The penultimate weekend of Premier League action before the World Cup has now drawn to a close, and Arsenal retain a two-point lead at the top after overcoming Chelsea 1-0 in a London derby.

Manchester City had briefly reached the top with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Fulham, while Newcastle United rose to third by thumping Southampton 4-1.

Tottenham Hotspur have now slipped to fourth after losing 2-1 to Liverpool, while Manchester United retain their grip on fifth spot despite going down 3-1 to Aston Villa in Unai Emery's first game in charge of the Lions.

Brighton & Hove Albion remain in the European conversation after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2, and Crystal Palace are peeking into the top half after a late 2-1 win at West Ham United.

Elsewhere, Leeds United marvellously came from 3-1 down to beat Bournemouth 4-3, Leicester City's revival continued with a 2-0 win at Everton, while Brentford's clash with Nottingham Forest ended level at 2-2.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for the latest round of Premier League matches.

DEFENCE

Following a few weeks where several goalkeepers have staked their claims for TOTW spots, such performances were few and far between here. However, with four saves, two successful run-outs and the ball that Eric Dier failed to deal with before Mohamed Salah's goal, Alisson Becker gets the nod for us.

William Saliba was rightly named the man of the match in Arsenal's crucial win over Chelsea, but Gabriel Magalhaes's contribution cannot be overlooked. As well as making sure that Bukayo Saka's corner would end up in the back of the net, the Brazilian made four clearances and two tackles in a strong defensive effort.

Another goalscoring centre-back was on hand to deliver from a set-piece situation in Leeds' dramatic win over Bournemouth, with Liam Cooper getting up well to head home at the back stick - one of the seven aerial duels he won on the day - and he also cleared the free kick that ultimately led to Crysencio Summerville's winner.

Over at Villa Park, there was no shortage of quality finishes as Unai Emery's reign began with victory over Manchester United, but Lucas Digne had the pick of the bunch, directing a brilliant free kick beyond the reach of David de Gea to double his side's lead on the day.

MIDFIELD

Bournemouth may have thrown away all three points at Elland Road, but take nothing away from Marcus Tavernier's contribution in the final third, as the 23-year-old side-footed a volley home with grace in his home city before setting up Philip Billing and Dominic Solanke in a strong individual display.

Overlooking James Maddison feels almost criminal, and the Englishman would have certainly earned a place in our XI if he was able to finish one of the multitude of chances he had against Everton, but Youri Tielemans's goal-of-the-season-worthy volley is too good to ignore as speculation over his future ramps up once more.

Standout midfield performances were here, there and everywhere in the most recent gameweek, with Thomas Partey and Kevin De Bruyne also worthy of mentions, but Jacob Ramsey waltzed into this team after setting up Leon Bailey and producing a postage-stamp finish to seal Villa's memorable win over Man United.

The first of two Brighton men to force their way into our Team of the Week is Adam Lallana, who curled home with panache against Wolves before finding space for Karou Mitoma, our second Seagulls representative. There is certainly a huge air of excitement about the Japanese attacker, who was involved in all of the key game-winning moments for Brighton - playing big parts in Lallana and Pascal Gross's efforts, producing a strong leap and header for his goal and also drawing the foul which saw Nelson Semedo take an early bath.

ATTACK

Sam Greenwood's remarkable substitute cameo against Bournemouth could be just what the 20-year-old needs to ignite his Leeds career, as the youngster scored a stunning curling effort from outside the box to reduce the deficit before picking out Cooper with an inch-perfect dipping corner to the back stick.

Finally, Mohamed Salah has not been his usual prolific self in the Premier League so far this term, but the Egyptian's brace got Liverpool over the line against Tottenham. After finishing clinically from Darwin Nunez's pass, Salah capitalized on Dier's dreadful attempt at a header back to Hugo Lloris to chip the onrushing Frenchman, and Jurgen Klopp believes that the 30-year-old will go down as one of the "best strikers you'll ever see" when he eventually hangs up his boots.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-5-2): Alisson; Gabriel, Cooper, Digne; Tavernier, Tielemans, Ramsey, Lallana, Mitoma; Greenwood, Salah