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Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

Sports Mole picks out the 11 Premier League footballers who made the biggest impression on us this weekend.

In what was an entertaining weekend of Premier League action, top spot changed hands on three occasions.

Chelsea first hit the front with a 2-0 win over Hull City, before Manchester City leapfrogged them courtesy of a victory by the same scoreline away at Newcastle United. Then, last night, Arsenal regained the summit with a 2-1 triumph against Aston Villa.

Manchester United also returned to winning ways with a 2-0 success over Swansea City at Old Trafford, while there were wins for Tottenham Hotspur and Everton as well.

Towards the bottom, Sunderland picked up a 4-1 victory away at Fulham and West Ham United headed back to London from Cardiff City with a 2-0 win to show for their efforts.

With all that in mind, Sports Mole has selected the 11 players who made the biggest impression on us. Find out who made the cut below.

Adrian (West Ham United)
The Hammers had conceded 11 goals in their previous four outings, but they recorded a crucial shutout at Cardiff thanks in part to Spanish goalkeeper Adrian, who made a handful of smart saves to deny the hosts.

Rafael da Silva (Manchester United)
Many believe that the right-back should be part of the Brazil squad for this summer's World Cup and he did his chances no harm with an attack-minded outing against Swansea.
John O'Shea (Sunderland)
While he defended well at Craven Cottage, it was O'Shea's involvement in Sunderland's second goal that really caught the eye. From inside the penalty area, he took charge of a set-piece routine that ended in Ki Sung-Yueng finding the back of the net.
Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
City are a different side with their captain at the heart of the defence. The Belgian made a number of clearances and when he did make an error, he got back in time to deny Loic Remy a goalscoring chance.
Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City)
Not always an automatic starter, Kolarov could feature more regularly for City after this outing. He set up his team's opening goal and made a couple of brave blocks in the closing stages.

Adam Johnson (Sunderland)
It could be fair to say that Johnson, once tipped to be an England regular, had lost his way at Sunderland, but he showed that he could be back on the right track by scoring three times against Fulham.
Mark Noble (West Ham United)
With doubts surrounding his future, manager Sam Allardyce needed his players to stand up and be counted at Cardiff. Noble did just that, making a number of tackles and interceptions before going on to secure the points with his second goal of the season.
Gareth Barry (Everton)
The calls for Barry to be reinstated in the England squad have been growing in recent weeks and they could now go into overdrive following his performance against Norwich City. His passing may have been accurate, but it was his strike from distance that was the most memorable aspect of his match.
Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United)
The young Belgian was on the periphery during the first half of United's clash with Swansea, but as soon as he moved out wide after the restart, he caused numerous problems. The 18-year-old ended up being involved in both of his side's goals.

Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
Just the two goals for the Uruguayan away at Stoke City, one of which was a smart curling effort into the bottom corner of the net from a narrow angle.
Alvaro Negredo (Manchester City)
It looked for a long time that despite his best efforts, Negredo was not going to score against Newcastle. However, in stoppage time the City striker's display was rewarded when he rolled the ball into an empty net.

Numpty of the week

Jason Puncheon: If you're going to have a casual run-up when taking a penalty, you'd better make sure that you score. While Dimitar Berbatov has perfected that skill, it's fair to say that Puncheon has not. The winger had the chance to put his Crystal Palace side 1-0 up at Tottenham, but having sauntered up to the ball, he then sent his effort halfway up the stand behind the goal.

Goal of the week

Gareth Barry (Everton vs. Norwich City): He may not be known for his ability to score goals, but Everton's Barry, on loan from Man City, did just that at Goodison Park and in some style. The 32-year-old inherited possession 25 yards from goal and proceeded to drive the ball into the top corner of John Ruddy's net.

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Man City's Alvaro Negredo celebrates after scoring his team's second goal against Newcastle during their Premier League match on January 12, 2014
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City158342721627
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Fulham166642422224
10Brentford157263128323
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton153661421-715
16Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1512121131-205


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