Frederik
Best defensive midfielders in the Premier League based on stats
What is most important for a defensive midfield, tackles, recoveries or possession? We’ve looked at the players in the Premier League who have a bit of everything.
Declan Rice – West Ham
Tackles: 41
Interceptions: 28
Pass success: 90.4 %
Duels: 122
Aerial Duels: 29
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
Rice is known for his ball winning skills, his work rage and his passing technique.
He likes a match with a lot of duels and where he can control the tempo with his technical skills.
Rodri – Manchester City
Tackles: 37
Interceptions: 18
Pass success: 90.8 %
Duels: 156
Aerial Duels: 58
Goals: 1
Assists: 3
Rodri is a fantastic ball winner who has many tackles and interceptions in a match. He also has good technique and is the man who often builds up Man City's attack, he is also dangerous in front of goal as he has a good shot.
Joao Palhinha – Fulham
Tackles: 80
Interceptions: 19
Pass success: 83.3 %
Duels: 215
Aerial Duels: 52
Goals: 3
Assists: 0
Palhinha is undoubtedly one of the toughest dogs in the Premier League. He is the player with the absolute most tackles in the league and he is crucial to Fulham's success this season.
Fabinho – Liverpool
Tackles: 32
Interceptions: 16
Pass success: 88.6 %
Duels: 107
Aerial Duels: 25
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Fabinho is struggling to find his old level for Liverpool which can also be seen in his stats. But you know his qualities and when he gets back to top form, he will be one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.
Casemiro – Manchester United
Tackles: 45
Interceptions: 17
Pass success: 80.5 %
Duels: 152
Aerial Duels: 38
Goals: 2
Assists: 2
Casemiro a true defensive midfield player, and probably the best in the league to help his defense. For several years he has been an anchor for Toni Kroos and Luka Modric from Real Madrid and he has now brought that to United.
Thomas Partey – Arsenal
Tackles: 30
Interceptions: 16
Pass success: 86.5 %
Duels: 117
Aerial Duels: 30
Goals: 2
Assists: 0
Partey is a dynamic defensive midfielder who is a good ball handler, has good technical skills and is very dynamic. He is one of the players with the greatest running record in the league and has been very important to Arsenal this season.
Bruno Guimaraes
Tackles: 39
Interceptions: 18
Pass success: 83.0 %
Duels: 194
Aerial Duels: 13
Goals: 3
Assists: 3
Guimaraes is an all-round defensive midfielder. He is good offensively and defensively, and his technical skills are top notch.
He scores goals and assists at the same time and has been a big part of Newcastle's success this season.