MX23RW : Monday, December 23 01:59:05| >> :120:5907:5907:

Premier League Team of the Week - Mesut Ozil, Leroy Sane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek nine, including Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and four Manchester City players.

Just two points separate the top five in the Premier League table after nine games of the season, with three of those still unbeaten - something which has only happened twice before in English top-flight history.

Manchester City thrashed Burnley 5-0 to ensure that they still lead the way on goal difference ahead of Liverpool, who ground out a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town later in the day.

Both sides had already seen Chelsea drop points, although they kept their unbeaten record intact by the skin of their teeth with a 96th-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw with a Manchester United side that remains in mid-table.

Tottenham Hotspur also won against West Ham United, but they were overtaken in the top four by North London rivals Arsenal on Monday night courtesy of the Gunners' 3-1 win over Leicester City.

At the other end of the table, Cardiff City picked up their first win of the season to climb out of the relegation zone, with Fulham - the team they beat - replacing them in the bottom three.

Huddersfield and Newcastle United are now the only two teams still searching for their first win of the campaign, with the latter losing 1-0 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

There were also wins for Everton and Watford against Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively, while Bournemouth and Southampton played out a goalless draw.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League team of the week for gameweek nine.



PL TOTW GW9

The gloves in this week's team go to Everton's Jordan Pickford, who made four saves including one from the penalty spot to keep a clean sheet against Crystal Palace. Tottenham's Hugo Lloris was instrumental in earning his side all three points at West Ham, while Brighton's Mathew Ryan made six saves en route to a clean sheet against Newcastle.

There are two Seagulls representatives in defence, though, with Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk winning a whopping 15 aerial duels between them to help keep Newcastle at bay. Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger scored one and helped to force another against Manchester United, while the likes of Michael Keane and Sol Bamba also deserve a mention, but it is the Brighton duo who earn their place at the heart of the defence this week.

Southampton's Cedric Soares joins them at right-back following his side's clean sheet against Bournemouth, while on the opposite flank Benjamin Mendy marked his return to the Man City side with an assist in their rout of Burnley.

Mendy is one of four Man City players to make the cut this week, with Fernandinho joining him having helped himself to a goal and an assist against the Clarets. Teammate David Silva is narrowly short of joining him in midfield following his two assists, but instead Watford's Etienne Capoue gets the nod following his goalscoring role in the win over Wolves. Abdoulaye Doucoure also deserves a mention for assisting both goals in that match.

Further forward, Man City duo Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane provide the width, with both players getting on the scoresheet against Burnley to see off competition from Anthony Martial, who scored twice at Stamford Bridge. Between them is Mesut Ozil, who scored one, assisted another and had a major part to play in Arsenal's third upon his return to the side against Leicester.

Ozil is joined in this XI by teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who once again came off the bench to score twice against the Foxes, further improving an already impressive goals-per-minute ratio since his arrival in the Premier League.

ID:339387: cacheID:339387:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8203:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley celebrates scoring against Southampton on Sunday, October 7, 2018
Read Next:
PL Team of the Week - Hazard, Lacazette, Barkley
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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!