Top 10 best centre-backs in the Premier League this season

Using data scouting BetVictor has ranked Premier League centre-backs by their statistical output this season. Players were assessed on a weighted scoring model which considers attacking threat (20% weight), ball playing (40% weight), and defending (40% weight – includes aerial ability), by analysing over 20 different per 90-minute performance metrics.

Who are the best centre-backs in the league this season?

Key findings:

• Aymeric Laporte is the top ranked centre-back overall due to his excellence on the ball, his rate of 11.43 progressive carries and 6.39 progressive passes per 100 live-ball touches is the best in the league. He also boasts the best pass completion percentage in the division with 94.8% – not to mention he is also the joint top goal scorer from that position following his goal against Newcastle United.
• Joel Matip is having one of his best Liverpool seasons to date, his 2.71 possession adjusted interceptions per 90 mins is the highest he has achieved in a season. He is also outperforming his counterpart Virgil van Dijk in several key areas such as tackles (2.09 PAdj per 90), blocks (1.79 PAdj per 90), and clearances (5.51 PAdj per 90).
• Fans might be surprised to see Harry Maguire in the top 20 given Manchester United’s defensive woes. However, Maguire is Man United’s best performing centre-back statistically speaking. He has a positive Z-score for attacking threat (0.46), ball playing (0.35), and defending (0.37) – meaning he is performing above average for a centre-back in each of these categories.
• Thiago Silva is showing few signs of dropping off despite his age, he has the 3^rd best rate in the league of any player analysed for progressive passing distance (582.4 yards) and has made the 4^th most carries (64.0), the best output achieved by any Chelsea centre-back.
• Two Southampton Players made the top 20 in Salisu and Bednarik. Both players ranked in the top 5 centre-backs for possession adjusted interceptions, Salisu managed 2.89 per 90 whilst Bednarik achieved 3.14 making him the second-best performing player for this stat.
• Two Brighton Players also made the top 20 in Webster and Duffy. Shane Duffy ranked 2^nd for both PAdj clearances with 6.36 and PAdj aerials won with 5.66 per 90.
• Virgil van Dijk is undeniably having a great season. However, by his own very high standards his statistical output has dropped off since returning from an ACL injury compared to prior. His total per 90 for passes completed (67.6), progressive passes (3.12), tackles (0.61), and touches (83.0) is his lowest rate in any season for Liverpool indicating he is not quite back to his absolute best and saw him rank fourth.

To improve the accuracy of the results possession adjusted statistics were used for defensive stats – these give a more accurate representation of a players defensive output by accounting for team possession. To avoid bias towards centre-backs who spend a lot of time on the ball i.e., Aymeric Laporte, stats such as progressive passes and carries were adjusted per 100 live-ball touches to provide a truer account of a player’s use of the ball.

Methodology:

• Centre-backs with limited game time were omitted from the study to improve data accuracy.
• Z-scores were used to compare statistical performance across players.

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