Best Premier League XI & Bench With Only 1 Player Per Club

When drafting it in class (what better is there to do) I thought this was an original idea, but I think I must have vaguely remembered a similar idea from HITC Sevens, who has done this before in this video. But regardless, I think it would be an interesting idea to look back on, especially as I created a very different team. It is not necessarily the best player at each club, just the one who will be most helpful to the team. I have chosen to utilize a 4-3-3 formation. So without further ado, here is my Premier League XI & 9 man bench with only ONE player per club. 

Goalkeeper: Nick Pope

 

Pope is a pretty obvious inclusion. Along with the two keepers on the bench, he is one of the only two keepers in the league who is also the best player at their club. With ball-playing center-halves, he will not need to distribute the ball too much, his biggest weakness. Generally one of the biggest locks on the board, I'm sure we all agree.

Left-Back: Kieran Tierney 

Arsenal's inclusion is one of their shining youngsters, Scotsman Kieran Tierney. He is solid defensively as well as good on the attack, and he has a shot in him too. He edges out our benched left-back for this position, as well as beating the likes of Aubameyang and Saka to take the Arsenal position.

Center Back: Lewis Dunk 

Probably the most controversial position inclusion, Lewis Dunk is one of those rare players who is both unfairly over- and under-rated by the general public. Some try to paint him as the god who keeps Brighton in the division year after year and others paint him as a glorified Nat Phillips, not too accident prone but with extremely limited capabilities. I tend to go with the first group of people, as he represents Brighton and starts. A shout-out must go to Tariq Lamptey, who didn't make it due to a lack of defensive capabilities sufficient for a back four.

Center Back: Ruben Dias 

I have seen most people choose Kevin de Bruyne over Ruben Dias as City's inclusion while I researched this team, but I think that defense was more in need of a super-star than attack, where there are quite a few more brilliant options. He will, as usual, be a rock in defense, and his pace will definitely be an asset alongside Dunk, who is in this sense lacking. 

Right Back: Ricardo Pereira 

My first and second drafts included Vladimir Coufal and Tariq Lamptey respectfully, with James Maddison as Leicester's representative, but I think Pereira is the right choice. My biggest hesitation was the fact that I don't have a registered right-back on the bench to cover during his frequent injury-induced absences, but with both of the benched center-backs having deputized there often he just squeaks in.

Central Midfield: James Ward-Prowse 

Another one of the more obvious inclusions, the Southampton captain starts in midfield. He would start at every single Premier League club other than City (who have already featured) and Chelsea, so he definitely features in this midfield as Southampton's best player and a good representative. 

Central Midfield: Tomas Soucek 

Partnering Ward-Prowse in central midfield is the West Ham representative in this eleven, Tomas Soucek. As mentioned previously, Coufal was my original pick from West Ham but Soucek replaced Kanté in the heart of midfield, and brings a completely new set of skills besides Ward-Prowse. 

Central Attacking Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes 

I originally had James Maddison here, with Cristiano Ronaldo as United's representative, but after shuffling things around I concluded that the team would be much improved in the current form. So Fernandes becomes our eighth inclusion as the focal point in midfield and the main provider of assists.

Left Wing: Son Heung-Min 

While I have seen most people picking Kane, I think Son is the right pick as Spur's representative. While I could name at least two forwards better than Kane, I don't actually think there are two primary left wingers better than Asia's best player, and it is for that reason the South Korean takes it.

Center-Forward: Romelu Lukaku 

N'golo Kanté was the first person down on the team sheet, but after careful consideration I think Lukaku takes it. I actually think that he is the best center-forward in the Prem right now (yes, even over Ronaldo) and he makes the team over Kanté by the skin of his teeth.

Right Wing: Mohamed Salah 

Some of Fifa's ratings are completely ridiculous. While Alison being rated below ter Stegen was a complete joke, Salah getting downgraded to 89 and rated the same as Mané after carrying Liverpool for large amounts of last season was worse, and he deserves to feature here. I mean, that's behind Kane. And now that I'm on the topic, Messi needs to come down and Lukaku definitely needs an upgrade.

Bench: 

Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa)

Tim Krul (Norwich) 

Lucas Digne (Everton)  

Pontus Jannson (Brentford) 

Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)

Ruben Neves (Wolves)

Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)

Ismaila Sarr (Watford)

Callum Wilson (Newcastle)  

Really sorry about the lengthly gap, but our teachers inexplicably decided that they'd all set us assignments, projects, presentations and tests, which culminated in over ten seperate things that count at least 30% towards our report having to be done in a single week. I hope you enjoyed this post, however, and I will see you guys later. Noah ヅ