We move in to the 12th Gameweek of the Premier League season after the International break which saw as many heartbreaks as celebrations. Manchester City are racing away from the pack with an eight-point lead from the second-placed Manchester United.
Here is our list of top 5 players to look out for this week as they have a point to prove!
Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku’s bright start to life at Manchester United seems to have faded away after he has failed to score for the Red Devils since the end of October. He has however been in fine form for his country but he has bad news there as well.
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It has emerged that three goals he scored in a World Cup warm-up match against Luxembourg back in May 2014 had not been recognised by FIFA because Belgium made seven substitutions rather than the permitted six.
Up against the newly-promoted Newcastle United who have conceded 10 goals in 11 games, Lukaku will back himself to have his name on the scoring sheet. Lukaku will be hungry to prove a point to all his critics and what better way than to answer them with a goal.
Alexis Sanchez
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez faces his North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur this weekend. He has scored a solitary goal and assisted his team-mates thrice in this campaign where he appeared 8 times.
Chile are also out of the World Cup. Sanchez’s contract runs out at the end of the season. All is not going well for him. But one thing is for sure that he is most dangerous when cornered.
He can drive his team to victory, change the tide of the game with a moment of brilliance and make you appreciate in awe. A masterclass from the Chilean is due and the stage is set this weekend to produce the goods.
Moussa Sissoko
Moussa Sissoko is starting to win over many Tottenham fans this season. He has featured in every game that Spurs has played, be it Premier League, Champions League or EFL Cup Fixture.
“Credit where it’s due. He was everywhere today. It was a really dynamic performance,” said Danny Murphy, himself a midfielder who struggled at Tottenham, on BBC’s Match of the Day after Tottenham’s 3-2 win over West Ham United.
He can go forward on the right and stretch defences. This weekend, he will face a tough task against Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolašinac. It will be important to take control and not lose calm in the derby, specially after last week’s confrontation with Mark Noble in the moddle of the park.
He is finally looking confident enough to be an asset to Pochettino’s Spurs.
Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk is back in the Southampton side for the past 5 weeks and has settled back into the squad. But the news that Liverpool are preparing a bid for him in the January Transfer Window is also back.
Mauricio Pellegrino has admitted that keeping him at the club will be difficult. When asked if Van Dijk will be sold in January, Pellegrino told The Mirror: “I don’t know. I can’t control the market.
“You never know, because when we talk about money everybody has got a price. I can’t decide about that. This is a question for our owners.”
He will be up against his possible suitors this weekend and how he performs against the likes of Salah, Mane and Firmino will be a big bonus on hi CV. Klopp will have his eyes on him, so will we!
Gylfi Sigurdsson
It has been a pretty disappointing start for Gylfi Sigurdsson at Everton with the Iceland international looking burdened by his £45million price tag and unable to make much of an impression.
With just one goal and two assists this season, he hasn’t particularly been the true creator we know him to be. However, Everton travel to bottom-placed Crystal Palace which provides him a chance to atone.
The 28-year-old Icelandic midfielder has 3 goals and 3 assists in 8 appearances against Palace. He will be licking his lips to add to his tally and prove his doubters wrong.
Who is on your list?
