Premier League Power Rankings: Eden Hazard and Harry Kane continue to slip but Wayne Rooney has to perform against rivals

GAME WEEK FIVE: Who are the 17 most important players heading into the next round of Premier League fixtures?

Tom Sheen
Friday 04 September 2015 12:52 BST
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Better late than never - it's either this or some more stuff about England's game with San Marino.

We've come to the first break of the Premier League season and things have worked out perfectly for Manchester City and not so well for Champions Chelsea, who suffered a shock defeat at home to Crystal Palace last weekend, only Jose Mourinho's second loss at Stamford Bridge in 100 Premier League matches.

Palace, Leicester City and Swansea City surprisingly make up the rest of the top four, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool enjoying decent, but hardly brilliant, starts to the season.

With the transfer window now closed the teams are set as summer ends and autumn and winter creep up on us. But which players hold the power ahead heading into the international break?

We all know who the best players are but defining those with the power to shape events in the Premier League is not so simple - so we've created The Independent's Premier League Power Rankings.

Ahead of every round of fixtures in the top-flight our team of experts get together to define the 17 players who hold the power.

Rather than being based on who the best or most talented footballers are, it's defined by current form, league position, next fixture and any other factors which could influence events.

Players move up and down the rankings, battling to be number one. Some will drop out and new entries will emerge. You might not agree (in which case let us know why) - but that's half the fun.

Three weeks into the season there are already some trends developing and we've seen some major changes in the players picked.

These are the 17 most important players in the Premier League right now...

PREVIOUS RANKINGS:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

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