We are rapidly approaching the end of business 2025-26 Premier League Heading into the season, and March, there’s still a lot to play for. The title race has turned into a battle of two teams between the leaders armory and stalkers Manchester CityWhile the pressure for next season of Champions League football builds neatly between several clubs – the defending champions – liverpool Looking on the outside, need to close the gap Aston Villa, Manchester United And chelsea.
At the bottom of the table, wolves‘ Luck seems certain (with just 10 games left they are 17 points from safety) and, to some extent, burnleyof also (eight points behind with 11 to play), but the third and final relegation spot could go to one of nottingham forest, tottenham Or leeds united From here.
The race for Premier League Player of the Year is equally difficult to name, with no clear, stand-out candidate yet and plenty of stars making obvious claims for the award. So, with 10 days to go until the match, we asked our regular Premier League journalists to give their picks for the top prize, and why they deserve it.
Tom Hamilton: Sometimes it’s wise to choose the obvious option. If Manchester City wins the league, you could argue that their standout player was one of them Bernardo Silva (for his deception), Nico O’Reilly (for his adaptability and temperament) or for new arrivals Gianluigi Donnarumma And antony semenyo. But if you want the clear and obvious choice, it’s Haaland who tops the scoring charts.
The Norway forward is in the midst of a relatively quiet period for his club, but his 22 league goals have helped City get there. Big change for Holland this year? He is becoming an all-round contributor and has a very high work rate, to the point where he has even recorded seven assists, second only to bruno fernandes And one behind their best eight in the 2022–23 campaign. That’s 29 goal contributions. not bad.
Take City’s recent 2-1 win over Newcastle: Haaland had more touches of the ball than ever before (43), making the third-most clearances on the team (after rodri And Mark Guehi) and won 12 duels, the most he has achieved in a top-flight game. Manager Pep Guardiola later said, “He is an incredible, generous player, so today is a performance, and I will never forget what Erling has done for us.”
so be afraid, Premier League: Haaland is developing into a more all-round player, and his goals and assists should see him crowned player of the season.
James Ollie: There is still everything to play for in the league, from the title to the top four and even relegation, so it is too early to judge, but Arsenal are currently top of the table, and Declan Rice has been the heartbeat of a team that has competed impressively on four fronts.
Only Martin Zubimendi He has played more outfield Premier League minutes for the Gunners (2,360) than Rice’s 2,329, and Rice is second in the division in terms of chances created (defined by Opta as key passes and assists) behind Bruno Fernandes. But he is more than statistics. Rice drives the Arsenal team forward as he has developed into a complete midfielder, influencing play in his box-to-box role while also proving to be a highly skilled set piece taker.
If Arsenal are to maintain the momentum, it will largely be a result of Rice maintaining the level of form and influence he has shown so far.
Sam Tighe: When there are no “obvious” picks during this season, it may lead you to think that there are no outstanding candidates. But as the group is designed, we have no shortage of incredible individual campaigns, right?
I will support James’ selection of Rice. In a Premier League landscape where physicality, mobility and tenacity reign supreme, the 27-year-old is a leading light of the division. To put this in context, among Arsenal players, only Zubimendi (293.57 km) has covered more ground than Rice (285.48 km) in this period, while among all Premier League central midfielders, only Sandro Tonali (33.37 km/h) has clocked a higher maximum speed than Rice (33.17 km/h).
Rice is fast and persistent; If the Gunners win the title, his frenetic, all-action style will epitomize their approach to doing so. Yet he also deftly supports those athletic qualities where needed. There are very few better corner takers in the game right now, and there’s no doubt that he continues to get better at taking passes through the line.
Beth Lindop: It may seem absurd to nominate a Liverpool player given how bad they have been at times this season, but in terms of pure individual excellence, Szoboszlai would be my choice.
Over the summer, there was a suggestion in some circles that Hungary The international could lose his place in the team following the arrival of the £116million playmaker. florian wertzFrom bayer leverkusen. However, Szoboszlai has established himself as the first name on Arne Slot’s team sheet this season, with his constant running, tactical flexibility and, of course, his eye for a spectacular strike having prevented the Reds’ campaign from going into complete disaster.
Szoboszlai, who has already scored 10 goals this season, is on course to surpass his career best goal tally. He has also deputized admirably at right back amid Liverpool’s ongoing injury crisis, while his notable willingness to speak to the media more often reflects a player keen to assume greater responsibility within the team and establish himself as a future club captain.
Liverpool’s disappointing collective form means Szoboszlai will miss out on individual accolades, but he should certainly be in the conversation.
Antoine Semenyo, FW, Manchester City (formerly at Bournemouth)
Mark Ogden: This is tough because there aren’t really any standout candidates so far this season, but my pick right now would be Semenyo. He was excellent for Bournemouth during the first half of the season – his 10 Premier League goals kept Andoni Ireola in the top six for some time – but his performances meant it was inevitable that he would move on in January, and he had a queue of heavyweight clubs willing to sign him before choosing Manchester City.
Even though a deal was reached and his release clause came into effect, Semenyo agreed to stay at Bournemouth for two additional games in January before making his move. No fuss, no drama: just a professional attitude and the perfect sign-off with a stoppage time winner against Spurs in his final game.
His form at City has been equally impressive, and he kept them in the title race during a midseason wobble with three goals in his first five games. So for two clubs to perform at their top level and show complete professionalism, I’m picking Semenyo.
Rob Dawson: There were real concerns about whether Brentford would be able to avoid relegation this season after losing key players to manager Thomas Frank as well as Brian Mbeumo, yoanne wissa, Christian Norgaard And Mark Flekken — In one summer. Goals were expected to be a particular problem after Mbumo and Wissa – who scored a combined 39 in the Premier League last season – moved on.
Frank’s replacement, Keith Andrews, deserves much credit for turning this season into a push for Europe rather than a fight against the drop. But so does Igor Thiago. His 17 league goals have softened the blow of losing Mbumo and Wiscasset. It’s a fantastic return to form for the 24-year-old striker in his first full campaign in England after last season was ruined by injury.
Scoring goals in the toughest league in the world is a big task and Thiago has done it regularly. Unfortunately for Brentford, he has performed so well that the inevitable question will be: how long can they hold on to him before Mbumo and Wissa are ushered out the door?
Gabe Marcotti: To me, it’s very simple. Aston Villa may be going down, but they are still in third place, well ahead of Liverpool, Manchester United And chelsea. And this is after a summer where they didn’t really add any notable signings and also lost their sporting director Monchi. A lot of this is due to Rodgers: he has started every game and has usually been the difference maker every time.
Rodgers doesn’t have the greatest supporting cast – certainly not compared to the other suggestions that will surely come up – and I think it’s fair to say that, without him, Villa will be mediocre at best. Only four players have more open play goal involvements (non-penalty goals and assists) than him this season, and they all play for bigger and better-resourced sides: Haaland, Fernandes, Semenyo and joao pedro.
put forward the fact that they invented cole palmerGoal celebration – they were teammates at City, and Palmer “borrowed” this from him – and for me he’s the obvious choice.
Martin Zubimendi, MF, Arsenal
Julian Lawrence: When Arsenal spent €60 million to activate his release clause and recruit him last summer real sociedadThere were plenty of doubts about his adaptation to the Premier League, his ability and even his talent, but there were also concerns about his ability to take the Gunners to the next level. And yet, I think he has already proved all the doubters wrong.
It hasn’t always been perfect, obviously – remember his mistake against Manchester United – but overall, he’s been impressive. His ability to dictate the pace of the game, his intelligence and ability to read the play has been excellent. He has also already scored five Premier League goals, which is more than Szoboszlai, more than Rice and only three less than Rodgers, who is a more advanced player. Some of his goals have also been important, such as the openers against Forest, Leeds and Sunderlandin keeping Arsenal on course for a possible first league title in 20 years.
zubimendi cooks rice and jurian timber Better, and still has a lot of room for improvement. He has had such a profound impact on the team that it is worth celebrating.
