The second half of the Premier League campaign gets underway this weekend. But who made the team of the half-season?
The team of the Premier League season so far has been Chelsea, obviously. Antonio Conte’s side had won 13 matches in a row before losing to Tottenham in their first game of 2017 and have built up a five-point lead at the top of the table.
But no one wants to see a team of the season full of Chelsea players, so let’s make things more interesting. This is the team of the Premier League half-season, with a catch: only one player per team allowed.
Thought Diego Costa and N’Golo Kante were equally important to Chelsea? Pick one. Think Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana both deserve recognition for their performances for Liverpool? Too bad.
There are a lot of ways to go with this, depending on who impressed you and how many attackers you wanted to include in your starting XI. FanSided’s soccer staff share their teams below:
Peter Johstone, @PniJ2
Tom Heaton
Michail Antonio – Laurent Koscielny – Virgil van Dijk – Danny Rose
Victor Moses – Philippe Coutinho – Robert Snodgrass – Raheem Sterling
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Jermain Defoe
Rory Masterson, @rorymasterson
Tom Heaton
Antonio Barragan – Ashley Williams – Virgil van Dijk – Curtis Davies
Philippe Coutinho – Paul Pogba – Mesut Ozil – Dele Alli
Diego Costa – Sergio Aguero
Michael Harshbarger, @TimHalpert
Ben Foster
Jan Vertonghen – Virgil van Dijk – Steve Cook
Adam Lallana – Dimitri Payet – N’Golo Kante – Kevin De Bruyne
Alexis Sanchez – Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Romelu Lukaku
Dan Voicescu, @fiveboroball
Ben Foster
Jose Fonte – Robert Huth – Danny Rose
Michail Antonio – N’Golo Kante – Ander Herrera – Michail Antonio
Alexis Sanchez – Romelu Lukaku – Kevin De Bruyne
Gary Pearson, @newagejourno
Ben Foster
Antonio Valencia – Virgil van Dijk – Toby Alderweireld – Charlie Daniels
Philippe Coutinho – Kevin De Bruyne – Idrissa Gueye – Dimitri Payet
Diego Costa – Alexis Sanchez
James Dudko, @JamesDudko
Hugo Lloris
Nathaniel Clyne – Virgil van Dijk – Johnny Evans – Leighton Baines
Kevin De Bruyne – Michael Carrick – Joe Allen – Dimitri Payet
Diego Costa – Alexis Sanchez
Jake Walerius, @JakeWalerius
Tom Heaton
Antonio Valencia – Virgil van Dijk – Jan Vertonghen – Jose Holebas
Adam Lallana – Idrissa Gueye – Joe Allen
Kevin De Bruyne – Diego Costa – Alexis Sanchez
The most popular player was Virgil van Dijk, who made six out of seven teams. That’s likely a reflection both of the fact he’s been excellent and that Southampton haven’t had many other truly standout performers. Alexis Sanchez was another popular choice, making five teams, while our player of the half-season, Diego Costa, found a place in only four.
Next: Premier League mid-season awards
There’s about a million other directions you could take here as well. West Brom have outperformed expectations, but does their standout player, Matt Phillips, deserve a spot ahead of a player like Sanchez? There’s a ton of enticing attacking players to choose from, but how best to maintain some midfield balance? That’s all part of the fun.