The PFA Awards are just around the corner – and we’re revealing our own top performers in the build-up to Tuesday’s ceremony.
Last week saw the launch of LiveScore’s brand-new Positional Rankings, which use Opta and Twenty3 data to rate players’ performances across eight distinct positions.
Our matrix crunches over 40 individual metrics per role, with weighting given to the most relevant statistics and various adjustments made for team playing style and minutes on the pitch.
You’ll then be able to track which Premier League stars are topping the charts in each positional category as the 2026/27 campaign progresses.
Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, we’ve put together a useful explainer article that breaks down everything you need to know about LiveScore’s one-of-a-kind rankings system.
And to demonstrate how the matrix assessed last year’s best performers, here’s our Team of the Season for 2025/26 – with each inclusion receiving a score out of ten.
Keep an eye on the PFA Awards tomorrow night, to see how many top-flight players made it into both XIs…
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City) – 8.1
There will be surprise in some quarters that our model placed Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma atop the goalkeeper rankings.
After all, Arsenal stopper David Raya registered more clean sheets (19 vs 15) and conceded fewer times (26 vs 29) than the Italian custodian.
Even allowing for Donnarumma playing three fewer matches, the aforementioned statistics still come out in Raya’s favour on a per 90 basis – but LiveScore’s positional rankings system attempts to add nuance to those top-line metrics.
We look at everything from shot-stopping and goals prevented to distribution and errors made.
City’s No.1 made more saves per 90 (2.29 vs 1.62) despite only facing marginally more shots, for example, giving him an impressive save percentage of 70.91%.
Only Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen could better that figure (71.14%), though Donnarumma excelled versus the 24-year-old in other areas.
All in all, the Citizens’ stopper ended the season a whole 0.6 points ahead of Raya (7.5), with Verbruggen down in fourth (6.9) below third-place Jordan Pickford (7.2).
Manchester United’s Senne Lammens completed the top five with a LiveScore rating of 6.5.
Right-back: Matheus Nunes (Manchester City) – 8.8
Matheus Nunes wasn’t just the best right-back in 2025/26 – he achieved the highest score of any player in England’s top tier.
That was by some distance, too, with a figure of 8.8 notably higher than joint runners-up Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Magalhães (both 8.3).
Converted from a central midfielder to a right-sided defender by Pep Guardiola, the former Wolves man’s multi-faceted skill set goes a long way towards explaining his league-leading rating.
Full-backs are primarily assessed on a combination of defending, ball progression, chance creation and attacking output in our model, with Nunes making consistent contributions at both ends of the pitch.
He was outstanding at regaining possession in defensive positions, but also highly effective at playing accurate balls into offensive areas – completing a sky-high 600 passes into the final third over 34 league matches.
Left-back: Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City) – 7.2
Left-sided defenders didn’t quite hit the same heights as their right-sided counterparts in 2025/26, with Nunes (8.8) and Jurriën Timber (7.3) ranking first and second in the full-back category.
Manchester City left-back Nico O'Reilly (7.2) wasn’t far behind, though, following a campaign that saw him earn a starting berth for England at the 2026 World Cup.
Five league goals and three assists is certainly a respectable tally from a defensive player, but the 21-year-old also caught the eye with his tough tackling – making a commendable 68 challenges throughout the season.
He was a difficult defender to bypass, blocking 41 attempted passes from opposition players as the Citizens kept ten clean sheets during the 34 matches he was on the pitch.
Confident in possession and a solid aerial presence at 6ft 4in, there is surely more to come from one of City’s hottest prospects in 2026/27 and beyond.
Centre-back: Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) – 8.3
Gabriel was the highest-rated central defender in our positional rankings (8.3), which won’t shock anyone who witnessed the Brazilian’s colossal rearguard displays last term.
He was a pivotal figure as the Gunners conceded just 27 times in the league – a whole eight goals fewer than runners-up for that metric Manchester City (35).
Not many opposition attackers got the better of Gabriel in the air, as he won 99 of his 159 aerial duels and completed a commendable 124 headed clearances.
Meanwhile, a record of 182 overall clearances highlights how he was equally adept at dispossessing attackers when the ball was on the ground.
The São Paulo native also contributed three goals and four assists at the other end of the pitch, helping Arsenal to claim top spot for the first time since 2003/04.
Centre-back: William Saliba (Arsenal) – 7.8
It is a reflection of Arsenal’s defensive dominance that both the top two players in LiveScore’s centre-back rankings play at the Emirates Stadium.
William Saliba couldn’t quite match Gabriel’s numbers, but he still edged ahead of Marc Guéhi (7.6), Virgil van Dijk (7.5) and Jan Paul van Hecke (6.9) who rounded off the top five.
Defending, duels, aerial ability, ball progression and possession are the primary attributes for assessing central defenders in our matrix – and it is with the ball at his feet that the France international shone.
He had the fifth-highest passing accuracy in the Premier League with 92.87% after completing 1,954 passes over 2,613 minutes of action.
It would be unfair to ignore his defensive qualities, though. The 25-year-old still registered a credible 133 clearances and 85 headed clearances, in a team that had the league’s fourth-highest possession percentage (56.16%).
Midfielder (No.6): Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest, now Manchester City) – 7.8
Elliot Anderson’s statistics were simply sublime last season – both defensively and in attacking areas.
We’ve broken down midfielders into three roles for LiveScore’s matrix – No.6 (defensive midfield), No.8 (central midfield) and No.10 (attacking midfield) – with the former Nottingham Forest star performing best in the first of those categories.
Defensively, he made the fourth-most tackles in the Premier League (104) and regained possession more times in the defensive (127) and middle (154) thirds than any other player.
That would be impressive enough, but he also turned defence into attack with alarming regularity by completing a notable 582 passes into the final third and 51 crosses.
Midfielder (No.8): Declan Rice (Arsenal) – 7.8
Declan Rice is included in our Team of the Season as a No.8 (7.8), though he actually topped the charts as a No.6, too – posting a score of 8 when assessed on an alternative set of metrics.
Let’s focus on his primary skill set, though, with all-round involvement, progression, creativity, defensive work and output the main criteria for an out-and-out central midfielder.
Rice produced all of those in abundance during 2025/26, completing the seventh-most middle third regains (97) then creating 63 chances and 17 Opta-defined big opportunities.
Those latter two figures ranked fourth and third in the division, respectively, with the 27-year-old also placing in the top ten for a host of other relevant statistics.
It’s fair to say that Rice is looking worth every penny of the £105 million Arsenal paid West Ham United for his services back in 2023.
Midfielder (No.10): Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 8.3
Fernandes’ inclusion as our No.10 would probably have been on most people’s bingo cards, following a campaign in which he contributed an eye-watering 21 assists – nine more than any other Premier League player.
That contribution mirrors what LiveScore’s matrix is looking for in an attacking midfielder, with a particular focus on chance creation, attacking progression, creativity and goal contributions.
Nine top-flight goals took Fernandes’ goal contributions to a healthy total of 30, while nobody was able to better his 136 chances and 33 big chances created.
Throw in the fact he completed more final third passes and through balls than anyone else – as well as pepping opposition goals with 85 shots – and it’s evident just how influential the Portuguese playermaker was for Manchester United.
Right-winger: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 7.8
Curiously, wide players didn’t score as highly as many other positions when our matrix analysed the numbers from across 2025/26.
Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo came fifth with just 6.1, for example, with his team-mate Matheus Cunha (6.8) and Fulham goal machine Harry Wilson (7.0) just above in fourth and third, respectively.
However, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka was some way ahead of the chasing pack, with his 7.8 score enough to make him the highest-ranked right winger.
Seven league goals and five assists are tallies that don’t immediately catch the eye, but those statistics don’t necessarily tell the whole story.
Saka created the sixth-most chances in England’s top tier last term (61) and placed in the top ten for both completed take-ons (50) and completed crosses (40).
He may not always have provided the end product we’re used to, but the 24-year-old was one of the key attacking figures in Arsenal’s title triumph.
Left-winger: Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth & Manchester City) – 8
Antoine Semenyo was the highest scoring winger in LiveScore’s positional rankings, with his early-season form for Bournemouth prompting Manchester City to sign him for £62.5 million in January.
Attacking threat, dribbling, chance creation and goals / assists are the primary attributes we’re looking for in a wide forward – and there is little doubt that the Ghana international fulfils that criteria.
His scoring record certainly can’t be argued with, having netted a total 17 times for both clubs and contributed a further four assists.
And the 26-year-old performs particularly well when it comes to dribbling, with the fourth-most attempted take-ons (133) and the third best completion figure (59).
But there is an all-round aspect to his game that shouldn’t be overlooked. Though less relevant to our winger rankings, he won the ball back 24 times in the attacking third last term – enough to place him in the top ten players for that statistic.
Centre-forward: Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 8
What Team of the Season would be complete without goalscoring extraordinaire Erling Haaland?
Manchester City’s No.9 is the undisputed top marksman in the Premier League, having scored 27 goals in 35 games to claim last year’s Golden Boot.
It was the third time he secured that honour since arriving in England in 2022 – and 2025/26 was the fourth season in a row that he breached the 20-goal mark.
Haaland’s numbers largely speak for themselves, but it is worth noting that our positional matrix doesn’t only reward strikers for their scoring record.
Finishing, chance quality, link-up play and sustained attacking output are all factored into the equation, though the Norwegian largely performs well across those categories.
No player could better his number of shots (126) or shots on target (59), which resulted in a league-leading 21 big chances scored.
His link-up work shouldn’t be forgotten, either. Haaland contributed eight assists for his team-mates over 35 matches, with only Fernandes (21), Rayan Cherki (12) and Jarrod Bowen (11) delivering more on that front.
Who will make our Team of the Season for 2026/27? Keep an eye on LiveScore throughout the campaign to see who tops our various positional rankings over the coming months.
