Tag Archives: Team of the week

Here’s our Premier League team of the week from the latest round of fixtures. There were some standout performances with 3 players from West Ham and 3 more from Arsenal making the eleven. Scroll down to find out about the XI in full, and why they made it.

Darren Randolph – West Ham United

This is not the first goalkeeper to go to Old Trafford this season and have, arguably their best game of the season thus far. Randolph joined that list of keepers this weekend after an immense display against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. He denied the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jese Lingard, saving a point for the Hammers as Slaven Bilic rightly favoured the Republic Of Ireland international over Adrian.

Nicolas Otamendi – Manchester City

When the Argentinian first arrived in England, he was heavily criticised for his performances which did not reach the billing City faithful where hoping.

But, since Guardiola’s arrival he has formed a fine partnership with England defender John Stones. On Saturday, Otamendi impressed at the back for City and made 18 clearances, created one chance and also finished the game with 88% passing, which will be a stat that pleases the boss.

Angelo Ogbonna – West Ham United

Much like teammate Randolph, Ogbonna was excellent in the Hammers away match to Jose Mourinho’s men and was at the heart of the defence that kept United at bay.

He made one key block to deny Ibrahimovic in the first half, which was destined to hit the back of the net and finished the game with 100% tackles and aerial duels won, whilst also impressing with a 75% passing accuracy in a truly great performance.

Laurent Koscielny – Arsenal

Arsenal man Laurent Koscielny has become vital to this Gunners team, and time and time again proves why he is one of Europe’s finest defenders. The Frenchman had another top class display on Sunday against a very strong Bournemouth attack including the likes of Wilson and King who both possess excellent speed. The Arsenal man finished the game winning 67% tackles, 75% aerial duels, making eight clearances and 87% passing. Mr consistent.

Nathan Ake – Bournemouth

Although he was on the losing side on Sunday, he was brilliant on the left hand side for the Cherries.

The on-loan Chelsea man surely caught the eye of Blues boss Antonio Conte after his quality display at the Emirates. He was both brilliant offensively and defensively whilst creating once chance, making 14 clearances and finishing the game wit 78% passing accuracy. The 21-year-old has been in fine form in recent weeks and if he keeps progressing will find himself knocking on the Chelsea starting XI door next season.

Michail Antonio - West Ham United

Antonio has been excellent consistently in the past two seasons and was once again impressive at Old Trafford. Although the Hammers man had a dip in form after Bilic opted to play the versatile midfielder at right-back where he struggled significantly. Since moving back to his favoured position he has been extremely dangerous for West Ham, and on Sunday he created once chance, completed four crosses, five take ons and helped out defensively with 100% tackles won.

Granit Xhaka – Arsenal

Arsene Wenger experimented another midfield pivot with Granit Xhaka starting alongside Mohamed Elneny, and it may be the most perfect partnership thus far, at least in Santi Cazorla’s absence.

Xhaka was phenomenal for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium as he helped his side get back to winning ways. Fans have been left raging in recent weeks due to Wenger’s exclusion of their summer signing, but after his performance on Sunday he must be deemed un-droppable for the upcoming games.

The Switzerland midfielder was excellent in transitions, whilst his exquisite passing helped Arsenal attack quickly, finishing the game with 90% passing accuracy, the midfield rock also managed to be successful with 73% of his tackles - a truly wonderful display.

Josh Sims – Southampton

Well, what a way to introduce yourself to the Premier League. Within 42 seconds the young Saints player registered his first assist after setting up Charlie Austin for the winning goal, whilst running Everton ragged all afternoon with immense pace and ability. An afternoon to remember for the 19-year-old after a very good introduction.

Leroy Fer - Swansea

Now we have all calmed down from the game of the season at the Liberty Stadium, we can reflect on the brilliant Leroy Fer who scored a brace for the Swans. Bob Bradley was in desperate need for the three points for his struggling side, and two goals from Fer helped seal the 5-4 victory, he was too much to handle for Crystal Palace as he completed three take ons and 77% passing in an erratic game.

Sergio Aguero – Manchester City

When you have the quality of Sergio Aguero leading your line, you just know he will score. The Argentinian scored a brace for Pep Guardiola’s men after they went 1-0 down to Burnley at Turf Moor after a fine strike after Marney opened the scoring. Aguero secured three points for the away side with a 2nd and was once again the difference between City and the opposition.

Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal

When Arsenal need a saviour, up steps this magic Chilean. Alexis Sanchez once again got on the score sheet for the Gunners as they secured three points against a very resilient Bournemouth side. Aside from Alexis scoring a brace in Arsenal’s 3-1 victory, he maintained high intensity throughout and pressed high up the pitch to try win the ball back. Arsenal can rely on their new number 7, after he created four chances, three take ons and finished the game with 72% pass success, not bad for a striker.

Tom Heaton – Burnley

Burnley’s resilience was once again outstanding on Saturday as they held out for a point at Old Trafford, but will certainly have to give the plaudits to their goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
The Clarets man arguably had his best performance in the Premier League on Saturday after keeping out non-stop United attacks, making 11 saves including one outstanding save to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Seamus Coleman – Everton

David Luiz – Chelsea

Kieran Gibbs – Arsenal

Kieran Gibbs has been given a run in the first team after playing a secondary role to Nacho Monreal in previous seasons, and he has given Arsene Wenger a massive headache.

The Gunners full-back has been influential in Arsenal’s recent games and has found himself at the heart of Arsenal’s attacks after combing excellently with Alex Iwobi but also doing his defensive duties well. Gibbs created as many chances as Mesut Ozil on Saturday, a stat that shows what influence the Englishman had for his side, a performance worthy of a run in the team. The impressive display also saw him bag his first assist since March 2015 in the Gunners’ 4-1 win over Sunderland.

Victor Moses – Chelsea

A career reborn under Antoino Conte and his new formation. After being sent out on loan and warming the bench for the Blues in recent years, the Nigerian has now found himself first choice right-wing back ahead of the likes of Willian. He has been excellent thus far this season, using his pace and power to his abilities and being very dangerous for the Blues.

Mohamed Elneny – Arsenal

After staring in Arsenal’s stalemate at home to Middlesbrough the week before, Arsenal fans didn’t seem to happy at the prospect of Elneny starting alongside Francis Coquelin again, but he certainly proved doubters wrong in an exceptional display. The Egyptian midfielder managed 91% passing accuracy which itself is immense, whilst creating two chances and breaking up play very well with 6 interceptions.

Ilkay Gundogan – Manchester City

Was this his statement? It certainly felt that way, Ilkay Gundogan performed excellently on Saturday afternoon and bagged himself a brace in his best performance in a City shirt. The City star also grabbed an assist in City’s 4-0 rout over West Brom.

Joe Allen – Stoke City

Allen has done really well at Stoke and haunted his former club on Monday night with a couple of assists.

Eden Hazard – Chelsea

Romelu Lukaku – Everton

Lukaku is really finding form under Ronald Koeman at Everton and he had another game to remember against West Ham at the weekend, notching both a goal and assist to keep him towards the top of the goalscoring charts in the league. If Everton are to have any chance of European football this season, they must hope that the Belgian maintains this kind of form.

Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal

Since swapping positions in Arsene Wenger’s team, Alexis Sanchez has become one of the most dangerous centre forwards in the Premier League, a position which he is certainly enjoying.

Arsenal’s attack is a different kind of dangerous this year, they should really be feared with the Chilean leading the line, he bagged himself another two goals at the Stadium of Light and terrorised the Black Cats defence all afternoon.

The Chilean has been directly involved in eight goals in his last eight Premier League appearances (five goals, three assists).

Lee Grant – Stoke City

Not often will a goalkeeper go to Old Trafford and have one of the games of their lives, but that’s exactly what Lee Grant done on Sunday against the Red Devils and saved his side a point.

He made several saves including magnificent stops against Jesse Lingard and Zlatan Ibrahimović but there was little he could do to keep out Anthony Martial’s perfect finish.

An all-round glorious afternoon at the Theatre of Dreams for the Stoke shot stopper.

Kyle Walker – Tottenham Hotspur

Walker found himself against a reborn Raheem Sterling at the weekend but done excellently in keeping his England compatriot quiet throughout.

Walker was brilliant at attacking the line and also defensively solid. Walker showcased his athleticism and proved why he is so key to the Spurs defence, a very strong performance against and in-form City side.

Toby Alderweireld – Tottenham Hotspur

Alderweireld is slowly becoming one of the best defenders in Europe with his consistent outstanding performances, something which he once again showed against Manchester City at the weekend.

Spurs have the best defence record in the league and it is quite obvious why, they are solid and defend as a unit. Alderweireld is slowly becoming on the best bargains in recent years and also helping Spurs grow within each game
The Belgian international managed to keep the best striker in England quiet, in Sergio Aguero, and also dominated their attacking flair with a sublime performance.

Michael Keane – Burnley

As defensive performance goes, Michael Keane was one the best no nonsense defenders over the weekend after an excellent display against an in-form Gunners team.

He continued his consistent solid performances for Burnely which should have saw his side gain a point, with Laurent Koscielny scoring with the last kick… well hand of the game.

His outstanding performances have caught the eye of interim boss Gareth Southgate and he has rightly so been called up to the England side.

James Milner – Liverpool

James Milner continues to impress for Liverpool and has fixed Jurgen Klopp’s defensive problem with the versatile player setting in perfectly at left-back.

He is probably seen as the most reliable player in the squad right now and has been excellent in Liverpool’s recent form, scoring the winner at the weekend from the penalty spot in another all-round complete display.

Dele Alli – Tottenham Hotspur

Alli was influential against Manchester City this weekend and the Englishman ran the show for Spurs in their 2-0 victory.

Alli possessed brilliant skills and passing ability throughout and was a real danger man to his opposition. He was calm and composed when he scored a goal against Claudio Bravo after a clever run in behind the defence.

After that he won the penalty, which Erik Lamela went on to miss and continued to torment the City players.

N’golo Kante – Chelsea

Kante hasn’t shined as much as he would have liked since his big money move from Leicester but consistent performances from the weekends outing will certainly pay that back.

Kante made more interceptions than any other Chelsea player and was their midfield engine, he was also brilliant with his passing abilities and that certainly hurt Hull at the weekend.

With performances like that he will certainly be back to his best before no time.

Joe Allen – Stoke City

Joe Allen was one of the best players of the weekend against Manchester United, he wasn’t scared of the battle against Paul Pogba and others and actually done superbly well throughout.

Allen was pitch-perfect in possession whilst also carving out his team-mates with excellent vision; he also had a hand in the dirty work and tracked back when needed.

He predominantly played at the number 10 role and certainly exposed United’s lack of holding player, he went on to clinch the equalizing goal and help his team leave Old Trafford with a point.

Son Heung Min – Tottenham Hotspur

Another week, another place for Son in our TOTW. The Korean forward has probably made TOTW more than any other player and the game at the weekend proved why.

Son is in the form of his life (at Spurs) and has been a real nuisance for defences to cope with; he constantly got in behind the City defence and put them under extreme pressure form the first minute.

Son will be bitter he couldn’t take the penalty which was missed, but something that won’t be forgotten is his sublime display… again.

Diego Costa – Chelsea

Diego Costa carried on his superb form this weekend as Chelsea got the all-important three points against Hull City after a blip in recent weeks.

The Chelsea man has been in impeccable form thus far this season which has left him top goal-scorer of the league, bagging himself another goal at the weekend.

Christian Benteke – Crystal Palace

His departure from Liverpool will probably work in his favor, with Benteke playing regular football again and starting to find his feet.

Benteke was a handful for Eeverton’s defence and won an incredible nine aerial duels, with one of them being the all-important equalizer, with the Belgian showing very promising signs with his new club.

This is the Fresh Football team of the week for Gameweek 3.

Michel Vorm – Tottenham

Despite Danny Rose’ second half equaliser, Mauricio Pochettino can have Hugo Lloris’ deputy, Michel Vorm, to thank for his side sharing the spoils with Liverpool at White Hart Lane. The Dutch goalkeeper made a crucial save early on to deny Philipp Coutinho from close range, whereas he was also on hand to snuff out the dangers posed by Sadio Mané rushing towards his goal on two separate occasions.

Héctor Bellerín – Arsenal

It was almost like a return home for Héctor Bellerín, who spent time out on loan to Watford in the season prior to his big Arsenal breakthrough. In that vein, Bellerín made himself feel at ease down the right flank, additionally leading a couple of dangerous counter-attacks in the second half that could have seen the hosts lose sight of the Gunners in a hotly-contested affair between the two London neighbours.

Joel Matip – Liverpool

As far as debuts go, there can’t be many complaints about keeping a 25-goal Harry Kane quiet, in particular with Vincent Janssen alongside the Englishman to deflect attention. Three interceptions and 11 clearances rounded off a promising start from Joël Matip in a Liverpool shirt.

Papy Djilobodji – Sunderland

Saturday’s performance versus Southampton shows there may have been some science behind Chelsea picking Papy Djilobodji up from Nantes last summer, who, alongside the coveted Lamine Koné, would have led Sunderland to their first victory of the season had it not been for an unfortunate blunder by Jordan Pickford between the sticks.

Daley Blind – Manchester United

Few would have expected José Mourinho to conform to Louis van Gaal’s habits, in particular that of placing the aesthetically inadequate figure of Daley Blind at centre back. The performances have been very sound, however, much like last season, and last Saturday’s display versus Hull City makes it increasingly tricky for the new Man United boss to justify replacing him with someone like Chris Smalling in the first XI.

Danny Drinkwater – Leicester City

The Danny Drinkwater of old? After the heartbreak of being left out of England’s Euro 2016 squad in France, the ex-Manchester United man was back to doing what he knows best – assisting Jamie Vardy with a pass over the top. A pretty decent one at that, too!

N’Golo Kante – Chelsea

The France international is proving to be an instant hit at Stamford Bridge, just as he was in his time with the current Premier League champions. On top of the two tackles and interceptions made, N’Golo Kanté’s 93.6% pass accuracy culminated in another dominant, yet fascinatingly simplistic performance by the ex-Leicester City man.

Granit Xhaka – Arsenal

In a hope of things to come by Arsenal fans, Granit Xhaka’s range of passing was on full show versus Watford at Vicarage Road, as he racked up the most passes (71) made throughout the encounter with a 85.9% success rate.

Raheem Sterling – Manchester City

The former Liverpool man’s rich form continues with a brace against West Ham United, with his second solo effort in the dying moments of the game being the particular highlight.

Eden Hazard – Chelsea

On the topic of wingers being back to their best, Eden Hazard leads the way with another idyllic performance reminiscent of his pre-2015/16 season. His goal, coming as early as the 9^th minute in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Burnley, proved to be the pick of the bunch.

Alexis Sánchez – Arsenal

Quite a bit has been made of the prospect of Alexis Sánchez leading the line for Arsenal, with his latest exhibition opening up the debate once more. The Chilean excelled with Mesut Özil, Santi Cazorla and Granit Xhaka all feeding into his movements, as he earned the Gunners a penalty in the 8^th minute, scored their second five minutes shy of the interval and went on to assist the third in a 3-1 victory.

With an all new feature, our Sky Bet Championship editor (@EN_Championship) returns to select his team of the week from round 38 of fixtures. In addition to this, a list of the top 3 players will also be chosen for further analysis.

 

Round 38 – Team of the Week
GK | Dimi Konstantopoulos - Middlesbrough
RB | Dominic Iorfa - Wolves
CB | Tom Lees – Sheffield Wednesday
CB | Tomas Kalas - Middlesbrough
LB | Markus Olsson - Derby
RM | Lee Tomlin - Bristol City
CM | Joe Bryan - Bristol City
CM | Alejandro Faurlin - QPR
LM | Albert Adomah - Middlesbrough
ST | Fernando Forestieri - Sheffield Wednesday
ST | Tomer Hemed – Brighton

Top 3 Players
Fernando Forestieri – Sheffield Wednesday
The Argentinean forward has been one of the Championship’s stand-out players this season since joining from Watford last year. Against Charlton on Saturday, Forestieri continued to show his class – scoring Wednesday’s 2nd on the day and his 13th goal of the season in the process. Although contribution to goals has been his biggest asset this campaign, Forestieri made an impact all over the pitch vs Charlton – barely putting a foot wrong in terms of statistics.

Despite the goal being a key factor to Forestieri’s performance, the striker will have finished the game slightly disappointed that he didn’t score more. Attempting a total of 7 shots, Forestieri managed to direct 4 of them on target to earn a shot accuracy of 57% and subsequent shot conversion rate of 14%.

Statistically, Forestieri’s passing performance was arguably his strongest area at the weekend. From 37 attempted passes the 26-year old completed 33 accurate passes at a completion rate of just over 89%. Amongst these 33 passes, Forestieri completed 4 key passes as well 100% of his 3 attempted long balls – highlighting the quality of his chance creation as well as goal-scoring ability.

The Owls forward further showcased his versatility through the individual areas of his game – in this instance dribbling. During the 90-minutes vs Charlton, Forestieri completed 100% of his 2 attempted dribbles whilst winning 6 fouls in the process – making him a tricky customer for the visitors defence.

Lastly, I want to touch on Forestieri’s off-the-ball contribution on Saturday which ultimately rounded off his dominant performance. With 8 attempted tackles on the day, Forestieri had completed 7 successful tackles by the final whistle – at least 2 more successful tackles than any other player.

Comparing the performance vs Charlton to his stats for 2015/16 it is clear to see that Forestieri was well above par on Saturday. In particular, his chance creation impressed most, with four times as many key passes recorded than average at the weekend. Whilst 6 ‘fouls won’ also blitzed his typical fouled per game count (2.2).

However, it’s ultimately Forestieri’s efficiency in front of goal which impresses most, as the Wednesday striker now boasts a goal/assist every 132 minutes of action. This is perhaps not that much of a surprise when you consider that he currently sits top of the league rankings for average shots on target per game with 1.5. Meanwhile, in terms of goals scored, only 3 players have netted more from outside of the box than Forestieri (McCormack, Judge & Huws), with Abel Hernandez the only player to record more goals from inside the 6-yard box.

 

Joe Bryan – Bristol City
The Bristol City academy product was one of the several stars in the Robins’ emphatic 6-0 thumping of Bolton at the weekend. Although more commonly known as a left-sided player, Bryan featured in a central defensive midfield role on Saturday – his 3rd appearance in this position in 2015/16. But the 22-year old by no means struggled in this unfamiliar environment, as he produced a quality performance that was rounded off with a well-deserved assist (Jonathan Kodjia goal).

One glance at his defensive stats vs Bolton and it is clear to see why the Robins boss deployed Bryan in the holding midfielder role. In terms of tackling, Bryan completed both of his attempted tackles on the day – giving him a 100% success rate for the 90 minutes. When considering that Bryan also completed 3 interceptions and successfully won all of his defensive aerial duels, it is fair to say that his contributions in defence were a factor to City’s clean sheet.

Bryan’s passing performance also contributed to his impressive midfield performance. His overall pass completion rate of 75% vs Bolton consisted of 30 accurate passes and 2 key passes – one of which being his 6th assist of the season. Whilst the finer details included a 60% long ball accuracy with 6/10 of attempted long balls finding their target.

As previously mentioned, Bryan is a wide player by trade and has made 20 appearances on the left flank this season. But considering that he has registered a third of his total assists from just 3 games as a holding midfielder, the Bristol City youngster appears to be acclimatising to the central role.

To compare Bryan’s performance on Saturday to all of his average stats for 2015/16 would be an inaccurate representation due to the variety of positions he has played. But the defensive elements, however, can be compared and Bryan comfortably surpassed these averages with twice as many interceptions and a 100% tackle success. Bryan also displayed the ability to transfer his skills as a left-sided player into the centre of the park – a 100% dribble success more than doubling his 2015/16 average.

Whilst he hasn’t been a stand-out player for Bristol City this season, Bryan’s youth and energy levels have certainly been an important aspect of the team. And when considering that Bryan currently boasts the most tackles per game amongst City players, it is perhaps no surprise that Lee Johnson wants to utilise his services in the middle of the park.

 

Markus Olsson – Derby
The January arrival was Derby’s hero in the East Midlands face-off, as he scored his first goal of the season to steer The Rams home as 1-0 victors. As well as scoring with his only shot of the game, Olsson had a near faultless performance overall in what was just his 9th appearance in a Derby shirt.

As expected, Olsson was most effective in the defensive areas for the home side, as he completed all 4 of his attempted tackles successfully – achieving a 100% tackle success as a result. His other defensive contributions included 3 clearances and 1 interception whilst also winning 3/3 aerial duels - making him a tough player to beat on the day.

Despite a reasonably quiet game in terms of passing, the Swedish left-back was tidy nonetheless. Completing 16 accurate passes as well as 1 key pass overall; Olsson finished the game with a pass completion rate of just over 76%.

Although only performing above average in 6/10 areas selected below, this shouldn’t discredit Olsson’s performance as a whole. Especially when considering that he was substantially more effective in terms of chance creation and goals scored in comparison to his 2015/16 averages, whilst also improving his average tackle success in the process. It is also worth considering that Olsson made 20 appearances for Blackburn in the Championship before moving to Derby so his current average stats won’t necessarily reflect the form at his new club.

Nevertheless, it appears as though Derby have found an upgrade on their previous left-back Stephen Warnock, with the new boy gaining an instant backing from the fans after his derby day heroics.

*stats sourced from whoscored.com