It’s back! And there is plenty to still play for.

8,280 minutes (+Stoppage Time) is all that remains of this unique and most unexpected season. The league title is just waiting on mathematics to make its way to Merseyside, however moving down the table there are battles and placings still up for grabs. The entire top-half of the table are battling out for European places, and the bottom-half are crawling away from the dreaded relegation zone.

Because there is so much still left up for grabs, we can surely expect to see feisty encounters and big performances being required from key players. Some players are fighting to lead their team up the table, some are fighting for their Premier League career and some are fighting to earn a starting 11 place, a contract extension or even a big transfer.

So here are my top 5 picks for Premier League players to keep an eye on during the final 92 league games, who will be both needing to lead their teams to victory, and also personally show their talents.

Enjoy!

Max Aarons

Playing the full 90 minutes in all but two of Norwich’s Premier League games in the current campaign, Aarons has shown incredible talent for a young 20 year old during an incredibly tough season at the bottom of the table. In the final 9 fixtures, the Canaries will be needing their full-back to be both defensively solid and a potential attacking threat to pull off what would be a remarkable recovery from relegation.

Despite the challenges of fighting relegation, the Englishman has played the 2nd most minutes of any Norwich player (2,430) and contributed to 5 clean sheets for the club. With a 74% tackle success and making 22 interceptions and 135 recoveries this season, Aarons has been decent defensively considering the 52 goals that they have conceded so far. In a changing full-back position, he also can provide some level of attacking threat with 1 assist, 0.7 key passes per game and 78% pass accuracy. Due to being so young, there is plenty of room for improvement in all areas of his game, however there is certainly talent with the young defender which is only going to increase with time.

Should Norwich face the growing inevitability of relegation, it would be highly likely they will consider ‘cashing in’ on their young star full-back, with several clubs having already shown interest, notably Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal in recent weeks. Failing to move the player on will keep him as one of their star-players and most valuable asset in the 20/21 season, however they risk missing out on the around £20million+ he could bring into the club.

Willian

Willian is one of the leagues most underrated players in my personal opinion. Whether this is because of the squads he has played in, or being overshadowed by other players in his position across the Premier League and Europe, the potential attacking quality he adds to Chelsea’s line-up is unquestionable, and given the current rumoured interest from all across Europe, he certainly possesses something special.

This season, he has bagged 5 goals and 5 assists in the 28 appearances he has made for the Blues. Just 3 goals off of his Premier League top scoring season of 8 in 16/17, he could potentially match this or better it should Chelsea hit the ground running in the restart. However, with just 0.18 goals per game so far this season, he will be needing to hit a run of form quite quickly to do so. In Chelsea’s final game before the break, he got a goal and assist in their 4-0 win over Everton and had scored in the FA Cup tie against Liverpool 5 days prior. Should Lampard show continued faith in the player despite the transfer speculation and likely departure, he will be a key player for the club in the remaining 9 fixtures that could determine the overall success of Frank’s Chelsea managerial debut season.

Potentially, Willian could become one of the hottest free-agents in town should he show some good form in the final few games of the season. It is well documented that his contract expires this season, and the Brazilian appears ready to move away from Chelsea. Currently estimated at £20.5 million, some big clubs will certainly be eyeing him up as a bargain acquisition in what will be a financially uncertain transfer market. Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United have already been rumoured to have shown interest, and across Europe many clubs will be watching the number 10’s final few appearances closely.

Declan Rice

Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini, Sébastien Haller, Andriy Yarmolenko and Michail Antonio are all players that I considered putting on this list, because quite honestly these are all game-changers who could grab West Ham by the scruff of the neck and carry them to safety. And somebody in that club needs to be doing that, quickly.

Instead, I’ve opted for West Ham’s two-time ‘Young Player of the Year’, Declan Rice. In the 2017/18 season, Rice gained attention and praise for his key performances in West Ham’s midfield, drawing comparisons to some of West Hams legendary midfield youngsters of the past. During that season, he played 1,442 league minutes in which the Hammers averaged 1.23 points per game. The following season, this more than doubled up to 3,004 minutes and 1.44 average points per game which secured a solid 10th place finish. In the current campaign, Rice has been an ever-present member of the squad playing in all 29 league games to date. However, under Moyes this year, the club have only managed to average 0.93 league points per game. With Rice still boasting solid on-field stats, such as 86.2% pass success, winning an average 1.4 aerial duels per game and only being dribbled past 1.5 times per 90 minutes despite having limited possession in many games, the midfielder could be the key man to organise the squad more defensively and begin creating chances in the opposition half. In the defensive midfielder role, he is the perfect option to lead the players around him, secure up the Hammers defensively and clinch safety in some key, winnable fixtures this July.

Not only will Rice’s final performances this season be crucial for his club, but also personally he is bound to have big decisions this summer. The 21 year old has been a rumoured £50-60million target for Manchester United and Chelsea over the past year, and the two clubs are looking to bolster their squads and spend fairly big to do so. Should Rice lead the Hammers to survival, clubs will be waiting, and if West Ham face the dreaded drop, then he could be snapped up at a bargain price.

Raúl Jiménez

Wolves have immediately cemented themselves as a top Premier League club that will continue battling for Europe over the coming years. There are several reasons for this and with Nuno Espírito Santo, the Wolves project is certainly one that doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Jiménez is a crucial part of this group and despite being a fairly surprising signing for Wolves as they gained promotion to the Premier League in 2018, the decision to make his transfer permanent this season (technically) puts the Mexican as one of the signings of the season.

Already in the 29 games this season, the forward has matched his Premier League goals tally of 13 from last season, and with 9 games to go, he is on track to beat his all-time top scoring season of 16 league goals in the Mexican league (2013/14). He has averaged 0.45 goals per game this season, having 3.4 shots per game, and more shots (99) than any other player in the league so far. The joint 8th highest league scorer is just one of Wolves attacking threats, however his 13 goals and 6 assists already set Jiménez up for a solid finish to the season and plenty of personal and club records to be set in the final 9 games.

Additionally, he will be looking to continue his top performances as Wolves are still in major contention for a Champions League spot, and should Manchester City fail to enter next years competition, for Nuno and Raúl it is possible they can fight for a 4th or 5th place finish, and avoid the chasing Arsenal, Spurs and Sheff United behind them for Europa League spots.

Tammy Abraham

Abraham has had some ups and downs through this season. He picked up Chelsea’s number 9 jersey, claimed his spot as their main forward and has been knocking in plenty of goals so far. With Lampard showing him his full support, Tammy was relishing his role as the Blues’ star man, however an ankle injury appeared to damage his form prior to the break. Fortunately, with the extended postponement of the league, the striker appears to have returned to full fitness and will be straight back into Chelsea’s starting 11 as they restart against Villa on Sunday.

With 13 goals already in the league, he is the joint 8th top scorer in the league, ahead of Kane, Martial and Sterling, and Chelsea’s top scorer ahead of Mount with just 6 goals in second place at the club. In his 25 league appearances, he is averaging 0.52 goals per game and an impressive 45% shooting accuracy (33/73 on target). Considering Chelsea’s fairly limited outright striking options, Abraham has stepped into the role with confidence and truly has deserved the praise he has received this season.

With the 9 rounds of fixtures that remain for Chelsea, Abraham will be keen to regain his place in the starting 11, and finish up his tremendous season in style. Chelsea will need him to get back scoring quickly as they look to secure a Champions League spot, and with the arrival of Werner and potentially some other big names, Tammy will be keen to impress Frank of his quality ahead of the big money signings for next season and beyond.