Ahead of the final weekend of the Premier League campaign, selecting a team of the season has become a source of great debate on social media.
On Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher made their selections and the discussion centred around whether to include players such as Mohamed Salah, Gabriel Martinelli and Harry Kane.
Unsurprisingly, with Manchester City winning the title over the weekend, there are plenty of candidates from Pep Guardiola’s side when choosing the best XI this term. But Manchester United have also had plenty of impressive performers over the campaign and the team put in a good run of form in the months immediately after the World Cup.
So who will make our team of the season? We asked ManchesterWorld’s football reporter Michael Plant for his take on the XI and how many United and City players would be involved. Here’s what he had to say…
“As always, it’s difficult when picking a team of the season, but especially in 2022/23 when the campaign has felt so long. Obviously City and Arsenal players have to dominate the XI, although United have had some really good spells this term, while I’ve been hugely impressed with Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
“When selecting my team, I’ve tried to base it across the entire season and which players have impressed consistently through from August to May, rather than on who has finished stronger. I’m also not going to shoehorn players into positions they don’t usually play - this is very much a team based on the roles players have operated in over the campaign. Without further ado, here’s my Premier League XI from the 2022/23 campaign.”
Unsurprisingly, with Manchester City winning the title over the weekend, there are plenty of candidates from Pep Guardiola’s side when choosing the best XI this term. But Manchester United have also had plenty of impressive performers over the campaign and the team put in a good run of form in the months immediately after the World Cup.
5. LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko
It was a toss up between the Ukrainian and City’s Nathan Ake. I feel the former was outstanding up until the last few months, so it’s his performances up until March that have seen him grab a spot in the XI.
6. DM: Rodri
Solid throughout the season but really peaked in the last few months as City surged towards the title. Casemiro’s penchant for picking up suspensions also helped Rodri’s case, while Thomas Partey and Moises Caicedo have been excellent but missed out.
7. CM: Kevin De Bruyne
We’ve become so used to City’s no.17 being fantastic that perhaps De Bruyne’s outstanding contributions doesn’t always get the recognition they deserves. But 16 assists tells the whole story - the next highest is 11 in the top flight.
8. CM: Martin Odegaard
For me, the player of the season after Erling Haaland. The Arsenal midfielder has been a talisman for his team and his creativity has been crucial to the Gunners’ superb campaign.