Premier League Team of the Week: Suarez, Sturridge, Toure and More Star
Welcome to the latest edition of our Premier League Team of the Week!
This was, by far, the most difficult selection of any week by a country mile; the individual quality on show was absolutely staggering, and we counted no less than 24 Team of the Week-worthy players.
That's why we've decided to makeย twoย selections at each position on a one-off basis. Enjoy, you fiends!
All statistics are fromย WhoScored.com.
First XI; GK: Tim Howard, Everton
1 of 22
Everton looked to be on course for an easy victory over Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, but at 3-1, Tim Howard was called upon to make a number of excellent saves.
With Ashley Williams netting a thumping header in the 90th minute, those saves became the difference between one point and three. So in a week where 42 goals were scored, this U.S. international stands out.
RB: Glen Johnson, Liverpool
2 of 22
Glen Johnson finally had the game Liverpool fans have been waiting for for over 12 months, and he's rightly recognised in our Team of the Week.
He got forward with energy and confidence, attacked Cardiff City's Declan John relentlessly and fired in two crosses thatโdirectly or indirectlyโcreated goals for the Reds forwards.
It did help that the Reds dominated possession in the 6-3 win, allowing him to steam forward.
CB: Martin Demichelis, Manchester City
3 of 22
Martin Demichelis turned in a display of the utmost quality on Saturday and would have made our team regardless of scoring.
He's taken a lot of flack over the past few weeksโto be fair, he was somewhat singularly responsible for knocking Manchester City out of two cupsโbut responded with a dominant, confident showing.
His tap-in was the icing on the cake in Man City's 5-0 win over Fulham.
CB: Martin Skrtel, Liverpool
4 of 22
Martin Skrtel is a terror in both penalty boxes, and Brendan Rodgers must sit back and hope, on a weekly basis, that the Slovakian international does the damage in the right one.
Against Cardiff City, he fired past David Marshall twice and held his own in defence very well. Daniel Agger had an absolute shocker on his left, but it didn't throw the stalwart off his game.
LB: Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea
5 of 22
With another very strong performance under his belt, Cesar Azpilicueta finally removed any lingering doubts about his pedigree on Saturday afternoon as Chelsea topped Arsenal 6-0.
The Arsenal wide men got absolutely no joy out of the converted left-back, and he's yet to be beaten all-ends-up like most attacking right-backs are.
CM: Yaya Toure, Manchester City
6 of 22
How often do you see central midfielders score hat-tricks?
Yaya Toure took all the adulation in his stride as he almost single-handedly crushed Fulham on Saturday, scoring two from the penalty spot and one pearler from about 30 yards.
The third goal capped a wonderful day for the Ivorian, who looks fit and happy after a grueling few weeks.
CM: Alex Tettey, Norwich City
7 of 22
Alex Tettey scored the best goal of the weekend as Norwich topped Sunderland 2-0โyes, even better than Wayne Rooney's strike!โvolleying a 30-yard rebound into the corner of the net.
Defensively he was sound too, patrolling the area in front of Norwich's back four and shutting off the Black Cat's attacking avenues. Tettey's hardly a big name among this glut of stars, but he had an elite showing nonetheless.
Wing: James Milner, Manchester City
8 of 22
James Milner followed up an excellent performance on the left side of midfield against Barcelona with a similar showing against Fulham.
Yaya Toure will grab the headlines, and everyone's talking about Martin Demichelis' improved showing, but Milner put in a typically efficient, solid showing and claimed an assist for one of the goals.
Wing: Andre Schurrle, Chelsea
9 of 22
Andre Schurrle was drafted in this week to replace the suspended Willian and did so with aplomb.
The German international lined up on the right side of Chelsea's front three and worked tremendously hard on and off the ball. He created chances for himself (one goal) and others (one assist, one key pass).
Some depth the Blues have, huh?
ST: Luis Suarez, Liverpool
10 of 22
Luis Suarez moved onto 28โ28!โPremier League goals for the season on Saturday following his hat-trick against Cardiff City.
What impressed the most here was his phenomenal movement off the ball and near-telepathic connection with Daniel Sturridge in and around the box.
His finishes were easy, but only because he got into wonderful positions time and time again.
ST: Daniel Sturridge, Liverpool
11 of 22
Daniel Sturridge played a superb game in Liverpool's 6-3 win over Cardiff City, getting his just reward with a simple tap-in goal late on.
His assist for Luis Suarez was most impressive, drifting in at the near-post, collecting Glen Johnson's deflected cross and back-heeling it to the Uruguayan for a close-range strike.
Second XI; GK: Petr Cech, Chelsea
12 of 22
On a weekend where so many goals were scored, Petr Cech stands as one of a select group who kept a clean sheet.
He made a few strong saves to deny Arsenal any way back into the game and edges the selection here over Allan McGregor of Hull City.
RB: Pablo Zabaleta, Manchester City
13 of 22
Pablo Zabaleta narrowly edges out Branislav Ivanovic for our second-string right-back spot.
The Argentine was quietly efficient as usual, limiting John Arne Riise and Kieran Richardson to minimal action in the final third and leading 44 percent of Manchester City's attacks down the right side.
Talk of Zabaleta as the best right-back in the Premier League has cooled off, but he's still up there with the very best.
CB: Curtis Davies, Hull City
14 of 22
Curtis Davies has been quietly incredible this season, and much of Hull City's excellent efforts in the Premier League can be traced back to him.
In a way, he's developing into the dominant, awe-inspiring centre-back Aston Villa badly wanted when they signed him from West Brom; his assist and clean sheet vs. the Baggies are enough to see him honoured here.
CB: Michael Carrick, Manchester United
15 of 22
Michael Carrick may seem like an unorthodox choice, but any midfielder that slots into the line on an emergency basis and keeps Andy Carroll quiet deserves praise.
So that's what he gets.
He and Marouane Fellaini took it in turns to mark the gargantuan striker in the 2-0 win over West Ham, and it became clear Carrick has made stark improvements since he was last deployed in defence (ironically, against Fellaini).
LB: Liam Rosenior, Hull City
16 of 22
Liam Rosenior was a standout for Reading in their Premier League years several seasons ago, and he quietly re-entered the top division on Hull's books this time around.
He's played right-back and left-back when asked and has been extremely solid at both ends of the pitch. He's not flashy, but he's creative enough and works hard to close gaps and space.
CM: Nemanja Matic, Chelsea
17 of 22
Nemanja Matic bounced back from a horrible showing against Aston Villa last weekend to dominate the midfield against Arsenal on Saturday.
The Serbian is famed for his defensive impact, but going forward, he was a fluid threat and grabbed two assists as the Blues destroyed the Gunners.
When he opens his legs up and goes, it's hard to stop him.
CM: Jordon Mutch, Cardiff City
18 of 22
Earlier in the season, when Jordon Mutch was impressing, fans figured out he was young and started hoping for a cheeky January bid from their respective teams.
Unfortunately, he went a little quiet as the Bluebirds began to struggle badly under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he reminded us of his talents at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.
He scored two excellent goals in a loss to Liverpool.
AM: Oscar, Chelsea
19 of 22
Oscar has had a bad 30 days or so, being rested due to fatigue and returning to the Chelsea team only to under-perform noticeably.
Against Arsenal everything changed, though, as he scored two opportunistic strikes to help contribute to a 6-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
AM: Adam Lallana, Southampton
20 of 22
Adam Lallana was at his mesmeric best in the first half of Southampton's 3-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
He tired later on but excelled in the early stages, slotting home after Rickie Lambert's clever play to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.
His touch and movement are sublime.
ST: Fraizer Campbell, Cardiff City
21 of 22
Fraizer Campbell waltzed through the Liverpool back line at times on Saturday, taking advantage of bad games from Jon Flanagan and Daniel Agger.
He picked up an assist early on and added a goal after a surging run on the right, but he ended up on the losing side as Cardiff City conceded a remarkable six goals.
ST: Wayne Rooney, Manchester United
22 of 22
Wayne Rooney took centre stage in the absence of Robin van Persie this weekend and scored a goal from just inside West Ham's half to cement his place in the newspaper headlines.
He followed that up with an easy tap-in after he was passed the ball by a Hammers midfielder inside the box, and over the course of 90 minutes he played his best football in a long while.
He's better as a true No. 9.
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