With Arsenal and Manchester City not in action, the other 18 Premier League teams sought to divert attention away from the top two in an action-packed round of midweek matches.

Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to go second in the table as they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by Manchester United, who cut the gap to Chelsea down to one point after the Blues were held to a goalless stalemate by West London rivals Brentford.

Newcastle United maintained their grip on a top-six spot by overcoming Everton 1-0, and Liverpool's recent resurgence continued with victory over West Ham United by the same scoreline.

Bournemouth's resurgence under Gary O'Neil was halted in a 1-0 defeat to Southampton, while Brighton & Hove Albion could not find a way through against Nottingham Forest in a goalless draw.

Elsewhere, Fulham put Aston Villa to the sword 3-0 in a game that cost Steven Gerrard his job, Leicester City piled the pressure on Leeds United with a 2-0 win, and Crystal Palace got the better of Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1.

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

DEFENCE

Once again, there was no shortage of standout goalkeeping performances this week, with Alisson Becker, Hugo Lloris, Bernd Leno, Kepa Arrizabalaga and David Raya all worthy of a mention. However, Dean Henderson's seven saves at the Amex could prove pivotal for Nottingham Forest, who briefly climbed off the bottom of the table thanks to the Manchester United loanee's efforts.

Continuing to stake his claim to be England's first-choice right-back at the World Cup, Kieran Trippier was on song once again for Newcastle in their victory over Everton, making four key passes, four tackles and two interceptions during another composed display out wide.

Down on the South Coast, Southampton had a pair of defenders to thank for their long-awaited victory over Bournemouth, as centre-back Mohammed Salisu produced five tackles, five clearances and made a heroic goal-line clearance following a mistake from Gavin Bazunu. Meanwhile, Romain Perraud - who was the scorer against West Ham United at the weekend - turned provider for Che Adams to score the vital goal this week, and he also made three crucial interceptions alongside that pinpoint cross for the Scotland striker.

Armando Broja's full Chelsea debut at the Gtech Community Stadium was not one for the Albanian to remember, thanks in no small part to Ben Mee, who was outdone by the Blues striker on pace before making a tremendous last-ditch challenge to prevent a seemingly certain goal and guarantee a well-earned clean sheet.

MIDFIELD

Barely a week goes by where Fulham fans do not fall more in love with summer signing Joao Palhinha, and the Portugal international was here, there and everywhere as the Cottagers swept aside Aston Villa. There was to be no long-range thunderbolt for Palhinha this week, but he made six tackles, won all three of his aerial battles and provided seven accurate long balls from eight attempts in a midfield masterclass.

However, Palhinha's efforts in the middle of the park have been eclipsed by a Manchester United duo who produced their best performances of the season against Tottenham. Standing in for the recovering Christian Eriksen, Fred put in a brilliant shift for the Red Devils, deservedly getting the opening goal - albeit a deflected one - while he had six shots in total and made three key passes in an energetic display.

Prior to Wednesday's game, Bruno Fernandes shrugged off criticism over his goals and assists tally, and the playmaker responded to such criticisms in the perfect way. As well as curling home a sumptuous second for the Red Devils, Fernandes created a whopping nine chances - the most in a Premier League game since he came up with 10 against Aston Villa in September 2021.

ATTACK

Wednesday's scorelines left a lot to be desired on the attacking front, but Newcastle's Miguel Almiron did not, as he gratefully received the ball from Bruno Guimaraes on the edge of the area before lifting a delightful effort over the reach of Jordan Pickford to win the match for the Magpies and keep their European dream alive.

Crystal Palace had their own wing king to thank for victory over Wolves on Tuesday evening, as Wilfried Zaha was, quite literally, up to his usual tricks on the left-hand side. After somehow evading a succession of Wolves challenges, Zaha finished off a sweeping Palace move to turn the tie on its head, and six of his 10 dribble attempts came off in an energetic showing.

Concern was raised when Darwin Nunez was taken off after 57 minutes, but Jurgen Klopp affirmed that the Uruguayan's muscles were in need of a rest, and it was easy to see why. Nunez's first Anfield goal - a well-placed downward header into the side of the net - propelled Liverpool to victory over West Ham, while he also hit the woodwork and was an unabated threat in the final third during the opening 45 minutes.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Henderson; Trippier, Salisu, Mee, Perraud; Fred, Palhinha, Fernandes; Almiron, Nunez, Zaha