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FourFourTwo
Sport
James Andrew

Team of the week: Hat-trick heroes Matheus Cunha and Phil Foden make the cut... find out who else makes this week's side

TOTW.

Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa

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Villa’s Argentinian goalkeeper was in inspired form during their rout of Sheffield United over the weekend, with an impressive four saves during the 90 minutes. His stunning double save in the second half helped his side register their sixth clean sheet of the season. 

Defender: James Tarkowski, Everton

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The Toffees’ skipper put in his usual whole-hearted display against Tottenham as Everton picked up a crucial point in their battle against the drop. He made nine clearances and won five out of his seven aerial duels during the 90 minutes. Despite the vital point, Everton sit in 18th and are now just 3/1 to be relegated to the Championship.

Defender: Ruben Dias, Manchester City

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Manchester City’s comeback win against Brentford could well prove to be decisive in this season’s title race. Dias’s performance was as integral as ever to his side’s victory, with his second-half block from Christian Nørgaard’s shot preventing the home side from drawing level. He also completed 75 out of his 77 passes. 

Defender: Lewis Dunk, Brighton

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With bragging rights at stake in the fierce rivalry between Brighton and Crystal Palace, the Seagulls produced one of their best performances of the season in an emphatic 4-1 win. Dunk completed 144 passes during the 90 minutes and opened the scoring early on with a glancing header in a result that left Roy Hodgson’s men fearing the dreaded drop.

Midfielder: Alejandro Garnacho, Manchester United

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The young Argentine is in fine form for Manchester United and netted twice in Sunday’s win over West Ham to put his side sixth in the table. His deflected effort just after half-time doubled the home side’s lead and he capped off the win with a composed finish past Lukasz Fabianski late on. 

Midfielder: Pascal Groß, Brighton

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The German shone during Brighton’s convincing win over rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday, providing assists for both Dunk and Facundo Buonanotte’s first-half strikes. He had a pass completion rate of 96% while also proving effective defensively, winning eight of his 11 duels.

Midfielder: Ross Barkley, Luton Town 

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Barkley’s form has been crucial to Luton’s brave battle against the threat of relegation and he continued to impress in his side’s incredible 4-4 draw with Newcastle. He scored one goal and provided an assist for another during the eight-goal thriller and Hatters fans will be hoping his impressive form continues as they aim for a second successive season of Premier League football. 

Midfielder: Phil Foden, Manchester City

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Foden scored a sensational hat-trick as Manchester City came from behind in west London to move within just two points of league leaders Liverpool. It was the second Premier League hat-trick of his career, while he also created three chances for his team-mates. Manchester City are now 3/5 to win the Premier League. 

Forward: Richarlison, Tottenham 

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Richarlison’s red-hot run of form continued as he returned to Goodison Park to haunt his former club. His cushioned volley opened the scoring while his stunning curling finish into the top corner made it eight goals in eight Premier League matches for the Brazilian striker. 

Forward: Matheus Cunha, Wolves

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cunha put hapless Chelsea to the sword with a stunning hat-trick in Wolves’ 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. His goals fired Gary O’Neil’s men into the top half of the Premier League table, in doing so recording a first league double over Chelsea since 1974/75. 

Forward: Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa 

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A return to form for England hopeful Watkins will be a welcome sight for Villa fans after their recent blip saw them drop out of the top four. He was integral to their thrashing of Sheffield United on Saturday, scoring one and providing two assists as they regained fourth place following Tottenham’s draw earlier in the day. Aston Villa are now 11/10 with BetMGM to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

The team is based on the following metrics:

xG: Expected goals. A metric used to measure the quality of a shot based on variables such as shot angle, distance, type of assist and type of shot

G: Goals. The number of actual goals scored

xT: Expected threat. A metric used to measure ball progression, in particular the impact of a player’s dribbles and carries in taking a team into ‘dangerous' areas

xD: Expected defence. Used to measure how much ’threat’ a player prevented with their defensive actions

xA: Expected assists. Used to measure the pass before the shot where the pass is assigned xG value of that shot. Takes into account various factors such as type and length of pass as well as its end-point 

All statistics provided by BetMGM. Visit betmgm.co.uk 18+ BeGambleAware.org

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