The Premier League’s worst performing defenders so far

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Players from Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Southampton all feature on the list.

With an international break once again bringing the domestic season to a halt, now seems a perfect time to assess how things are going.

Liverpool are top of the table, two points clear of second-placed Chelsea, while Arsenal and Manchester City make up the rest of the top four.

Tottenham Hotspur sit in in fifth and Manchester United are sixth, eight points behind the league leaders.

At the other end of the table, Sunderland are bottom with just one win to their name, while Swansea City and Hull City make up the rest of the bottom three.

So how have the players been faring? We decided to take a look, starting with the worst performing defenders so far.

To make things fair, the players we looked at have all played at least half of the games so far.

Middlesbrough defender Daniel Ayala has won the fewest tackles per game so far, having failed to win a single one yet.

Watford’s Younes Kaboul is just behind in second while Everton’s Ramiro Funes Mori sits in third.

Sunderland’s Paddy McNair has registered the fewest interceptions per game with a score of 0.25 per game.

Southampton’s Cuco Martina is bottom for defensive duels won, having managed to win just 1.6 per game while Hull City’s Andrew Robertson has won the fewest aerial duels per game.

Watford’s Juan Zuniga has posted the fewest effective clearances with a score of 0.1 per appearance and Sunderland’s McNair is bottom for effective headed clearances, having failed to register one yet.

The Black Cats player is also bottom when it comes to ball recoveries, having posted just 1.8 per game, slightly lower than Manchester United’s Chris Smalling, who has been well below his best under Jose Mourinho.