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Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

Sports Mole selects 11 of the most impressive players from the third batch of 2015-16 Premier League encounters.

The season may only be three games old, yet Manchester City already appear to be the side to beat following their 2-0 victory away at Everton at the weekend.

Elsewhere, there were first wins of the campaign for champions Chelsea and newly-promoted Bournemouth, while Crystal Palace also triumphed.

Draws seemed to be very much the order of the weekend, though, with the games at Old Trafford, the King Power Stadium, Carrow Road, the Stadium of Light, Vicarage Road and the Emirates Stadium all ending level.

Here, Sports Mole looks back over all of the action to pick its best XI, as well as selecting the most memorable goal and biggest villain.


Jack Butland (Stoke City)
The fact that Mark Hughes opted to promote Butland rather than sign a replacement for Asmir Begovic, who moved to Chelsea, was a big vote of confidence for the England hopeful. This showing at Carrow Road repaid some of that faith, with Butland making six stops - more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League this weekend. The athleticism that the 22-year-old showed to thwart Nathan Redmond in the second half was a particular highlight.

Aleksander Kolarov (Manchester City)
The Serbian has really made the most of his opportunity to make the left-back spot his own so far this season. While he did not rampage forward as much as usual against a tricky Everton side, his first meaningful advancement saw Kolarov break the deadlock. The desire that he showed to receive a pass from Raheem Sterling should be an example to other full-backs, while the clever finish caught out Tim Howard.
Scott Dann (Crystal Palace)
For fantasy football managers, the Palace centre-back is a dream player. Not only is he relatively cheap, but he has such a good leap that he should score at least five goals per season. He opened his account for the current term with a towering header to break the deadlock at Selhurst Park, before going on to pop up on the right wing to set up the winning goal.
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United)
For 20 minutes at Old Trafford, Man United threatened to run riot against the Magpies. But, having weathered that storm, Newcastle became a much more compact unit, thanks mainly to their Argentine centre-back. It was a real captain's performance from Coloccini, who made countless challenges, blocks and interceptions.
Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool)
The summer signing from Southampton had already made himself a favourite among the Liverpool supporters prior to this outing against Arsenal, but his display only served to further enhance his reputation. Up against the dangerous Alexis Sanchez, Clyne defended well and then also got forward on numerous occasions.

Callum McManaman (West Bromwich Albion)
A certain Chelsea debutant has understandably hogged the headlines in the wake of the clash at The Hawthorns, but McManaman's display against the champions should not be overlooked. The former Wigan Athletic winger won his side a penalty and then produced a peach of a cross for West Brom's second goal of the game. He was also unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet after a jinking run into the Chelsea area.
Francis Coquelin (Arsenal)
Perhaps he should have been suspended for the clash with Liverpool after his antics against Crystal Palace last time out, but Coquelin certainly made the most of his reprieve. His teammates consistently surrendered possession during a poor first-half performance, but on more than one occasion they were bailed out by the Frenchman, who put in some well-timed and crucial challenges.
David Silva (Manchester City)
The pint-sized Spaniard seems to have taken up permanent residence in this side - we'll have to start charging him rent soon! Even against an energetic and determined Everton midfield, Silva always seemed to find himself enough space to cause problems. He created three chances for his teammates, which was more than any other player on the Goodison Park pitch. On this form, the 29-year-old is the best player in the Premier League.
Pedro (Chelsea)
Having spent much of last season behind Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in the Barcelona pecking order, Chelsea's new boy made the most of this starting opportunity. He opened the scoring in the 20th minute and then not long after he also had an assist to his name. He started to tire during the closing stages, but his pace and movement will certainly offer Chelsea a new attacking dimension this season.

Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)
For a striker that is new to the Premier League, getting off the mark is vitally important. Wilson, who notched 20 times in the Championship last term, had not found the net in his first two outings in the top flight, but he's off and running now. His capitalised on defensive errors to score two goals before the break and he then went on to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot towards the end of the encounter.
Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Against Man City last weekend, Costa seemed more interested in fighting with the opposition than scoring goals. This time around, he was much more switched on, which resulted in the perfect centre-forward's performance. He showed good anticipation to score his first goal of the season, and while up against physical centre-backs he more than held his own.


Numpty of the Week

Aaron Cresswell and Carl Jenkinson: West Ham United's full-backs were arguably their most consistent performers last term, but both made glaring errors as Bournemouth scored four times at Upton Park.

Visiting striker Wilson scored twice before the break, with left-back Cresswell at fault on both occasions. Then, after the restart, Marc Pugh capitalised on space left by Jenkinson to score a third for the Cherries. It got even worse for the Arsenal loanee 10 minutes from time when having lost possession to Max Gradel, he was then red carded for bringing the winger down inside the area. The duo are undoubtedly good players, but it was an afternoon to forget.

Goal of the Week

Riyad Mahrez - (Leicester City) vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Just moments after his side had fallen behind to Dele Alli's first goal in Spurs colours, Mahrez came to the rescue with his fourth goal of the season.

Jan Vertonghen opted not to close down the Algerian, who used the Belgian defender as a shield to curl his effort beyond the reach of a diving Hugo Lloris.

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Callum Wilson (L) of Bournemouth celebrates scoring his team's second goal with his team mate Matt Ritchie (R) during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and A.F.C. Bournemouth at the Boleyn Ground on August 22, 2015
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