Premier League Team of the Week - Harry Kane, Thiago Alcantara, Ben White

A depleted round of Premier League fixtures has come to a close, with teams boasting games in hand or not involved in FA Cup duty seeking to boost their hopes of achieving their goals for the season.

Liverpool cut Manchester City's lead at the top of the table to just one point with a 2-0 midweek win at Arsenal, who responded at the weekend by seeing off Aston Villa 1-0 to maintain their grip on fourth spot.

Tottenham Hotspur kept pace with their North London rivals by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 and West Ham United 3-1, while Wolverhampton Wanderers' European bid suffered a dramatic blow in an action-packed 3-2 loss to Leeds United.

Meanwhile, a similarly incident-filled game at Goodison Park saw Everton boost their survival hopes with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United, while Leicester City beat Brentford 2-1 on a day of spectacular goals.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Team of the Week for the latest round of Premier League fixtures.

DEFENCE

© Reuters

Alex Iwobi's last-gasp winner, Allan's controversial sending off and the pitch invader tying himself to the goalpost all took the headlines away from Asmir Begovic in Everton's win over Newcastle, but the 34-year-old put in an exemplary showing in the absence of Jordan Pickford, making six saves to ensure a priceless win for the Toffees.

Full-backs stole the show in several fixtures over the weekend, and Leicester's Timothy Castagne took centre stage with a brilliant long-range effort into the top corner against Brentford, and the Belgian also finished the day with two tackles, two interceptions and a 93% pass accuracy.

Leeds United's Luke Ayling could do with taking lessons on acrobatic celebrations from Robbie Keane, but the defender did not make headlines for his cartwheel attempt - instead sending the travelling Leeds fans at Wolves into pandemonium with a last-gasp finish through Jose Sa's legs, while he also completed two successful dribbles, made three tackles and played a key role in his side's first goal on the night.

Arsenal were under the cosh for the majority of the second half at Villa Park, but Ben White ensured that the absence of Aaron Ramsdale would not prove costly, as the England international put in five clearances, three tackles, two interceptions and won three of his four aerial duels in a crucial win.

White and the Arsenal defence were carved open against Liverpool, though, which was thanks in no small part to Andy Robertson, who did well to keep the ball alive on the left and set up Roberto Firmino while also winning all five of his ground duels and making four tackles in an assured display.

MIDFIELD

© Reuters

Finding the time to joke about Robertson being handed the man of the match award at the Emirates Stadium, Thiago Alcantara put on an equally fine display in North London, with his pinpoint pass playing in Diogo Jota for his side's opener, and he was a constant presence in midfield with three key passes, five tackles and four interceptions.

The arrival of Rodrigo Bentancur at Tottenham has proven to be an astute piece of January business from the Lilywhites, with the ex-Juventus man starring at Brighton with one assist, a 92% pass accuracy, three interceptions, three clearances and two blocks as Spurs continue their top-four charge.

Slightly ahead of the two midfield enforcers lies a man who has not had all the luck in the world this season in James Maddison, who fired home a beautiful free kick to rival Castagne for the goal of the day award against Brentford, while he also came up with four key passes in a delightful display.

ATTACK

© Reuters

There was certainly a case for Bukayo Saka to earn the right-wing spot in this Team of the Week, but it was impossible to look past Francisco Trincao's contribution against Leeds - even if Wolves did lose - as the Portugal starlet arrowed his effort into the far corner after setting up Jonny's first, and he was unfortunate not to make it a brace for himself after hitting the woodwork.

Son Heung-min going down when the ball was kicked in his direction against West Ham was a dampener on a fine display from the South Korea international, who bagged a brace, hit the woodwork and won all four of his ground duels on the day, but such a laughable dive overshadowed his contribution on the field.

There were no such antics from Harry Kane - now the Premier League's all-time leading goalscorer in away matches - as the England skipper set the record against Brighton before adding two assists to his tally in the win over West Ham, with the striker now seemingly back to his best after a slow start to proceedings this term.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Castagne, Ayling, White, Robertson; Bentancur, Thiago; Trincao, Maddison, Son; Kane