Premier League Team of the Week – Casemiro, Jarrod Bowen, David de Gea

A few more fates were sealed in the penultimate weekend of Premier League fixtures, where the two-horse title race was settled once and for all in Arsenal‘s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, who secured their safety while dashing the Gunners’ title dreams.

Manchester City celebrated their third-straight triumph in the right way by besting Chelsea 1-0 a day later, while Newcastle United confirmed a return to the Champions League with a goalless draw at home to Leicester City.

Manchester United will likely be joining the Magpies in the top continental tier thanks to their 1-0 win over Bournemouth, while Liverpool‘s top-four hopes are hanging by a thread following their 1-1 stalemate with Aston Villa.

Brighton & Hove Albion will make their own sojourns across Europe next term thanks to a 3-1 success over already-relegated Southampton, but Tottenham Hotspur‘s continental fate is out of their own hands in the wake of a London derby defeat to Brentford by the same scoreline.

Down the other end of the table, Leeds United‘s survival hopes suffered a bitter blow in a 3-1 reverse to West Ham United, but Everton‘s fate remains in their own hands courtesy of a dramatic 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Fulham and Crystal Palace played out a 2-2 stalemate in a mid-table dead rubber.

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

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Despite making no fewer than four errors leading to goals in all competitions this season, Man United number one David de Gea can add the 2022-23 Premier League Golden Glove to his collection, and he certainly earned it at the Vitality. While the Cherries showed some signs of life in attack, De Gea made four crucial saves to help the Red Devils inch ever closer to a Champions League berth and post his 17th top-flight shut-out of the season.

There was no clean sheet for Brentford to shout about at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a scintillating Harry Kane strike, but Ben Mee‘s efforts did not go unnoticed. Putting his body on the line for the team time and time again, Mee made no fewer than six blocks, as well as three clearances and three tackles in a memorable derby win for the Bees.

As much as Arsenal’s passive play helped Nottingham Forest guarantee their survival, Steve Cooper‘s rearguard were on top form throughout, and choosing between Joe Worrall or Felipe for a spot was a difficult call. In the end, we have just sided with the latter, who contributed to the cause with four interceptions, two tackles and two clearances to preserve the Tricky Trees’ top-flight status.

In contrast, Leicester’s hard-earned clean sheet at Newcastle may not be enough to save their Premier League bacon, but they are in with a fighting chance thanks to the exploits of Harry Souttar. It was no surprise to see the 6ft 6in centre-back recalled to give Dan Burn a run for his money, and he stood tall – quite literally – to make six clearances, two tackles and win two of his three aerial duels on the night.

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While the Mee-inspired Brentford backline kept Tottenham at bay at one end, Bryan Mbeumo was busy terrorising the hosts’ defence with a sensational second-half display. With Ivan Toney beginning his lengthy betting ban, Mbeumo assured Bees fans that they were in safe hands with two clinical strikes before setting up Yoane Wissa to complete a famous derby win.

A clinical finish was also needed to separate Man United and Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, and it arrived from an unlikely source. Possibly wowing the home crowd as much as the away end, Casemiro‘s stunning acrobatic kick settled a nervy contest, and the Brazilian enforcer also created three chances, made five tackles and two interceptions in a dominant display.

Travelling a bit further along the South Coast, Brighton fulcrum Pascal Gross came up with a classy strike of his own to put the tie to bed against Southampton and join esteemed Seagulls company in the process. The German faked twice before firing home at Gavin Bazunu‘s near post, tying Glenn Murray and Neal Maupay at the top of Brighton’s Premier League scoring charts with 26 goals, while he also posted a 92% pass accuracy to help propel the Seagulls into Europe.

Aston Villa could also be joining Brighton on a European tour next year – albeit most likely in the Conference League – and Douglas Luiz ran the show for the Lions in their draw with Liverpool. The Brazilian provided a delicate cross for Jacob Ramsey to volley home the opener – one of three chances he created on the day – while he also won three tackles in a competent showing.

West Ham may be able to offer Villa and Brighton some pointers for deep runs in Europe, and some expected the Hammers’ exertions in the Conference League to work against them during the visit of Leeds. However, a Jarrod Bowen-inspired display ensured that David Moyes‘s side signed off at home in style, as the Englishman set up Declan Rice before just about staying onside to poke home off the post and turn the tide in the hosts’ favour.

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A pair of two-goal strikers complete our penultimate Premier League Team of the Week for the season, with Irish protege Evan Ferguson adding a few more pounds to his value with his brace against Southampton, firstly firing a vicious low drive underneath Bazunu before a smart first-time finish into the bottom corner.

Another centre-forward making his presence felt was Aleksandar Mitrovic, who made his first Fulham start since returning from his eight-game ban against Crystal Palace and did what he does best at Craven Cottage. After converting a rocket of a penalty to level the scores, the Serbian’s bullet header propelled the Cottagers into the ascendancy before Palace pegged them back again in a fitting final Premier League London derby of the season.