Barclays Premier League Team of the Week 16-18 April Featuring; Townsend, Alli and Aguero

Leicester City’s lead at the top of the Premier League table has been cut to five points as the Foxes drew at home to West Ham United while Spurs thrashed Stoke City in the Monday night game. Leicester were on the right and wrong end of some dodgy decisions by referee Jon Moss as they drew against the Hammers on Sunday afternoon. Spurs – who play after Leicester in every round of matches from now until the end of the season – were eight points adrift going into their match against Stoke knowing anything other than a win would all but end their title challenge. Mauricio Pochettino’s men came through their game with flying colours, putting four past Stoke without reply, closing the gap to five points with four games remaining.

Manchester City tightened their grip on a top-four finish and leapfrogged Arsenal into third with an emphatic 3-0 away at Chelsea while the Gunners drew at home to struggling Crystal Palace. Manchester United won at home against Aston Villa, Marcus Rashford scoring the only goal of the game which ultimately relegated the Midlands club. United’s win means they remain in fifth, four points behind third and fourth placed Manchester City and Arsenal as the quest for a top-four finish looks set to go down to the wire.

At the other end of the table there were comfortable 3-0 wins for both Newcastle United and Sunderland, however, the two Geordie clubs remain in the bottom three. Elsewhere there were victories for Watford and Liverpool against West Bromwich Albion and Bournemouth respectively whilst Southampton and Everton played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

The Premier League team of the week, chosen by the guys at MUFC Latest, is as follows:

GK: Heurelho Gomes – Watford: There’s absolutely no question regarding Gomes’ inclusion in this weeks team of the week. The former Spurs keeper saved TWO Saido Berahino penalties as Watford came away from The Hawthorns with a 1-0 victory that sees the Hornets surpass the magical 40 point mark.

RB: Antonio Valencia – Manchester United: Many United fans, including myself, were surprised to see the Ecuadorian starting at right-back ahead of Timothy Fosu-Mensah. Although Valencia reminded the Old Trafford faithful of his uses as he teed up Marcus Rashford for the only goal of the game with a flowing move.

CB: Jamaal Lascelles – Newcastle United: The young English defender seems exactly what Newcastle have been missing although it could be too little too late for the Magpies as they remain in the relegation zone with just five matches remaining. Newcastle brushed Swansea City aside at St James Park, Lascelles scored the opening goal and kept a clean sheet in a vital 3-0 win.

CB: Ramiro Funes Mori – Everton: The Argentine defender is having a solid debut season in England following his summer transfer from River Plate last year, the same can’t be said about his side, Everton, who are 11th in the league and haven’t won in six Premier League matches. Funes Mori scored his fourth goal of the season in the 1-1 draw against Southampton, only Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann has more as a defender with 5.

LB: Aaron Cresswell – West Ham United: The Hammers left-back scored his side’s second goal in the 2-2 draw with league leaders Leicester City at the weekend with a delicious left-footed half-volley into the top corner. England have a pretty solid left-hand side defensively and I think Cresswell will be extremely unlucky if he misses out on a place in Roy Hodgson’s England squad for the European Championships this summer.

RM: Andros Townsend – Newcastle United: The English wide man has been fairly quiet since his move from Spurs in the January transfer window, however, has been involved in four goals in Newcastle’s last three matches (2 goals, 2 assists). He set up centre-back Lascelles for the Magpies opener and scored the third in a much-needed 3-0 win over Swansea City

CM: Ben Watson – Watford: Ben Watson’s winner against West Brom at the weekend will give his side confidence going into their semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley this weekend. Watson has been an ever-present in the Hornets midfield this season as he scored his second goal of the campaign against the Baggies.

CM: Dele Alli – Tottenham Hotspur: What a season this boy is having and at only 20-years-old too! The youngster has already pretty much cemented his place in Roy Hodgson’s squad for the upcoming European Championships in France this summer. Alli scored twice in the 4-0 win over Stoke, his 9th and 10th goals of the season. He should have scored a hat-trick but missed an open goal with the score at 2-0.

LM: Fabio Borini – Sunderland: The former Liverpool man won and scored his side’s penalty in the first and set up his strike partner Jermain Defoe to double the Black Cats lead in the second half. Sunderland won the battle of the bottom 3-0 against Norwich, leaving them just one point and one point behind the Canaries with a game in hand.

ST: Sergio Aguero – Manchester City: The Argentine striker took his tally to 26 goals in all competitions following his hat-trick against reigning champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Aguero became only the third opposing player in the Premier League to score a hat-trick at the home of Chelsea, along with Kanu and Robin van Persie.

ST: Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur: Dubbed a one season wonder at the beginning of this campaign, Kane’s double against Stoke City on Monday night made him the Premier League’s top scorer so far with 24 goals. The 22-year-old has scored 7 goals in his last 5 matches, including three braces.