With Manchester United and Newcastle United vying for glory in the EFL Cup final, only 16 teams took to the field for this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures, which served up excitement and ennui in equal measure.
Arsenal's grip on first place remains tight thanks to a 1-0 win over Leicester City, although Manchester City remain on the Gunners' coat-tails after overcoming Bournemouth 4-1.
Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of Man United and Newcastle's absences with a 2-0 win over Chelsea, but Liverpool could not boost their faltering top-four hopes, playing out a dull goalless draw with Crystal Palace.
Fulham's European dreams also suffered a small setback with a 1-1 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while West Ham United thumped Nottingham Forest 4-0.
Finally, Everton dropped back into the relegation zone courtesy of a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, but Leeds United crucially defeated Southampton 1-0 in their basement battle.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
DEFENCE
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Having played the role of pantomime villain and then the real villain against Arsenal last weekend, Aston Villa number one Emiliano Martinez more than redeemed himself against Everton, making four crucial saves to preserve his side's clean sheet - albeit with some more unsavoury time-wasting antics too.
However, Martinez's sheet would not have been a clean one without the intervention of Tyrone Mings, who made a crucial goal-line clearance for the second time in the space of two weeks at Goodison Park - hooking Neal Maupay's scrappy effort clear - as well as winning all eight of his aerial duels in a thoroughly dominant display.
There was certainly a case to include Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet this week, but Eric Dier - who is reportedly discussing a new deal with Tottenham - gets the nod after heading the ball down for Harry Kane to double his side's lead against Chelsea, as well as making six clearances and winning all three of his aerial battles in North London.
Finally, one of the unlikeliest candidates to save Leeds' bacon scored a pivotal goal in the relegation dogfight at Elland Road, as Junior Firpo produced a calm finish with his right foot to lift the Whites out of the bottom three - his three interceptions, two tackles and two blocks did not go unnoticed either.
MIDFIELD
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As Wolves' out-and-out strikers fail to fire, Pablo Sarabia took on the goalscoring responsibilities at Craven Cottage - finishing calmly into the bottom corner to give his side the lead - and he also created two chances for his teammates in a promising performance.
In the heart of the midfield, two tenacious English lynchpins rivalled one another for the goal of the week award, as Oliver Skipp crashed home a wonderful opener against Chelsea - his first goal in a Tottenham jersey - and he kept a lacklustre Chelsea at bay with three tackles and three interceptions.
Just across the capital, the London Stadium witnessed a peach of a strike from one of their own in Declan Rice - who curled home a third into the top corner for West Ham against Forest - and the 24-year-old may have added a few more pounds onto his value with a tremendous all-around performance, creating four chances and completing a whopping 98% of his passes.
Speaking of stunning goals, Fulham's Manor Solomon continued his super-sub role in some style during Fulham's draw with Wolves - coming off the bench to fire a delightful effort into the bottom corner - and the knocks on Marco Silva's door for the Israeli attacker to start a Premier League game are growing ever louder.
ATTACK
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With Jack Grealish proving his importance to the Man City attack in recent weeks, Phil Foden's influence had waned slightly, but the 22-year-old sent Pep Guardiola quite the message with a goal and assist against Bournemouth - capitalising on a defensive error to fire home after poking the ball across the box for Erling Braut Haaland to strike - and he ended the game with an eye-catching seven key passes to his name.
Similarly, Julian Alvarez enjoyed a rare Premier League start at the Vitality, and the Argentine World Cup winner also grasped his opportunity with both hands, lashing home the opening goal before seemingly making it a brace for himself in the second half, but Chris Mepham was soon credited with the own goal.
However, Danny Ings was not to be denied a brace as West Ham convincingly put Forest to the sword in the capital, as he managed to hook the ball into the back of the net while falling over before being in the right place at the right time to convert for his second - igniting a goal rush for the hosts in the process as he aims to revert to his former prolific ways.
SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Martinez; Mings, Dier, Firpo; Sarabia, Skipp, Rice, Solomon; Foden, Ings, Alvarez
Ben Knapton
