We are past the halfway point of the English Premier League season. There have been plenty of highlights thus far this season. One of which is Chelsea striker Álvaro Morata’s quick adaptation to the Premier League.
Through 22 matchdays, like his predecessor Diego Costa, Álvaro Morata leads the Premier League in the Most Valuable Offensive Player (MVOP) rankings. Morata has earned 12.19 points for Chelsea while scoring 10 goals and netting 4 assists. These stats are a bit behind Costa’s 16.11/15/5 stat line over the same period last season. One thing to note is that Chelsea had 9 more points last season at this point. With less points to be earned, it is normal to see Morata having a lower total than Costa. Chelsea fans can expect Morata to continue to improve as he continues to develop as an individual and adapt to the club.
With less than half of the matches in the season remaining, we have added a new column to the MVOP rankings table above. The “Expected Final Points” projects the amount of points each player in the top 15 will have earned for his side based on his performance to date. Based on our estimations, we expect Álvaro Morata to finish at the top of the table while Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero lands in 2nd place.
We predict the biggest rise to occur from Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho. If he isn’t transferred during the winter transfer period, we expect the on fire Coutinho to rise to 4th place in the rankings by season’s end.
The Most Valuable Starting Squad in the EPL
Using the most popular EPL squad formation, 4-2-3-1, we have determined the MVOP at each position in the graphic below.
It should come as no surprise that Álvaro Morata leads the squad as the lone-striker. What is surprising is the lack of diversity in the starting squad. A grand total of only 4 teams are represented in the squad after Matchday 22. In comparison, there were 7 teams represented after the same period last season. The drop in player quality from the top clubs to the bottom clubs are highlighted in particular this season.
Get an update for the rankings and starting squad after Matchday 26!
To see our previous rankings, click here.
To see how we calculate the MVOP rankings, click here.
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