EPL Team of the Week: Isak leads the line, Salah and Doku in

It was a huge weekend in the Premier League, with plenty of twists and turns in the context of the title race and the battle for European football, and here, we’ve put together our Team of the Week. 

Alisson (Liverpool) - 7.61 

 Liverpool went clear at the top of the Premier League’s clean sheet charts after their 2-0 win at Manchester City on Sunday, and Reds goalkeeper Alisson has a place in our Team of the Week as a result. The 32-year-old produced five saves at the Etihad Stadium, while also making seven throws and 11 ball recoveries. 

 

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham) - 8.41 

 West Ham full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka continued his impressive individual campaign in east London with a fine showing in the 1-0 win at Arsenal on Sunday. The former Manchester United defender won more duels than any other player on the pitch (9), while he also provided the assist for the Hammers’ winning goal, headed home by Jarrod Bowen. 

 

Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) - 7.95 

 Brighton were the latest side to enjoy a trip to St Mary’s Stadium over the weekend, putting four past a helpless Southampton side on Saturday afternoon. Seagulls defender Jan Paul van Hecke makes our Team of the Week following a solid showing, in which he made eight clearances, six ball recoveries and won six of his eight duels.

 

 Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace) - 8.19 

 Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix joins Van Hecke at the heart of our backline, having turned in an immense display at Fulham on Saturday. The Frenchman managed four tackles, including one as the last man, as well as 12 clearances and three ball recoveries, while he also won all seven of the duels he contested. 

Lewis Hall (Newcastle) - 8.40 

 Perhaps the game of the weekend came at St James’ Park on Sunday where it finished 4-3 to Newcastle against high-flying Nottingham Forest. Key to the hosts’ first-half turnaround was left-back Lewis Hall, who provided the assist for Lewis Miley’s equaliser, before practically setting up Jacob Murphy’s goal two minutes later, and then winning the penalty that Alexander Isak would convert shortly after. The Chelsea academy graduate also made more tackles than any other player on the pitch (5), in a fine all-round display. 

 

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 8.92 

 Mohamed Salah used the trip to Manchester City over the weekend as an opportunity to break countless more records in what has been a quite simply obscene individual season so far. The Egyptian scored and assisted in Liverpool’s 2-0 triumph, becoming the first player to score 25+ goals and provide 15+ assists in a single Premier League campaign. 

 

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - 9.00 

 Manchester United looked down and out at Everton on Saturday afternoon, up until the 72nd minute, when captain Bruno Fernandes placed his free-kick perfectly in the bottom-right corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal, to ignite a Red Devils comeback. The Portugal international also completed more dribbles (3) and passes (65) than any other player on the pitch at Goodison Park. 

 

Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford) - 8.50 

 Brentford midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard moved joint-second in the Premier League assists chart with 10 when he set up two of the Bees’ four goals at Leicester on Friday night. The Denmark international provided the assists for Yoane Wissa’s 17th-minute opener, as well as Bryan Mbeumo’s sumptuous strike 10 minutes later, to earn a WhoScored rating of 8.50.

Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) - 9.10 

 With a WhoScored rating of 9.10, the aforementioned Bryan Mbeumo is our Premier League Player of the Week following his performance at Leicester on Friday. The 25-year-old scored and assisted at the King Power Stadium, to bring his respective league tallies for the season to 15 and four, as he edges closer to 20 Premier League goal involvements for the first time. 

 

Alexander Isak (Newcastle) - 8.36 

 After four matches without a goal - a sizeable drought by his recent standards - Alexander Isak returned to form for Newcastle with a brace in the win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Isak struck twice in the space of two first-half minutes against Forest, first from the penalty spot, and then a classic centre-forward’s finish, after being found by Joe Willock. 

 

Jeremy Doku (Manchester City) - 8.35 

 Despite his side’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku rounds off our Team of the Week having completed a whopping 15 successful dribbles against the Reds on Sunday, the most by a player in a single Premier League match since Allan Saint-Maximin against Sheffield United in May 2021 (also 15).