League Focus: Premier League Team of the Week - Gameweek 21

21 games into the season and the Premier League is taking shape. There are - very roughly speaking - two groups emerging; a top seven doing battle for 4 Champions League places and the bottom eleven, who are separated by just 6 points and all well-and-truly in the midst of a relegation battle. Between the two bunches, Newcastle and Southampton sit in something of a no-mans land.

Here, WhoScored.com present their Premier League team of the week, using their statistic-based rating system. Each player's actions contribute positively or negatively to their rating depending on the effect they have on the game, with the highest rated players this weekend made up into a Best XI, as detailed below.

Goalkeeper

It was a fantastic weekend for West Ham and in particular Sam Allardyce, who might well have been facing the sack had his side succumbed to the loss that many expected them to face at Cardiff. Instead they dug deep, as is so necessary in a relegation scrap, to earn their first win in 8 Premier League matches. Two rather uncharacteristically well-worked Hammers strikes ultimately won them the game, but equally vital was goalkeeper Adrián's performance.

The Spaniard has played with increasing regularity of late, and on Saturday repaid the faith of his manager's decision to drop Jussi Jääskeläinen. Adrián made 7 saves in total as West Ham racked up their league-high ninth clean sheet of the season, including a fantastic save to deny Fraizier Campbell when he really should have scored. He has adapted well to Allardyce's philosophy, playing 20 of his 21 passes long, finding a forward with half of those; the basis from which the Hammers tend to build their attacks.

Joe Hart was unfortunate to miss out on a spot in the team of the week, with his rating of 8.17 only marginally worse than Adrián's 8.24. The England goalkeeper looks back to his best, and was vital in City extending their winning run to 6 matches, making key stops from Remy and Cabaye, but was aided by the questionable decision to disallow Cheick Tioté's strike.

Defence

At the heart of WhoScored's defence are Tottenham duo Michael Dawson and Vlad Chiriches, who were given a stern test by Tony Pulis' Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane. Spurs too have registered 9 clean sheets this season, and Dawson, in spite of widespread criticism, was key in this one.

The former England man has formed a decent partnership with Chiriches since he arrived, and the two dealt with the approach that Pulis has promoted in his time at Palace. With Marouane Chamakh and Cameron Jerome up front, the visitors' aim was obvious from the off, with 76% of their attacking touches coming down the flanks. They attempted 29 crosses - the second most they have made in a Premier League game this season - and 16% of their passes were played long, but Spurs' backline proved adequately prepared, making a combined total of 21 clearances. While Chamakh won 10 aerial duels, Spurs' centre-backs matched him with 9 between them to extend Tim Sherwood's impressive run at the helm.
 
At left-back, Leighton Baines picked up one of the best ratings this season has seen by a player who neither scored nor set up a goal, as he registered an 8.97 on WhoScored.com's system. The left-back had a mammoth 113 touches of the ball, as a vast proportion of the play went down that flank and took place in Norwich's half. Roberto Martínez loves his full-backs to push on, and Baines epitomised that perfectly, with the average position of his touches some distance into the opposition half. He completed 4 successful dribbles, set up 3 chances, made 4 tackles, 2 interceptions and maintained a 91% pass completion rate in one of the most complete performances of the season.

Rafael's season has been disrupted by injury problems, and David Moyes could do with him back to his best. They focused much of their play down that right side in winning the league last season, but haven't been quite so effective with Chris Smalling or Phil Jones there this term. In the win over Swansea, Rafael showed everyone what has been missing, tirelessly parading the touchline with countless overlapping runs. WhoScored's statistically calculated match summary states that United 'were effective at creating opportunities from the flanks', and Rafael, while producing an assured defensive display, was key to their success going forward.

Midfield

Adam Johnson stole the show at Craven Cottage on Saturday in what was a huge game at the bottom of the table with the sort of performance that has become all too rare from the winger. The 26-year old displayed the kind of form that saw him earn a move to Manchester City and if he can continue that the Englishman could be key to the Black Cats survival. His hat-trick and assist earned the wide man a rating of 9.81 from WhoScored.com and came having netted all three of his attempts.

A look at the average player position map based on touches shows just how advanced Johnson (11) was on the right of a front three, limiting John Arne Riise's (3) natural instinct to overlap beyond the returning Clint Dempsey (32) on Fulham's left. Johnson's defensive impact was unsurprisingly low, failing to make a single tackle or interception in the match, but he gave the home defence a torrid time, completing 2 dribbles as he cut in onto his favoured left foot.

On the opposite flank Eden Hazard continued his sparkling form and has been the leading light for Chelsea in a spell that has seen them win 4 back-to-back matches without really turning any heads. His ninth league goal of the season broke the deadlock against a typically resolute Hull backline at the KC Stadium with a superb strike after neat build up play on the edge of the box. The Belgian was a constant threat, completing 4 dribbles as 45% of the Blues' attacking touches came down his left hand side, compared to just 24% on the opposite wing, as the adventurous Elmohamady left space in behind.

Hazard's Chelsea teammate David Luiz also takes his place in the XI, edging out Gareth Barry whose sweet strike against Norwich helped earn the Englishman a rating of 8.88 from WhoScored.com. Playing in an advanced position in midfield in the continued absence of Frank Lampard, the debate rages as to the opinion-splitting Brazilian's best position but his latest two starts in front of the back four have certainly impressed. The controversial defender had at least 21 more touches than any other teammate, controlling the play in the middle of the park and winning 10 aerial duels to ensure that the visitors' mounting pressure eventually became fruitful.

West Ham’s stand-in skipper Mark Noble, whose typical all-action display helped the Londoners to end an awful week on a high, completes the midfield. The 26-year old, like Luiz, was at the centre of the action for his side as Cardiff's second half onslaught was halted by Noble's last minute strike. With 64 touches, the midfielder had at least 18 more than any other outfield teammate and broke up play superbly with 4 tackles and 4 interceptions in the match.

With 36% of the play in West Ham's defensive third he offered a much needed shield in front of a an already makeshift back four that was again disrupted by injury and a red card for James Tomkins. Having mustered enough energy to play on the counter and find himself beyond Cardiff's defence in the dying moments Noble's tireless display heralded a WhoScored.com rating of 9.13.

Attack

Luis Suarez was reunited with Daniel Sturridge this weekend with the latter returning from injury off of the bench to combine with the Uruguayan almost instantaneously. The Premier League's top scorer now has 22 to his name after netting a brace at Stoke, with just 5 of his goals coming away from Anfield before the match on Sunday.

The forward had 4 shots in a remarkable game at the Britannia, as well as creating two chances for teammates and completing 4 successful dribbles. Suarez's battle from the front saw him pick Stoke pockets on three occasions and his all round performance led to a player of the week award once again from WhoScored.com.

The final component of this week's team came from the same somewhat bizarre match in Stoke. Some calamitous defending (and goalkeeping) meant that it was a game for strikers to impress and Peter Crouch did exactly that against his former employers. His goal got the Potters back into the game having fallen two down in the first half and he was unlucky not to score in the final stages as his header beat Mignolet only to fail to beat the woodwork.

The forward was completely dominant in the air as Hughes' side looked to play off their target man, with Crouch winning 12 of the 13 aerial duels he contested (92%). Stoke's tactic was clear, attempting 51 crosses - more than any other side in a game this season - and the England international profited from the team playing to his WhoScored strengths of ‘aerial duels’ and ‘headed attempts’ in turn, earning a WhoScored.com rating of 9.19.

Who would have made your team of the week? Let us know your thoughts on the comments below