Who has been the Premier League's best defender so far this season?

Laurent Koscielny, Toby Alderweireld and Winston Reid are among the defenders to have most impressed this season

Who has been the Premier League's top-performing defender in 2015/16? We check the stats to see who has been the best this season.

Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld, Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny and Manchester United's Chris Smalling have attracted plenty of praise.

But what about West Ham centre-back Winston Reid, Leicester captain Wes Morgan or Stoke's Erik Pieters?

Here, we examine a wide range of statistics from our friends at Opta - and there are some interesting names in the mix…

Tackles

Most tackles Player Team Tackles Erik Pieters Stoke 80 Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea 69 Billy Jones Sunderland 60 Nyom Watford 57 Alberto Moreno Liverpool 57 Nathaniel Clyne Liverpool 56 Chancel Mbemba Newcastle 55 Patrick van Aanholt Sunderland 55 Daryl Janmaat Newcastle 55

The tackling criteria is dominated by full-backs and the defender who has made the most in the Premier League this season is Stoke's Pieters. His total of 80 have come at an unrivalled rate of 3.8 per game.

Stoke's Erik Pieters (right) ranks highly in a number of defensive categories

In terms of tackle success, however, Bournemouth's Adam Smith ranks as the most efficient among defenders to have made at least 30. The 24-year-old has won 39 of the 42 he has attempted, giving him an impressive success rate of 92.86 per cent.

Tackle success (min 30 tackles) Player Team Tackle success Adam Smith Bournemouth 92.86% Leandro Bacuna Aston Villa 90.00% Allan Nyom Watford 87.72% Kyle Walker Tottenham 86.96% Joel Ward Crystal Palace 84.85% Danny Rose Tottenham 83.87% Charlie Daniels Bournemouth 83.33% Jordan Amavi Aston Villa 83.33% Sebastian Coates Sunderland 82.22% Matteo Darmian Man Utd 80.77%

Bournemouth defender Adam Smith (left) has been one of the Premier League's top tacklers

He is followed in second place by Watford's Allan Nyom (87.72 per cent of 57 tackles) and Tottenham's Kyle Walker (86.96 per cent of 46 tackles).

Interceptions

Most interceptions Player Team Interceptions Laurent Koscielny Arsenal 69 Jonny Evans West Brom 58 Erik Pieters Stoke 58 Chancel Mbemba Newcastle 57 Wes Morgan Leicester 55 Nacho Monreal Arsenal 55 Ashley Williams Swansea 54 Kyle Walker Tottenham 54 Jan Vertonghen Tottenham 52 Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea 52

Anticipating danger is another major part of a defenders' role, and it's Arsenal's Koscielny who comes out on top with 69 so far this season, giving him an average of 3.8 per game, the highest of any defender. The Frenchman is followed by that man Pieters, who is level with West Brom's Jonny Evans on 58.

Clearances

Most clearances Player Team Clearances Sebastien Bassong Norwich 181 Ashley Williams Swansea 163 Toby Alderweireld Tottenham 158 Robert Huth Leicester 144 Steve Cook Bournemouth 141 Chancel Mbemba Newcastle 136 Jan Vertonghen Tottenham 130 Russell Martin Norwich 126 Ramiro Funes Mori Everton 125 Virgil van Dijk Southampton 118

Clearances may not be a glamorous aspect of the game - and some prefer to pass their way out of trouble - but they are a defender's bread and butter nonetheless. Norwich's Sebastian Bassong has made the most (181) followed by Swansea's Ashley Williams (163) and Spurs' Alderweireld (159).

Toby Alderweireld has impressed since joining Spurs in the summer

Blocks

Most blocks Player Team Blocks Ashley Williams Swansea 28 Scott Dann Crystal Palace 26 Fabricio Coloccini Newcastle 26 Wes Morgan Leicester 23 John Stones Everton 20 Chancel Mbemba Newcastle 18 Steve Cook Bournemouth 18 Damien Delaney Crystal Palace 18

A brave block can be as valuable as scoring a goal, and no defender has made more of them than Swansea's Williams (28) this season. Crystal Palace's Scott Dann has also got his body in the way on plenty of occasions (26), along with Fabricio Coloccini of Newcastle (26) and Leicester's Morgan (23).

Swansea's Ashley Williams (right) has made the most blocks of any Premier League defender

Duels

Most duels Player Team Duels Erik Pieters Stoke 244 Simon Francis Bournemouth 233 Billy Jones Sunderland 221 Bacary Sagna Man City 190 Chancel Mbemba Newcastle 187 Nacho Monreal Arsenal 187 Daryl Janmaat Newcastle 186 Adam Smith Bournemouth 182 Nicolas Otamendi Man City 181

Which defenders do strikers hate coming up against in a duel? Stoke's Pieters would be right up there. He never shies away from a challenge and has competed a whopping 244 duels this season.

Duel success (min 75 duels) Player Team Duel success Winston Reid West Ham 75.00% Micah Richards Aston Villa 72.86% Per Mertesacker Arsenal 71.91% Virgil van Dijk Southampton 71.02% John O'Shea Sunderland 70.24% Craig Cathcart Watford 69.89% John Terry Chelsea 69.74% Sylvain Distin Bournemouth 69.41% Philipp Wollscheid Stoke 69.29% Angelo Ogbonna West Ham 68.87%

But while Pieters has won well over half of his duels, his success rate falls below a number of other defenders. Of those to have been involved in at least 75 duels, West Ham's Reid sits at the top of the pile with a 75 per cent success rate from his total of 104. Aston Villa's Micah Richards is next on 72.86 per cent, followed by Arsenal's Per Mertesacker on 71.91 per cent.

Winston Reid of West Ham is a strong one-on-one defender

Passes

Most successful passes Player Team Successful passes Ashley Williams Swansea 1070 Bacary Sagna Man City 988 Jan Vertonghen Tottenham 951 Simon Francis Bournemouth 942 Toby Alderweireld Tottenham 908 Federico Fernandez Swansea 898 Jose Fonte Southampton 866 John Stones Everton 863 Nacho Monreal Arsenal 854 Chris Smalling Man Utd 820

Williams name crops up again with passes. The Wales international has completed 1070 in total, making him the only defender to have made it into four figures.

Passing accuracy (min 300 passes) Player Team Passing accuracy John Terry Chelsea 89.89% Gabriel Paulista Arsenal 89.89% Per Mertesacker Arsenal 89.74% John Stones Everton 89.43% Eliaquim Mangala Man City 88.78% Mamadou Sakho Liverpool 88.69% Laurent Koscielny Arsenal 87.40% Ashley Williams Swansea 87.13% Jan Vertonghen Tottenham 87.01% Federico Fernandez Swansea 86.35%

Williams also features in the top 10 for passing accuracy, but the most efficient defenders in possession have been Chelsea's John Terry and Arsenal's Gabriel Paulista, who have clocked an 89.89 per cent success rate. Mertesacker ranks third (89.74 per cent) and it's no surprise to see the cultured John Stones on the list too (89.52 per cent).

Everton's John Stones (right) is assured in possession

Chances created

Most chances created Player Team Chances created Alberto Moreno Liverpool 41 Aleksandar Kolarov Man City 32 Aaron Cresswell West Ham 26 Charlie Daniels Bournemouth 22 Nacho Monreal Arsenal 21 Bacary Sagna Man City 20 Simon Francis Bournemouth 20 Cedric Soares Southampton 19

Unsurprisingly, full-backs dominate the field in chances created, with Liverpool's Alberto Moreno leading the way on 41 so far this season.

Most assists? Four defenders have contributed three Premier League assists this season: Seamus Coleman, Glen Johnson, Aaron Cresswell and Bacary Sagna.

Liverpool's Alberto Moreno (right) ranks top for chances created by defenders

Most clear chances created Player Team Clear chances created Hector Bellerin Arsenal 7 Glen Johnson Stoke 5 Ryan Bertrand Southampton 4 Alan Hutton Aston Villa 3 Erik Pieters Stoke 3 Kyle Walker Tottenham 3 Aaron Cresswell West Ham 3 Joel Ward Crystal Palace 3 Daryl Janmaat Newcastle 3

In terms of clear-cut chances, however, it's another Spaniard who tops the charts. Arsenal's Hector Bellerin has laid on seven such opportunities, with Stoke's Glen Johnson (five) and Southampton's Ryan Bertrand (four) next. Only two of Moreno's overall tally have been classified as clear-cut by Opta.

Goals scored

Most goals scored Player Team Goals Laurent Koscielny Arsenal 3 Russell Martin Norwich 3 Scott Dann Crystal Palace 3

A goalscoring defender is a precious asset, and this season, Koscielny, Dann and Norwich's Russell Martin have netted three each.

Laurent Koscielny celebrates after scoring against Newcastle

Which defender do you think has been the best in the Premier League this season? Let us know by tweeting @SkyFootball