Check out the 40 players nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year

It seems as though it is that time of year, where awards are doled out alongside hearty slaps on the back.

The candidates for the Ballon d'Or were announced last month, the FIFPro World XI shortlist announcement is well underway, and now voting has begun for the UEFA Team of the Year.

This year marks the 13th time the vote has taken place, and as with every previous edition there are a few controversial picks.

Gianluigi Buffon and  Roman Weidenfeller are surprise omissions from the goalkeeper list while of all 40 nominees there isn't a single Englishman in sight. Maybe Roy Hodgson should be cut some slack after all...

Irrespective of England's woes there are some fabulous players on this year's list.

And remember, you can vote for who you think should make the final team on uefa.com - voting closes on January 9 with the final line-up announced six days later.

Goalkeepers

Nominees:

Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich

David de Gea, Manchester United

Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea (Atletico Madrid)

Petr Cech, Chelsea

Neuer currently leads the voting on the UEFA website with an impressive 61% picking him as the best goalkeeper in Europe.

The stats seem to back up that selection with the big German conceding fewer, keeping more clean sheets and helping his side win more games than any of his rivals.

It certainly raised a few eyebrows that Buffon didn't make the cut, especially given that he handed a place on the FIFPro shortlist which was voted for by professional players around the world.

Petr Cech remains consistent as ever - and he'll need to be when the impressive Courtois eventually returns from his lengthy loan spell with Atletico.  David de Gea receives a nomination as reward for his excellent form over the last 12 months; a start contrast to his shaky start to life at Old Trafford following his move from Spain.

Defence

Nominees:

David Alaba, Bayern Munich
Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus
Dante, Bayern Munich
Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund
Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea
Philipp Lahm, Bayern Munich
Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus
Filipe Luis, Atletico Madrid
Vincent Kompany, Manchester City
Gerard Pique, Barcelona
Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid
Thiago Silva, Paris Saint-Germain

There's fierce competition at the back amongst the defenders, with only four of the 12 listed able to make the final team.

Alaba, Silva and Lahm all look like shoo-ins for the team having dominated voting so far, leaving one spot for the rest to squabble over.

Sergio Ramos and Mats Hummels are pretty much neck and neck while Dante and Manchester City's Vincent Kompany aren't too far behind.

In terms of goal scoring, Alaba has had the best 2013 of all the defender nominees having found the back of the net an impressive 11 times.

Midfielders

Nominees:

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
Ilkay Gundogan, Borussia Dortmund
Isco, Real Madrid
Paul Pogba, Juventus
Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
Menaja Matic, Benfica
Blaise Matuidi, Paris Saint-Germain
Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund
Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich
Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich
Yaya Toure, Manchester City

Not a bad selection of midfielders, eh?

UEFA have included a nice blend of youth and experience in their midfield this year, with the likes of Reus and Isco going for a spot alongside old-hats Ribery and Schweinsteiger.

The most likely-looking midfield four at the moment is Bale, Reus, Ribery and Ozil - all four are streets ahead of the others in voting so far.

If it is a midfielder's job to simply pass the ball then it's Schweinsteiger who is ahead in terms of stats; the Bayern man has the best pass completion rate (87%) of all the midfield nominees.

Ozil has the most assists, while Bale is ahead of Robben and Reus in terms of goals this year.

Forwards

Nominees:

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
Edinson Cavani, Pairs Saint-German
Diego Costa, Atletico Madrid
Radamel Falcao, Monaco
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paris Saint-Germain
Robert Lewandowski, Borussia Dortmund
Mario Mandzukic, Bayern Munich
Jackson Martinez, Porto
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Thomas Muller, Bayern Munich
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Robin van Persie, Manchester United

Is it me or has goalscoring gone through the roof in recent years? The records of all the 2013 nominees is incredible; between them they have scored no less than 376 goals, with plenty of time to add a few more.

Of course it is impossible to mention any award without Messi and Ronaldo cropping up - but it may surprise you to learn that the Real Madrid man already has more than double the votes of his Barcelona rival.

While Ronaldo leads the way on the goal front, Messi actually has a better goals-per-shot ratio - although even he is outdone by Porto's Jackson Martinez, who has scored with an impressive 36% of his shots.

The only man who seems to have any chance of claiming a forward spot ahead of Messi and Ronaldo is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 38 goals this year (only two less than Messi) and is actually just ahead of the Argentinian genius in voting as we speak.