Premier League Team of the Season for 2022-23 season

Manchester City won their third successive title this time around

With Manchester City being crowned Premier League champions for the third consecutive season in a row, it was time for the year-end standout performers in the Premier League to be named in the Team of the Season. Naturally, the three consistent teams this year - Manchester City, Arsenal, and Newcastle United - have the highest representation, as well as brilliant individual performances that carry their team throughout the season. Here are the eleven for our Premier League Team of the Season.

Goalkeeper - Alisson, Liverpool

Arguably Liverpool's player of the year and the standout goal-stopper in one-on-one situations in Europe. The Brazil No.1's stature has grown even more since he joined Liverpool from Roma back in 2017 for a record fee at the time. He's been incredibly influential in the Reds' success in recent years and has won every possible trophy he's competed for in Liverpool colours.

However, this year his importance more than ever was reflected as the Merseyside clubs struggled for consistent form and routinely made up for their defensive issues with crucial saves. He's only second to David De Gea in clean sheets this season, however, in a much worse-performing backline. According to an Opta stat, the Brazilian has prevented 10.6 goals — in other words, Liverpool is expected to have conceded 10 or 11 more goals in the Premier League than they did, and the second-best Kepa is with five. Hence, he easily takes the goalkeeper spot in this team yet again. 

Right-back - Kieran Trippier, Newcastle United

The former Atletico Madrid right-back was signed by Eddie Howe as the first incoming player to start his Newcastle United tenure. After a successful stint in Spain, where he won La Liga, the England international was brought in to bring in the winning mentality, consistency, and attacking width from the right full-back position. He's resoundingly delivered and has successfully featured in many Premier League teams of the week.

The 32-year-old's consistency led Newcastle United's journey to securing a Champions League spot this year. However, his creativity on the ball and set-piece expertise has been crucial in creating goal-scoring opportunities for his side, and he has the second-most assists (7) this season, behind Liverpool's Trent Alexander Arnold for defenders. He's also the top chance creator from set-pieces this year with 74 chances created, a huge margin over the second-highest creator (James Ward-Prowse, 41). This has also led to Newcastle having the highest expected goal tally (18.49) from set pieces in 2022–23 and being among the most trusted players for England. He easily makes this squad.

Right Centre back- Ruben Dias, Manchester City

The former Premier League Player of the Year in 2020–21, the Portuguese has been an integral part of the rock-solid Manchester City backline, which now has the best defensive record to end the season in the league and is now a three-time Premier League champion. He's been the mainstay at the back for Pep Guardiola, whose back three systems of Akanji, Dias, and Ake have been impenetrable for most of their opponents.

The 26-year-old has been the backbone of the City side for several consecutive years and has now taken his defensive prowess to a higher dimension with his Champions League performances this year. He produced a game-tying block against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinal as well as keeping a clean sheet against Real Madrid in the semifinal. The Portuguese centre-back be crucial if they're to win two more finals in the FA Cup and Champions League, respectively, and create history, and he gets into the team despite only making 26 appearances throughout the league season.

Left Centre back - Sven Botman, Newcastle United

The Dutch centre-back has gone under the radar since joining Newcastle United in the summer of last year. His performances this year have helped Newcastle be the best defence in the Premier League this season, with only 32 goals conceded until recently and 14 clean sheets.

His form hasn't gone unnoticed, though, as he was chosen in the Netherlands squad for the World Cup in Qatar and has also been nominated for Premier League Young Player of the Year for helping his side qualify for the Champions League after 20 years. At 23 years old, he's already a winner of Ligue 1 with his former side Lille and is on his way to becoming one of the best centre-backs in Europe in very little time. He also wins Team of the Year for his team as well as individual success throughout the season.

Left-back - Pervis Estupinian, Brighton

The Ecuador International has now, alongside his national and club compatriot Moises Caicedo, combined for the most influential and historic season from an Ecuadorian perspective, both collectively as well as individually. Since joining the Seagulls in the summer of 2022, he's gone on to successfully represent his national team in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year, as well as help his club side qualify for Europe for the first time. His continued rise in the Premier League this season shouldn't be a surprise. Estupinan was a regular member of Villareal last season.

The Yellow Submarines finished seventh in LaLiga and also made it to the Champions League semi-finals. He's been equally good going forward under De Zerbi, chipping in one goal and six assists in 33 appearances, as well as excelling in defensive qualities such as tackling, interceptions, and recoveries. The Brighton defender makes it to the team.

Right central midfield - Martin Odegaard, Arsenal

Being the captain of Arsenal at the age of 24 and leading a title challenge against Manchester City is no mean feat for any young player. Despite his age, his maturity and quality on the ball have made him an indelible part of what Mikel Arteta's Gunners have represented this season. His influence on Arsenal's creativity this season has people making comparisons with Kevin De Bruyne in terms of importance to their team's success.

Despite the presence of Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's success this year would not be possible without the leadership and consistency of Odegaard, who's also the captain of his national side, Norway. He has 15 goals and eight assists in 36 appearances this year, and important goals such as a long-range goal against Newcastle away (2-0) and scoring the second goal after falling behind against Southampton (3-3), will come to mind for the Arsenal faithful when they look back on this season. His ability to perform under pressure and calmness will be the key factors for Arsenal next season if they're to challenge Manchester City again, and he is chosen in this year's team.

Defensive midfield - Rodri, Manchester City

Arguably the most influential and impactful midfielder in Europe and the biggest factor in Manchester City's treble-winning ambition this season.  His ability to control the play from the defensive midfield position is probably peerless today, and his importance and faith in his manager, Pep, are reflected in the most minutes played by a City player this season.

He has the fifth-best accuracy for long balls (5.4 per 90 minutes), has attempted the most passes (92.63 per 90 minutes), and is ranked second for his passing accuracy (91% per 90 minutes). However, pure stats would do injustice to the intelligence and understanding with which he plays the game, as his manager reflected after beating Real Madrid, saying, "People talk about Erling Haaland, but what a season from Rodri. I don't know if there's a better midfielder than him right now." The now-three-time Premier League winner easily makes this year's team.

Central midfield - Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City

Kevin De Bruyne has been responsible for driving home his fifth Premier League trophy for Manchester City. The Belgian has assisted 10 goals for Haaland across all competitions this season, making it the most assists given to other teammates since the combination of Jadon Sancho and Haaland at Borussia Dortmund in 2020-21.

He has a league-leading 16 assists and seven goals this season while also bringing up his 100th assist in a 4-1 win against Southampton in April, becoming the fifth player in Premier League history to do so. Like every year, the Belgian has reached cult status now and gets in the team of the season almost every season.

Forward - Bukayo Saka, Arsenal

For most of the season, Bukayo Saka spearheaded Arsenal's ambitious title challenge this year with his fearless driving forward runs from the right-hand side while also delivering goals and assists. Despite being only 21 years old, he's shown tremendous maturity and consistency in his performances and has delivered consistent numbers up front, with 13 goals and 11 assists in the league, making him amongst the top 5 players in Europe with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.

His dependability and fitness have also to be lauded, as he's played 3,134 minutes (94% of minutes available) in the league all season, bettered only by a few in the league this season. He deservingly is in the team, helping Arsenal finish second and qualify for the Champions League since 2017.

Forward - Erling Haaland, Manchester City

The Norwegian is certainly the first name penned in for this year's team of the year in most if not all, football publications. His record-breaking goal-scoring season will eventually land him the Premier League Player of the Year award in due time. His debut season in the Premier League for his boyhood club has been the best possible campaign he'd imagined, where not only has he broken the record for most goals in the Premier League season and counting (36).

But he’s also smashed the record for the most goals in a single season by a Premier League player across all competitions (52) with games in hand in the league, FA Cup final, and UCL final. He's also the top scorer in this year's Champions League campaign with 12 goals and is the second favourite behind Lionel Messi to win this year's Ballon d'Or. He's a no-brainer choice for this team, having already been named a Premier League winner in his debut season.

Forward - Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur

Despite playing for a struggling Tottenham Hotspur team, England captain Harry Kane hasn't let his high standards slip this season and has scored 28 goals in the Premier League, only second behind Erling Haaland's 36. He's two goals away from matching his highest-ever tally of goals scored in a season (30 goals in 2017-18) and will look to cement his legacy even further if he manages to do that in the final game of the season against Leeds United. He's gone on to achieve goal-scoring greatness this year and has now broken two scoring records for both his club and country.

He scored his 54th international goal in a 2-1 win over Italy on March 24 and became the all-time highest goal scorer for England. Kane also became the all-time goal scorer for his league, Tottenham Hotspur, scoring his 267th goal in a 1-0 win against Manchester City on March 7. Despite going trophyless for another season for his club, he walks into this year's team of the year.