LiveScore’s Positional Premier League 2025/26 Player Of The Year: Matheus Nunes edges out Bruno Fernandes in LiveScore's positional matrix

The Premier League season has finally arrived – and so too have LiveScore’s brand new positional rankings for 2026/27.

What exactly are positional rankings, you may ask? Fortunately, we’ve put together a handy explainer article, laying out everything you need to know about our one-of-a-kind statistical matrix.

But if you’re after a quick summary, it’s a unique model that crunches Opta and Twenty3 data across more than 40 individual metrics per position.

Weighting is then given to specific statistics, depending on their significance to each of the eight role in question.

So, for example, a centre-back will primarily be ranked on defending, duels, aerial ability, ball progression and possession, while a winger is largely assessed on attacking threat, dribbling, chance creation and goals / assists.

You can check out the aforementioned explainer for more details, though a real life example is arguably the best way of getting to grips with it all.

With that in mind – and with the PFA Awards on the horizon – we’re winding back the clock to discover LiveScore’s 2025/26 Player of the Year, based on our positional rankings.

Here are the stars who performed best over the campaign, counting down from ten to one…

10. Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest, now Manchester City) – Score: 7.8

Elliot Anderson sealed a £116 million move to Manchester City this summer – and it’s not hard to see why the Citizens were desperate to secure his services.

Registering as a defensive midfielder to secure tenth-place in our rankings, the 23-year-old posted some truly remarkable numbers as Nottingham Forest avoided relegation after a challenging year.

Anderson topped the charts for possession regains in both the middle (154) and defensive (127) thirds of the pitch and even placed a credible seventh for attacking third regains (25)!

James Garner, João Palhinha and João Gomes were the only players to make more tackles than his 104, while his 41 interceptions helped Forest transition from defence to attack throughout 2025/26.

The one-time Newcastle United midfielder was adept at progressing play, too, taking a league-leading 3,300 touches before consistently spraying passes into the final third with aplomb.

9. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – Score: 7.8

Bukayo Saka didn’t quite hit the heights of previous seasons when it came to goal contributions in 2025/26, but he remained a key attacking figure for table-toppers Arsenal.

Sixteen league goals and nine assists in 2023/24 remains the winger’s high-water mark, though he can be content with 12 goal contributions last term (seven goals and five assists) – especially considering injuries limited him to 2225 minutes of action, the lowest of anyone in this list.

The Gunners’ No.7 was a constant threat on the right flank, placing in the top ten for completed take-ons (50) and ranking sixth for chances created with 61.

Of those, 12 registered as Opta-defined big chances, thanks in part to Saka’s outstanding crossing ability.

He completed 40 deliveries over 31 appearances, which was only bettered by eight Premier League players.

And though it’s given less weighting in our positional model, it would be remiss not to mention Saka’s defensive contributions, too.

Nobody in England’s top flight regained the ball more times in the attacking third (27) than the 56-cap international.

8. William Saliba (Arsenal) – Score: 7.8

With the meanest defence in the division, it was always likely that at least one Arsenal centre-back featured in our top ten – and there are actually two who made the cut.

It’s William Saliba who comes in at number eight, after the Frenchman enjoyed a sublime season in N7.

LiveScore’s positional matrix makes allowances for defenders who complete fewer defensive actions, to avoid a bias towards players at lower ranked clubs (who are having to make more interventions under sustained pressure).

Even taking that into account, Saliba performs well for completed clearances (133) and headed clearances (85), while he also won a respectable 73 aerial duels.

Looking at Arsenal’s defence more broadly, the Parisian was part of a rearguard that only allowed 198 shots against them from inside the box all season.

That was the Premier League’s best record for this metric, 66 fewer than second-placed Manchester City.

7. Declan Rice (Arsenal) – Score: 8

Arsenal’s healthy representation in our top-ten list continues with Declan Rice, who actually excelled in two different categories – as both a No.6 (defensive midfielder) and a No.8 (central midfielder).

It’s in the former role that he places seventh, after posting some impressive all-round numbers last season.

Looking at his defensive contributions first and foremost, Rice ranked inside the division’s top 20 players for total tackles (70), as well as regaining possession 97 times in the middle third of the pitch – the seventh-highest figure for that statistic.

The former West Ham man also made a noteworthy 37 interceptions, as he successfully screened an Arsenal back line that conceded just 27 goals across 38 matches.

But he also excelled as a creator – conjured 63 chances, for example, which was the fourth-most in the Premier League.

And only two players (Bruno Fernandes and Rayan Cherki) generated more big chances for their team-mates than Rice’s 17.

A high volume of completed crosses (47) and passes into the final (534) meant he ended the campaign with five assists, to sit alongside his four league goals scored.

6. Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth & Manchester City) – Score: 8

Moving mid-season can often be a challenging prospect, but Antoine Semenyo didn’t let a switch to Manchester City slow him down last term.

The Ghanaian carried his fine form at Bournemouth with him to the Etihad Stadium, registering a total of 17 goals and four assists for both clubs – either side of a £62.5 million transfer.

In fact, that return placed him third in the top scorers list, despite not even being an out-and-out striker.

Falling into our winger category, Semenyo’s 14 open-play goals was actually only bettered by one player in Erling Haaland (24).

The 26-year-old had a devastating impact with the ball at his feet, attempting (133) and completing (59) a particularly high number of take-ons.

Then, when in dangerous areas, he consistently tested the goalkeeper – amassing 41 shots on target, which was the Premier League’s third-highest tally.

5. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – Score: 8

It would have been staggering not to see goal machine Haaland in our top ten, after yet another Golden Boot-winning campaign from Manchester City’s No.9.

Last season was the third time in four years that he claimed that individual award, thanks to 27 strikes in 35 matches.

Terrifyingly, that’s not even the Norwegian's best return in sky blue, having plundered a truly ridiculous 36 goals across 35 league games back in 2022/23.

Haaland’s 2025/26 record still averages out at an impressive 0.82 strikes per 90 minutes, though – and he also excelled at a host of other key metrics for a centre-forward.

Nobody had more shots (126) or shots on target (59), for example, with the 26-year-old’s clinical nature evident from his division-leading 21 big chances scored.

The 6ft 5in striker now has a total of 112 Premier League goals from 132 games. It would be unwise to bet against him adding a significant number to that figure when the new season gets underway.

4. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City) – Score: 8.1

Gianluigi Donnarumma is the only goalkeeper to make LiveScore’s top ten list – outperforming every other custodian over a host of different metrics.

Our goalkeeper matrix focuses on shot-stopping, goals prevented, distribution, clean sheets and errors, with the Italian posting strong numbers across the board following his move from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

His 15 clean sheets was only topped by Arsenal’s David Raya (19), while a record of 78 saves is impressive when you consider he faced a relatively modest 327 shots.

Though not as crucial to our rankings, it’s interesting to note that Donnarumma had the highest passing accuracy of any stopper with 80.32%.

This certainly flies in the face of the concerns that were aired 12 months ago, with suggestions he didn’t have the distribution skills to play Pep Guardiola's brand of football.

Enzo Maresca is in the dugout now, of course – another manager who will appreciate his No.1’s ball-playing attributes.

3. Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) – Score: 8.1

It is testament to Arsenal’s defensive dominance that both their regular centre-backs were among the Premier League’s highest ranking players, though Gabriel Magalhães (8.1) achieved a score of 0.3 more than his team-mate Saliba.

The duo played a relatively similar number of minutes at 2,751 and 2,615, respectively, but Gabriel came out on top for almost every relevant metric – making a greater number of tackles (38 vs 35), interceptions (23 vs 17) and clearances (182 vs 133).

He also completed more headed clearances (124 vs 85) and won more of his aerial duels (62% vs 55%), though it should be noted that Saliba did excel at passing the ball out from the back.

Gabriel’s contributions at the other end of the pitch shouldn’t be ignored, either. He scored three times and chipped in with four assists, playing a part in almost 10% of Arsenal’s 77 league goals.

2. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – Score: 8.3

There will be some eyebrows raised that Bruno Fernandes isn't top of our positional rankings.

After all, the 31-year-old was named FWA Footballer of the Year for 2025/26, following a campaign that saw him carry Manchester United to Champions League qualification and accumulate a remarkable 21 top-flight assists – not to mention nine goals.

Assessed as a No.10, Fernandes embodied the creator-in-chief role at Old Trafford, generating a league-leading 136 chances and 33 Opta-defined big opportunities.

No player attempted to pick the lock quite as often as the Portugal international, ranking first in the division for everything from attempted (39) and completed (15) through-balls to attempted (871) and completed (662) passes into the final third.

Fernandes was a metronomic presence in midfield for the Red Devils, as he enjoyed a truly memorable season in his seventh campaign with the club.

1. Matheus Nunes (Manchester City) – Score: 8.8

Why is Matheus Nunes LiveScore’s 2025/26 Positional Premier League Player of the Year – and why did he score a whole 0.5 points more than any other challenger?

Well, the Manchester City star takes top spot on account of his performances at right-back under Guardiola, despite being a central midfielder by trade.

And his superiority is even more pronounced when compared with other full-backs last term, with a score far higher than second-place Jurriën Timber (7.3).

Full-backs are assessed on a balance of defending, progression, chance creation and attacking output, with Nunes’ multi-faceted skill set ensuring he performed well in all the areas that significantly boost his score.

For example, the 27-year-old was effective defensively, regaining possession a commendable 87 times in the defensive third.

But he was also able to turn those regains into attacking opportunities, completing 600 passes into the final third (the Premier League’s fourth-best record) and contributing five open-play assists.

Nunes consistently found himself on the ball – enjoying a total of 2,886 touches – and emerged as a vital cog in Manchester City’s system.

Though the former Wolves man may not have reached the heights of Fernandes in one specific area, his broader contributions were ultimately the key factor in him taking top spot in our positional rankings.

Who will be our Player of the Year this season? Keep an eye on LiveScore throughout 2026/27 to see who tops our various positional rankings as the campaign progresses.