The eight best central midfield duos currently playing the game.
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Central midfield is perhaps the most important area in any team, with the right balance in the engine room being crucial to the chances of success for any team. With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at the best pairings in club football and come up with this list of eight top class midfield pairings:
8) Manchester City (Yaya Toure and Fernandinho)
As shown by City’s title winning campaign last season, when they are both on form Toure and Fernandinho compliment each others’ games extremely well and have an incredible level of physicality.
7) Atletico Madrid (Koke and Tiago)
Gabi could also be included here, with Diego Simeone rotating his central midfield pairings, but whoever is in the centre for Atletico there is a scary mixture of intensity and quality.
6) Paris Saint Germain (Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi)
PSG also use former Newcastle star Yohan Cabaye in central midfield, but it is the impressive partnership of Verratti and Matuidi on which they have hung their hats – a deep-lying playmaker alongside an energetic box-to-box star.
5) Barcelona (Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic)
There is no greater indication of the quality of central midfielders in football right now than the fact that Barcelona’s Iniesta/Rakitic axis is only rated fifth on this list.
4) Juventus (Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal)
Perennial Serie A winners Juventus have a pairing, in Pogba and Vidal, that is as good as anything the continent has to offer on paper, but has, like the club, underachieved at Champions League level.
3) Chelsea (Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas)
In Nemanja Matic, Chelsea have possibly the most imposing defensive midfielder in the world, who has also been able to bring out the best in Cesc Fabregas’ game since he joined the club.
2) Bayern Munich (Xabi Alonso and Phillip Lahm)
With the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thiago Alcantra also available, Pep Guardiola likes to rotate his central midfield, but the pairing of Xabi Alonso and Phillip Lahm has been the most scary this season.
1) Real Madrid (Toni Kroos and Luka Modric)
This duo may not have the defensive prowess or physicality of some of the partnerships, but they make up for it with a telepathic understanding and incredible quality on the ball.