The title race is hotting up. Leicester are still grinding out results, while Tottenham look like – in the words of Harry Kane – lions ready to pounce on any slip up.
Things are just as tense down the other end of the table, too. With Villa already relegated, two of three sides are doomed to the Championship. Can Newcastle keep up their improved form? Or will neighbours Sunderland condemn them to relegation?
With the fixture list crammed, we look at the star players from both last weekend’s action and the mid-week fixtures ….
Mark Noble, West Ham United
West Ham have seen themselves slip out of the challenge for Champions League football over the past few weeks after drawing four consecutive games and failing to win in six.
In defence of Slaven Bilic’s side, the Hammer’s have had a fairly tough run of fixtures, and have still picked up points at both Arsenal and league leaders Leicester.
Normal service resumed at the Boleyn Ground on Wednesday however as Mark Noble and Co. found their winning ways again in a 3-1 defeat of Watford.
A goal from in-form Andy Carroll, followed by 2 penalties from captain Noble gave the Londoners a vital 3 points and kept their hopes of European football alive.
The 28-year-old was instrumental – with his two spot kicks making it 25 out of 28 for the cult hero – and it begs the question as to why Roy Hodgson is yet to hand the midfielder his England debut after another impressive performance in a terrific season.
@AndyTCarroll treating me like Arlo Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.— MARK NOBLE (@Noble16Mark) April 21, 2016
SEE ALSO: 15 outside contenders looking for a place in England’s squad for Euro 2016
N’Golo Kante, Leicester City
While Leicester may have had a disappointing week by their standards, the club still sit top of the Premier League, with five points between them and closest rivals Tottenham.
The Foxes dropped points for the first time in six games with a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham, following five consecutive clean-sheet victories.
Jamie Vardy opened the scoring but was hero turned villain when he was later sent off for an alleged dive and second yellow card.
West Ham subsequently took advantage of the 10-men, but Leicester were awarded a late penalty for their efforts, converted by substitute Leonardo Ulloa to equalise.
Kante was monumental in ensuring Leicester came away with something from the game. Nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, the Frenchman is developing a huge reputation for his incredible work rate and coverage of the pitch. The 25-year-old did the job of two men and more on Sunday, ensuring his side didn’t give Spurs even more hope in their title pursuit.
PICTURED: Kanté is everywhere. #LeiWhu pic.twitter.com/PPc6FQXqsm
— Leicester City (@LCFC) April 17, 2016
Marcus Rashford, Manchester United
The youngster was at it again for Manchester United this week. Impressing once more, he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Aston Villa, one that subsequently relegated the hapless Midlands side.
Rashford finished like a seasoned professional following Antonio Valencia’s smart cut-back, and notched his seventh goal in 12 United appearances as he continues to turn heads.
Following victory against Villa, Louis van Gaal’s side continued their good run of form with another home win against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
An own goal from Damien Delaney and a rare strike for Matteo Darmian ensured United kept the pressure on City in fourth. If it wasn’t for Man of the Match Julian Speroni, United and indeed Rashford could have scored more, with the Englishman testing the veteran keeper on numerous occasions.
Moussa Sissoko, Newcastle United
Rafael Benitez looks like he may have installed some belief into his demotivated Newcastle squad, as two fantastic results this week see them only two points from safety.
A 3-0 win at St. James’ Park against fellow strugglers Swansea followed by a well deserved point against in-form Manchester City have the Toon Army believing again.
Benitez highlighted Moussa Sissoko as a danger man upon his move up north, identifying the Frenchman as key to the club’s survival hopes.
Sensational at times, Sissoko is often condemned by Newcastle fans for his nonchalance, and it has certainly been a hit and miss ride for Sissoko during his time at the club.
If the past two games have been anything to go by however; the 26-year-old seems to have got his mojo back. His first goal of the season in the 3-0 thrashing of Swansea, followed by a dominant performance against City have been evidence of a return to form and may have kickstarted his side’s great escape.
SEE ALSO: Who stays, who goes? Assessing the Premier League relegation battle
Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
The Argentine scored his 100th Premier League goal in the draw at Newcastle this week, becoming the 25th player to do so since the rebranding in 1992.
The goal followed an almighty performance at Stamford Bridge at the weekend, in which the forward happily tore apart Chelsea’s woeful defence with a sublime hat-trick.
Aguero is now amongst an elite group that boasts such members as Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and, erm, Emile Heskey.
It took the mercurial striker a mere 147 games to notch his century, making him the second fastest player to reach the milestone behind Alan Shearer, who accomplished the feat in only 124 games.
Perhaps more impressively, in what has been an injury plagued career, Aguero boasts the title of being the most prolific Premier League goalscorer of all time, with a goal every 108.4 minutes.
Once again overlooked for PFA Player of the Year, the former Atletico Madrid striker keeps going about his business silently, but my gosh is he deadly.
Aguero 100: It took Rooney 247 games to reach 100 goals and Heskey 414 games. #Aguero100 https://t.co/umSyyak5RL
— City Chief ️ (@City_Chief) April 20, 2016
Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
Mauricio Pocchetino’s Tottenham side kept up the heat on title rivals Leicester City with an impressive 4-0 victory against Stoke on Monday night.
Two goals from Dele Alli and two from Harry Kane ensured Spurs closed the gap on the leaders to five points. Kane’s first was a delightful curled effort. His second, an epitome of the 22-year-old’s desire to score. The England striker first helped defend a Stoke corner, before sprinting the length of the pitch to finish a rapid counter-attack.
The brace takes Kane’s total for the season to 24 in the league – the top scorer with just a handful of games remaining.
Mamadou Sakho, Liverpool
The former PSG defender has had arguably his best week as a Liverpool player since joining the club in 2013.
Having scored the Red’s equaliser in the historic 4-3 win over Borussia Dortmund just over a week ago, the Frenchman was again on target for Jurgen Klopp’s side as Liverpool thrashed Everton 4-0 in the Merseyside derby.
Kolo Toure was hailed as somewhat of a ‘Mystic Meg’ by his coutnerpart, as the Ivorian apparently predicted that morning that the 26-year-old would notch his second of the season – explaining Sakho’s mad dash to the bench to celebrate with his team-mate after the goal.
At times, the centre back is guilty of being almost comically uncomfortable with the ball at his feet, but it is his never-say-die defending that has seen him become something of a fan favourite at Anfield.
A last ditch tackle on Romelu Lukaku was perhaps the highlight alongside the goal, a challenge greeted with rapturous applause from the Kop. With his form ever-improving as of late, Mamadou Sakho is looking more formidable than ever.
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Barney Lane is a new writer for Just Football. Follow him @BarneyLane1.
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