Manchester City, Chelsea, and Tottenham would love to resume from where they had left off, before the international break, while Manchester United should be looking out for some help from its hospital bed.

Premier League and fixture congestion begin now and managers have to pick players with the future in mind. Some help would, of course, do.

Antonio Valencia – Manchester United

Antonio Valencia got himself rid of the No.7 shirt, citing psychological reasons. Maybe it was too heavy for him. Maybe he was not ready.

Now, he is the first choice captain of Manchester United and he couldn’t be more at ease. That is what good form can do to a player.

Valencia has eight clean sheets in 11 games. He has made 65 recoveries and nine crucial interceptions. On the attacking front, he has played 31 accurate long balls and has a pass completion rate of 75% in the final third.

From being the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo to becoming one to Gary Neville. Not bad at all.

Leroy Sane – Manchester City

Leroy Sane just keeps getting better. Last season showed glimpses of the young German. This time around Pep Guardiola looks to have unleashed the beast.

Sane has six goals and five assists in 11 games. He receives a pass in the final third every 2.3 minutes and makes a goal attempt every 33 minutes. He has also created seven big chances.

Ilkay Gundogan sums it up the best, “He manages to make the right decisions in specific situations more and more often. This makes him extremely dangerous. He is one of the most talented young players I know on earth”. And this is a player who had his best years at that young Borussia Dortmund side.

That left foot is just too good.  

Eden Hazard – Chelsea

Chelsea hosted Manchester United before the international break and all the focus was on the tiny Belgian, both before and during the course of the game, and rightly so.

He has started only five games so far this season but his numbers look as good as ever. He has created 17 chances and has an 85% pass success rate in the final third. His shooting accuracy stands at 75%.

That he scored in the International break should be a cause of concern for the rest of the Premier League, because Hazard at top gear is simply unstoppable.

West Brom at the Hawthorns should be one more step towards peak Hazard.

Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur

“If Kane or Alli get injured I don’t think England has adequate back up to reach the semi-final of the World Cup”, proclaims Joachim Löw.

“Kane is a penalty box player with an impressive finishing ability. He’s good in the air, good with his right foot and left. It’s very impressive, he has a lot of quality”, says Brazil coach Tite.

That is a lot of praise, with a tinge of fear.

Harry Kane has eight goals and an assist in 11 games. He has scored six times from the ten big chances afforded to him. That is pure ruthlessness. London has always been a good hunting ground for Kane and the two-week break came just at the time his hamstring was twitching.

He really is world class.

Mame Biram Diouf – Stoke City

Mame Biram Diouf, our differential pick for the week, looks to be in the form of his life.

He has three goals and an assist so far this season. He has converted two of his three big chances. He is also a big presence in the box, with two of his goals coming from set-plays.

Defensively, he has been solid. He has made nine interceptions, 27 recoveries, and 30 clearances. His tackle success rate of 60% is quite impressive.

The new ‘Victor Moses’ is more than living up to his name.