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Premier League Team of the Week - Kevin De Bruyne, Marcus Rashford, Troy Deeney

Sports Mole selects its final Premier League team of the week of 2019, including Kevin De Bruyne, Marcus Rashford and Troy Deeney.

Liverpool end the Premier League year and decade sitting 13 points clear at the top of the table, having reached the halfway stage of their season with 55 points from a possible 57 courtesy of their controversial win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield.

Leicester City's victory over West Ham United ensures that they remain Liverpool's closest challengers heading into the New Year, with Manchester City one point further back after they returned to winning ways against Sheffield United in the final game of 2019.

Chelsea scored twice in the final 10 minutes to leave Arsenal still waiting for their first win under new boss Mikel Arteta, but Everton and Watford continued their revivals under new managers of their own with victories over Newcastle United and Aston Villa respectively.

Norwich City round off the year bottom of the table despite holding Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw at Carrow Road, while Manchester United beat Burnley to climb up to fifth.

Here, Sports Mole selects its final Premier League team of the week for 2019.



PL TOTW GW20

Crystal Palace only claimed a point in their last match of the year, but had it not been for a string of fine saves from Vicente Guaita then they would have come away empty-handed from their trip to Southampton, with the keeper denying Moussa Djenepo, Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse impressively.

James Tomkins was also instrumental for the Eagles at both ends of the pitch, scoring the opening goal with a superb header and winning eight aerial duels throughout the match - more than anyone else on the park.

Newcastle's Fabian Schar boasts similar stats with seven aerial duels won and a goal of his own, while Dan Burn was only denied a goal by a tightest of VAR calls. Burn did help Brighton to a clean sheet in their win over Bournemouth, though, and switches from left-back to the left side of a back three in this XI.

With the two supposed wing-backs being very attack-minded players in this team, the onus will be on Aaron Mooy and Etienne Capoue to protect the back three. Mooy did that and more in Brighton's victory, though, running the show from the very first whistle and capping his performance off with a Dennis Bergkamp-esque goal.

Capoue helped himself to an assist as Watford ran out the biggest winners of the gameweek, and the resurgent Hornets are rewarded with a team-high three representatives in this XI.

Ismaila Sarr joins his teammate having put the icing on an all-round threatening display with the third goal for Watford, while Troy Deeney leads the line following his two-goal show against Villa - a performance made even sweeter by the fact that he is a Birmingham City fan.

Christian Eriksen, Yves Bissouma, Jorginho and Andreas Pereira all deserve mentions in midfield, while there was plenty of competition for the wide positions with Richarlison, Willian, Demarai Gray, Diogo Jota, Felipe Anderson, Gerard Deulofeu, Pablo Fornals, Riyad Mahrez, Ayoze Perez and Alireza Jahanbakhsh all in contention.

It is Marcus Rashford who gets the nod on the left, though, having continued his fine form with yet another goal in the win over Burnley. The forward also hit the woodwork at Turf Moor, although he will have to play in a slightly more defensive role in this XI.

Kevin De Bruyne by no means had his best game against Sheffield United - typified by an uncharacteristic miskick when going for a cross - yet he still ended the game with a goal and an assist, the latter of which extends his lead at the top of the Premier League list.

Joining Deeney up front ahead of Andy Carroll, who won a ridiculous 24 aerial duels, is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who can still boast every goal under the Carlo Ancelotti regime. The striker added two more to his tally at St James' Park, taking him up to eight for the campaign.

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Willian celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on December 22, 2019.
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721

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