EPL 2016/17: PFA Team of the Year - The Deserving XI

As yet another Premier League season comes to a close, we are all set for what could be a photo finish. Chelsea hold a slender four-point lead at the top with Tottenham Hotspur breathing down their necks in what is now effectively a two-horse race to the title. Below them, five teams are fighting it out for the remaining two Champions League spots and nobody can predict who will make the top four.

It’s also that time of the year when the PFA Awards are announced for the best performers of the season. We look at the 11 players who deserved to be selected in the PFA Team of the Year for 2016/17.

Note: The formation used is a traditional 4-4-2 as that is how the votes are cast. Stats are updated as of 18 April.

Goalkeeper

While Tottenham Hotspur’s Tour de Force is probably their attacking football this season, their reliable captain between the sticks has been one of the primary factors for the Spurs occupying second place in the league table.

When Hugo Lloris first joined the club, many wondered why France’s no.1 goalkeeper was moving to a club that always found itself on the outside of the top four looking in. But their steady march into the top four and later competing for the title has answered that question and Lloris’ leadership has been instrumental to their progress.

This season, Lloris has kept 13 clean sheets (alongside Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois) – the highest in the league so far. So why not Courtois? Well, Lloris has made more saves and also has a better distribution compared to his Belgian counterpart.

To top it all, Spurs have conceded the least number of goals this season – five fewer than Chelsea.

Honourable mentions: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) and Jordan Pickford (Sunderland)