Power Rankings – March 12

By Mike Diamente | 12th March 2010

Power Rankings – March 12 | read this item

Premiership Talk is excited to present the second edition of the Premiership Talk Power Rankings. Each week, a panel of Premier League experts rank the top ten players in the Premier League based on current form.

Players receive 10 points for a first place vote, 9 points for a second place vote, down to one point for a 10th place vote.

Here is this week’s ranking:

10 Patrice Evra (Manchester United)

Points: 8

Patrice Evra drops to number 10 in the power rankings this week despite putting in quality performances against Wolves and AC Milan. United have only conceded one goal in their last four matches, and Evra is one of the main reasons why. Evra completely shut down service to the Milan forwards Marco Borriello and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, and with continued solid performances from Evra and Rooney, Manchester United will be a handful for opponents in the Champions League and Premier League.

9 Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Points: 8

Carlos Tevez drops from third to ninth place following a week of inactivity for Manchester City. City’s match versus Tottenham was postponed, leaving the Premier League’s fifth leading scorer without anyone to terrorize for the week. City play Sunderland this weekend in what could turn into a scoring contest between Tevez and Darren Bent.

8 Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal)

Points: 10

Bendtner debuts on the power rankings following an incredible hat trick for Arsenal in the Champions League. Bendtner had scored two goals in his last three games prior to the match against Porto, and he continued his scoring ways slotting home the first, second, and last goals in Arsenal’s 5-0 victory.

7 Landon Donovan (Everton)

Points: 10

Yes, that is a United States international making international headlines. Landon Donovan comes in seventh in the power rankings following a fantastic performance for Everton against Hull City. Donovan scored his second goal for Everton and also added an assist, bringing him to three on the season. Everton should and likely will do all they can to keep Donovan around for the rest of the season.

6 Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal)

Points: 11

Andrei Arshavin debuts at the six spot on the Premiership Talk Power Rankings following a fantastic week for the Russian international. First, Arshavin scored his eighth goal of the season in Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Burnley. Then, Arshavin put in a man of the match performance against FC Porto in the Champions League, providing two assists for his teammates and giving the Porto defense headaches all game long. Arshavin could certainly be a regular on the Power Rankings for the rest of the season.

5 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Points: 11

A Chelsea player that was not kept off the score sheet in the 2-0 victory over Stoke City was Frank Lampard. Lampard’s goal in the FA Cup brought him to 16 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season, and Chelsea will need the midfielder to continue his good run of form if they are going to overtake Manchester United at the top of the table. Lampard now has three goals in his last two games, the kind of scoring rate that will be needed to advance past Inter in the Champions League.

4 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

Points: 17

Didier Drogba was held off the score sheet in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Stoke City in the FA Cup. His 19 goals, however, are still second best in the Premier League, and Drogba will be looking to add to his goal total next week against Inter in the Champions League. With a good performance, look for Drogba to climb up the rankings again.

3 Darren Bent (Sunderland)

Points: 22

Darren Bent explodes onto the Premiership Talk Power Rankings this week following a fantastic hat trick against Bolton in Sunderland’s 4-0 victory. Bent has been fantastic all season, scoring 18 goals in the Premier League this season, good for third best. Bent has rarely featured for the English national team, but with continued production, the 26 year old should be on his way to South Africa.

2 Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Points: 24

Fabregas moves up two spots in our ranking this week after scoring his 14th goal of the campaign against Burnley in Arsenal’s 3-1 victory. Fabregas’ inspirational play helped Arsenal briefly jump to the top of the Premier League table. Luckily for the Gunners, Fabregas was seemingly unneeded for Arsenal’s match against Porto, in which Arsenal won 5-0. The Spaniard is currently sidelined with an injury.

1 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Points: 40 (4 first place votes)

Wayne Rooney stays atop the power rankings for this week after bringing his goal total for the season to 30 following a brace against AC Milan in the Champions League. Rooney has said he is not chasing Cristiano Ronaldo’s mark of 42 goals, but whether he wants to or not, Rooney is on a great pace to get it.