Leeds United and Chelsea have the tallest starting elevens in the Premier League this season. Both squads average 186.45cm across their opening-weekend line-ups, according to Fomelabo data published by GiveMeSport on 27 August 2026.
- Leeds United & Chelsea (tied) – 186.45cm
- Fulham – 185.18cm
- Everton – 185.09cm
- Liverpool & Nottingham Forest (tied) – 184.73cm
- Brighton & Arsenal (tied) – 184.64cm
- Manchester City – 184.45cm
- Tottenham Hotspur – 184.27cm
At Elland Road, that average is anchored by James Trafford. The England goalkeeper, signed from Manchester City on a five-year deal for a club record fee in the summer, is listed at 198cm in the Fomelabo data. That makes him the tallest individual player captured by the ranking.
Chelsea match Leeds through Robert Sanchez, also at 198cm, with attacking midfielders Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers both at 188cm. It is that presence in the front third, more than the goalkeeper alone, that pulls the Stamford Bridge average level with Leeds.
Manchester City ninth on 184.45cm
The ninth slot is where the ranking stops behaving as expected. Manchester City sit on 184.45cm, lower than most fans would predict from a squad still built around imposing centre-backs and a 194cm goalkeeper.
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GiveMeSport writes that “a team that predominantly plays four massive figures in the backline would be higher on this list”, and puts the anomaly down to the club’s smaller, technically gifted midfielders. Left-back Nico O’Reilly, reshaped from midfielder into a regular starter in that position last season, is in fact taller in the Fomelabo data than the club’s own central defenders. That inverts the shape of a traditional Premier League back four, where the centre-halves are usually the biggest players on the pitch.
Ngumoha and Frimpong at 170cm
Liverpool’s fifth-placed average hides the sharpest contrast in the study. Rio Ngumoha, the 17-year-old winger who became Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer against Newcastle United in August 2025, is listed at 170cm. So is Jeremie Frimpong, the Dutch right-back who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025.
Both stand 28cm shorter than Trafford at the other end of the table. Virgil van Dijk and Alisson push the Liverpool average back up towards the top half, which is how the Anfield side still finishes fifth for physical presence despite fielding two of the smallest players named in the ranking.
The next round of Premier League fixtures runs across the weekend of 30 and 31 August 2026.
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