La Liga · 2026/27 · after matchday 12

The best central midfielders in La Liga so far this season

As of 8 November 2026, The Prism ranks Unai López (Rayo Vallecano) as the best central midfielder in La Liga, with a standing of 81 out of 100, ahead of Pedri and Koke.

40 ranked378+ league minutes8 measuresUpdated 8 November 2026How we rank

Unai LópezRayo Vallecano · 31 · Spain#1

81standing, 1st of 40

Best at big chances created per 90, 0.41, 3rd of 40

PedriFC Barcelona · 23 · Spain#2

79standing, 2nd of 40

Best at accurate passes per 90, 76.47, 2nd of 40

KokeAtlético de Madrid · 34 · Spain#3

77standing, 3rd of 40

Best at accurate passes per 90, 77.34, 1st of 40

The top 10

Open a row for all 8 measures and where he sits among the 40.

Unai LópezRayo Vallecano · 31 · Spain 811st of 40 Big chances 0.413rdKey passes 2.554thAccurate passes 57.627th

Key passes per 902.55 4th of 40

Accurate passes per 9057.62 7th of 40

Pass completion86% 24th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 903.36 13th of 40

Dribbles per 900.51 21st of 40

Big chances created per 900.41 3rd of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.10 15th of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.71 15th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Unai López's page

PedriFC Barcelona · 23 · Spain 792nd of 40 Accurate passes 76.472ndKey passes 2.563rdPass completion 91%7th

Key passes per 902.56 3rd of 40

Accurate passes per 9076.47 2nd of 40

Pass completion91% 7th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 902.02 31st of 40

Dribbles per 900.85 14th of 40

Big chances created per 900.11 22nd of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.11 13th of 40

Times dispossessed per 901.07 29th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Pedri's page

KokeAtlético de Madrid · 34 · Spain 773rd of 40 Accurate passes 77.341stBig chances 0.521stPass completion 92%6th

Key passes per 902.08 7th of 40

Accurate passes per 9077.34 1st of 40

Pass completion92% 6th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 903.82 6th of 40

Dribbles per 900.35 29th of 40

Big chances created per 900.52 1st of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.00 21st of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.69 14th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Koke's page

Pablo FornalsReal Betis · 30 · Spain 754th of 40 Accurate passes 58.364thKey passes 2.175thDispossessed 0.468th fewest

Key passes per 902.17 5th of 40

Accurate passes per 9058.36 4th of 40

Pass completion88% 19th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 901.71 38th of 40

Dribbles per 900.80 15th of 40

Big chances created per 900.23 10th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.11 11th of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.46 8th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Pablo Fornals's page

Carlos SolerReal Sociedad · 29 · Spain 725th of 40 Key passes 2.582ndBig chances 0.346thAccurate passes 55.2610th

Key passes per 902.58 2nd of 40

Accurate passes per 9055.26 10th of 40

Pass completion90% 11th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 901.79 37th of 40

Dribbles per 900.45 23rd of 40

Big chances created per 900.34 6th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.00 21st of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.78 20th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Carlos Soler's page

Pablo BarriosAtlético de Madrid · 23 · Spain 716th of 40 Dribbles 1.792ndTackles + int. 4.174thAccurate passes 57.876th

Key passes per 901.49 16th of 40

Accurate passes per 9057.87 6th of 40

Pass completion88% 14th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 904.17 4th of 40

Dribbles per 901.79 2nd of 40

Big chances created per 900.15 20th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.00 21st of 40

Times dispossessed per 901.93 38th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Pablo Barrios's page

Beñat TurrientesReal Sociedad · 24 · Spain 707th of 40 Pass completion 92%4thNon-penalty goals 0.224thAccurate passes 57.905th

Key passes per 901.52 15th of 40

Accurate passes per 9057.90 5th of 40

Pass completion92% 4th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 902.60 25th of 40

Dribbles per 900.87 13th of 40

Big chances created per 900.00 25th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.22 4th of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.65 13th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Beñat Turrientes's page

Edu ExpósitoEspanyol · 30 · Spain 708th of 40 Big chances 0.287thKey passes 2.048thDribbles 1.119th

Key passes per 902.04 8th of 40

Accurate passes per 9040.36 25th of 40

Pass completion85% 26th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 902.88 21st of 40

Dribbles per 901.11 9th of 40

Big chances created per 900.28 7th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.09 18th of 40

Times dispossessed per 901.21 31st fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Edu Expósito's page

Pablo MartínezMálaga · 28 · Spain 679th of 40 Key passes 3.151stNon-penalty goals 0.196thBig chances 0.1915th

Key passes per 903.15 1st of 40

Accurate passes per 9036.11 28th of 40

Pass completion88% 16th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 901.85 33rd of 40

Dribbles per 900.74 16th of 40

Big chances created per 900.19 15th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.19 6th of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.74 17th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Pablo Martínez's page

Miguel RománCelta de Vigo · 23 · Spain 6510th of 40 Dispossessed 0.314th fewestAccurate passes 57.158thNon-penalty goals 0.169th

Key passes per 901.09 19th of 40

Accurate passes per 9057.15 8th of 40

Pass completion88% 17th of 40

Tackles and interceptions per 901.71 39th of 40

Dribbles per 900.47 22nd of 40

Big chances created per 900.16 17th of 40

Non-penalty goals per 900.16 9th of 40

Times dispossessed per 900.31 4th fewest of 40

Each dot is one of the 40 central midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Miguel Román's page

Each figure with his place among the 40 central midfielders. Fewest is best for times dispossessed per 90.
Player	Standing	Key passes	Accurate passes	Pass completion	Tackles + int.	Dribbles	Big chances	Non-penalty goals	Dispossessed
1Unai López	81	2.554th	57.627th	86%24th	3.3613th	0.5121st	0.413rd	0.1015th	0.7115th fewest
2Pedri	79	2.563rd	76.472nd	91%7th	2.0231st	0.8514th	0.1122nd	0.1113th	1.0729th fewest
3Koke	77	2.087th	77.341st	92%6th	3.826th	0.3529th	0.521st	0.0021st	0.6914th fewest
4Pablo Fornals	75	2.175th	58.364th	88%19th	1.7138th	0.8015th	0.2310th	0.1111th	0.468th fewest
5Carlos Soler	72	2.582nd	55.2610th	90%11th	1.7937th	0.4523rd	0.346th	0.0021st	0.7820th fewest
6Pablo Barrios	71	1.4916th	57.876th	88%14th	4.174th	1.792nd	0.1520th	0.0021st	1.9338th fewest
7Beñat Turrientes	70	1.5215th	57.905th	92%4th	2.6025th	0.8713th	0.0025th	0.224th	0.6513th fewest
8Edu Expósito	70	2.048th	40.3625th	85%26th	2.8821st	1.119th	0.287th	0.0918th	1.2131st fewest
9Pablo Martínez	67	3.151st	36.1128th	88%16th	1.8533rd	0.7416th	0.1915th	0.196th	0.7417th fewest
10Miguel Román	65	1.0919th	57.158th	88%17th	1.7139th	0.4722nd	0.1617th	0.169th	0.314th fewest

30 more central midfielders are ranked in The Prism

See every one, filter by age, foot and height, and open any player's full profile.

See all 40 in The Prism

Where all 40 sit

Every central midfielder in La Liga with 378 minutes or more, on The Prism standing. Blue is this ranking's top 10; the other 30 are named in The Prism.

Since last season

The same players' standings last season, among their league's central midfielders then.

↑ Pablo Martínez31 last season, 67 now

↑ Beñat Turrientes42 last season, 70 now

↑ Edu Expósito53 last season, 70 now

↓ Pablo Fornals91 last season, 75 now

How this ranking is made

Central midfielders in La Liga 2026/27 with at least 378 league minutes, ranked on key passes per 90, accurate passes per 90, pass completion, tackles and interceptions per 90, dribbles per 90, big chances created per 90, non-penalty goals per 90 and times dispossessed per 90. Each measure is a percentile against every central midfielder in the league with the same minutes. 12 matchdays have been played, so the minutes bar is 378. It rises as the season goes on, until it reaches 450, about five full matches.

What each measure counts for, out of 100:

Key passes per 9020Accurate passes per 9015Pass completion15Tackles and interceptions per 9015Dribbles per 9010Big chances created per 9010Non-penalty goals per 9010Times dispossessed per 905

How The Prism ranks players, in full

More rankings

Centre backs Full backs Defensive midfielders Attacking midfielders Wingers Strikers Central midfielders, under 23 FC Barcelona young players Atlético de Madrid young players Real Betis young players Real Sociedad young players Espanyol young players Málaga young players Celta de Vigo young players

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