Under-rated XI of Premier League 2020.

 If I ask now how many of you know Mo Salah??? Almost everyone would unanimously say yes!!! If I ask do you know how many goals Harry Kane has scored this season??? Most of you will answer 10. Most of us know about the well-known stars from the big teams or the traditional Top 6 teams!!! But how many of you know about the underrated players from some lesser-known teams in the Premier League who are putting in the same shift if not outperforming some of the known stars of the Premier League!!!

In this article, we dive deep into the Premier League stats and look for some of the unknown stars from the Premier League who have been consistent for their team for the entire 2020!!!!!

Formation: 4-3-3

Most of the coaches and managers nowadays have a fascination for this formation or the slightly improved version of it that is the 4-2-3-1. Since both Man City and Liverpool use 4-3-3, we stick to this formation for this article!!!!!

Goal-Keeper: Karl Darlow from Newcastle United

Karl Darlow’s Premier League stats might not be the prettiest to look at, 53 goals conceded in 36 PL games, but his match-winning saves have kept the Magpies out of the drop zone this season.  He didn’t feature for the entirety of the 2019/2020 season but has been Steve Bruce’s Number 1 this season. He has already repaid the faith shown to him with 3 clean sheets this term, most notably against Liverpool, and one penalty saves from Bruno Fernandes.  

He has an incredible 71.6% save percentage this season and is the most by any keeper to have faced 200+ shots. This shows his importance to Newcastle United’s side as most of Steve Bruce’s first choice center-backs are absent. Although he faces tough competition from Guaita from Crystal Palace and Leeds Number 1 Meslier we, at Your Sports Forum, think that Karl Darlow is quite underrated and could easily move into any Top 6 sides.

Right Back: - Matthew Cash from Aston Villa  

Aston Villa is one of the surprising packages of the season and Matty Cash is arguably one of the most underrated signings of the season. Out of the 8 clean sheets Aston Villa has kept this season, Matty Cash has been a part of 6 of them. He has assisted 2 goals in the PL this season and he has an outstanding XG of 0.21. He has linked very well with Anwar El Ghazi in the right-hand side of the Villa’s attack.

While Serge Aurier has arguably been more consistent this season, with 5.5 tackles and interceptions every game but he is playing for Mourinho’s side who is well known to instill defensive structure inside his team. And he is guilty of giving away cheap free-kicks or penalties in crucial times of the game, for instance against Leicester he conceded a penalty late in the first half. So, we stuck with Matty Cash who also offers something better going forward. Coufal from West Ham is also a strong candidate but we found Matty Cash a bit more reliable and could challenge for a spot in any of the Big Six side.

Left Center Back: - Jannik Vestergaard from Southampton

Another player whose performance has led his team to new heights is Southampton’s central defender Jannik Vestergaard who has been a rock for Ralph’s side this season. He has 13 appearances for the Saints this season and Southampton has lost only 3 out of those matches, winning 7 and drawing another 3 in the process. Out of the total 8 clean sheets, Ralph’s side has kept this season, Vestergaard has hand in 5 of them, which implies his value to the side. 

He has 3 headed goals this season which mean he is contributing in both sides of the field equivalently. He is using his towering presence to great effect which reflects on his 81 duels won this season. He is also very disciplined as he is yet to see a single yellow card this term. And he is relatively quick as well. Hence Vestergaard will be a very good CB for any top side.

Right Centre Back: - Yerry Mina from Everton

Another 195 cm tall towering presence at the back, Yerry Mina’s performance has also gone under the radar this season. Featuring in Everton’s 15 games so far, Yerry Mina has been instrumental for Carlo Ancelotti’s success this season. Out of the 15 games, Mina has just lost on 3 occasions, winning 10 in the process. He is relatively fast and alongside Vestergaard, they will form a very good CB partnership. He has also won 75 duels and has a decent tackle success rate of 67%. 

Good center-backs are well recognized by scouts of all the big clubs hence finding underrated CB’s is a really difficult job. However, we dug deep and find out who has gone under the radar this term but has also performed well. Eric Bailly also deserves some special appreciation for his and Man United’s recent upturn in form as they now sit at the Top of the Table in January for the first time since Sir Alex’s days.  

Left Back: - Kieran Tierney from Arsenal

This inclusion might surprise many and not every time a player from a Top 6 side is considered underrated but Kieran Tierney’s strong displays have gone unnoticed in an unforgivable season for Arsenal as a whole.

Deployed mainly to play as an LCB, we have hardly influenced his attacking prowess which is reflected in his 19% cross conversion rate. Recently he has started playing back as Left Back and has bought the best out of his game. He has created 3 Big Chances as a Left Back which is quite decent considering he is playing for a struggling side. Even for the woes he has scored 1 goal and assisted another in the 16 games he has featured so far. But he could have been easily replaced by Luke Dallas, who has a very impressive debut campaign for Bielsa’s free-scoring Leeds or Aston Villa’s Matty Targett. Aaron Cresswell is playing mainly as an LCB this season and Zinchenko has rarely featured. Thus, we after much consultation decided to pick Kieran Tierney as our first choice LB. 

Midfield:

Centre Defensive Midfielder (CDM): - Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from Spurs

Another accusation from a traditional Top 6 side, we think that Højbjerg performances have gone under the radar quite a lot this season.

His quality was never in doubt but since his move to the North London Side, his destructiveness and robustness have gone up a notch under Mourinho. With 288 tackles at a success rate of 64% and 197 interceptions to date, now can deny his transfer is a success. However, his performances still get overlooked due to the lethal attacking duo of Kane and Son who have combined so well this season. Hence, we thought Højbjerg deserves a special mention in this article.

His rivals also are strong contenders like Allan Anguissa and others but we think Højbjerg’s 1174 passes till date and his physicality gives him an upper hand. While Allan has his injury problems since moving to the Goodison Park in the summer and Anguissa is holding the midfield for a struggling Fulham side, Højbjerg emerges as the clear winner here. 

Left Centre Midfielder (LCM): -  Tomáš Souček from West Ham

With a potent CAM in front, we think Souček’s defensive attribute and his potency in front of the goal with headers and long rangers, earns him a call in our team!!!!!!!! 

Souček has done pretty well this season, in a midfield two for West Ham with the license to go for forwarding as Declan Rice sits in front of the Back 3. Declan Rice is a Chelsea target and a well-known England International so to call him underrated is criminal. Thus, his partner Souček makes the cult. Souček has 5 goals already in 2020-2021. Hammers fans love him so much that they wanted his loan move to Slavia Prague permanently in the summer. His aerial ability in set-pieces is very useful for any team. And he has won 98 duels in the air meaning he is contributing defensively for the team as well. 

Other contenders for his place can be Fred, again a player who has gone unnoticed, with whom United have a far superior win rate than Matic or others. Yves Bissouma of Brighton is also a strong contender so as İlkay Gündoğan who is again not so famous among the English Press, however, his impact on Pep’s system can now be seen as they won 4 in a row. But we stick to Souček for now at least!!!!

Centre Attacking Midfielder: - Ross Barkley from Aston Villa

This will again spark controversy among all, we are selecting someone who has just played in 50% of his team matches, 4 out of them ended in defeat for Villa but we firmly believe that Dean Smith and his co value Barkley just as much as we do.

With 2 goals and an assist in his 8 matches, Ross had a very bright start in his Villa career. And with CAM of most teams are either well recognized like Bruno Fernandes or KDB or they are not performing well like Ozil that is why Ross Barkley makes our team. A fully fit Ross adds so much to this Villa team as Grealish is mainly playing of the left for Villa this season. Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal could also be considered for the CAM position if he had a bit more experience with him. So far he has fared well for Arteta’s side.

As we have limited our discussion to the relatively unknown players, we think a fully fit Ross Barkley offers much more than others. Dean Smith will be hoping Barkley returns to full fitness as they continue their surge up the table.

Forwards

Right Winger: - Pedro Neto from Wolves

Another unknown winger who has a breakthrough season this season is Wolves’, Pedro Neto.  He has already 4 goals and 3 assists this season and is putting more crosses than the much appreciated

Adama Traoré. Adama has crossed the balls 67 times this PL season while Neto has done it 107 times. With Wolves struggling a bit this season, Neto along with Podence has been the shining light for Nuno Espírito Santo. With Raúl Jiménez still recovering from his concussion issue, Neto has really come to his game. Cutting from the left-hand side and always available in the right positions we cannot ignore how much Neto has improved this season.

His rivalry comes from Jack Harrison of Leeds. But with Bielsa always urges his team to go forward and they never stop, we could give Neto the edge this time. Neto plays in a Wolves side who plays pragmatic football and thus he is clearly getting less service. Jarrod Bowen from West Ham is also a good shout so as Everton’s Richarlison but again we, at Your Sports Forum, as usual, stick to our instincts along with stats, we stick to Neto for now!!!!

Left Winger: - Anwar El Ghazi from Aston Villa

Anwar El Ghazi is another Aston Villa player who has been a revelation this season. He has already scored 5 goals in his 8 appearances so far. His goal-scoring touch has helped to take some of the loads from Grealish's shoulders. With Matty Cash already in our team, we have already seen how well they linked this season, we think such linkage in our team will be of great usage. 

Well for his inclusion we have overlooked the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin from our team who has been side-lined for pretty much this season. He has just 8 appearances this season otherwise he would be a strong favorite for this position in the wing. Wilfried Zaha is also firing all cylinders but he is premier league proven and was on the verge of leaving for Arsenal two summers back only for Arsenal to backtrack and sign Pepe instead!!!!! 

El-Ghazi with his trickery and his direct approach for goal makes him a perfect candidate for our left winger!!!!!

Central Striker: - Patrick Bamford from Leeds

It will be criminal if we end our discussion without including any players from Bielsa’s Leeds United. They have been playing, by far, the most exciting game among all PL teams. Many other Leeds Players could have made our cut likes Calvin Philips, Jack Harrison, Raphinha, and many others. But none has impressed so much than Patrick Bamford this season.

Before this season, he had a mere only goal in 27 appearances but this season he has 10 goals and 2 assists in 17 appearances for Bielsa. No doubt Bielsa’s style of play suits any striker as they created chances galore but to have an average of 0.67 goals per match is an impressive return for any striker in the PL.  

Magpie’s Callum Wilson is also a very strong candidate for our CF position. He has an impressive 8 goals and 3 assists so far this season. There is no doubt that for his goals Newcastle has not been in the drop zone so far and will perhaps survive again this season but he has suffered through injuries in 2020/21. Hammer’s Michal Antonio, Chelsea’s Giroud all are strong shouts for that position. But we stick to Bamford for now.

With a strong defense, a solid midfield, and a potent forward line, we think that this team has enough for a Top 10 finish. What do you think about our team???? Do you think it is good enough or it will get relegated???? 

 Who do you think is underrated??? Or most of them have come to the limelight this season??? Do you have better suggestions for our positions??? Shoot down in the comment section!!!!!

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Thanks for reading!!!!! Cheers!!!!