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Premier League Team of the Week - Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eddie Nketiah

Sports Mole picks its Premier League Team of the Week, including Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eddie Nketiah.

A goal-laden weekend of Premier League action has now come to a close, and the fate of one more team has been sealed ahead of the final couple of weeks.

Manchester City moved three points clear at the top of the table after thumping Newcastle United 5-0, as Liverpool dropped two potentially priceless points in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea were undone by a late Wolverhampton Wanderers flurry in a 2-2 draw in front of their new owners, which allowed Arsenal to close the gap to third place to just one point with a 2-1 win over 10-man Leeds United.

Manchester United's Champions League hopes evaporated in a dismal 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, but West Ham United aided their prospects of a top-seven finish by overcoming relegated Norwich City by the same scoreline.

Everton did their survival prospects the world of good by beating Leicester City 2-1, but Watford's relegation to the Championship was confirmed with a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

The Toffees and Burnley are now out of the drop zone - despite the Clarets' 3-1 loss to Aston Villa - while Brentford are all but safe after easing past Southampton 3-0.

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


DEFENCE

Tottenham Hotspur's Eric Dier pictured on May 8, 2022© Reuters

Everton number one Jordan Pickford has been no stranger to Team of the Week appearances and once again earns the goalkeeping spot in our XI, with the England international coming up with seven vital saves at the King Power to ensure that the Toffees' survival fate remains in their own hands.

Brentford are virtually guaranteed to make it back-to-back seasons at this level of football, and that was thanks in no small part to the efforts of Kristoffer Ajer against Southampton, as the 6ft 5in centre-back dribbled with the elegance of a 5ft 7in winner to score against the Saints while also making five interceptions to help his side out defensively.

While Ben Davies and Cristian Romero deserve honourable mentions are were worthy contenders for places in the XI, we have just given the nod to Eric Dier, who made a whopping 11 clearances, three blocks and two interceptions to quell a rampant Liverpool attack at Anfield in a steadfast showing.

Pickford is not the only Everton defensive representative in our Team of the Week here, as Vitaliy Mykolenko's volley was a thing of beauty in their crucial win over Leicester, and the Ukrainian's first-ever Toffees goal could yet prove to be a priceless one in the relegation scrap.


MIDFIELD

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates scoring their first goal on March 6, 2022© Reuters

He may have only been on the pitch for 19 minutes against Chelsea, but Chiquinho provided the spark to set the dramatic Wolves comeback in motion at Stamford Bridge, firstly setting up Francisco Trincao's strike before crossing for Conor Coady to head home in front of the jubilant away end, and a start against Manchester City surely awaits the 22-year-old.

It would have been a crime to leave out at least one Brighton player this week, and midfield starlet Moises Caicedo is proving why Man United were reportedly after him with a pinpoint effort into the bottom corner at the Amex, and he also played his way through the Red Devils midfield with ease - posting a 91% pass accuracy as his raw talent continues to shine through.

While Caicedo stole the spotlight on the South Coast, Kevin De Bruyne ran the show in the North West, setting up Rodri's effort on the day, making six key passes and creating three big chances in another playmaking masterclass from the brilliant Belgian.

Another one of Roberto Martinez's Red Devils was feeling it against Ralf Rangnick's Red Devils down south, and while there was certainly an element of fortune about his goal, Leandro Trossard also set up his teammates twice in the humiliation of Man United, and not many players can boast such a prolific haul over 90 minutes against the 20-time English champions.


ATTACK

Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring for Chelsea in May 2022© Reuters

It was difficult to leave out the likes of Raheem Sterling and Said Benrahma given the wealth of attacking options this week, but there was no overlooking Jarrod Bowen, who provided the two assists for Benrahma's brace against Norwich and played a huge part in Michail Antonio's goal, but he will not want to see his horror miss again.

It is fair to say that Romelu Lukaku will never be best friends with the Chelsea fans, but the £97.5m man finally repaid Thomas Tuchel's faith in him as he started and struck twice against Wolves - using his strength well to win and convert a penalty before curling home with panache from the edge of the area not long after.

Arsenal made life much more difficult for themselves against Leeds than they should have done, but Eddie Nketiah continued his resurgence with a 10-minute brace in a lightning-fast start - robbing Illan Meslier of the ball before a cool first-time finish to help the Gunners inch ever closer to a coveted Champions League place.

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-1-2): Pickford; Ajer, Dier, Mykolenko; Chiquinho, Caicedo, De Bruyne, Trossard; Bowen; Nketiah, Lukaku


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2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
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