Garth Crooks' Team of the Week: Jota, Rice, Guehi, Mahrez

At the extremity of each circular of fixtures, BBC shot pundit Garth Crooks is connected manus to springiness you his Team of the Week.

Jordan Pickford (Everton): If Everton anticipation to past this play and stay successful the Premier League, they are going to request Jordan Pickford astatine his best. Regular readers volition cognize I person a penchant for Newcastle's Nick Pope successful the England extremity fixed a prime but determination is nary uncertainty Pickford's signifier has improved. The England fig 1 seems to person ironed retired those glitches successful attraction that truthful often resulted successful conceding a goal. Against Crystal Palace, determination was small motion of the aged Pickford who clip aft clip came to Everton's rescue and, successful the end, the keeper was liable for the Toffees coming distant with a invaluable point.

Timothy Castagne (Leicester): These were 3 monolithic points for Leicester. I'm inactive struggling with the departure of Brendan Rodgers from the King Power Stadium but Leicester fans archer maine helium had to go. OK, but to regenerate Rodgers with Dean Smith aft his disappointing clip astatine Norwich - what benignant of assignment is that? What Smith has brought to the Leicester City dressing room, arsenic portion of his absorption team, is John Terry. The erstwhile England skipper surely knows everything you request to cognize astir the creation of defending and they volition request each inch of his acquisition during their remaining games. Leicester made it hard for Wolves and, I indispensable admit, looked much organised. Their winning extremity came from Timothy Castagne. A close footed full-back with a left-footed decorativeness successful unfastened play. Jamie Vardy couldn't person finished it better.

Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace): The shot for Jordan Ayew to tally onto from Marc Guehi during the game's aboriginal exchanges was rather superb by the Crystal Palace centre-back. You don't often spot specified cultured passes played guardant from cardinal defenders - they are usually five-yard passes, a hopeless footwear up beforehand oregon a quadrate shot that simply leaves different subordinate with the aforesaid problem. It was the benignant of walk that made radical beryllium up and instrumentality notice. So excessively was his situation connected Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Palace defender did conscionable capable to unit the Everton centre-forward to unreserved his changeable arsenic helium was astir to instrumentality the shot into the backmost of the net. Meanwhile, Palace proceed to determination up the array with a manager who astir surely volition not beryllium with them adjacent season. Vincent Kompany would beryllium a overmuch amended stake for them than Chelsea, for example. Read wherefore I deliberation the owners moving Stamford Bridge request to get a grip successful the Crooks of the Matter below.

Victor Lindelof (Manchester United): I primitively selected Luke Shaw successful my squad aft what I thought was a magnificent show against Brighton astatine centre-back successful what is becoming a much acquainted relation for the England planetary these days. However, it became intolerable for maine to disregard Victor Lindelof having not lone performed brilliantly successful the FA Cup semi-final, having spent the champion portion of the play retired of the Manchester United starting line-up, but helium past went connected to people the winning punishment successful the shootout. I person not heard 1 connection of ailment from the defender astir having been near retired of the team, portion his behaviour whenever helium played has been exemplary. I anticipation Erik 10 Hag rewards him with a cupful last start.

Declan Rice (West Ham): He scored an implicit cracker against Gent successful the Europa Conference League successful midweek and past deed different belter against Bournemouth days later. Declan Rice is erstwhile again proving to beryllium an instrumental fig successful a West Ham revival. I'm not wholly definite wherever this West Ham show came from. They would person gleaned immoderate assurance from their comeback against Arsenal but they went to the Vitality Stadium and perfectly obliterated the Cherries. The triumph puts the Hammers connected 34 points and takes the unit disconnected David Moyes' squad aft securing a semi-final spot successful a European competition. Declan Rice has to beryllium worthy £80m of anyone's money.

Martin Odegaard (Arsenal): I said it lone a fewer weeks agone that goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale's full play volition beryllium connected the adjacent 7 games. He volition either prime up a Premier League rubric medal oregon person to console himself with a Champions League spot. If helium continues to marque the benignant of mistake that outgo Arsenal truthful dearly successful the opening minutes against a battling Southampton, past it's the second for him. The Arsenal keeper had a bully deliberation earlier making a mediocre walk betwixt 2 opposing players and paid the terms for allowing his pridefulness to get the amended of him. It's conscionable arsenic good Arsenal person Martin Odegaard successful their ranks. The Norway planetary possesses large enactment skills and a chill caput to match. His calm and calculated one-two connected the borderline of the container with Ben White anterior to his superb decorativeness said large and wide that Odegaard is 1 antheral Arsenal tin surely number connected successful the last stages of the season. I'm not wholly definite astir the rest.

James Ward-Prowse (Southampton): This was an bonzer crippled for truthful galore antithetic reasons. Who would person thought the wounded to William Saliba would person caused Arsenal truthful overmuch pain? The Frenchman's lack has had a devastating effect connected the team's ambitions to triumph the league title. A two-goal pb surrendered astatine Liverpool and West Ham successful consecutive matches suggested Arsenal were feeling the pressure. To spell 3-1 down astatine location to Southampton suggests they are struggling to header nether the value of it. Furthermore, reports that Saliba won't beryllium backmost immoderate clip soon lone serves to compound the situation. Wednesday night's crippled against Manchester City - the lone squad that tin realistically halt them from winning the rubric - is present crucial. Nothing abbreviated of a triumph volition do. Arsenal's comeback was awesome but not arsenic awesome arsenic Southampton's show connected the nighttime and particularly James Ward-Prowse. His last-minute artifact connected Reiss Nelson's effort connected extremity was sensational. I reckon determination are 10 points achievable for the Saints from six games which volition enactment them connected 34 points - and I don't deliberation that volition beryllium enough.

Harry Wilson (Fulham): Harry Wilson makes my squad enactment for the 2nd consecutive week. His extremity astatine Everton was lone matched by his wide performance. However against a struggling Leeds his superb decorativeness demonstrated an appetite for goals that successful the lack of Aleksandar Mitrovic was desperately needed astatine Craven Cottage. What the suspension of the Serbian centre-forward whitethorn person done is unit Fulham to find an alternate mode to people goals by playing done the midfield a small much and not throwing the shot guardant astatine each accidental to Mitrovic. Their caller benignant of play has surely suited the likes of Harry Wilson whose determination to screen the crushed and get into the container has been precise evident.

Joelinton (Newcastle): This was a fearfulness amusement by Tottenham. Five goals down distant from location against the squad you are competing with for a Champions League place? Chairman Daniel Levy should importune the players reimburse travelling fans who nary uncertainty spent a sizeable magnitude of wealth to ticker their squad capitulate. Hugo Lloris' publication to Tottenham's archetypal fractional beggared content and it was a alleviation not to spot him instrumentality for the 2nd half. Newcastle connected the different manus looked arsenic though they had wholly recovered from their mauling astatine Villa Park and gone immoderate mode to securing a top-four finish. My antheral of the lucifer and arguably Newcastle's subordinate of the play is Joelinton. When helium arrived astatine Newcastle helium looked thing but a top-four player. He is present ever contiguous successful a Newcastle broadside that's going places.

Diogo Jota (Liverpool): Liverpool find themselves chasing a top-four spot with 7 games to play and with nary guarantees they volition marque it connected this performance. They looked mightily awesome distant astatine Leeds successful midweek but for overmuch of the crippled against Nottingham Forest they looked similar they were struggling. Fortunately they had Diogo Jota connected hand, who is nary Sadio Mane by the way, but is looking crisp successful beforehand of extremity again. No-one expected Nottingham Forest to spell and triumph astatine Anfield, slightest of each Steve Cooper, who near his starring goalscorer Brennan Johnson connected the seat which was alternatively a pity really. With Johnson successful their starting line-up, alongside Taiwo Awoniyi, Forest mightiness person travel distant with something. Forest whitethorn beryllium successful the bottommost 3 and staring astatine relegation but their second-half show suggests that if they bash spell down they won't spell quietly.

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City): What a superb FA Cup semi-final hat-trick this was. The punishment sent the keeper the incorrect way, his tally for his 2nd extremity divided the Sheffield United defence successful 2 and near the keeper connected his backside, portion his 3rd extremity with the wrong of his near ft gave the keeper nary chance. Riyad Mahrez is looking each inch the subordinate helium looked astatine Leicester City. He's playing with the aforesaid swagger and assurance helium did erstwhile they won the Premier League title. Mahrez's publication to Manchester City's fortunes has enactment them connected people for the Treble. Pep Guardiola won Spain's mentation of the treble - and I wouldn't stake against him doing it again here.

The Crooks of the Matter

When a footballer of Thiago Silva's estimation feels compelled to halt successful the mixed portion aft a Champions League decision and springiness an interrogation successful his autochthonal lingua successful bid not to beryllium misunderstood, past his nine had amended beryllium up and instrumentality notice.

The Brazil planetary said if Chelsea did not "stop and enactment a strategy successful place" they would endure different hard run adjacent season. I don't deliberation I person ever heard a much cold, calm and calculated informing from a elder subordinate astatine the apical of his crippled delivered successful years.

If ever Todd Boehly needed to perceive from idiosyncratic successful his campy helium tin spot helium should look nary further than Silva and instrumentality his informing precise seriously.

The proprietor should commencement by uncovering retired what precisely that strategy really looks similar by employing a top-class manager and method director.

Silva has nary axe to grind, he's coming to the extremity of a magnificent career, and intelligibly wants the champion for the club.

What Chelsea indispensable besides not bash is name a 35-year aged who has little acquisition successful the crippled than Silva himself.

Employing Julian Nagelsmann is not the answer; If you are going to name a skipper of a jumbo 747 past that skipper indispensable person much acquisition than immoderate of its passengers and that is what appointing Nagelsmann volition correspond to those players astatine Chelsea - yet different novice.

Let's beryllium wide here: Chelsea are successful a crisis, and Boehly's work is to number the beans not to get the results. Someone who knows what winning shot trophies feels similar does that.

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