PREMIER LEAGUE POWER RANKINGS: GAMEWEEK 6

Sometimes we ask the football gods for this we don't really mean. 4-1 up against Liverpool, I tweeted this. Do I regret it? Absolutely. The chaos of the first 5 weeks was a major source of entertainment and comedy for anyone that watched a game. The football gods restored football to factory settings but they pushed the button too hard. 19 goals in gameweek 6 compared to 23, 43, 36, 41 and 26 in weeks 1 through to 5 respectively. That's a massive drop and a scary one too. With how the weekends fixtures went, I found myself hoping Burnley won Spurs 6-2 just to keep the routine going. But from the snore fest at Old Trafford to Carlo's Conquerors from the South to Antonio's overhead, this weekend had it's moments. 

What does that mean for the power rankings? Well in truth things are a bit stable. Very few people capitalized on poor performances. With Villa mad Everton slipping up, let's see who stole who's spots.

But first a reminder of the rules

 With this power ranking series, I'll be answering that question. The rules are simple. 

• Every player started on a level playing field so only this season's performances count

• Players are grouped into 7 positions namely goalkeeper, centre back, right back, left back, centre/defensive midfielder, attacking midfield/wide forward and striker based on where they've played this season. 

• Players need to have played at least 50% of the minutes available to be considered for ranking.

Remember this is not a ranking of this weeks performances. That'll make for awkward reading. All performances for this season are considered.

GOALKEEPERS

Pretty steady here. Martinez conceded 3 this week but those strikes were hardly stoppable and won't undo all his good work in one week. Guaita was his solid self as was Darlow. Jiminez shot was mind-blowing and that goal deserves more praise for the Wolves striker than condemnation for the Baggies keeper. Lloris and Schmeichel kept clean sheets. Alisson falls mostly due to his absence giving Kapser time to catch up. It's much of the same all the way till Meslier. The Leeds shotstopper has be impressive and comes in for last season's golden glove winner who looks like he'll struggle to retain that.

CENTRE BACKS

Strangely in a week when football seemed to return to normal, it's not a good week for centre backs. Or at least the top ones of the last few weeks. Mings and Konsa were on the wrong end of a result for the first time this season but their earlier performances mean they hold on to their spots. As does Keane for the same reasons. Gabriel rises despite losing to Leicester. Partly because Soyuncu and Van Djik, who both dropped, were not available to overtake him. Partly because he was solid for the most part. Balbuena rises 3 places with a solid performance against a starstudded City side. His partners? Cresswell stays put and Ogbonna misses out narrowly. Kouyate meanwhile played with his 45th different partner in the heart of Palace's defense. He lined up with Sahko, Damn and Cahill (so far) and somehow it's the midfielder that keeps his place. Zouma looked solid in Chelsea's back 3 with Azpilicueta and Silva. 

RIGHT BACKS/ RIGHT WING BACKS

Lamptey needs a big performance to keep his spot. With Cash losing with Villa, he can breathe for this week. Castagne and Alexander-Arnold both put in solid displays against Arsenal and Sheffield United respectively. Trent in particular looked like he'd taken huge strides in regaining his form. Coleman was out against Southampton and Everton missed him, with Hassenhüttl's men targeting Ben Godfrey who's not a right back by nature. That plus the performance of the two above him means he drops. Luke Ayling overtakes Reece James despite playing centre back and Reece being part of a solid backline. Why? With Azpilicueta starting the past couple of fixtures, Ayling has had time to overtake. 

LEFT BACKS/ LEFT WING BACKS

Yes, Lucas Digne is still too. The red card in the 2-0 loss to Southampton has hurt him significantly but with how poor the others started, they only close the gap on him this week. Robertson put in his shift against Sheffield United and even though his creative returns are slowing down, his overall quality definitely shines through. Dallas playing his 379th different position of the season so far, contributed to Leeds win in both attack and defense as right back. His rise sees Matt Targett drop a place with things staying put elsewhere.

CENTRE/DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS

Top here should not be controversial by any means. Tielemans ball over the top to Under for Vardy's goal was superb. Phillips missed the Villa game and so could challenge Tielemans with a trademark ball of his own. Fabinho gave away a dubious and debatable penalty playing centre back and if he keeps that up he'll have to move to that category. McGinn was far from his brilliant best against Leeds dominated s by Klich who closes in on him. Everton's midfield generals drop from their heights with Ndombele sandwiching himself between them. He looks to have gained Mourinho's trust (sigh, Dele Alli). Jorginho and Soucek keep their positions with solid but unspectacular showings.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS/WIDE FOWARDS

KING JAMES DETHRONED. It'll be stupid to not admit Son (highest goalscorer, same as City and Arsenal) is not in top of the charts. Spurs were headed to the stereotypical Mourinho draw before he struck again. On Salah, it almost feels like goals should stand basically on aesthetic quality with his wonderstrike ruled out. Grealish was particularly poor against Leeds but rises because Richarlison missed the games all together.  Zaha had no such problems. A goal and an assist against Fulham lifts him to just outside the top 5. The rest of the players were huge disappointments. From De Bruyne to Bruno all the way to Havertz, neither turned up. What's even more frustrating is noone has performed consistently enough outside then to overtake them after their woeful performances. Hopefully, this is just a week's blip.

STRIKERS

Whisper it quietly but Harry Kane might actually win the playmaker of the year award. 8 assists to go with his 5 goals so far this season. Southampton were not as generous to Calvert-Lewin as they were to Kane. They shut him out entirely while their own striker, Danny Ings' finished with 2 assists of his own. Vardy switches places with Bamford despite his goalscoring return against Arsenal. His diving header was impressive but a hat trick against Emi Martinez is something special this season. Even more so when the finishes are of such high quality. Firmino finally scored, which is the perfect reward for all the good things he does during games. Maupay and Lacazette were both poor with the Arsenal man missing a shocker. Werner was quiet against United and Jiminez...oh Jiminez. That strike was magnificent to behold. Outside the box and arrowed into the net.