Who is in form as the Premier League hits the business end of the season?
Domestic duties return with a bang this weekend as Manchester City host Arsenal in what could prove a decisive clash in the Premier League title race. Just a point separates the pair at the top of the table and, with Liverpool playing Brighton earlier in the day on Sunday, neither side can afford to drop points at the Etihad.
Before the big games this weekend, WhoScored have assessed the players who have shone in recent weeks. To qualify, players must have featured in two of their side’s last three games, and six of their last eight. The ratings are also weighted chronologically, with recency bias coming into effect.
10) Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United
While Manchester United have not been in great form in recent weeks, losing two of their last three league outings, Fernandes has been doing all he can to help his side in the final third. The United captain has scored one goal and provided two assists across his last six outings. The latter figure should be higher, though, with Fernandes having made 23 of United’s 75 key passes (30.7%) in that time. Rating: 7.52
9) Phil Foden, Manchester City
Foden is enjoying his best season to date and the hope is that he can continue his excellent campaign when City host Arsenal. Foden has scored three times in his last three games, including a brace in the Manchester derby, but a sub-par display in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool last time out – his third lowest rating of the season – has impacted his form rating. Rating: 7.60
8) Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal
The first of five Arsenal players to make the top 10. Martinelli has directly contributed to 10 league goals this season but four of those have come in his last six outings. The winger has scored twice in that run, including a decisive strike in the 3-1 win over Liverpool, and his best of the campaign came in his last outing as Arsenal trounced Sheffield United. He scored the winning goal in the home victory over Manchester City back in October and supporters will be hoping for a repeat this weekend. Rating: 7.61
7) Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool
Mac Allister has been superb in recent weeks for Liverpool, making the most of his chance to push forward and play with more freedom. The Argentinian
did not disappoint in the holding role, but the emergence of Wataru Endo as a key man in the Liverpool midfield has helped the World Cup winner thrive. Mac Allister has been directly involved in a goal in each of his last four league games, scoring two and providing three assists, to justify Jürgen Klopp’s decision to encourage the former Brighton man forward. Rating: 7.66
6) Cole Palmer, Chelsea
Palmer’s move from Manchester City raised eyebrows, but he has proven a stunning signing for Chelsea. It was a rare win for the club given their transfer dealings since Todd Boehly took control at Stamford Bridge. Palmer has been directly involved in six goals across his last six league appearances, assisting four times in that run, which included a match-winning display in the recent 3-2 win over Newcastle.
Rating: 7.67 5) Rodrigo Muniz, Fulham
Muniz has capitalised on the absence of Raúl Jiménez at Fulham, scoring his sixth and seventh league goals of the season in their 3-0 win over Tottenham prior to the international break. The Brazilian has struck six times in his last six league appearances, with his performance against Spurs his best rated in the league this term. Rating: 7.70
4) Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal
The four top spots in the form rankings are all taken by Arsenal players. The Norwegian, like so many of his teammates, returned from the winter break with a flourish, with two of his six goals and three of his six assists coming in his last five outings. Ødegaard’s three best displays of the campaign came in that same period. Rating: 7.92
3) Bukayo Saka, Arsenal
Saka has been in sensational form in 2024. The Arsenal winger has been directly involved in a goal in all but one of his last six league outings, only failing to score or assist in the 2-1 win over Brentford earlier this month. Three of his four best rated outings in the league this season have come in his last five appearances as he shone in comfortable wins over West Ham, Newcastle and Burnley. Rating: 8.01
2) Kai Havertz, Arsenal
While many scoffed at Arsenal’s decision to spend big on Havertz in the summer, the German is shining in Mikel Arteta’s team. He may have joined to replace the departing Granit Xhaka in midfield, but Havertz has been exceptional leading the charge for the team, having scored in each of his last four league outings. An additional two assists in that period have propelled the 24-year-old to second in our form standings. Rating: 8.07
1) Declan Rice, Arsenal
Rice has proven a game-changing addition to the Arsenal midfield both on and off the ball – and he is getting better and better. Of the 11 goals Rice has scored or set up this season, six have come in his last five appearances, including one goal and two assists in the resounding victory at his former club West Ham last month. The 25-year-old has also chipped in with 12 tackles and interceptions combined, and 12 key passes. Not only is he in fine form for his club, but he will go to City on Sunday having captained his country. Rating: 8.15
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up more than 30 players for the two games and gave most of them a chance. Nuno Travassos
6) Netherlands
Games against Scotland and Germany produced a mixed bag of results, performances and even formations for Ronald Koeman’s side. They beat the Scots 4-0 in Amsterdam having being lined up by Koeman in a 4-3-3 formation, and while the scoreline may suggest it was a cakewalk for the Oranjeit was visitors who largely dominated proceedings, creating a host of chances but failing to take any and subsequently being punished by three Dutch goals in the last 18 minutes of the game, scored by Georginio Wijnaldum, Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen, following Tijjani Reijnders’ strike five minutes before half-time. It was an impressive show of ruthlessness by the Dutch that was again on show four minutes into Tuesday’s game against Germany when Joey Veerman gave the visitors the lead in Frankfurt with a well-taken volley. The Netherlands, back in a more usual 3-5-2 formation, continued to threaten on the counterattack but failed to score again while allowing Germany to do so twice, through Mittelstädt and Niclas Füllkrug. Koeman’s side look dangerous but will need tightening up defensively if they are to make progress once back in Germany this summer. Sachin Nakrani
7) Belgium
Belgium ended the international window unbeaten in 12 games under their head coach, Domenico Tedesco, but that was largely where the encouragement started and ended. The world’s fourth-best team looked anything but in a goalless draw with Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, a game that could well have ended in defeat had Evan Ferguson not missed an early penalty for the hosts, and while a stronger lineup were better against England on Tuesday, they were also pretty lucky to escape Wembley with a 2-2 draw, with Tedesco admitting afterwards that he could not bemoan Jude Bellingham’s 95th-minute equaliser given how much the hosts had dominated the play. Belgium enjoyed only 37% possession and only scored twice through Youri Tielemans because of defensive errors by their opponents. Kevin De Bruyne is to come back into the team but, in general, the Red Devils don’t appear to be serious contenders for the ultimate prize in Germany this summer. SN
8) Italy
Luciano Spalletti took his squad to the United States for two games, against Ecuador and Venezuela, and returned home with two wins, four goals scored and one clean sheet. It was not pretty at times but Gli Azzurri set the tone with their pressing as well as work ethic and Nicolò Barella and Lorenzo Pellegrini showed again that they are at the top of their game. Genoa’s Mateo Retegui scored twice against Venezuela to confirm his status as the first-choice No 9 (although the options in that position are so few that it is one of Spalletti’s major concerns going into the Euros). “A very positive tour,” said a pleased Spalletti, “very well organised by the federation and the team played two good games.” MC
9) Croatia
After 174 caps and 18 years with the national team Luka Modric finally lifted an international trophy. It may have been “only” the ACUD Cup – a friendly tournament organised in Cairo – but the image was striking nevertheless. Croatia played two very different games. The semi-final against Tunisia was a tedious affair in front of around 1,000 people that went to penalties after few real chances, but the final, against the hosts, who were without Mohamed Salah, saw an attendance of 83,350 at the Misr Stadium. The Vatreni looked much better in the latter, switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation from their usual 4-3-3 and exploring some other back-up options such as Josko Gvardiol at leftback (rather than centre-back) to win 4-2. Aleksandar Holiga
10) Austria
It is fair to say that Ralf Rangnick’s side were not slow off the blocks this fortnight and they followed up Christoph Baumgartner’s world-record (for internationals) goal after six seconds against Slovakia by taking the lead against Turkey after 103 seconds. Despite missing key players such as David Alaba, Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer, who fell ill before the game, they went on to win 6-1, playing carefree, attacking football in front of 38,000 fans at the Ernst-Happel Stadium. It was a fifth consecutive win for Austria and Michael Gregoritsch got a hat-trick. “The second half was close to perfection,” beamed Rangnick. Andreas Hagenauer
11) Denmark
“I don’t think I am more positive or negative to our chances at the Euros after these two games,” said an honest Pierre-Emile Højbjerg after Denmark had drawn 0-0 against Switzerland and beaten the Faroe Islands 2-0. The coach, Kasper Hjulmand, tried different systems and players in the two games but has come in for some rare criticism recently. The fact that Christian Eriksen made the squad despite lack of playing time at Manchester United was highlighted as a sign of weakness and the former Denmark international Thomas Gravesen even wondered whether Hjulmand was still the right person for the job. “If someone really thinks that I don’t pick the best player I think we have to win games … well, it is my backside on the line here too,” Hjulmand responded. MC
12) Hungary
Two wins from two during this international break is a real positive for Hungary, with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday followed by a workmanlike 2-0 victory over Kosovo on Tuesday. Marco Rossi’s much-changed side looked out of sorts in the first 45 minutes of the most recent contest and could easily have fallen behind, but three changes at halftime lit a fire under the hosts and the intensity that has come to define this team re-emerged. Right now, only Colombia have a longer unbeaten run in international football than Hungary, who haven’t lost since Dominik Szoboszlai took over as captain. Instrumental again on Tuesday, the Liverpool midfielder has five goals and two assists in his last five international appearances and will be at the heart of everything Hungary aim to achieve this summer. Tom Mortimer
13) Switzerland
“The stats don’t lie,” Xherdan Shaqiri
said after starting on the bench for Switzerland in the 0-0 draw against Denmark. Four days later he was back in the starting XI and scored the only goal of the game against Ireland in the 1-0 win in Dublin. It was not only the goal, coming from a free-kick, that made the difference. The 32-year-old also introduced some unpredictability to the Swiss side, something that was missing against Denmark. In the end, the coach, Murat Yakin, could be fairly pleased with the team. Vincent Sierro and Dereck Kutesa made their debuts against Ireland and did not look out of place while Dan Ndoye impressed on his ninth cap. It was a welcome success for Yakin after five winless games, a run stretching back to last September. MC
14) Romania
Romania drew 1-1 with Northern Ireland and lost 3-2 Colombia during the international break. Both performances were largely average in quality, highlighting the team’s weaknesses in defence and shortage of ideas in attack. Saying that, there were moments against Colombia where Romania showed flashes of old and, in that regard, it was fitting that Ianis Hagi, son of the great Gheorghe, scored having come on as a substitute. Overall, however, there is much for Edward Iordanescu’s side to improve upon before they compete at Euro 2024. Emanuel Rosu
15) Poland
What a week it has been for Poland, with two playoff wins, against Estonia and Wales, securing their place at this summer’s European Championships. Each game showed different strengths of Michal Probierz’s men; ruthlessness and domination in the 5-1 thrashing of Estonia in Warsaw last Thursday followed by determination and togetherness in the penalty shootout victory over Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday. The latter triumph was far from pretty – Poland did not record a shot on target until the shootout – but it also showed how far they have come after their poor group campaign under Fernando Santos. They were a collection of individuals then; now they are a team and for Robert Lewandowski comes the chance to play at what will probably be the striker’s last ever major tournament. Maciej Slominski
16) Serbia
There was some consternation in Serbia from people who saw this international window as a missed opportunity, that the fixture against Russia was politically motivated rather than giving Dragan Stojkovic the best chance to fine-tune his Euro plans. They lost 4-0 in Moscow after an early red card for the defender Milan Gajic, one of three players in the starting XI who ply their trade in the Russian Premier League. They then beat Cyprus 1-0 after an early Sergej Milinkovic-Savic goal but they were not at their fluent best. MC
17) Czech Republic
A pair of two 2-1 wins, away to Norway on Friday and home to Armenia on Tuesday, made this an encouraging international window for Ivan Hasek’s side. It is now five games without defeat for Czech Republic with Hasek overseeing a 100% record in charge having returned to the post of head coach in January. The former Czechoslovakia captain previously led the national team for a brief spell in 2009 and will feel his team can make a mark in Germany this summer given they’re in a group with Portugal, Turkey and Georgia and have a squad that contains the likes of Tomas Soucek and Patrik Schick, both of whom featured in their two most recent victories. SN
18) Scotland
Steve Clarke denied he is concerned about his team’s form and prospects following their 4-0 trouncing by the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday and subsequent 1-0 loss to Northern Ireland at Hampden Park on Tuesday but he really should be. Scotland have now lost five and drawn two of their past seven matches and, overall, look shaky at the back and toothless in attack. Against Michael O’Neill’s men they were especially lacking in imagination, which is a concern given there are only the June friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland to come in regards to rediscovering a bounce before taking on Germany in Munich in the opening game of the summer tournament. Jamie Jackson
19) Slovenia
“This win feels phenomenal,” said the assistant coach, Bostjan Cesar, after Slovenia had defeated Portugal 2-0 at the Stozice Stadium. Cesar, who stepped in after head coach Matjaz Kek’s father died last week, added that they had learned their lessons from the disappointing draw against Malta five days earlier. Against Portugal everyone stepped up, from the composed Jan Oblak in goal, to an organised defence and an energy-filled attack, led superbly by Benjamin Sesko, and they deserved the win, keeping Cristiano Ronaldo and co at arm’s length. The visitors had chances but Slovenia took theirs, Adam Gnezda Cerin and Timi Max Elsnik getting the second-half goals. There was praise after the game from the Portugal manager, Roberto Martínez, who backed Slovenia to cause problems for Group C opponents England, Serbia and Denmark at the Euros. Miran Zore
20) Turkey
Turkey were close to heading into Euro 2024 as dark horses after topping their qualification group, but back-toback defeats – including a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Austria – has raised questions about Vincenzo Montella’s side. In fairness they delivered a pretty good display against Hungary in Budapest on Friday and were somewhat unlucky to lose 1-0, but their inability to turn chances into goals was glaring. Bournemouth’s Enes Unal performed poorly as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation and the worry is Montella does not have many alternatives. Things got much worse for Turkey at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Tuesday, with Austria dominating proceedings from start to finish, and it was somewhat telling that Turkey’s goal, scored by Hakan Calhanoglu, came from the penalty spot. These defeats will come as a blow to Montella, who was asked if he would resign after the Austria game, but he has time, at least, to resolve Turkey’s weaknesses between now and the summer. Emre Sarigul
21) Ukraine
Quite apart from the geopolitical significance of their victory over Iceland on Tuesday night – and frankly, who doesn’t love a little schadenfreude at the expense of Vladimir Putin? – on a purely sporting level it would have been a crashing shame if the Euros had been deprived of this richly talented Ukraine side, stuffed with promise all over the pitch. Not one but two world-class goalkeepers in Andriy Lunin and Anatoliy Trubin; the brilliant young playmaker Georgiy Sudakov; more familiar faces in Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykhailo Mudryk, whose winning goal could be a formative moment in a still-developing international career. Sergiy Rebrov has proven a shrewd appointment as coach and if he can iron out some of this team’s inconsistencies, they could do some real damage this summer. Jonathan Liew
22) Slovakia
It’s been a difficult international window for Slovakia’s head coach, Francesco Calzona. In games against Austria and Norway, he had to improvise given the absence of key players due to injury, most notably captain Milan Skriniar. The absences gave fringe players the opportunity to shine but they certainly did not do that in Friday’s 2-0 loss to Austria. The performance in the 1-1 draw away to Norway on Tuesday was much improved, however. Calzona, who is combining his duties as Slovakia coach with being caretaker manager of Napoli until the end of the season, has much work to do but can at least take heart from the displays of the young centre-back Adam Obert, who impressed in both games. Lukas Vrablik
23) Albania
Albania, who topped qualifying Group E ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland, suffered two defeats, with the 3-0 reverse to Chile in Italy particularly painful. However, the head coach, Sylvinho, tried to put a positive spin on the performance. “We did create a lot of chances,” he said. “We created six or seven decent chances and that is not bad against a team such as Chile. However, in the Euros we may get two or three good chances in a game – and then we have to take them.” Against Sweden in Stockholm, with a large Albanian contingent in attendance, they were much better, losing narrowly 1-0 but should have had a penalty when Armando Broja was brought down in the first half. “I have nothing negative to say about the players today,” Sylvinho said. There is work to be done, however, if Albania are going to cause some upsets in two months’ time. MC
24) Georgia
Willy Sagnol’s side had to win two home games to reach the Euros and they did, just. Luxembourg, who had a player sent off in the semi-final, were beaten 2-0 while the final against Greece went to penalties. It was an illtempered game at times in front of a fanatical home support with tensions boiling over when the half-time whistle blew and a red card shown to a member of each coaching staff. When it was all done and dusted though Georgia had made history by qualifying for their first ever major tournament. “Some did not believe in us but now they will believe it. We are happy. I have never had such an emotion in my life,” Khvicha Kvaratskhelia told 1TV Sport. “Thanks to the Georgian fans. I’ve played in many stadiums but I haven’t seen such support anywhere. You were the most important factor.” MC