Top 10 Duellers in the Premier League (2024/25): Who Wins the Most Battles?

Introduction

So this is one of my favourite categories, Premier League top duellers. We have had some awesome duellers in the EPL over the years from David Batty to N’Golo Kante, Makelele to Roy Keane. Who won the Premier League battle on the pitch? It’s not who you think…….

While I have only spoken about holding midfielders, there are a few other positions where duellers exist too such as full backs and centre backs. These guys love to disrupt the opposition and break up any attacks.

Methodology

So the question everyone asks me, how do you analysis or rank players? The answer is rather simple, I have built numerous models over the years around football. The model we use here breaks football down into four/five modules – Duelling, Possession, Chance Creation and Shooting.

When a team performs in these areas the win rate increases significantly. Each area is built on a range of metrics and weightings that feed into each module to give us an accurate reflection of a player’s ability or performance in that module.

The scores we have are marked out of 100% which would be the perfect player, which obviously does not exist………….yet. Have a read and enjoy, any feed back is welcome!

So who are the top 10 Premier League top duellers 2024/25?

10. Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace) – Rating 62.52

He’s only been at Palace for one season, but what a great season it has been. He is not the only Palace player on our list of Premier League top duellers in 2024/25, showing that Glasner’s style is shining through.

9. James Tarkowski (Everton) – Rating 62.57

The man that had not missed a game in the EPL for 111 games until he was injured towards the end of the year. Couple this with his amazing aerial abilities and you get a low block king of defence.

8. Christian Norgaard (Brentford) – Rating 65.83

On the verge of a big move to Arsenal, Norgaard was instrumental in duelling in the midfield for Brentford. Some would say a midfield general, being good at all aspects of duelling, especially in interceptions so he can start a counter.

7. Noussair Mazraoui (Man Utd) – Rating 66.34

Since Mazraoui joined the Man United in the EPL he has won a lot of plaudits even though his club struggled. Defensively there isn’t much this guy can’t do, he is flexible in his positions, good in all aspects of duelling, but his tackling is what makes him better than others.

6. Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool) – Rating 66.55

One of the break out stars under Slot, Gravenberch has been playing a big role for Liverpool this year. While he played the previous season, this year he has really upped his game. Defensively he is a duelling rock, in the air and through interceptions while holding his. He also contributes with keeping hold of possession and getting the ball forward, this guy is getting better and better.

And now the top 5…..

5. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham) – Rating 67.08

Being a West Ham United fan, I was excited for this season, but unfortunately it went a bit wrong. One great thing to come out of the mess was the fantastic performances of Wan-Bissaka, he is amazing, and how Man United let him go I have no idea.

He is fantastic at interceptions, which highlights his pace, positioning and work rate.

4. Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace) – Rating 69.76

Another right back and another Palace player who had a great season. What a find! They plucked him out of tier 2 league and played him in their first team, and he has contributed ever since. Every player has their strength and Munoz loves to win possession back, which makes him invaluable, not just in duelling, but also in the possession stakes.

Palace have had a great season under Glasner and they deserved their recognition in winning the FA Cup. Well done to them!

On to the top 3

3. Moises Caicedo (Chelsea) – Rating 78.03

One of my personal favourites in the league, his duelling rating is THREE times the average. Absolutely formidable player, high in duelling on the ground and air he is a joy to watch stopping opposition players in the Club World Cup at the moment.

As well as this he contributes really well to possession puts Chelsea back on the front foot when he wins it back. The midfield trio at Chelsea know their role and the do it really well.

2. Idrissa Gueye (Everton) – Rating 78.08

I think this might be a bit of a surprise to some, but Gueye has been really solid in midfield for Everton this year. He is very good across the board, but excels in the tackling department especially. Rumour has it that this guy is going for free at the end of the year.

Another bonus feature for Gueye is that he attempts less passes than the rest of the players on this list, but holds an 86% pass completion, that could be pretty devastating in a long ball game.

1. Antonee Robinson (Fulham) – Rating 78.66

Here we are! Our top dueller in the Premier League in the last season. I don’t think it has been a secret that Robinson has been absolutely amazing in the last season for Fulham.

Robinson is looking like the complete full back as he is rated well above the average for Possession, Duelling and Chance Creation. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were a few clubs interested in taking him from Fulham.

Premier League top duellers 2024/25 Takeaways

I think the biggest take away for me, is that some of the under performing teams are struggling to find their duelling expert, look at Man City for example, they have struggled since Rodri was injured and then when he returns the wins start piling up again.

Another thing I found strange is that the top duelling team in the league Nottingham Forest, didn’t have any players in this list. That just shows that the team are working together it’s not role based in winning the ball back.

The bottom line is that if you can out duel your opponent in each game you are on course to win 53% of your games. Which is massive to clubs in the lower half especially.

What do you think of Premier League top duellers?

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