chances - and will be one of the driving forces behind Chelsea's pursuit of Champions League football.

 

Centre-mid: Marouane Fellaini

The second Belgian in our team, Fellaini has been unplayable at times mixing it between midfield and attack for Everton this year. Blending power and skill, Fellaini has scored eight goals in the Premier League so far, comfortable outdoing his team-mates at Goodison Park despite serving a three match suspension for a disgraceful bit of thuggery ,when headbutting BB XI colleague Ryan Shawcross.

 

Centre-mid: Sandro

Spurs fans love Sandro and the Brazilian has undoubtedly played a huge role in their climb to third place at the mid-point of the season. Far more mobile than you'd suspect for a man of his size, the 23-year-old is a fine tackler but also possesses decent speed, a killer pass and a thumping shot. If Spurs are to hold on to their top four position - and they are 2.1 to do so - Sandro will be a key part of that achievement.

 

Left-wing: Gareth Bale

Even the most one-eyed of Cheslea, Arsenal or West Ham fan would admit that no left-sided midfielder can touch Bale this season. For our money, Bale is the sort of force who could have carried a team to a title win in an earlier era. There'll be no title celebrations at Spurs this year, but he could well be lifting an FA Cup or Europa League trophy in late spring. He may well move on in the summer, and trust us you'll miss him when he's gone.

 

Striker: Luis Suarez

Depleted resources at Liverpool seem to have brought out the best in Suarez. With Andy Carroll loaned to West Ham, new manager Brendan Rodgers has kept it simple in attack playing the one recognised striker on the books. And Suarez has taken it all in his stride, doing the simple and the magnificent week in, week out. Fifteen goals so far suggest he can finally match the scoring rate of his Ajax days provided the arrival of Daniel Sturridge does not cause any upheaval in the striking ranks at Anfield.

 

Striker: Robin van Persie

Simply in a class of his own in the Premier League. Manchester United may have weaknesses elsewhere on the pitch but the acquisition of van Persie makes it all immaterial. The Reds have racked up an astonishing 54 goals in 21 games in England's top-flight with RvP scoring 16 of them. They may get found out in Europe but, while van Persie stays free of injury, they surely can't be caught in the Premier League. Even at odds of 1.36 United seem a decent investment for another title.

 

Benchwarmers: Begovic, Olsson, Vertonghen, Michu, Lennon, Carrick, Ba

 

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Keywords: Betfair, Premier League

Source: Betfair

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