The midweek round of Premier League fixtures is done and dusted, with teams across the land playing out their rearranged fixtures after the Omicron-enforced disruption during the festive period.
Manchester City remain at the top of the rankings after easing to a 2-0 win over Brentford, but Liverpool kept the pressure on by beating Leicester City by the same scoreline at Anfield.
Third-placed Chelsea are not in domestic action while they compete at the Club World Cup, allowing West Ham United to close the gap with a 1-0 win over Watford.
Arsenal also took advantage of their rivals' slip-ups to rise to fifth with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers - leapfrogging Manchester United after their 1-1 draw with Burnley.
Tottenham Hotspur also lost vital ground in the top four race with a 3-2 defeat to Southampton, as Aston Villa and Leeds United played out a pulsating 3-3 draw.
Further down the table, Norwich City and Crystal Palace shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, and Newcastle United got the better of Everton 3-1 at a rocking St James' Park.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the midweek games.
DEFENCE
© Reuters
Gabriel Martinelli's red card once again forced Arsenal to hold out with 10 men at Molineux, but Aaron Ramsdale is seemingly used to it by now, as Mikel Arteta's number one made four vital saves and two punches before displaying enormous passion at the full-time whistle following another well-earned clean sheet.
Newcastle fans have had to be very patient for a performance as explosive as they produced against Everton, which was down in no small part to January signing Kieran Trippier, whose stunning free kick settled the contest after he had put in five tackles, four key passes and seen his corner lead to the equaliser.
Ramsdale was certainly well-protected by the staunch Arsenal defence at Molineux, with Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of his side's efforts with five clearances, two tackles and five out of six ground duels won, as well as the all-important winner in the first half.
The second centre-back spot in our XI also goes to a Big Six defender who had a key impact at the other end of the pitch in Joel Matip, with the Cameroonian's deft pass to Diogo Jota handing the Portuguese his second as he also produced three interceptions, two tackles and a 91% pass accuracy.
Finally, he may not have bagged his customary goal or assist - although he was extremely unlucky not to make the net ripple after another mazy run - but Joao Cancelo put in another exemplary showing against Brentford, completing four of his five dribble attempts as well as posting four tackles and three interceptions.
MIDFIELD
© Reuters
It is no surprise to see Villa starlet Jacob Ramsey begin to earn links with the big boys, as the 20-year-old smashed home two of his side's three goals in their pulsating draw with Leeds and also made four interceptions, but he had a pretty good mentor alongside him.
Indeed, Philippe Coutinho's time at Barcelona has been a forgettable affair, but the silky Brazilian has taken to Premier League turf again like he never left - scoring one and assisting Ramsey's two in the draw with the Whites - and news of a possible cut-price permanent deal for the playmaker will certainly go down well among the home crowd.
It was goals galore at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as well as Villa Park in midweek, as Spurs learned the hard way not to allow James Ward-Prowse time and space to pick out a target - he did so twice to find the accurate heads of Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams - as well as posting five key passes and three tackles in a thrilling win.
ATTACK
© Reuters
Much of the pre-match talk before West Ham's encounter with Watford centred around Kurt Zouma's despicable off-the-field actions, but Jarrod Bowen quickly stole the limelight on the pitch with the only goal of the game - albeit a slightly fortuitous one - and he would have bagged a second not long after had it not been for Ben Foster's outstretched arm.
Attempting to fill the void left by Patrick Bamford in the Leeds attack is a tall order for Daniel James, but the ex-Manchester United man repaid Marcelo Bielsa's faith in him with a brace at Villa Park, although somehow managing to beat Tyrone Mings in the air was arguably his main highlight of the game.
Finally, the introduction of new boy Luis Diaz sent tongues wagging at Anfield - and rightly so, with the Colombian catching the eye on his full debut for Liverpool - but Diogo Jota's predatory instincts came to the fore as he propelled the Reds to all three points with both goals on the night. Only Mohamed Salah (16) now has more goals than Jota (12) in the 2021-22 Premier League, with Jurgen Klopp surely now in safe hands as he makes plans for the eventual end of the Salah-Firmino-Mane attack.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Trippier, Matip, Gabriel, Cancelo; Ramsey, Ward-Prowse, Coutinho; Bowen, James, Jota
Ben Knapton
