Champions Liverpool host Manchester United on Sunday as the Premier League nears its halfway point.
The winners of the match at Anfield will end the weekend at the top of the table in what is proving to be an unpredictable season.
Just 10 points separate the top 10 at present, with the majority of teams now having played 18 or 19 of their 38 matches.
With a good sample size to review, we have highlighted every team’s highest scoring player in the FC Rating system for the 2020/21 season so far.
Premier League: Results and league table
Fernandes and Salah in top five
Two of the five highest-rated Premier League players will be on show at Anfield.
For many it will come as little surprise that Bruno Fernandes is United’s best performing player in the top flight this season.
Fernandes is averaging a 7.4 Rating, with 11 goals, seven assists and three man-of-the-match performances from 17 appearances.
The Portugal international’s average goal contribution per 90 minutes of 1.16 is second only to Harry Kane (1.31), who is Tottenham’s highest-rated player.
Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s top-rated star and he holds a 7.4 Rating like Fernandes and Kane.
Highest rated players in 2020-21
The Liverpool forward is averaging 1.90 shots on target P90, the highest rate among qualifying players.
Salah scored in the FA Cup win over Aston Villa’s youngsters last time out, but has gone three Premier League games without a goal prior to the meeting with United.
Man City star Kevin De Bruyne, who has a league-high 14 Big Chances Created and is averaging 0.63 assists P90, has the same impressive rating as Fernandes, Salah and Kane.
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva, who continued his fine season with a man-of-the-match display in the 1-0 win over Fulham, is his side’s top player on 7.3.
None of those stars, though, come close to Jack Grealish, who is setting the pace this season with his sensational performances for Villa.
Now almost certain to be the subject of big-money offers in the summer, Grealish is averaging 7.8 having scored five goals, racked up seven assists and collected four man-of-the-match awards in only 15 games.
Other top performers
Youri Tielemans was impressive in Leicester’s win over Southampton and he is the top-scoring player for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who have moved up to second.
James Rodriguez has tailed off slightly after his magnificent start to life in the Premier League but is still scoring well for Everton, with James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek faring well for Southampton and West Ham respectively.
Arsenal defender Gabriel has been one of the few transfer success stories for the Gunners over recent seasons.
Best of the rest
Further down the table it is harder for players to stand out with such high scores when their teams are struggling to achieve consistent results, but there are still some strong performers.
Kalvin Phillips’ reputation continues to grow at Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa, while Burnley and England goalkeeper Nick Pope has been kept busy this season.
Pope has five man-of-the-match awards, more than anyone else in the Premier League, while Ethan Ampdau’s form at Sheffield Utd has been of interest to Chelsea fans.
We have only included players who have played at least 900 minutes, the equivalent of 10 full matches.
