In hindsight, the decision to put Rodri first in our preseason Premier League Top 50 looks… even better.

For the first time in Pep Guardiola’s eight seasons at Manchester City, they are truly in crisis. Not only have they lost five of their last seven games and are now nine points behind first-place Liverpool, but there are no obvious short or long-term solutions. Apart from Rodri (A) getting healthy and (B) being as good as he was before he tore his cruciate ligament against Arsenal earlier this season.

The Rodri situation shows how difficult it is to assess the value of individual players in football. We gained more confidence in Rodri’s incredible value – by watching Rodri’s team play without Rodri.

And if Rodri was the difference between Manchester City as the best team in the world and Manchester City as, at best, the third best team in England, what does that say about his teammates and the other star players in the Premier League?

To answer these questions, we return with the third edition of this season’s Premier League Top 50.