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Premier League Team of the Week - Haaland, De Bruyne, Robertson

Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week, including Erling Braut Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Andrew Robertson.

Another pulsating round of midweek Premier League action is done and dusted, and the destiny of the title has officially changed hands thanks to Manchester City's 4-1 thumping of Arsenal.

Newcastle United won by the same scoreline at Everton to cling onto their spot on the podium, while Ryan Mason's Tottenham Hotspur valiantly fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United.

Liverpool kept their fleeting hopes of Champions League qualification alive by beating West Ham United 2-1, and the Aston Villa juggernaut rolled on with a 1-0 triumph over Fulham.

Brighton & Hove Albion's European ambitions suffered a blow in a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest, while West London belonged to Brentford, who bested a declining Chelsea outfit 2-0.

Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Wanderers ran out 2-0 winners over Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Leicester City shook hands on a 1-1 draw, and Bournemouth edged Southampton 1-0 in their basement battle.

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


DEFENCE

Tyrone Mings in action for Aston Villa on October 20, 2022© Reuters

Having needlessly given away a penalty in Wolves' defeat to Leicester last weekend, Jose Sa more than redeemed himself when Palace came to Molineux, coming up with four crucial saves - including a pair of stunning stops from Albert Sambi Lokonga and Eberechi Eze - in a potentially priceless win for his side.

While no Tottenham players covered themselves in glory during the first half of their clash with Man United, the dogged defensive display of Cristian Romero was to be applauded. As well as winning all four of his aerial duels and completing 91% of his passes, Romero made six tackles, three blocks and three interceptions to preserve a point for the Lilywhites.

One London club that did not have such luck was Fulham, as they succumbed to a solitary effort from Tyrone Mings at Villa Park - the Lions centre-back's looping header at the near post found its way into the back of the net, while he also ended the game with an 87% pass accuracy.

In keeping with the theme of goalscoring centre-backs, Joel Matip stepped in for the injured Ibrahima Konate against West Ham and proved to be a very capable deputy indeed, powering home a bullet header to win the game for the Reds - one of nine aerial duels that he won at the London Stadium.



MIDFIELD

 Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne applauds fans on April 26, 2023© Reuters

While Pedro Porro's wonderful effort against Man United deserves all the plaudits, John Stones was once again an irrepressible force in Man City's win over Arsenal, just about keeping himself onside to head home the Citizens' second and completing 88% of his passes in another assured display.

Stones's header unsurprisingly came via a free kick from the boot of Kevin De Bruyne, who continues to terrorise the Arsenal backline season in season out, expertly picking out the corner to open the scoring and calmly slotting home in the second half either side of his pinpoint delivery for Stones.

A centre-back also got on the end of a delivery from Wolves captain Ruben Neves at Molineux, although unfortunately for Joachim Andersen, he was the one to turn the Portuguese's corner into his own net with just three minutes gone. Having helped his side maintain their one-goal lead with four tackles and four interceptions, Neves coolly dispatched a late spot kick to put the result beyond any doubt and potentially drum up a bit more interest in his services.

Taking advantage of Brighton's FA Cup hangover, Nottingham Forest midfielder Danilo was a driving force in his side's pivotal win over the Seagulls, robbing Moises Caicedo of the ball in midfield and surging forward before picking out the far corner, while also creating two chances and making two interceptions in an all-round competent performance.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's exploits from a hybrid midfield role may be attracting the most attention at present for Liverpool, but Andrew Robertson was just as effective on the opposite side against West Ham; his corner was on the money for Matip to head home, and he completed 88% of his passes at the London Stadium.



ATTACK

Manchester City's Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring their fourth goal on April 26, 2023© Reuters

Resuming his battle for number nine supremacy at Newcastle with Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson continues to haunt the nightmares of Everton fans with a brace in Thursday's contest, poking home into the roof of the net before beautifully curling home into the top corner in the latest Magpies romping.

For nearly 95 minutes on Wednesday night, Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale came out on top in his individual battle with Erling Braut Haaland, who responded by turning provider for both of De Bruyne's efforts. However, after literally letting his hair down, Haaland struck Man City's fourth in added time to record his 33rd Premier League goal of the season - setting a new record for a 38-game campaign in the process - as Rob Holding found himself holding on for dear life against the Scandinavian sensation.



SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

PL TOTW GW33

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-5-2): Sa; Romero, Mings, Matip; Stones, Neves, De Bruyne, Danilo, Robertson; Haaland, Wilson


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John Stones celebrates scoring for Manchester City on April 15, 2023
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Bournemouth104331312115
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
11Brentford94141818013
12Fulham93331212012
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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