Man City dominate Premier League Team of the Season so far

The best goalkeeper in the world, and there really shouldn't be any debating it anymore. De Gea's superhuman double save against Arsenal qualifies him for this team alone, as it capped one of the finest goalkeeping performances seen in English football in years. His 10 clean sheets are unmatched by any other goalkeeper, too.

That Pep Guardiola managed to extract Walker from Tottenham in the summer is perhaps both a masterstroke for City and an entry into the Darwin Awards for Spurs. Walker is, on form, the single best right-back in the country and he has barely put a foot wrong at the Etihad. He has played at both right midfield and right full-back which shows that he has a layer of versatility to his game.

Being the best ball-playing defender in a Pep Guardiola team is a tough ask, but Otamendi has managed it at City. Previously imposing but error-prone, the Argentina international has cleaned up his act, and has made a league-high 1,607 passes - ahead of even team-mates David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. In 17 games, he has also contributed four goals, one coming in a fiercely contested derby encounter with Manchester United.

Burnley's defence perhaps defies statistics, but Tarkowski has been a central reason for their remarkable rise up the Premier League table. Closer to the European positions than relegation, the Clarets had the joint-best defensive record along with Manchester City heading into the weekend, with Tarkowski making a club-high 28 blocks, 145 clearances and 94 headed clearances.

Previously an unheralded central midfield player who did the basics very well but little else, Delph has undergone a remarkable evolution into a truly excellent left-back. Since his exceptional showing in the position against Chelsea in September, Delph has been ever-present for the runaway league leaders.

City's midfield is one of incredible fluidity, and in Silva and Kevin De Bruyne they boast perhaps the two best midfielders in the country. No player in Pep Guardiola's unit is absolutely indispensable, such is the quality at his disposal, but Silva is as close as one can get to being undroppable. In 17 outings, he has scored five goals and provided eight assists, a staggeringly efficient return.

The engine room of the ferocious City winning machine, Fernandinho's role is one of quiet efficiency. The Brazilian, at the age of 32, appears reborn in an irrepressible attacking unit, who lean heavily on his excellent ball retention and tackling. The midfielder captained City to a 4-1 win over Spurs, and also scored against both Stoke City and West Brom.

De Bruyne is well on his way to becoming a Manchester City legend. The Belgium international moves about the pitch with an effortless grace, executing passes that some players can't even see. De Bruyne has provided eight assists this Premier League season, scored six, and is is as important to Manchester City as Xavi once was for Barcelona. There can be no greater compliment paid to a midfield player.

Without question the single most improved player in the Premier League this season, Sterling has matured into a flying winger with an end product. Always electric with a ball at his feet, he has allied his frightening pace to a killer instinct under Pep Guardiola, scoring 12 goals, and becoming a key part of arguably the finest team in world football right now.

Rejected by Chelsea, Salah has become the signing of the season under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. In his first season back in England, he has scored more goals (15) than any other player in the top-flight, and become a focal point of a Liverpool team that could set the pulse of the most casual football fan racing. He is, without doubt, the most talented Egyptian player ever to ply his trade on these shores and, in this form, he could perhaps become one of the very best African footballers ever to play the game.

There was widespread surprise when City signed Leroy Sane for a fee of £37m in 2016. Aged 20, precociously talented, but perhaps untested in a rough-and-tumble league, Guardiola immediately allayed fears by claiming fans would "enjoy watching" Sane. Boy, was he right. Six goals and eight assists this season mark Sane out as a clinical player, but it perhaps belies the fact that he is so exciting to watch, with his incredible turn of pace marking him out as a truly frightening talent.

And here's how they line up...