While the conversation around the Premier League’s best players tends to start and finish with the Big Six, this season has produced a remarkable crop of talent at clubs outside Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
From a Brazilian record-breaker at Brentford to a veteran Swiss midfielder who has been one of the signings of the campaign at newly promoted Sunderland, here is the best XI from outside the Big Six in 2025-26, set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It is a lineup that gives plenty of reason to bet on sports outside the traditional powerhouses
GK: Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)
Forest may be fighting to stay up, but Sels has been the reason their points total is not even lower. The Belgian shared the Golden Glove with Arsenal’s David Raya last season after keeping 13 clean sheets across 38 games, and he’s carried that form into 2025-26. In 20 league appearances this season, he has made 55 saves with a save percentage of 67%, and kept four clean sheets despite playing behind a defence disrupted by constant managerial change.
RB: Kenny Tete (Fulham)
Tete has been Fulham’s most consistent defensive performer this season, ranking in the 80-95th percentile among all Premier League full-backs for ground duel success rate, clearances and interceptions. Squawka’s stats-based ranking places him third among all right-backs in the division, behind only Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber and Reece James of Chelsea. In a Fulham side pushing for Europe, he has been the defensive anchor that has allowed Wilson to express himself further forward.
CB: Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
Konsa has started 25 league games this season, keeping eight clean sheets at a rate of 32% of matches played, with Villa conceding just 26 goals in those appearances. He’s composed on the ball, dominant in the air and fits perfectly into Unai Emery’s system. Villa’s title challenge would not have been possible without the platform his consistency has provided.
CB: Murillo (Nottingham Forest)
Murillo has made 22 league starts this season, averaging 4.6 clearances, 1.9 interceptions and 1.5 tackles per game. He led the entire Premier League for clearances last season with 242 and is on course to post similarly imposing numbers again. Despite Forest’s struggles, he has been one of very few players at the club who can hold his head up across the whole campaign.
LB: Lewis Hall (Newcastle)
At 21, Hall has grown into one of the most technically assured left-backs in the league. He has posted an 85.8% pass completion rate and won nearly 59% of his duels this season. His performance handling Lamine Yamal in Newcastle’s Champions League tie against Barcelona was the moment that proved he belongs at this level, and an England call-up has followed.
CM: Granit Xhaka (Sunderland)
Xhaka’s return to the Premier League at 33 was surprising enough, but the fact he’s been one of the standout midfielders in the division at a newly promoted side is something else entirely. The former Arsenal captain has contributed one goal and five assists in 27 appearances and has been described by manager Regis Le Bris as “a second coach on the pitch.” He leads Sunderland’s squad for assists, big chances created, successful passes, and the highest FotMob rating of 7.28, numbers that go some way to explaining why a promoted side has spent the majority of this season in the top half.
CM: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
It’s been a difficult season for Forest as a club, but Anderson has been a beacon of hope throughout. He has won more ground duels than any other player in the Premier League this season, with 231, and presses with real intensity. The England call-up was well earned, and he looks nailed on for Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
RW: Harry Wilson (Fulham)
Wilson has registered nine goals and six assists in 26 league appearances this season. He’s direct, clever with his movement, and has a real eye for goal from distance. At 28, this is the best Premier League season of his career.
AM: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Rogers’ name has made it into many a sports blog this season, and for good reason. has scored eight goals and contributed five assists from 30 starts, leading Aston Villa’s charts for the combination. He drives at defenders with conviction, creates from outside the box, and has developed the maturity to stay involved even in games where Villa aren’t at their best. At 23, he’s already been cited as one of the eight best attacking midfielders in the world.
LW: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
With West Ham spending much of the campaign fighting relegation, questions have been asked whether Bowen’s quality is being wasted at a club that has so consistently underperformed around him. He has eight goals and six assists in 30 league appearances and has been West Ham’s standout player this season by some distance. In January, he broke the club’s all-time goal involvement record, surpassing Michail Antonio’s mark of 103 combined goals and assists.
ST: Igor Thiago (Brentford)
The story of the season. After missing almost the entirety of 2024-25 through injury, Thiago returned for this campaign and has been absolutely relentless. His 19 goals in 31 league appearances make him the second-highest scorer in the division behind only Erling Haaland, and in doing so, he broke the record for the most goals by a Brazilian in a single Premier League season.
