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Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

Sports Mole picks out the best 11 players from the 27th round of Premier League matches.

The Premier League's top four clubs all recorded victories as the race for the title hots up after the 27th round of matches.

Leaders Chelsea overcame Everton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, while the same scoreline saw Manchester City come out on top against Stoke City.

There was also a 4-1 success for Arsenal over Sunderland, while Liverpool scored four times against Swansea City.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur lost ground in the race for fourth spot by losing 1-0 at Norwich City, but Manchester United recorded their first away win of 2014 at Crystal Palace.

Towards the bottom, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion played out a 1-1 draw and Cardiff City slumped to a 4-0 home defeat to Hull City.

Below, Sports Mole has picked out the 11 players who made the biggest impression on us over the last two days.

John Ruddy (Norwich City)
In what was a huge victory for Norwich at Carrow Road, Ruddy made a couple of vital saves, as well as coming off his line to ease the pressure on his team by taking catches.

Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
Defensively the Frenchman improved upon his recent showings, while he was at his best going forward. He was involved in both of United's goal, having been fouled for the penalty, before crossing for Wayne Rooney to seal the outcome.
John Terry (Chelsea)
The Chelsea skipper was at his stubborn best defensively and was also heavily involved in forcing the winning goal deep into stoppage time.
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
Injuries and age may have hampered Ferdinand's mobility and leave him vulnerable to a pacey striker, but his ability to read the game was there for all to see at Selhurst Park.
Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City)
Hull's Egyptian full-back showed his qualities with an attack-minded display as the Tigers thrashed Cardiff in Wales.

Juan Mata (Manchester United)
United's club-record signing looked more comfortable as part of an attacking quartet which also included Rooney, Robin van Persie and Adnan Januzaj. The Spaniard figured heavily in his side's second goal.
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Scoring goals has never been Henderson's forte, but he weighed in with two at Anfield, including the winner in the closing stages to keep Liverpool in the title race.
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
He may not have scored any of Arsenal's four goals, but Wilshere was at his creative best against Sunderland. He was involved in his team's first and third goals.
Nathan Dyer (Swansea City)
The Swansea winger may have ended up on the losing side against Liverpool, but his pace and trickery caused numerous problems to the home side's rearguard.

Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
The French striker has had problems off the pitch in recent weeks, but he put them behind him by scoring twice to help the Gunners record a routine victory.
Nikica Jelavic (Hull City)
Steve Bruce parted with £7m to bring the Croatian to the KC Stadium in January, but he is already repaying that fee. How his former club Everton could have done with the two goals that he scored against Cardiff!

Numpty of the week

Martin Skrtel (Liverpool): On a few occasions Liverpool's Slovakian centre-back has got away with clearly tugging back an opponent inside the area, but this time his being of the rules was punished. Skrtel hauled Wilfried Bony over and referee Mike Jones awarded the penalty, which Swansea's Ivorian striker converted. Had Henderson not scored late on, then Skrtel would have cost Liverpool two points.

Goal of the week

Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal vs. Sunderland) The North Londoners scored a memorable team goal against Norwich earlier in the campaign, but this one may have been even better. Wilshere and Giroud were heavily involved in releasing Czech midfielder Rosicky, who then calmly lifted the ball over an advancing Vito Mannone and into the net.

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Christian Benteke of Aston Villa celebrates after scoring a goal to level the scores at 1-1 during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on August 21, 2013
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool17133140172342
2Chelsea18105338211735
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1810442419534
4Arsenal1796234161833
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle188553021929
6Bournemouth188552721629
7Manchester CityMan City188463026428
8Fulham187742623328
9Aston Villa188462629-328
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1872939261323
12Brentford177283232023
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham186572330-723
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd186482124-322
15Everton173861522-717
16Crystal Palace183871826-817
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1843112940-1115
18Leicester CityLeicester1835102240-1814
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1813141137-266


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