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Premier League Team of the Week - Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Dele Alli

:Headline: Premier League Team of the Week - Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Dele Alli: ID:381445: from db_amp
Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 14, including Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne and Dele Alli.

Champions Manchester City fell further off the title pace in gameweek 14 of the 2019-20 Premier League season, drawing 2-2 with Newcastle United to make it just one win in their last five games across all competitions.

Liverpool took full advantage too, holding on for a 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion despite being reduced to 10 men as they made it a phenomenal 40 points from a possible 42 so far this season.

Leicester City continue to be Liverpool's main title rivals as things stand, with a dramatic last-gasp and VAR-assisted win over Everton keeping them within eight points as well as piling more pressure on Marco Silva.

Everton have so far exercised patience over their manager's future, but Watford did not afford Quique Sanchez Flores a similar courtesy as they sacked him for a second time after only 85 days in charge following the 2-1 defeat at fellow strugglers Southampton.

There has also been upheaval in the Arsenal dugout with Unai Emery sacked two days before their trip to Norwich City, but many of the problems remained as Freddie Ljungberg's interim reign began with a 2-2 draw.

Manchester United dropped more points in a 2-2 draw of their own at home to Aston Villa, while Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at home to out-of-form West Ham United in another shock result.

Tottenham Hotspur's resurgence under Jose Mourinho continued with a 3-2 triumph over Bournemouth, though, while Crystal Palace beat Burnley and Sheffield United earned a point at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 14.



Victories at Stamford Bridge have been very few and far between for West Ham, and Saturday's was particularly special for debutant goalkeeper David Martin, who made six saves en route to a clean sheet and was in tears of joy at the final whistle.

The match-winner from that London derby was Aaron Cresswell, who took his goal with aplomb in addition to playing his part in securing the clean sheet. Aston Villa's Matt Targett deserves a mention, having contributed an assist at Old Trafford, but Cresswell's goal will live long in the memory of the West Ham fans.

It was Liverpool's defensive unit which ultimately got them another narrow win over Brighton, with Trent Alexander-Arnold assisting both goals for Virgil van Dijk, whose two towering headers could barely have been better timed with his Ballon d'Or hopes set to be decided on Monday.

Matt Doherty, Ricardo Pereira and Max Aarons all deserve honourable mentions for the right-back role, but there was less competition across the rest of the back four. James Tomkins partners Van Dijk at the heart of the defence having successfully thwarted the dual physical threat of Burnley's front two.

The two holding midfield players both scored stunning goals this weekend, with James Ward-Prowse's proving to be particularly important as his free kick secured Southampton victory in their basement battle with Watford, ultimately costing Flores his job in the process.

Even that strike had to play second fiddle to Kevin De Bruyne's, though, with the Man City playmaker thundering a half-volley in off the underside of the bar against Newcastle - a goal which briefly gave the champions the lead before Jonjo Shelvey, himself a contender for this week's team, levelled things up.

Speaking of wonder goals, Jack Grealish opened the scoring against Manchester United in brilliant style on Sunday, firing another reminder of his international credentials. The goal capped another all-action display from the in-form Villa skipper as his side earned an impressive point.

Moussa Sissoko was another contender for the midfield positions in this XI, but two of his Tottenham teammates make the cut ahead of him. Dele Alli appears to be back to his very best under Mourinho, netting a brace against Bournemouth, while Son Heung-min helped himself to two assists to beat the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Todd Cantwell and Richarlison to a place in the team.

It is not too often that a substitute makes the team of the week, particularly when they are given a cameo of less than 30 minutes, but Kelechi Iheanacho completely changed the game for Leicester against Everton. The striker created the equaliser and then scored the dramatic late winner, and such a transformative impact earns him a place ahead of two-goal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
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