Three Southampton players make our Team of the Week.
Angus Gunn (Southampton)
Southampton’s revival under Ralph Husenhuttl continues following a draw at Chelsea on Wednesday night. The star of the night was young Gunn, who kept a clean sheet on his Premier League debut with six saves in total. It could be enough to keep Alex McCarthy out of the starting line-up.
Yan Valery (Southampton)
Injury to Ryan Bertrand has opened the door for teenager Valery in the Saints back line, and he gave his best performance to date in the draw at Chelsea. In just his seventh league appearance, the young defender made four tackles and five interceptions. His side still lie in the relegation zone, though.
Victor Lindelof (Manchester United)
Manchester United kept just their third clean sheet of the campaign against Newcastle and, with Eric Bailly suspended, it was Lindelof who stepped up and won seven aerial duels as the Magpies looked for luck through Salomon Rondon. With new management, this could be the breakthrough the young defender needs.
Maya Yoshida (Southampton)
In a side stripped of its centre backs in recent seasons, Yoshida is now the default veteran and he led by example at Chelsea. The 30-year-old made three tackles, eight interceptions and 11 clearances to keep the Blues away. It seems that the switch to three at the back is paying off.
Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal)
Kolasinac was a busy man in Arsenal’s win over Fulham, tasked with keeping Ryan Sessegnon quiet on the left flank. Only Granit Xhaka had more touches than the Bosnian, whose regular bursts into the opposition area were eventually rewarded with an assist for Alexandre Lacazette. He has already matched last season’s tally of four assists.
Son Heung-Min (Tottenham)
Son has been in superb form of late and he continued his streak with a goal and assist at Cardiff. In a less familiar role on the right, he nonetheless completed 46 of his 50 attempted passes, including one to set up Christian Eriksen. How will Spurs cope while he plays at the AFC Cup?
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Prior to kick off, plenty of Liverpool fans would have been happy to hear of Kevin De Bruyne’s absence for the match with Man City. However, Silva has proved an able deputy this season and it was no different on Thursday. He has now directly contributed to 11 league goals this season, the same figure that he managed last term.
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
The consensus in recent weeks is that City are much worse without Fernandinho. While the reality may not be so straightforward, his intelligence and nous were certainly welcome against Liverpool, whose unbeaten run came to an end on Thursday night. The Reds are within reach.
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Rashford started United’s win over Newcastle as a centre-forward, but it was following his switch to the left wing that he burst into life. His shot set up Romelu Lukaku’s opener, while he then added his own name to the scoresheet with a crisp strike. That’s four wins in a row under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Marko Arnautovic (West Ham)
Marko marked his first home game in a month with a brace to earn his side a point against Brighton. The Irons were two goals down before their number seven held off Shane Duffy and reduced the arrears, and he doubled his tally minutes later by converting Michail Antonio’s cutback. However, his side’s wait for a win over the Seagulls continues.
Troy Deeney (Watford)
The main story of Watford’s draw with Bournemouth was the four goals in the space of six minutes that ultimately saw the Cherries take a point. However, prior to that Deeney had given his side a two-goal lead and even set up Ken Sema for the Hornets’ third. If only his defence had performed as well.