Premier League Team Of The Week Featuring Chelsea, Spurs And Man City Stars – Gameweek 2

It’s only the second week of the Premier League season, but there are already teams and individual players starting to make their mark on the new campaign. Tottenham and Manchester City have been the most impressive sides to date this season, but this week also witnessed good displays from West Ham and Sunderland. Chelsea notched up their second win out of two, but they have only played two promoted sides, they will face tougher tests in weeks to come, with a trip to Everton next weekend.

Goalkeeper:

Thibaut Courtois

The goalkeeping situation at Chelsea was one of the main talking points before a ball was kicked this season, but it looks like Jose Mourinho made the correct decision when he selected Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian had spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid, in which time he has developed into one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He kept his first Premier League clean sheet this weekend against Leicester, producing a great display in the process. His main involvement was to smartly deny David Nugent after closing down the angle, this highlighted his awareness, while prevented Leicester an equaliser. There will be tougher tests ahead, but he has started the season well.

Defenders:

Alan Hutton

This is a player who has had a poor couple of years as he has been an unwanted man at Aston Villa and shipped out on loan across Europe, however he has started the season in excellent form after being brought in from the cold. He has always been a steady Premier League defender, but he appears to have added consistency to his play, while his determination to show Paul Lambert that he has been wrong in leaving him out has played a huge part in his performances. Hutton was the best player on the pitch on Saturday against Newcastle as he kept the highly talented Remy Cabella quiet. The full back looked dangerous going forward as well, providing two or three excellent deliveries.

Eric Dier

Nobody expected Eric Dier to start the way he has done at Tottenham. He has always been looked upon as a big talent, after coming through the Sporting Lisbon academy, and it was good to see him move back to England this summer, but many saw him as a squad player for Spurs. However it has been the opposite, he has started the first two matches, grabbing two goals in the process, becoming the first defender to score in his first two league matches in the Premier League. His goal at the weekend showed his excellent movement from set pieces as he made a poor delivery from Erik Lamela into a good one. He is only 20 years old and if he stays in the Spurs first team, he could make his England debut before too long as the national team is lacking in central defenders.

Jonas Olsson

West Brom were among the favourites for the drop at the start of the season, however a couple of draws has suggested they will again be tough to beat this campaign. Their defence was brilliant at the weekend as they managed to restrict a new look Southampton side to limited chances, with Jonas Olsson impressing. He is the experienced Premier League campaigner in the back four and that showed on Saturday as he marshaled the defence to a clean sheet, making several decent tackles and interceptions to stop promising attacks from the home side.

Danny Rose

Everybody was superb for Tottenham at the weekend as they convincingly beat QPR 4-0. Danny Rose was a particular highlight, especially after there were doubts about his ability to establish himself as a first team player at the club. Mauricio Pochettino has opted to field Rose ahead of Ben Davies so far this season and his faith was repaid on Saturday as the left back showed his class going forwards, providing a sumptuous ball for Emmanuel Adebayor to score the fourth goal of the afternoon. Meanwhile his passing and defensive contribution throughout were both excellent.

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Midfelders:

Lee Cattermole

For the second week running, Lee Cattermole put in a brilliant performance for Sunderland. The midfielder created a lot of problems for Manchester United as he appeared to be everywhere on the pitch, putting in blocks and tackles all over the place. Cattermole’s leadership also shone through as his side earned a draw against Manchester United, albeit it could have been a lot better as the home side were far better than Louis van Gaal’s men. Their midfield were poor in possession, which was largely down to the pressure put on them by Cattermole.

Mark Noble

West Ham gave a convincing performance to win comfortably against Crystal Palace, with the driving runs and passing of Mark Noble playing a major part. His work in the midfield allowed the likes of Stewart Downing, Mauro Zarate and Carlton Cole to shine in the final third. Noble bounced back excellently after missing a penalty against Tottenham on the opening day of the season and showed the kind of form that has made him a regular for West Ham.

Nacer Chadli

He may not be one of the star names in the Spurs team, but Chadli is an effective performer, especially in the final third. The midfielder provides Pochettino with a hard working option, who can also score between 8-10 goals per season. Against QPR, he netted twice, taking both goals well, showing himself to be clinical in the opposition box. Chadli is very intelligent with the runs he makes in the opposition box, while his positioning is also brilliant. He will continue to impress under Pochettino as a genuine goal threat.

Cesc Fabregas

Chelsea have started the season playing some very nice football, in contrast to some of the awful defensive stuff that was served up towards the end of last season. The main reason for that has been the signing of Cesc Fabregas in the centre of midfield, as he provides class when it comes to passing and creating chances, as evidenced by his three assists in two matches. Although he only got one this weekend against Leicester, his overall contribution was superb, and he could turn out to be the signing of the summer, as well as the signing that takes Chelsea back to the summit of the Premier League.

Erik Lamela

Tottenham spent £100m+ attempting to replace Gareth Bale last season, with Lamela being the marquee buy, but he failed to make much of an impact due to injuries. This season looks to be different as the Argentinian has a manager who believes in him and has given him the platform to perform. He caused QPR plenty of problems all game, with his finest moment coming when he skipped away from his marker to deliver an excellent ball for Nacer Chadli to score his second. Lamela is still adjusting to the Premier League, but he has shown glimpses of his talent, he will have an excellent season under Pochettino.

Strikers

Stevan Jovetic

Manchester City were excellent in their 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the first match between two of last season’s top four. Sergio Aguero was used as a substitute again as he slowly beds himself into the new season, yet it was Stevan Jovetic who really impressed with two goals. Both were expertly taken, with the second being more of an instinctive finish. The two goals showed that the striker will be key to City this season after recovering from an injury struck first season, much like Lamela who also made this week’s team of the week. He was a constant thorn in the Liverpool defence as he consistently found space, while his movement and link up play with Edin Dzeko was impressive. Aguero may have scored from the bench again, but it’s clear City have strength in depth and can cope without the Argentinian, especially if Jovetic stays fit.