BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks is back with his Premier League team of the week and Chelsea and Liverpool both get two players apiece in his XI.
As is tradition it seems, Crooks has neglected to wait for the Monday night game between Man Utd and Tottenham which starts a new week and has picked the best of the bunch from Saturday and Sunday’s games in his BBC column.
With that in mind, he starts off with Rui Patricio between the posts after the Portuguese goalkeeper pulled off a number to top saves as Wolves secured a draw with champions Man City at Molineux.
Aymeric Laporte was the only City player able to beat him with a bullet header as he found a crucial equaliser, and along with a solid defensive display, the Frenchman gets the nod in defence alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire and Ryan Bertrand.
Crooks was particularly impressed it seems with the Liverpool star’s play going forward too while Maguire put in a crucial defensive shift and scored an all-important goal for his side in their win at Southampton in injury time with Bertrand also on the scoresheet.
As is a constant criticism of Crooks, he does seem to plump for those who scored over the weekend, and it appears as though this week is no different in his backline.
Jean Michael Seri also scored and kicks things off in midfield after an impressive display coupled with a great goal while James Milner and Marcos Alonso, in a rather odd position for the Spaniard, join him in a midfield three.
Crooks has hailed Milner for his ‘wonderful level of consistency’, while Alonso’s work-rate and quality in the final third seems them worthy of a place in the line-up.
Up front, Eden Hazard gets the nod after starring for Chelsea in their win over Newcastle as Maurizio Sarri’s men made it three wins in three games to start the new Premier League campaign.
Having the Belgian international back after working his way towards full match fitness following on from his World Cup exploits will be great news for the Blues, and he showed exactly why against Rafa Benitez’s side as they continue to impress under their Italian boss whose influence is certainly growing.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice in Fulham’s win over Burnley and so leads the line for Crooks, while having now been involved in seven of Watford’s last 11 Premier League goals, Roberto Pereyra completes the XI after another influential display for the impressive Hornets who are one of just four sides to still boast a 100% record.
Naturally, Crooks will get stick for some of his selections and snubs, but it comes down to opinion too and although many of those selected this week were goalscorers, they were also key in securing positive results for their respective teams aside from finding the back of the net.
