The Premier League continues to entertain and so the only way for The Mastermind to keep performing to the exact same high level is to produce another edition of Team of the Week! Here are the Premier League’s best 11 players and manager for Gameweek 10.
Goalkeeper: Tom Heaton
The only thing that stopped Manchester United from scoring on Saturday afternoon was Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton. The British goalkeeper has been probably the standout keeper of the Premier League season so far and had one of his best ever performances at Old Trafford this week. Heaton made a stunning 11 saves to keep United out and it’s not just about quantity, some of these saves were absolutely spectacular. One save in particular to stop Ibrahimovic from scoring close range was dubbed by Peter Schmeichel on twitter as one of the best saves he’s ever seen. On top of his incredible tally of saves, he also won 100% of the tackles he attempted and 100% of the catches he attempted to make as well, stopping 4 crosses from meeting Manchester United players. Tom Heaton put in a brilliant performance for Burnley against Manchester United and was perhaps the key reason why this match ended in a 0-0 draw. Rating: 10/10.
Right Back: Victor Moses
Victor Moses continues to flourish under Antonio Conte as a right-wing back and had another fine afternoon in the Premier League this weekend at Southampton. Moses was excellent for the Blues in both attack and defense, doing everything that a wing back should do and proving the perfect outlet for Chelsea down that right-hand side. The Nigerian had two shots on target from three, created two chances, completed 4 take-on’s, whipped in three crosses and assisted Eden Hazard’s goal, playing an instrumental role in Chelsea’s attacking play. He also stuck to his defensive task very well making 3 tackles and 3 clearances. Victor Moses continues to be the perfect right-wing back that Antonio Conte needs in his Chelsea side and at the moment is having his best ever season as a professional footballer. Rating: 9/10.
Centre Back: Michael Keane
Burnley defender Michael Keane features in The Mastermind‘s Team of the Week for the second week in a row after another fantastic performance, this time against Manchester United. Keane was incredibly resilient again in stopping his opponents from playing. To make it even more impressive though he completely stopped big-name players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata from finding the back of the net. The 23-year old made 12 clearances, more than any other player at the weekend and on top of that, blocked a stunning six shots to stop Manchester United from scoring. On top of those two standout statistics, Keane also made 3 interceptions, won 6 duels in the air and led his side to a massive point against one of the nation’s supreme members. Michael Keane continues to be one of the Premier League’s most exceptional defenders and showed this week exactly why Manchester United should have never let him go. Rating: 9/10.
Left Back: Kieran Gibbs
Kieran Gibbs has finally been given his chance to shine in the Arsenal side again in the absence of Nacho Monreal and is taking full advantage of it with his second team of the week appearance since Monreal’s injury. Gibbs was fantastic against Sunderland in possession of the ball, having 96 touches (only Elneny had more), getting forward to whip in three crosses, creating 3 chances and assisting Olivier Giroud’s go-ahead goal. The English defender was also excellent defensively, winning 5 duels in the air, making 7 clearances and winning 2 tackles and interceptions each. It was a fantastic, commanding performance from Kieran Gibbs at left-back proving exactly why Arsenal have been right to keep hold of him all of these years and also proving that he can be practically just as good as Nacho Monreal on his day. Rating: 9.5/10.
Centre Midfield: Ilkay Gundogan
Manchester City are looking like their old selves again and that is in large part because of Ilkay Gundogan’s brilliance going forward. The Manchester City midfielder probably would have made this weak’s team of the week even without his assist and two goals against West Bromwich Albion. He was that brilliant in central midfield, running the show and allowing Manchester City to win their first match after going on a seven game winless run in all competitions. Gundogan’s vision on Saturday was phenomenal, constantly making killer passes for teammates going forward including 4 chances created, 58 total passes and 1 incredible assist. The former Dortmund midfielder always had his head up, was always looking to get forward and found himself at the right place at exactly the right time to take 4 total shots and score two goals! Ilkay Gundogan was brilliant on Saturday, is looking back to his best again and will be absolutely instrumental to City’s title charge this season. Rating: 10/10.
Right Attacking Midfield: Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho’s rise to world class status continues as the Brazilian midfielder just looks unstoppable at the moment and is looking the likeliest player in the league to go on and win the Player of the Year. He is so cool in possession of the ball and is so hard to stop because you’ll think he’s going one way and then he’ll twist and turn and go the complete opposite direction. The Liverpool midfielder is so creative, such a good passer of the ball and continues to assist goals, adding two more to his tally against Crystal Palace, helping Liverpool beat the Eagles by a score of 3-2. On top of his two assists, he also could have scored a goal had it not been for the brilliance of Steve Madanda as the Brazilian had 3 shots on target from 4. Coutinho was brilliant going forward, creating 4 chances, whipping in seven crosses, completing 3 take-ons and he even helped out in defense with 4 tackles. Phillipe Coutinho is now top of the Premier League table in assists and has been the standout player of the 2016-17 Barclays Premier League season so far. Rating: 10/10.
Attacking Midfield: Joe Allen
Joe Allen is the complete midfielder. The Welshman was absolutely superb against his former side, Swansea City and continues to prove exactly why his most recent club, Liverpool should have never let him go. Allen was instrumental to Stoke’s 3-1 win over Swansea City, assisting Wilfried Bony’s goal to give the Potters the lead, then winning back possession in the midfield third for Stoke to go on and attack on the Potters’ second goal of the night and finally assisting Wilfried Bony again for his second goal of the game, giving Stoke a 3-1 win. Allen was also a constant creator of chances, 3 in total, including one that should have definitely been another assist to his name when Arnautovic hit the post from close-range. He also had 100% shot accuracy, helped out in defense by winning all 4 of the tackles he attempted and completed 89% of his passes. Joe Allen was absolutely incredible against Swansea City and continues to be one of this season’s standout performers. Rating: 9/10.
Left Attacking Midfield: Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard is one of many players thriving under Antonio Conte this season and the Belgian winger put in another sublime performance against Southampton, leading his side to a 2-0 victory. Hazard directly contributed to both goals, scoring the first and assisting Diego Costa for the second. Conte ensured that the Saints never got going and were never even given a chance at scoring a goal and Hazard was essential to his game-plan. On top of his goal and assist the wing wizard also created 5 chances, had 100% of his shots on target (3/3), put in 5 crosses and frustrated the Saints so much that he was fouled on 5 occasions. Eden Hazard has been one of the standout players of this 2016-17 season so far and if the Blues continue like this, he could be on his way to leading his side to another Premier League title. Rating: 9.5/10.
Centre Forward: Alexis Sanchez
Olivier Giroud is fit again, back from injury, but cannot get back into the side because Alexis Sanchez continues to give Arsene Wenger exactly what he needs up front. Sanchez is the modern day centre forward. He is mobile, constantly moving from left to right, his link up play is excellent, he creates chances and he scores goals. On Saturday against Sunderland the Chilean striker illustrated all of those facts as he led his side to a 4-1 victory, scoring two goals from three shots. On top of his brace, Sanchez also completed 5 take-on’s, created 1 chances and had 54 touches on the ball to help Arsenal dominate possession, smash Sunderland into the ground and go top of the table for a couple of hours. If Alexis Sanchez can continue this kind of form Arsenal will be genuine title contenders this season. Rating: 9.5/10.
Striker: Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero put in another typical Sergio Aguero performance on Saturday in the English Premier League as Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 win. Aguero was City’s key man in attack as he always is and scored two fantastic goals with 1 incredibly inventive assist. Both of his goals were just so lethal and such fantastic finishes, giving the keeper absolutely no chance of keeping his shots out. He also proved to have fantastic vision in assisting Ilkay Gundogan’s goal, one of 2 chances he created in the match and just could not be stopped ever when he was in possession of the ball, completing 8 dribbles! Sergio Aguero had a fantastic match against West Bromwich Albion and after struggling to find the back of the net for a couple of weeks he looks back to his best again and will likely continue to score goals in the upcoming matches as City look to regain their form. Rating: 10/10.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku
Ronald Koeman may have found the Premier League’s perfect partnership this season in Yannick Bolasie and Romelu Lukaku. The two of them continue to flourish in Everton’s side and continue to contribute massively to the goals that they score and the games that they win. Koeman has allowed Lukaku’s game to evolve even further now and his link up play this season has been better than it ever has been before. On top of his two shots and fine finish to score Everton’s opener, Lukaku also created 2 chances, completed 5 take-on’s and assisted Ross Barkley’s goal to give the Toffees a 2-0 win. Lukaku has been incredible for Everton so far this season and will need to continue to perform if Ronald Koeman’s side are going to have any chance of qualifying for European football next season. Rating: 9/10.
Formation: 3-4-3
Player of the Week: Ilkay Gundogan
Although Eden Hazard was superb in running the show for Chelsea in their 2-0 win and Sergio Aguero got back to scoring ways with two goals of his own this weekend, Ilkay Gundogan was this week’s standout performer. The German international was essential to Manchester City’s 4-0 win, scoring 2 goals and then assisting another with an amazing pass. Gundogan flourished in an attacking midfield role, playing in front of Fernandinho but behind David Silva and it was in this position that Guardiola was able to get the most out of the talented midfielder’s attacking and defensive attributes. No one contributed to more goals this weekend or had a better overall performance than Ilkay Gundogan.
Manager of the Week: Antonio Conte
That’s right, Antonio Conte is this week’s Manager of the Week again. Although Ronald Koeman deserves credit for his incredible man-management of his players and tactical know-how of what it takes to win, Antonio Conte can arguably do both of those things better and proved so yet again in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Southampton. Chelsea completely dominated over the Saints, never allowing them any space to connect passes, create chances and never even giving them a chance at scoring a goal. Cesar Azplicueta has been brilliant as a right-sided centre half, while Victor Moses looks like one of the best wing-backs in the world at the moment, positions that these two had rarely ever played before this season began. Pushing the Chelsea wingers further forward has also proved to be the perfect way to get the most out of Eden Hazard as evidenced by the Belgian’s recent performances in which he has now scored three goals with one assist in his last three Premier League matches. Everything about Chelsea is ticking on all cylinders at the moment and his 3-4-3 formation continues to be a massive success. Antonio Conte is perhaps the first man to ever make a 3-man defense work well in the Premier League over a long period of time and is this week’s Manager of the Week!
So there it is The Mastermind‘s Team of the Week for Gameweek 10 in England’s top flight. Hope to see you next time and make sure to click the follow button for more articles like this, every single week.
TheMastermindSite 
One thought on “English Premier League Team of the Week Gameweek 10”