Our round-up begins in the Championship, as a tight title fight unfolds at the top of the table, with a pair of young Blues defenders at the heart of it, before casting our gaze further afield to where Djordje Petrovic and Andrey Santos continue to impress in Ligue 1...

Bashir Humphreys – Burnley

During a busy spell for the Championship, Humphreys has featured in all 11 of Burnley’s league matches since the November international break, starting all but one of them. Featuring across their back line, the defender has contributed to an impressive nine clean sheets in those last 11 matches, and they remain undefeated in 13.

Having settled in at left-back more recently, Humphreys has also contributed at the other end of the pitch, with his crosses creating the opening goal in a crucial win over title rivals Sheffield United and the winner against promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers.

Burnley are currently in second place in the table, one point behind leaders Leeds United.

Alfie Gilchrist – Sheffield United

Level on points with Burnley, but behind on goal difference in third place in the Championship table, are Sheffield United and their own on-loan Chelsea defender, Gilchrist. He has also been a near ever-present in their starting line-up in the league, most often at right-back recently. The 2-0 loss to Humphreys and Burnley was one of just two they have suffered since October, and United have proved a tough nut to crack at the back themselves, with five clean sheets in their last 10 games.

He has also played his part on the attack too, providing the cross for Kieffer Moore’s opening goal in a 2-0 victory at Cardiff City, which briefly put Sheffield United top of the table. They have since slipped to third, but remain just one point from first, in what is developing into a four-way fight for the two automatic Premier League promotion spots, with Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland.

Djordje Petrovic, Andrey Santos, Caleb Wiley – Strasbourg

Strasbourg find themselves safely nestled in mid-table in the French top flight going into the second half of the season, sitting seven points from European qualification and eight clear of the relegation zone. Wiley’s opportunities continue to be restricted by injury, but Petrovic and Santos have both been key players for Strasbourg all season.

They helped the Ligue 1 side recover from a difficult November to go into the winter break off the back of a 3-0 win at Le Havre, which included Petrovic’s third clean sheet and Santos’ sixth goal of 2024/25 – which was quickly followed by his seventh in another 3-0 win, against Calais in the Coupe de France. They then returned in January with a 3-1 home league victory over Auxerre.

David Fofana – Goztepe

Fofana came off the bench to score a memorable goal for Goztepe in late November, netting the decisive strike as they came back from two goals down away at Besiktas to win 4-2. However, a combination of injury and the winter break has restricted the striker to two appearances since. The Ivorian has scored twice in three starts and six substitute outings so far this season.

Trevoh Chalobah – Crystal Palace

Although he was ineligible for Crystal Palace’s last game against Chelsea, that was one of just two Premier League matches when he was absent from their starting line-up since September. After a tough start to the season, Chalobah has helped Palace stabilise their campaign over the last couple of months, with just two defeats in 12 games, producing a safety margin between themselves and the relegation scrap.

One of those defeats was the other match he missed, a 5-1 home loss to Arsenal, underlining his importance at the back for the Eagles. Trevoh also netted a couple of crucial goals – the opener in a 3-1 win at Brighton and equaliser in a rare home victory against Southampton – taking his tally for the season to three. That matches his best in the top-flight, achieved with Chelsea in 2021/22, with half the campaign still remaining.

Kepa Arrizabalaga – Bournemouth

The Spaniard has continued to be Bournemouth’s regular goalkeeper in the Premier League, missing just one game since mid-November – their most recent, a 1-0 win over Everton. He has helped the Cherries go on an impressive run, being unbeaten in their last eight league games, rising to seventh place in the table, just one point behind sixth-placed Manchester City in the race for European qualification.

Raheem Sterling – Arsenal

Sterling came off the bench to set up Ethan Nwaneri for Arsenal’s third goal of a 3-0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest back in November, and has made two more appearances since. He started the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Crystal Palace in mid-December before a knee injury restricted his involvement for the Gunners. The England international was back in the squad for last night's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

Lesley Ugochukwu – Southampton

It is proving to be a difficult return to the top flight for newly-promoted Southampton, but Ugochukwu has become an important player in their midfield, despite frequent rotation in their side. After missing Russell Martin's final four games in charge, the Frenchman has featured in the Saints’ last four league games under interim boss Simon Rusk and new manager Ivan Juric , starting against West Ham United and Brentford, but couldn’t prevent them ending the year with three consecutive defeats.

Armando Broja – Everton

Having recovered from an Achilles injury, Broja has featured in Everton’s last five Premier League matches, making his Toffees debut as a late substitute in their 4-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers. His first start came in their final match of 2024, although it ended in disappointment with a 2-0 loss to high-flying Nottingham Forest.

Leo Castledine – Shrewsbury Town

Castledine has continued his run of featuring in every match for Shrewsbury in League One this season, starting 16 out of those 21 games. Like Burton and Crawley, though, they remain locked in the relegation battle, sitting eight points from safety despite a recent upturn in form which has seen them only lose one of their last five games, including an important 1-0 win over Lincoln which kept them in contention.

Dylan Williams – Burton Albion

Williams has had to fight his way back into the team at Burton, but his performances in the cup competitions led to the defender starting their last two matches in League One, having been restricted to substitute appearances in the final couple of months of 2024.

He returned for the Brewers’ first match of 2025, though, and made his mark from left wing-back by setting up the opening goal just six minutes into a 2-2 draw with Peterborough. He kept his place for the next game, a narrow loss to Northampton, as Burton remain 11 points from safety in the League One table.

Eddie Beach – Crawley Town

Since recovering from an injury in November, Beach has had to be patient on the bench in League One, but was handed his second appearance for Crawley from the start in the FA Cup second round. However, although his side raced into a two-goal lead at home in the first 15 minutes, they eventually succumbed to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Lincoln City.

Teddy Sharman-Lowe – Doncaster Rovers

The young goalkeeper has featured in every minute of Doncaster’s League Two campaign this season, keeping five clean sheets as they mount a promising promotion campaign. Their form became a bit mixed over the Christmas period, but Doncaster remain seventh in the table, occupying the final play-off place, and are only two points off the automatic promotion spots.

Ted Curd – Hampton & Richmond

Curd remains first-choice goalkeeper for Hampton & Richmond in the National League South and has been in impressive form of late, keeping five clean sheets in his last nine games. However, both their matches since the start of 2025 have been postponed due to bad weather, contributing to an 11-point gap to make up to reach the play-off places.

Luke Campbell – Hendon

Campbell has featured between the posts in every league game for Hendon this season, with his 23 appearances more than any other player. However, it was a tough December for the Isthmian League Premier Division side, as a run of six consecutive defeats has cut their margin to the relegation zone to three points.