MX23RW : Saturday, November 9 01:56:19| >> :120:13336:13336:

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

Sports Mole picks out the best 11 performers from the 27th round of Premier League fixtures.

With Chelsea on League Cup final duty, defending champions Manchester City had an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table to just two points.

Liverpool had other ideas, though, as they defeated City 2-1 at Anfield to bolster their own chances of finishing in the top four.

Their fellow challengers Manchester United and Arsenal both recorded 2-0 home wins over Sunderland and Everton respectively, but Southampton lost ground thanks to a 1-0 defeat away at West Bromwich Albion.

Elsewhere, Crystal Palace continued their recent positive form under Alan Pardew with a 3-1 victory at London rivals West Ham United, but Hull City remain in trouble following their 1-0 loss at Stoke City.

Burnley lost 1-0 at home to Swansea City and Aston Villa suffered the same outcome at Newcastle United, meaning that both sides remain in the relegation zone.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back on all eight contests from the weekend to pick out the 11 most impressive players.

Lukas Fabianski (Swansea City)
The Pole made six smart stops to deny Burnley at Turf Moor. He was the difference between Swansea collecting three points and none at all.

Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle United)
The right-back made numerous ventures forward, one of which assisted Papiss Cisse to score the only goal of the game.
Scott Dann (Crystal Palace)
His powerful header, which put Palace 2-0 up at Upton Park, rounded off a good defensive display from the centre-back.
Ashley Williams (Swansea City)
Burnley full-back Kieran Trippier sent numerous dangerous crosses into the Swansea penalty area, but most were cleared to safety by the alert Williams.
Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal)
Back in the side, Gibbs made the most of his opportunity. He used his pace to get forward on numerous occasions, while also defending well.

Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Young really is enjoying a new lease of life at United under Louis van Gaal's management. Playing on both wings, he caused numerous problems for his markers Anthony Reveillere and Patrick van Aanholt.
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Having opened the scoring at Anfield with a memorable strike, the stand-in Liverpool captain went on to boss the midfield battle in the second half.
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
His movement and creativity made him a thorn in the side of the City defence all afternoon. He then compounded the away side's misery by scoring a stunning winning goal.
Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace)
Palace scored three goals at Upton Park, all of which were assisted by Puncheon. It was a lively display from the winger, who West Ham failed to shackle.

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Back playing up front, Rooney made the most of his opportunity. He showed good composure from the penalty spot and then a real poacher's instinct to complete his brace.
Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
Although not a natural striker, the England international gave Vincent Kompany a torrid afternoon. His pace and movement stretched the City backline.

Numpty of the week

Roger East: Think of two footballers that look alike. Now, did anyone come up with John O'Shea and Wes Brown? No, didn't think so! You'd have to have been living under a rock to not know that referee East sent off Brown when it should have been O'Shea, who had actually committed the foul on United striker Radamel Falcao.

Now, the two Sunderland defenders were both putting the Colombian under pressure and from his angle, East can perhaps be forgiven for thinking that Brown had committed a foul. However, to then release a statement standing by the decision, despite replays clearly showing that O'Shea was the offender, is just daft!

Goal of the week

Philippe Coutinho – (Liverpool) vs. Man City: The Brazilian claimed this award last weekend and it was impossible to take it off him. Given enough space 25 yards from goal, he unleashed a shot that flew across a helpless Joe Hart and into the top corner of the away side's net. Not only was it a fantastic winning goal, it could also be highly significant come the end of the season.

ID:208668: cacheID:208668:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7577:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Anthony Reveillere for Sunderland on December 3, 2014
Read Next:
Reveillere rues costly penalty in defeat
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
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


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!