Player roles · Premier League

The best defensive midfielders in the Premier League

Screen the defence: break up attacks in front of the back line and keep the ball moving. Players appear here because they spent most of their minutes in this role, whatever position their club lists them in, and each is compared only with the other defensive midfielders.

What a defensive midfielder is judged on

Average match rating25%
Tackles + interceptions per 9030%
Duels won20%
Pass accuracy15%
Passes per 9010%

For each measure we find the player’s percentile among the defensive midfielders on this board, then take the weighted average. A score of 70 means that, on these measures, the player is ahead of about 70% of the league’s defensive midfielders. How roles are decided.

ClubPlayer

33 defensive midfielders with at least 270 minutes after 6 matchweeks of 2026/27. Early in a season the board moves a lot from week to week. The small number beside each figure is the player’s percentile in this role.

#	Player	Mins	Score	Rating25%	Tkl+Int/9030%	Duels %20%	Pass %15%	Pass/9010%
1	E. Anderson Manchester City	505	86	7.4594	4.1078	62%84	90%78	93.03100
2	E. Palacios Ipswich · 82% here, also CM	304	82	6.9756	5.0394	63%88	91%91	66.6188
3	K. Mainoo Manchester United	447	74	7.2281	3.6266	55%50	93%98	73.4994
4	J. Garner Everton	420	73	7.0870	4.0775	57%59	91%91	59.7972
5	Y. Tielemans Manchester United	463	69	7.0766	3.6969	58%66	89%66	72.1291
6	S. Tonali Tottenham	519	69	7.2888	2.7741	65%94	88%53	61.5678
7	R. Lavia Chelsea	280	67	6.8547	4.8288	71%100	88%53	37.619
8	D. Rice Arsenal	504	67	7.4191	2.6838	56%56	90%78	75.0097
9	G. Xhaka Sunderland	540	65	7.5497	3.0044	61%81	85%27	61.0075
10	V. Janelt Brentford	540	62	7.1775	6.33100	52%39	83%20	44.1719
11	X. Schlager Nottingham Forest	442	60	6.9959	4.6884	59%75	85%27	40.9313
12	A. Scott Bournemouth	446	59	7.2484	3.4359	59%72	81%16	50.4538
13	A. Wharton Crystal Palace	527	55	7.0870	3.0747	65%97	77%6	45.4325
14	S. Charles Fulham · 88% here, also CM	375	53	6.8442	3.6063	52%31	90%78	58.0856
15	M. Sangaré Brentford · 84% here, also CM	360	52	6.8234	6.0097	56%53	79%11	44.7522
16	P. Groß Brighton	540	49	7.62100	2.6734	39%9	86%34	59.0063
17	R. Bentancur Tottenham · 85% here, also CM	384	47	6.586	4.9291	43%16	88%53	59.7769
18	A. Mac Allister Liverpool · 86% here, also CM	398	46	7.0063	3.1753	48%28	86%34	52.2441
19	Q. Timber Crystal Palace	344	44	6.8234	3.9272	58%63	74%3	34.016
20	T. Adams Bournemouth	372	43	6.5913	4.1181	36%6	89%66	56.1344
21	M. Grimes Coventry	444	41	6.9450	2.2322	61%78	83%20	49.2634
22	M. Lewis-Skelly Arsenal	336	41	6.8442	1.070	52%34	93%98	65.0984
23	N. Sadiki Sunderland	502	38	6.7122	2.1516	64%91	88%53	43.5716
24	R. James Chelsea	292	38	6.9553	1.233	47%25	91%91	57.9550
25	S. Lukić Ipswich	493	37	6.7019	3.2956	36%3	89%66	58.0553
26	L. Miley Newcastle · 78% here, also FB	399	35	6.6816	2.4831	53%47	88%53	57.0747
27	D. Szoboszlai Liverpool	441	35	7.1878	2.0413	33%0	86%34	59.5966
28	S. Berge Fulham	442	32	6.7725	1.636	44%19	90%78	61.7081
29	B. Kamara Aston Villa	534	31	6.7928	2.1919	53%44	87%42	48.2031
30	F. Onyeka Coventry · 72% here, also AM	316	30	6.586	3.1350	58%69	69%0	24.210
31	J. McAtee Nottingham Forest	508	29	6.8234	2.3028	52%39	79%11	45.7128
32	R. Barkley Aston Villa · 70% here, also AM	324	25	6.586	1.949	39%13	90%78	58.8959
33	H. Armstrong Everton · 83% here, also AM	524	19	6.530	2.2325	46%22	87%42	33.323