SM
Juventus vs. Cagliari: 10 hrs 29 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week - Amad Diallo, Alexander Isak, Son Heung-min

:Headline: Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week - Amad Diallo, Alexander Isak, Son Heung-min:
Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek 16, including Amad Diallo, Alexander Isak and Son Heung-min.
Sports Mole

Another round of Premier League fixtures is done and dusted and Liverpool still sit pretty at the top of the table despite coming from behind twice with 10 men to rescue a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham last weekend.

However, their lead at the summit has been reduced to just two points after Chelsea extended their impressive winning streak to five matches with a 2-1 home success over Brentford, who are still yet to win on the road this term.

Like Liverpool, Arsenal could only pick up a point as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Everton at the Emirates, while Nottingham Forest have climbed back into the top four after coming from behind to beat seventh-placed Aston Villa 2-1 at the City Ground.

Forest's win allowed them to leapfrog a Manchester City side in crisis as they let a one-goal lead slip in the dying embers of Sunday's Manchester derby to lose 2-1 at home against bitter rivals Manchester United, who remain 13th but are now only five points behind the Citizens in fifth.

Tottenham Hotspur put basement club Southampton to the sword 5-0 at St Mary's, and that result proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Russell Martin, while Gary O'Neil was sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers 24 hours earlier following a 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich Town.

Crystal Palace claimed the bragging rights from the M23 derby as they surprised many to win 3-1 at ninth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, while Newcastle United cruised to a 4-0 home victory over Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City.

Gameweek 16 concluded on Monday night when Bournemouth came from behind to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw with West Ham United at the Vitality Stadium.

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


DEFENCE

Few would have envisaged Everton keeping a clean sheet away against Arsenal, but their resolute rearguard kept the Gunners at bay, and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford put in an inspired display between the sticks, making five saves including two crucial first-half stops to deny Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.

Djed Spence was handed his first competitive start for Spurs against Southampton - 884 days after joining the club - and he only needed 36 seconds to provide an assist for James Maddison's opener. The right-back also produced the second-most progressive carries and passes (three each) of any player on the pitch, as well as 10 defensive actions to help the North Londoners keep a clean sheet.

Nikola Milenkovic has been a towering presence in Nottingham Forest's backline all season and he powered home his second goal in as many matches to restore parity against Aston Villa. The Serbian also won 100% of his ground duels, made six clearances and completed 94% of his passes.

Newcastle's Lewis Hall deserves a special mention, but completing our three-man backline is Fulham's Antonee Robinson, who bombed down the left flank to register his fifth and sixth assists of the season to help the Cottagers pick up a point at Anfield; only Bukayo Saka (10) and Mohamed Salah (nine) have set up more PL goals than the USA international so far this season. Robinson also led the way for duels won (eight), interceptions (four), chances created (four) and tackles won (three) on Merseyside.


MIDFIELD

Jacob Murphy gets the nod - just ahead of Noni Madueke - for a place on the right flank after scoring two of Newcastle's four goals against Leicester. His opener was a superb side-footed shot stroked into the bottom corner from a central position, before he wrapped up the victory with a powerful strike fired under Mads Hermansen.

One of Murphy's former teammates also makes our TOTW in the form of all-round midfielder Elliot Anderson, who won 12 duels, made the most tackles (five), created the most chances (four), completed the most dribbles (three) and assisted Forest's equaliser scored by Milenkovic.

Linking arms in the middle of the pitch with Anderson is James Maddison, who was one of Spurs' standout performers in their trashing of Southampton. As well as his first-half brace - a composed opener and delicious fifth squeezed into the top corner - the playmaker won 100% of his duels (7/7) and completed 100% of his take-ons (3/3) at St Mary's.

Son Heung-min also excelled against Southampton despite only playing the first 45 minutes. The South Korean lashed home a powerful half-volley and now boasts more goals against the Saints (13) than he does against any other team. The Spurs skipper also registered two assists, making him the club's all-time record assister in the Premier League.


ATTACK

In a Manchester derby lacking real quality throughout, Amad Diallo was Man United's shining light and won the penalty that Bruno Fernandes converted to restore parity before netting a majestic match-winner in the 90th minute. The 22-year-old has predominantly operated as a wing-back under new boss Ruben Amorim, but he played further forward at the Etihad and was top of the charts for both dribbles completed (5/8) and shots on goal (four), while he also won seven duels and completed 94% of his passes.

Another standout attacker on Sunday was Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr, who contributed to all three of his team's goals against Brighton. He did not know much about his assist that ricocheted into the path of Trevoh Chalobah, but he deserves all the plaudits that come his way for scoring either side of half time - a close-range header and a composed right-footed finish that sealed the victory.

Completing our front three is Newcastle talisman Alexander Isak, who was in the right place at the right time to nod home his goal from close range, while he also set up Murphy for the Magpies' fourth goal, produced four key passes and completed a match-high six dribbles during an impressive display against Leicester.


SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-2-1): Pickford; Spence, Milenkovic, Robinson; Murphy, Anderson, Maddison, Son; Diallo, Sarr; Isak


body check tags ::

amp_article__560774 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-12-17 08:19:52:
html db last update - 2024-12-17 08:19:52 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:
MC
Read Next:
Salah and De Bruyne in tandem: Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Jordan Pickford Martin Odegaard Gabriel Martinelli Mads Hermansen Ruud Van Nistelrooy Djed Spence James Maddison Nikola Milenkovic Lewis Hall Antonee Robinson Bukayo Saka Mohamed Salah Jacob Murphy Noni Madueke Elliot Anderson Son Heung-min Amad Diallo Ruben Amorim Alexander Isak Ismaila Sarr Trevoh Chalobah Russell Martin Gary O'Neil Bruno Fernandes Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Salah and De Bruyne in tandem: Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week
Arsenal defender Kiwior 'makes decision over future' ahead of January
Man City vs. Man Utd confirmed XIs: Foden decision made, Amorim makes four changes
Manchester City planning Josko Gvardiol move?

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Diallo, Isak and who else? Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

1

DI

Preview: Real Madrid vs. Pachuca - prediction, team news, lineups

2

PR

Over-regulation is killing 'emotion' in F1 - Montezemolo

NEW

3

OI

Michael Schumacher denied Kerpen honour, brother outraged

NEW

4

MS

Mount, Shaw updates: Man United injury, suspension news vs. Tottenham

5

MS

Badiashile, Felix, Mudryk latest: Chelsea injury, suspension list vs. Shamrock

6

BF

Preview: Espanyol vs. Valencia - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PE

Arsenal defender Kiwior 'makes decision over future' ahead of January

8

AD

Will the Lionesses roar again? England discover Euro 2025 opponents!

9

WT

Preview: Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

10

PA


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .