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Cape Town - The English Premier League may have wrapped up, but football is certainly not over for the season with the much-anticipated 2018 Soccer World Cup set to kick off on Thursday, June 14.
And while we enjoy the football overload over the next month or so, Premier League fans are yearning for the new campaign to start.
Several teams have already begun their preparations for next season, bringing in new players to hopefully challenge Manchester City.
City’s record breaking campaign under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, saw the Blues break several long-standing records.
Guardiola's side went on to dominate the Premier League Team of the Year with Kyle Walker, Nicolas Otamendi, David Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero all making the starting XI.
Alongside the five City players, Manchester United’s David de Gea, who claimed the Premier League’s Golden Glove for his 18-clean sheets, was entrusted with the job between the posts.
Tottenham Hotspur's boast three stars in the XI, namely Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane.
Completing the line-up was Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso while Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah also made the cut.
However, were the Team of the Year based on player statistics collected during the season, it would look a lot different.
The WhoScored website collected statistics from each player in the English Premiership based on the following: total minutes played, goals scored, assists, yellow cards, red cards, shots per game, pass success percentage, aerial duels won per game and man of the match awards claimed.
In changes to the team, Burnley’s Nick Pope replaces De Gea in goal, while James Tomkins of Crystal Palace teams up with Shkodran Mustafi in the heart of defence.
Raheem Sterling makes the cut after his brilliant season with City while Eden Hazard, who had an underwhelming campaign, is included as well.
HAVE A LOOK AT BOTH TEAMS BELOW:
2017/18 Premier League Team of the Year
David De Gea - 6.83 (ratings)
Kyle Walker - 7.05
Nicolas Otamendi 7.13
Jan Vertonghen – 7.26
Marcos Alonso – 7.13
Kevin De Bruyne - 7.80
Christian Eriksen – 7.40
David Silva – 7.58
Mohamed Salah - 7.69
Sergio Aguero - 7.81
Harry Kane - 7.60
2017/18 Best Premier League XI based on statistics
Nick Pope - 6.9 (rating based of best performing player for each position)
Antonio Valencia - 7.07
James Tomkins - 7.31
Shkodran Mustafi - 7.38
Nacho Monreal - 7.13
Kevin De Bruyne - 7.80
Raheem Sterling - 7.55
Mohamed Salah - 7.69
Eden Hazard - 7.69
Sergio Aguero - 7.81
Harry Kane - 7.60
Tashreeq Vardien is a paper basketball dustbin champion and works at Sport24... Follow Tashreeq on Twitter.
