Squawka’s Team of the Week from Premier League Gameweek 6: Everton trio star after first win | OneFootball

The 2024-25 Premier League season continues to be filled with action.

This weekend saw the sixth matchweek of the campaign and there are new leaders at the top of the table. Liverpool capitalised on Manchester City dropping points to move one point clear of the defending champions. But there’s a close group behind.

Just two points separate Liverpool and fifth-placed Aston Villa, with Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea completing the group.

At the other end of the table, Everton got their first win of the season to move out of the relegation zone. But Leicester City, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves remain winless. The latter duo are stuck on one point for the season.

But which players have made the Squawka Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek six? We’ve used our Squawka Score to determine the 11 picks, based on the statistical leaders for metrics relevant to their positions. And we’ve also shown an honourable mention for each position.

GK: Mads Hermansen (Leicester)

Despite conceding four goals, Mads Hermansen was a one-man wall for Leicester in their defeat and the top goalkeeper of the weekend. The Foxes shot-stopper very much earned that moniker, with 13 saves in total. Since the start of the 2016/17 season, only one goalkeeper has made more saves in a single match — David de Gea against Arsenal in December 2017 (14). Nine of Hermansen’s saves were from shots from inside the box. He prevented an incredible 2.74 goals and completed the third-most long passes among goalkeepers. If it weren’t for Hermansen, this could have been a hammering.

Honourable mention: Nick Pope (76%)

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold still gets criticised for his defensive weaknesses, but the Englishman performed well in those metrics as Liverpool beat Wolves. Helping to keep his flank secure, Alexander-Arnold made one interception while retaining possession and won two tackles, the joint-most among right-backs. On top of that, the Englishman wasn’t dribbled past once. He’s definitely going from strength to strength under Arne Slot, but it isn’t at the expense of his attack. Alexander-Arnold still had two touches in the opposition box and one successful pass into the penalty area.

Honourable mention: Pedro Porro (72%)

CB: Cristian Romero (Tottenham)

Just two of the 20 Premier League teams kept a clean sheet this weekend, so it’s no surprise to see the top-rated centre-back come from one of those sides. Tottenham Hotspur were comfortable at the back against Manchester United as they left Old Trafford with a 3-0 win. Of course, this will have been aided by Man United going down to 10 men. But, Romero is deserving of his rating. On top of the clean sheet, Romero made two interceptions where possession was retained and one interception inside his own box. He also made one block, won possession three times in the middle third and had a retention rate of 88.72%. He still gets a lot of stick, but Romero is a solid centre-back.

Honourable mention: Marc Guehi (73%)

CB: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton)

Everton got their first Premier League win of the season at the weekend. It also coincided with Jarrad Branthwaite’s return to the team after injury. Coincidence? Not really. The young centre-back was solid at the back even with Everton conceding a goal. He won three aerial duels and 100% of his ground duels, proving tough to beat in the air and on the turf. Branthwaite made three interceptions with possession retained and one interception inside his own box. He won two tackles and also made five clearances. You name it, he did it defensively.

Honourable mention: Joachim Andersen (72%)

LB: Josko Gvardiol (Man City)

The goalscoring left-back, Josko Gvardiol took his strike against Newcastle United on Saturday very well. Very much an attacking left-back, the Croatian had five touches in the opposition box and completed two take-ons, with a retention rate of 86.54%. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved defensively either. With Newcastle attacking well, Gvardiol had to made two clearances, two interceptions retaining possession and won two tackles. This was a solid all-round performance.

Honourable mention: Jurrien Timber (72%)

CM: Orel Mangala (Everton)

Another star of Everton’s win over Crystal Palace was Orel Mangala. The Belgian started at the base of Everton’s midfield alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure and provided the perfect shield for the defence. He made five interceptions while retaining possession against Palace, the most of any central midfielder at the weekend. He also won two tackles.

Honourable mention: Sam Morsy (73%)

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham)

Playing against 10 men isn’t always easy, but Rodrigo Bentacur ensured Tottenham were in total control of their match against Man United. The Uruguayan played at the base of the midfield and had a lot to do with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski completing the trio. Fortunately, he was up to the task. Bentancur had a retention rate of 95.56%, the best coming central midfielders with at least 30 minutes this weekend. He also had 96.2% open play passing accuracy, with 13 accurate final third passes. Defensively, Bentacur made two interceptions while retaining possession, though he didn’t have to do too much work in that regard.

Honourable mention: Carlos Soler (69%)

RW: Dwight McNeil (Everton)

The third and final Everton star to make this team of the week, Dwight McNeil had a fabulous showing in the Toffees’ win over Crystal Palace. He scored two goals from two shots on target, an xG overperformance of 1.75. He also provided 0.21 xA, running the show for Everton. The former Burnley man is thriving in his new role which allows him to get more involved in Everton’s attack. He’s already matched his goal tally for last season, and still tops the Premier League for chances created with 21.

Honourable mention: Antoine Semenyo (71%)

No.10: Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Of course Cole Palmer was going to be included. The Chelsea midfielder made Premier League history on Saturday, becoming the first player to score four goals in the first half of a match. He also became just the second Chelsea player to score four goals in a Premier League game on two separate occasions, after Frank Lampard. Although Palmer did score a penalty, he still had 2.44 Expected Goals overperformance. This will have been helped by his wonderful free-kick. The Englishman had five shots on target and 2.21 non-penalty xG on target. But it wasn’t just about Palmer’s goals. He also created three big chances, the joint-most among attacking midfielders in the Premier League this weekend, and had an Expected Assists total of 0.62. The outfield performance of the weekend.

Honourable mention: Morgan Rogers (69%)

LW: Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

Arsenal were made to work hard for their win over Leicester in the end, but when the Gunners were in control in the first half, Gabriel Martinelli was one of those thriving. The Brazilian scored Arsenal’s opener and was also awarded an intentional assist for Leandro Trossard’s strike to make it 2-0 just before half-time. An intentional assist is pretty easy to understand, as a pass that leads to a goal — in comparison to an assist which is simply the final touch from a teammate which leads to the recipient of the ball scoring a goal. Martinelli had an xA of 0.55 and created one big chance, while also posting an xG overperformance of 0.39 and two shots on target. You wouldn’t have known his goal had ended a drought in the Premier League.

Honourable mention: Dango Ouattara (74%)

ST: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

This as a real centre-forward’s performance from Ollie Watkins. After a slow start to the season, Watkins is showing signs of returning to his form from the previous campaign. In Aston Villa’s draw with Ipswich Town on Sunday, Watkins was directly involved in both of his side’s goals. He set up Morgan Rogers’ equaliser with an intentional assist, before putting Villa ahead just after the half-hour mark. Watkins scored with his head and he posted an xG of 0.4 from headers, the most in the Premier League at the weekend. He’s now scored and assisted in eight Premier League matches in his career, the joint-most of any player for Aston Villa.