Written by Samuel Brady
Sub-edited by Cameron Winstanley
Hello and welcome to my Premier League team of the week for the weekend just gone. I have gone through and analysed this weeks top performers for each position, in my opinion, and decided to go for a 4-3-3 formation this week. Let me know your thoughts and who would you keep and swap?
GK: Illan Meslier (Leeds)
20-year-old Frenchman Illan Meslier proved pivotal to his side’s narrow 1-0 win over Everton. Meslier has started every PL game for Leeds so far this season as they’ve enjoyed a positive start to life back in England’s topflight. Meslier made eight saves, with five of those coming from inside the penalty box as he registered his fourth clean sheet of the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesRB: Luke Ayling (Leeds)
The second of three Leeds players in this this week’s team is Luke Ayling. The right back has been one of Leeds most consistent performers this season and was a key asset in helping them achieve promotion from the Championship last season. Ayling has seen his career continue to rise, going back to his Yeovil day’s and continued his form in the 1-0 win over the Toffee’s.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham)
Angelo Ogbonna’s second minute goal against Aston Villa set the tone for the Hammers as they went on to secure a 2-1 victory. The centre-half’s goal was West Ham’s quickest since November 2016 and was again a threat from set pieces this season. Ogbonna has been a main stay in The Hammers back line this season and his recent performances have shown why the former Juventus man is key to David Moyes plans.
Embed from Getty ImagesCB: Kyle Bartley (West Brom)
Arguably the most unlikely player for this week’s team is Baggies centre back Kyle Bartley. However, Bartley is full value for his place in the side as he helped his West Brom side to just their third clean sheet and second win of the season. West Brom will no doubt look to the likes of the experienced Bartley to help them defy the odds and beat the drop come the end of the season.
LB: Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City)
There was a first Manchester City goal for Benjamin Mendy is the Citizen’s 5-0 thumping of Burnley. City along with manager Pep Guardiola have been questioned in recent weeks following a list of uninspiring performances and results but found their mojo again this weekend. Mendy has had a difficult career so far since joining City from Monaco back in 2016, suffering major injuries without being able to mount a consistent run of games in the team, but his performance in the 5-0 win will do his confidence the world of good. His sweetly struck strike topped off what was a very good individual performance for the Frenchman, which has no doubt come at the right time for both himself and his team.
CM: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Despite his side’s defeat at the London Stadium, Jack Grealish once again purred. The recently capped England midfielder scored his fifth goal of the season, which now means he’s outperforming the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mohammed Salah, Romelu Lukaku and Sadio Mane when it comes to total goal involvements. Grealish is now constantly showing he is the top-quality player which many predicted this season and has led by example with his performances for Villa this campaign.
Embed from Getty ImagesCM: Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
The final Leeds player making this week’s side is Kalvin Phillips. The Leeds local lad has been a key figure for The White’s for a number of seasons now and is showing his ability to easily cope with life in the PL. Phillips, who has been called up to the most recent of England squads, registered an 100% record of both take-ons completed and aerial duels won including 79 passes completed out of a possible 84.
Embed from Getty ImagesCM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne has been labelled as having somewhat of a bad season so far, but the Belgium’s performance and subsequent two assists against Burnley prove otherwise. The two assists he registered in the win now take his season’s total to nine along with netting on one occasion, this means De Bruyne now has an average goal contribution every 86.7 minutes. De Bruyne without doubt is still one of the, if not the best creator in the PL. This claim is backed by the fact he has registered the most league assists since the start of last season with 25.
RW: Mahrez (Manchester City)
Manchester City’s final player in this week’s side is Algerian Riyad Mahrez. The winger took just 22 minutes to grab his first City hat-trick in the win over Burnley, just his second of his career with his last coming against Swansea for Leicester in their 2015/16 title winning season. Mahrez has now reached 100 PL goal involvements in 206 PL appearances becoming just the sixth African player to reach the achievement.
Embed from Getty ImagesST: Edinson Cavani (Manchester United)
Super-sub Edinson Cavani helped United come from two goals down to win 3-2 over Southampton. The Uruguayan was brought on at half-time by boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after a dreadful first half performance from the Red Devils. Cavani’s goals silenced some of his critics who claim the 33-year-old’s form from his Napoli and PSG days are behind him, However Cavani showed that class is permanent and that he still has much to offer for his new side.
LW: Pedro Neto (Wolves)
Wolves 2-1 win over Arsenal was overshadowed by the horrible head injury sustained to striker Raul Jimenez following a clash with Gunners defender David Luiz. However, Pedro Neto’s performance provided some positives for Nuno Espiritos Santo’s side. Neto scored his third PL goal of the season with two coming in his last two games as well as creating the most chances (three) and 58 touches in the win at the Emirates. Neto is stepping up and filling the void left by fellow countryman Diogo Jota’s summer move to Liverpool.
