Thu Mar 30, 2017 4:22 pm
Two ex-Cardiff City stars and a Swansea City ace named in Premier League Team of the Year... according to stats
By Paul Abbandonato
Former Bluebirds Fabio and Tom Heaton, plus Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson get nod
In a few weeks' time, the Premier League team of the season will be officially announced.
Expect Chelsea stars such as Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante and David Luiz to be among those heavily featuring.
Everyone will have their own views on who should, or shouldn't, make the best XI of the year.
However, Football Whispers, who work in algorithms, have taken a statistical look at who has shone most position by position over the course of the last seven months.
And their line-up of who has been in form most will raise eyebrows.
Sigurdsson will be a transfer target, but Clement says Swansea City fans should not be worried
Some predictable suspects have made the cut, such as goal aces Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku, plus Manchester City creator Kevin de Bruyne.
But next to them two former Cardiff City favourites also get into the dream team based on statistics. Current Swansea City ace Gylfi Sigurdsson is also selected, but there is no room for any of Antonio Conte's table-topping Chelsea stars.
This is their line-up:
Goalkeeper: Tom Heaton (Burnley)
The former Bluebirds favourite had to leave South Wales after finding himself playing second fiddle to David Marshall at Cardiff City Stadium.
But Cardiff's 2012 Carling Cup Final goalkeeper, who lined up at Wembley versus Liverpool, has gone from strength to strength against that calibre of Premier League opposition.
He has won England call-ups and gets into the Football Whispers XI on account of making the highest percentage of stops this season.
The Premier League is littered with world class goalkeepers, including Chelsea number one Thibaut Courtois, Manchester United’s David de Gea and Tottenham skipper Hugo Lloris.
But Heaton has stopped 114 of the 149 shots he has faced, his percentage of 76.5 putting him ahead of the rest.
Right-back: Antonio Barragan (Middlesbrough)
Makes the cut ahead of Hector Bellerin and Kyle Walker on the basis of average tackles, interceptions, defensive duels won and an 81 per cent pass accuracy.
Centre-back: Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
Gets in ahead of Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen and Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk for the aerial challenges won (71.1 per cent) and defensive duels (41 per cent).
Centre-back: Harry Maguire (Hull)
Hull have struggled, of course, but Maguire even eclipses Smalling for aerial challenges won (79.5 per cent).
Left-back: Fabio (Middlesbrough)
The second ex-Bluebird to make the cut... and this one will surprise.
Fabio was a huge fans' favourite during his time with Cardiff, even though he was often left in the cold by Russell Slade.
According to Football Whispers, Fabio has made 3.1 tackles and 1.8 interceptions on average per game, won 53 per cent of his defensive duels and made 10 key passes.
Just edges out Stoke’s Erik Pieters for the left-back berth.
Midfield: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City)
Swans manager Paul Clement reckons his Icelandic playmaker should make the team of the year - and he has done in this one.
Sigurdsson's 11 goal assists is the joint-most in the Premier League, an honour he shares with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
He has also chipped in with eight goals – only behind Tottenham's Dele Alli and West Ham's Michail Antonio for goals from midfield.
Considering Sigurdsson is achieving his stats in a struggling team, it has to rank as some feat.
Midfield: Idrissa Gueye (Everton)
He eclipses even Kante as the midfielder to win most tackles this season with 78. He also makes 2.5 interceptions per game – behind only Manchester United’s Ander Herrera.
Central midfield: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)
Gets in based on nine assists, second-best to Sigurdsson and De Bruyne, and six goals, plus 19 key passes.
Midfield: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Joint most assists with Swanse star Sigurdsson, with 31 key passes he is viewed by Football Whispers as the top creator in the Premier League. However, somewhat surprisingly, he has bagged just four goals of his own.
Striker: Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Has netted 19 goals from 66 shots, a conversion rate of almost 30 per cent.
In comparison, Manchester United’s more high-profile Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored with just 14.4 per cent of his shots.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Top scorer with 21 goals, but they have come from 74 shots – 12 more than Kane’s tally. Putting his conversion rate at 28.3 per cent.
Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:15 pm
Credit to Fabio, but how he got in ahead of Marcos Alonso of Chelsea and Ryan Bertrand of Southampton I don't know. They've both been excellent this season
Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:37 pm
BluebirdForever wrote:Credit to Fabio, but how he got in ahead of Marcos Alonso of Chelsea and Ryan Bertrand of Southampton I don't know. They've both been excellent this season
apparently he has this advantage.his hair. the monitors find it easier to pick him out than other players .