MX23RW : Thursday, January 30 22:43:20| >> :60:869:869:

Premier League Team of the Week - Kevin De Bruyne, Willian, Riyad Mahrez

Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 18, including Kevin De Bruyne, Willian and Riyad Mahrez.

The final round of Premier League fixtures before Christmas saw shocks and significant results at both ends of the table.

Manchester City beat Leicester City in a battle between third and second, leaving Liverpool still 10 points clear at the summit and now with a game in hand having been away at the Club World Cup this weekend.

Chelsea ended their poor form with victory over Tottenham Hotspur as Frank Lampard got one over on his former manager Jose Mourinho, although the 2-0 triumph was marred by accusations of racist abuse directed at Antonio Rudiger.

Rock-bottom Watford stunned Manchester United in Nigel Pearson's first home game in charge, while the gameweek saw the end of the interim reigns for both Duncan Ferguson and Freddie Ljungberg as Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta watched a dire goalless draw between Everton and Arsenal.

Southampton climbed out of the relegation zone by beating Aston Villa, who drop into the bottom three themselves as a result, while Sheffield United will spend Christmas in fifth place after their win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek 18.



PLTOTWGW18

Manchester United have had problems beating teams below them in the table this season, but few gave Watford a chance on Sunday. However, after an encouraging display at Anfield last weekend, the Hornets picked up a memorable win, and Ben Foster was integral to that with eight saves against his former club.

Arsenal's stalemate at Goodison Park was a quickly forgettable performance, but there was at least a clean sheet for both sides and Calum Chambers played a big role in that for the Gunners by winning seven aerial duels.

The Englishman's versatility means that he moves over to right-back in this team, with Jack Stephens and James Tarkowski at the heart of the defence. Stephens scored Southampton's second goal in their crucial 3-1 win at Villa Park, while Tarkowski was part of a solid defensive Burnley display as they won at Bournemouth.

Romain Saiss, Fabian Schar and Yerry Mina all deserve mentions, while Paul Dummett was also in contention at left-back but only just misses out to Benjamin Mendy. The Frenchman is the first of a team-high three Man City players to make the cut, having provided an assist during their fine performance against Leicester.

It is admittedly a very attacking team this week given the number of outstanding midfield performances, arguably the best of which came from Kevin De Bruyne, who once again provided a masterclass. The Belgian only ended the match with one assist, but he also hit the woodwork and was the driving force behind City's come-from-behind win.

Perhaps the moment of the weekend came at St James' Park, where Miguel Almiron finally ended his much-publicised wait for his first Newcastle goal. The delight was clear to see as he wheeled off in celebration, and he will hope that the floodgates are now open.

Riyad Mahrez is the third Man City player in this week's XI having been the main attacking threat for much of their game against former club Leicester, and it was only a string of saves from Kasper Schmeichel which limited him to just one goal from his 10 shots.

Chelsea duo Willian and Mason Mount were similarly impressive in the win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Brazilian scoring both goals including a brilliant first and Mount causing Spurs problems throughout the contest.

There was plenty of competition for the forward places too, including Emiliano Buendia, Adama Traore, Ismaila Sarr and Gerard Deulofeu, but the in-form Danny Ings leads the line having netted another brace to take him up to 11 goals before Christmas - the first Southampton player to do that in the Premier League since James Beattie in 2002-03.

ID:383840: cacheID:383840:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9234:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Kevin De Bruyne celebrates scoring for Man City on December 15, 2019
Read Next:
PL Team of the Week - De Bruyne, Salah, Vertonghen
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!