Football
Chris Murphy 8y

Marcus Rashford, Connor Wickham lead our Team of the Weekend

After each round of Premier League fixtures, ESPN FC brings you its Team of the Weekend. Our panel of experts carefully selects 11 star performers, along with a manager.

Do you agree or disagree? You can have your say on those picked or overlooked in the comments section below the article or on Twitter using the hashtag #TOTW. Plus, tune in to Monday's ESPN FC show (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) for further reaction.

Goalkeeper: Somewhat unusually for TOTW, our custodian is a goalkeeper who let in two and ended up on the losing side. But if it hadn't been for Swansea's stopper Lukasz Fabianski, Spurs would have "trotted up" as Paul Mariner put it. Saves to deny Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane were only bettered by an amazing stop from Eric Dier's effort. Gab Marcotti says that it doesn't matter Swansea lost 2-1 -- "It matters that for 70-odd minutes, Fabianski saved everything in sight."

Right-back: We're going for a regulation flat back four this weekend and kicking us off is West Brom's Craig Dawson. Aside from that spot of moonlighting as a centre-forward, his header described by Nicol as "coming right off the meat of the bat," Marcotti and Mariner saluted the way he patrolled his flank and helped keep Yannick Bolasie quiet(ish) in the second half as the Baggies earned a much-needed 3-2 win over Crystal Palace.

Centre-back: Another goal-scoring defender appears at centre-back in the burly shape of Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic. Like most of his teammates, the Serbian's form has turned a corner since Guus Hiddink arrived at Stamford Bridge. In a hard-fought 2-1 win at Southampton, Ivanovic offered up a "strong performance," according to Marcotti, as well as scoring the winner with a thumping header. Mariner was equally impressed.

Centre-back: Up next is Bournemouth's Steve Cook, who led the line impressively as Eddie Howe's men carved out a point from their trip to Watford. Nicol calls him an "old fashioned centre-back" while Mariner thinks he had a "great game." He nudges Marcotti's choice, Leicester captain Wes Morgan, out of the equation.

Left-back: Rounding off the back four, Marcotti's choice of Spurs' match-winner Danny Rose is trumped by the other two. Nicol and Mariner have opted for Norwich's Robbie Brady, who ended up on the losing side as Leicester grabbed an 89th minute winner at the King Power. Steve thinks he had a fine afternoon on both sides of the ball while Paul says the Irishman didn't deserve to be on the losing team.

Right-midfield: Next up, a full house for Willian, who starred as Chelsea eked out a 2-1 win at Southampton. Nicol presents the main theme running through our pundits' reasoning, calling him "Mr. Chelsea this season." Mariner follows that up with a note on his consistency, while Marcotti rounds it off by adding: "He combines athleticism and technique like few other attacking midfielders."

Centre-midfield: "One goal, one assist and plenty of drive in the middle of the park. Few hit a better ball than he does." Marcotti is eulogising over West Brom's Craig Gardner, the quintessential Premier League professional. Not only did he open the scoring for Tony Pulis' side when Palace came calling, he also laid the second on a plate for Dawson. Mariner calls him a "driving force" in midfield while Nicol says he offers "guile and goals."

Centre-midfield: Our other central midfielder is Manchester United's Ander Herrera, who looked polished during his side's 3-2 victory over Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday. Marcotti adds some extra gloss: "He patrolled the middle of the park, gave some reassurance to the young guns around him and, with a bit of help from a deflection, notched the winner."

Left-midfield: He's had a quiet spell but Marko Arnautovic was back with a bang against Aston Villa. Mariner and Nicol were taken with his performance in Stoke's 2-1 win and though his two goals -- a penalty and a tap in -- weren't the most difficult he'll ever score, they still needed tucking away. The Austrian now has nine in the Premier League this season.

Center-forward: Into the forward line we go and first up, a man who clearly didn't deserve to be on the losing side at The Hawthorns. Connor Wickham's exquisite left-footed volley was probably the goal of the weekend and gave Palace real hope of salvaging something from a game that had looked long gone after 31 minutes. Nicol says at least the striker did his job, while Mariner was happy just to marvel at that screamer.

Centre-forward: Hands up... who had heard of Marcus Rashford before about 7 p.m. on Thursday night? Yep, not many of you. Were the 18-year-old to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow, he'd still be a household name at Old Trafford in 10 years' time, I'll wager. Rashford got his second brace in four days at the hands of hapless Arsenal, and both Mariner and Nicol underlined their amazement at his impact. Marcotti adds "[Rashford is] fearless and energetic, unlike much of United's season."

Manager: Once again, Marcotti is in the minority. He wants Mauricio Pochettino to get the nod as gaffer for engineering a comeback for Spurs in their potentially huge win over Swansea. But the other two have plumped for The Tinkerman, Claudio Ranieri. The Italian's march towards the title goes on as Leonardo Ulloa's last-gasp strike at Norwich keeps the dream alive. After that demoralising defeat at Arsenal, this shows Ranieri has kept their strong spirit intact.

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