How the WhoScored Team of the Season is shaping up for Premier League finale

On the eve of the Premier League's conclusion, thoughts turn towards WhoScored's end of season awards. Player of the season, best new signing, young player of the season and team of the season will be revealed in full across the days that follow Sunday's results.

With 37 gameweeks already done and dusted, we already have a decent idea of what names will pop up in each category but there is still plenty to play for and spaces up for grabs in our best rated XI for the 2019/20 campaign.  

Players like Kevin De Bruyne and Virgil Van Dijk are more or less guaranteed slots in our team of the season but that isn't the case for others. Here we detail how our best rated XI looks ahead of Sunday's finale and what players are still in the running to make a late push for the team.

Goalkeeper

Bernd Leno currently occupies the No.1 spot in our best rated XI, though unfortunately has missed Arsenal's last seven league games through injury. Leno was arguably Arsenal's player of the season prior to injury but has understandably lost momentum after missing their season run-in. His replacement, Emiliano Martinez, is actually the highest rated goalkeeper in the Premier League but from eight appearances he hasn't played in enough matches to qualify for the XI. The same is true of Tottenham's Hugo Lloris. With a rating lead of 0.09 over Nick Pope, Leno is likely to keep his place unless a monumental effort from the Burnley goalkeeper on the last day of the season against Brighton.

Defence

Ricardo Pereira has not featured at all for Leicester since the restart due to injury but was superb before lockdown and established a healthy lead over his competition at right-back. In fact, Pereira averages more tackles per game (4.3) than any other player in the Premier League this season. As his rating has not changed for better or worse, it has made it difficult for other right-backs to chase him down for a place in the team of the season. Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold is Pereira's closest rival but is -0.27 off Pereira with one game to play and has run out of chance to make the team.

Virgil van Dijk is also more or less guaranteed a place in defence but his partner is up for grabs. James Tarkowski is the favourite after his great form post-lockdown and holds a 0.07 rating advantage over Manchester United's Harry Maguire. Wolves' Wily Boly has the same rating as Tarkowski but with only 21 appearances to his name to date he may miss out on a weighted scale.

Left-back is where it really gets interesting in our best rated XI. There is currently a three-way tug-of-war between Lucas Digne, Andrew Robertson and Cesar Azpilicueta, with the former currently edging the stakes. Only 0.05 rating points currently separate all three heading into the final game.

Midfield

Adama Traore and Riyad Mahrez have been trading places on the right wing in our best rated XI in recent weeks, with the latter suffering from substitute appearances of late to hand Traore the initiative. Traore now leads Mahrez by 0.07 rating points, while Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is a further 0.03 rating points back. The Wolves star should have done enough to secure a place in the team.

As the only player to reach 30 goal involvements in the Premier League this season, De Bruyne is not only guaranteed a place in the team but he is also set to land our player of the season award. Bruno Fernandes is the second highest WhoScored rated midfielder but will miss out on the XI due to making too few appearances. James Maddison, who has struggled with injuries since the restart, is favourite to join De Bruyne in central midfield but there is a slight chance David Silva could leapfrog the Leicester midfielder will a strong showing on his final ever Premier League appearance. The Manchester City legend starts gameweek 38 0.06 rating points adrift.

Liverpool's Sadio Mane is expected to round off the midfield on the left wing, holding a 0.08 advantage over Manchester United's Marcus Rashford. Both have scored 17 goals and registered seven assists in the league this season.

Strikers

Wolves' Raul Jimenez and Manchester United's Anthony Martial are the strikers in our best rated XI as things stand. Tottenham's Harry Kane and West Ham's Michail Antonio are among the top-10 rated players in the Premier League this season but are not currently recognised in the XI because Martial and Jimenez have played in a greater proportion of the season. Golden Boot favourite Jamie Vardy has the best realistic opportunity to replace Jimenez in the XI. The Leicester striker is 0.03 rating points off Jimenez heading into the final day. Richarlison held a place up front for a long time but has dropped back gradually since the restart and is now 0.05 rating points off Jimenez.