Who are the most fouled players in the Premier League?

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish is the most fouled player in the Premier League per game in the 2020/21 season.

The England international earns no less than 4.5 free-kicks per game which is by far the highest tally in the top-flight, with the next highest coming in at 3.4.

Grealish has evolved into one of the most effective players in the final third in the Premier League, whether it be through his dribbling ability or the talent of finding those cute little through-balls to his other fellow forwards.

It is usually his dribbling ability that causes fouls, though, as his feet are so quick that defenders mistime so make attempted tackles.

There are, of course, plenty of fouls in there that are on purpose, too.

Second on the leaderboard is Allan Saint-Maximin, who like Grealish, possesses lightning-quick feet that sucker opposition players into making rash challengers. He is fouled 3.4 times per 90 minutes.

The third entry on the list is Burnley striker Ashley Barnes, who gains his fouls in a completely different manner to Grealish and Saint-Maximin. While that pair usually use their dribble skill to earn fouls, Barnes likes to put himself about up top and more often than not gets into a duel or two with central defenders.

With him battling away, he gives away plenty of fouls, too.

The fourth and fifth most-fouled players in the Premier League this season see us go back to the dribblers, with Adama Traore on 3.1 per game and Wilfried Zaha on 3.0.

The above list comes from players who have played at least 500 minutes of football this season in the Premier League.

If this filter was to be taken away, the player with the second-highest fouls per 90 minutes ratio is Southampton youngster Nathan Tella with 3.5.

He has, however, only played 155 minutes of action.

Giovani Lo Celso of Tottenham and Owen Otasowie have also been fouled frequently but have not played more than 500 minutes.

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