Premier League's Foul Stars XI: The dark arts masters through Gameweek 3

Dubai: While silky skills and spectacular goals dominate social media feeds, there exists another dimension of Premier League excellence that often goes unsung. Welcome to the shadowy realm of tactical fouling, aggressive challenges, and those inevitable brain fart moments, where breaking up play becomes an art form and disruption serves as the ultimate weapon.

Here, we have compiled an unconventional XI of those who excel in the darker arts of the beautiful game, ranked by fouls committed per 90 minutes in the Premier League through gameweek 3. The data was collected from FotMob.

Between the sticks

Marco Bizot (Aston Villa) - 0.5 fouls per 90

Even goalkeepers can get their hands dirty, and Bizot leads the charge from the back.

The Defensive wall

Left-Back: Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton) - 2.2 fouls per 90

Centre-Back Partnership:

• Konstantinos Mavropanos (West Ham) - 2.0 fouls per 90

• Matt Doherty - RWB playing as RCB in a back 3 - (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - 3.0 fouls per 90

Right-Back: Reece James (Chelsea) - 2.5 fouls per 90

The Chelsea captain combines defensive excellence with strategic rule-bending.

The Midfield enforcers

Left Wing: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion) - 3.4 fouls per 90

The Japanese winger proves that flair and disruption can coexist.

Central Midfield Duo:

• Diego Gomez (Liverpool) - 3.4 fouls per 90

• Sasa Lukic (Fulham) - 4.0 fouls per 90

Right Wing: Dango Ouattara (AFC Bournemouth) - 2.6 fouls per 90

Bournemouth's wide threat knows when to stop opponents in their tracks.

The Physical strike force

Forward Partnership:

• Raul Jimenez (Fulham) - 3.9 fouls per 90

The Mexican striker combines predatory instincts with old-fashioned center-forward physicality, using his frame to bully defenders.

• Osula (Sheffield United) - 6.9 fouls per 90

Osula's staggering foul count reflects a player who treats every duel as a battle to be won.