PREMIER LEAGUE POWER RANKINGS GAMEWEEK 8

Sadly over the past few matches the Premier League seems to have returned to normal. But this gameweek gave us the closest taste we've had of the opening weeks. Just a tiny taste. Arsenal falling to Aston Villa was the only taste. Everything else was back to normal. Spurs winning a game by a goal after being basic for 88 minutes. Burnley and a 0-0 draw. Chelsea conceding goals again (even if it's just one). Bielsa's men conceding 4 goals for the second game in a row. Jamie Vardy scoring a penalty. 

The power rankings? There are a lot of new faces in the rankings this week. A lot of changes, up and down with the blue and red sides of the Cazoo derby struggling. West Ham looking solid. United blowing hot and cold. The Premier League table is weird so it's only right if the power rankings are just as weird. 

See for yourself.

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

Goalkeepers are never straightforward to judge. One minute they're making a very amazing save, the next they are conceding the softest shot ever taken. Emi Martinez is still the top keeper after Villa bounced back with an impressive clean sheet against his former club. Karl Darlow is basically the reason Newcastle are any good, with multiple saves to keep their kisses respectable. Finally, Edouard Mendy is eligible after meeting the threshold despite conceding McGoldrick's flick and losing his clean sheets run. Kasper Schmeichel pulled off an incredible save to keep Wolves quiet and everyone else has slipped slowly with Mendy's leap. Fabianski "deserves" a mention for saving Lookman's soft panenka. 

CENTRE BACKS

Tyrone Mings. The center back king. Aston Villa were suspect against Southampton despite the second half performance they put up. Thiago Silva's slip against West Brom seems like a decade ago. He's been impervious for Chelsea and got his first goal for the blues which pushes him up to 2nd. Gabriel has come falling back down to earth after topping last week after looking pretty poor against Villa. West Ham's pairing of Balbuena and Cresswell rise again after that Fulham clean sheet performance. Ruben Dias runs them close anyway. He's transformed City's defense and against Liverpool is was evident to see. Vestegaard has been amazing for Southampton lately and keeps his spot. Wesley Fofana is eligible too. A new entry. He's been solid and hugely impressive for Leicester and he will probably overtake a couple of people with time.

RIGHT BACKS/ RIGHT WING BACKS

It was going to happen. Impressive performances in a struggling team can eventually fade away and that's what Lamptey has suffered from. It doesn't make it any better for him that right backs in the league have turned it on lately. Trent was impressive before he had to go off injured against City. Matty Cash against Arsenal was back to the performances he showed earlier in the season. Reece James has risen too with his performances of late. Semedo retains his place and Coufal is the newcomer following a run of impressive showings.

LEFT BACKS/LEFT WING BACKS

For the first time since these started, the Liverpool fullback duo top both fullback charts. Robertson skips ahead to top spot. James Justin has played multiple positions and my favorite clip of this past weekend was him outmuscling Adams Traore. Ben Chilwell has been an impressive attacking outlet for Chelsea, with another goal to his name. Lucas Digne has fallen 3 places. He was horrible against Southampton, suspended for Newcastle and largely ineffective against United. Matt Targett was again a silent presence for Villa against Arsenal. 

CENTRE/DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS

This section has been overhauled from the last time. There's still one man holding it down at the top, Youri Tielemans. He's been consistently brilliant for Leicester this season. Douglas Luiz has been a huge foundation for Villa's flourishing forward line. Høljbjerg drops down as a result with a neat game. Kante and Soucek both rise by 2 places with the later scoring the winner against Fulham. JWP drops without scoring 2 bangers again this week. So does Rice. Neither of their own accord but the players above them deserve their rises. Allan is clinging onto his spot with Everton losing 3 on the bounce.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD/WIDE FORWARDS

Ahhh, the attacking midfielders and wide forwards. It was a week of mixed feelings here. Most notably Pierre-Emerik Aubameyang finally falls out of the rankings with Trezeguet stealing his place. Son maintains top spot though Salah has closed in on him and if he puts in another West Bromy display against Man City next time out he'll drop off. James Rodriguez falls following Everton's 3rd loss in a row where he wasn't quite as exciting against United. Grealish and Zaha had no such problems being exciting against Arsenal and Leeds respectively. Bruno ran the game against Everton but his form is too patchy to earn him a spot in the top 5 anytime soon. Aston Villa's other attacking midfielder maestro, Ross Barkley jumps ahead into the top 10 with quiet nights for West Ham and Wolves. 

STRIKERS

Not the most exciting night from strikers. Harry Kane scored late for a Spurs victory against West Brom. Calvert-Lewin didn't manage a goal against Man United in their defeat. Vardy scored and missed penalties in the first half vs Wolves. Bamford however should have had 2 goals against Palace if not for a cleVAR decision by the technology, ruling out a goal for pointing! Watkins and Werner both scored in dominant wins. The Villa man is back as high as 7th. However he'll need to cling tight to his spot with Che Adams also impressing and moving up 2 places. Jiminez falls to bottom spot by 3 places following the Leicester defeat.