Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week: Palmer, Zirkzee, Gabriel

In keeping with many fans and pundits' pre-game expectations, Liverpool strode 11 points clear of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, subjecting Pep Guardiola's off-colour outfit to a 2-0 Merseyside beating to stay firmly in control of the race for glory.

The Anfield affair marked the main event of gameweek 13 following a stacked undercard, which involved Arsenal rising to second spot in the table thanks to an absorbing 5-2 London derby win over West Ham United.

Chelsea remain hot on the coat-tails of the Gunners, though, only behind Arsenal on alphabetical order after a comfortable 3-0 win over Aston Villa, while Ruben Amorim's first home game in charge of Manchester United ended in a routine 4-0 thrashing of Everton.

However, Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a point in a 1-1 stalemate with 10-man Fulham, while Brighton & Hove Albion's European aspirations suffered a slight setback in their own 1-1 draw versus Southampton on Friday night.

It was goals galore further down the table, though, as Bournemouth left Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux base with a 4-2 victory under their belts, while Brentford pulled off a 4-1 comeback crushing of Leicester City.

There was late drama at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace struck an injury-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, but Ipswich Town could not muster up a response to Chris Wood's penalty in a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek 13 of the 2024-25 season.

DEFENCE

As Tottenham continue to be linked with several Guglielmo Vicario replacements ahead of the January transfer window, Fraser Forster could hardly be doing more to prove that he can fill the Italian's gloves; without his five saves against Fulham, including a phenomenal close-range stop from Raul Jimenez, Spurs could have easily ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline.

Forster forms one part of an all-capital contingent at the back, where Daniel Munoz warrants a place thanks to his attacking and defensive contributions in the draw with Newcastle. The Colombian may have missed a sitter in the first half, but he saved the Eagles' bacon with a powerful late header and incredibly won 12 of his 13 ground duels, putting in an outrageous 11 tackles on the afternoon.

Also proving his prowess in both halves of the pitch, Brentford's Nathan Collins was an unsung hero of the Bees' beating of Leicester. The Irishman registered an assist with a terrific curling pass for Kevin Schade's third goal, while also winning six of his eight aerial duels, making five clearances and completing both of his dribble attempts in West London.

Finally, he may have only been on the field for 45 minutes against West Ham, but Arsenal's perennial penalty-box threat Gabriel Magalhaes proved far too hot for the West Ham backline to handle. The Brazilian headed home from a Bukayo Saka corner for the third time this season before taking the full force of a Lukasz Fabianski punch to win his side a penalty at a crucial point, as the Irons were threatening a monumental turnaround before Saka completed the seven-goal spectacle.

MIDFIELD

Man United protege Amad Diallo had already begun to attract attention during Erik ten Hag's final days, but he is already elevating his game to new heights as one of Amorim's effervescent wing-backs. The Ivory Coast international ended the win over Everton with two assists to his name, played a huge part in the Red Devils' opening goal and won 11 of his 14 ground duels, including four successful dribbles from four attempts.

On the opposite side of our 3-4-3 system - Amorim would be proud - lies only the fourth German in history to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. Over the course of just one hour in Brentford's meeting with Leicester, Kevin Schade doubled his goal tally from his first 46 Bees appearances, and the 23-year-old also provided the assist for Yoane Wissa's leveller in one of the most outstanding individual performances in the top flight this season.

From two boys in red to two boys in blue, as Chelsea's £106m investment Enzo Fernandez delivered the goods once again versus Villa, netting for the second Premier League game running. The Argentine produced a clinical outside-of-the-foot finish to double his side's lead on Sunday, in addition to making three tackles, creating two chances and completing two successful dribbles in another all-around delightful display.

Fernandez's strike on Sunday was assisted by the perpetually prolific Cole Palmer, who inevitably got in on the act in the second half with a trademark curling strike into the top corner after cutting in from the right-hand side. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca singled out Palmer and Joao Felix as two reasons Blues fans "pay tickets" to watch their beloved side, and the statement undoubtedly rings true with the fabulous former.

ATTACK

All of Saka, Leandro Trossard, Mohamed Salah and Marcus Rashford would have warranted a spot any other week, but we could not limit ourselves to picking just one cherry. Three penalties won by resident nuisance Evanilson were all converted by Justin Kluivert in Bournemouth's mad-cap clash with Wolves, as the latter became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of spot kicks in one game.

Jorgen Strand Larsen also stole one of the Molineux limelights with a brace in that game, but the Wolves striker is only just pipped to the central role by the revived Joshua Zirkzee. In addition to netting his own brace with two clinical low finishes, the Dutchman's exquisite pass to Diallo set the wheels in motion for Rashford to score his second of the match, and such a dazzling display could now be the catalyst for an upturn in Old Trafford fortunes.