This is statistically the best Premier League XI so far – and there’s no Man United or Liverpool players

With the Premier League now fast approaching the half way point, it's been a remarkable season so far.

A year ago, Chelsea were running away with the league while Leicester City were looking a certainty to return to the Championship. 12 months on, Leicester's phenomenal run sees them topping the table, whilst Chelsea are languishing in 14th position. Although the contrasting fortunes of the aforementioned pair have been the main talking points of an incredibly unpredictable season so far, there are many more things that have changed in that time. This is highlighted by this year's EA SPORTS Player Performance Index Team of the Season. When compared with last year's table at the same stage, not a single player remains in the best XI. Chelsea player dominated the best eleven last year, but that's not a single one appears this year... Petr Cech, who was understudy to last year's number one Thibault Courtois, is the league's leading goalkeeper. Another former Chelsea man, Romelu Lukaku accompanies Leicester's Jamie Vardy up front. Despite Chris Smalling's solid displays in the Manchester United defence, there's no place for him ahead of Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld and Scott Dann of Crystal Palace. Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League.