The current season is proving to be one of the most exciting yet, but a look at stats from the last Premier League season has shown that already there are several big changes. So far, this season is too close to call, with several players across the entire premier league tied for each of these titles. To help punters out, we’ve crunched the numbers to look at the most successful players from last time around, and how close they are to retaining their titles in each category in the current season by looking at the stats as they stand in mid-January.
Most goals scored
The 2019/20 season marked Jamie Vardy’s third consecutive year as one of the top 5 goal scorers in the Premier League, and the first that he managed to come out on top. The Leicester City forward narrowly beat his competition, scoring 23 goals during the entirety of the season, just ahead of Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Southampton’s Danny Ings, who were tied in second place with 22 goals apiece.
As the season currently stands, Vardy is among the favourites for the Golden Boot in the Premier League odds and is well on course to remain in the top 5 for a fourth consecutive year, having scored 11 goals for Leicester City, landing him in a four-way tie for third place, alongside Spurs’ Harry Kane, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Man United’s Bruno Fernandes. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is currently top of the table with 13 goals, and Spurs’ Son Heung-Min is second with 12.
Most tackles
With 129 tackles across the 2019/20 season, Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka has proved well worth the five-year contract he signed at the club following his transfer from Crystal Palace. With stats like that, it’s clear why he’s one of the ten most expensive defenders in history.
So far in 2020/21, he’s maintained a space in the top five, tying for third place with 49 tackles in the season to date. But it’s Southampton’s Oriol Romeu who seems to be flying with this title at the minute, with 53 tackles as of January 14 – an impressive statistic for the midfielder, who didn’t feature in last year’s top 20.
Clean sheets
Manchester City finished last year’s Premiership in second place to Liverpool, but their high finish was thanks in no small part to goalkeeper Ederson, who finished the season with 16 clean sheets. Interestingly, Liverpool may have won the season, but goalkeeper Alisson only came out a tied third with 13 clean sheets.
So far in 2020/21, Ederson is maintaining his place at the top of the table – albeit tied with Aston Villa’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who has also had eight clean sheets with the rest of the season still to go.
Dribbles
As Eden Hazard transferred from Chelsea to Real Madrid at the end of the 2018/19 season, the competition for the best Premier League dribbler was blown wide open – and it was Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Adama Traore who claimed the title with 183 in total, despite playing for 600 fewer minutes than the second place Wilfried Zaha.
In the current season, Traore is already miles ahead of his nearest competitors, with 86 dribbles so far. Fulham’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is far closer than Zaha got last year though, with 78 currently in his belt, and Man United’s beloved Marcus Rashford not far behind with 77.
Most Assists
Last season, Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne helped his team get towards the top of the table with 20 assists throughout the season. But the rest of the top five was dominated by Liverpool players, with Trent Alexander-Arnold getting 13, Andrew Robertson getting 12 and Mohamed Salah getting 10.
That Liverpool dominance isn’t as present this season, and Kevin De Bruyne has fallen from first to second, with nine assists so far. As things currently stand, Harry Kane is in the lead with 11.
Most Saves
Newcastle United’s goalkeeper Martin Dubravka ended the last season dominant, with 140 saves by the time it wrapped up. Norwich City’s Tim Krul came in second with 132.
Newcastle United are on track to keep their space in the top five for another year, with goalkeeper Karl Darlow starting January in second place for the current season with 67 saves so far. However, he’s tied for this position with Illan Meslier, entering the top tier for the first time with Leeds United, and both are second to West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone, with 74 saves racked up prior to his team’s January 16th match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This season has certainly been competitive to say the least. The current scoreboard in each of these categories may not stay this way for much longer – but as we’re halfway through this year’s Premier League, one question remains: will any players hold onto their titles from last year? So far, things look far from certain.
