Four Red Devils, three Magpies, two Swans and two Latics are among TEAMtalk's Top Men, our elite Premier League XI from Matchday 29.
Every Tuesday, we'll pick our Premier League team of the weekend, explain our selections and then invite you - our loyal army of readers - to pick your team of top men who caught your eye with dazzling displays or powerful performances on Saturday March 17-Sunday March 18.
You can choose any formation and there's no limit on how many players you can pick from each team - so have a think, then get involved.
Danny Mills' Top Men (4-4-2): Foster; Simpson, Coloccini, Caldwell, Taylor; Valencia, Sigurdsson, Carrick, McArthur; Rooney. Hernandez.
TEAMtalk's Top Men (4-4-1-1): Krul; Figueroa, Coloccini, Evans, Beausejour; Valencia, Sigurdsson, Allen, Gutierrez; Rooney; Hernandez.
Goalkeeper
Tim Krul (Newcastle): Like Lewis Hamilton, West Brom's Ben Foster was in pole position to start between the sticks for our Top Men until Krul overtook him with a display which got Newcastle back to winning ways on Sunday.
The Dutchman has been tied down to a new Toon contract - and showed why Alan Pardew has done so with a world-class display of goalkeeping.
Papiss Cisse hogged the headlines on Tyneside after netting the only goal of the game - but it was Krul's unbelievable save to turn Zak Whitbread's thumping header over the crossbar which ensured all three points were banked, ending a run of four games without a win.
"That save was up there with my best," admitted Krul, who will no doubt rule the number one roost at St James' Park for many years to come.
Simon Wilkes
Defenders
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan): How Wigan didn't beat West Brom I'll never know - and Figueroa looked genuinely crushed at full-time having laid on chance after chance for Wigan's goal-shy forwards - and Emmerson Boyce who headed against the bar - before making way for Albert Crusat.
Playing as an attacking full-back, Figueroa bamboozled the Baggies backline time and time again, only to see his team-mates squander the opportunities.
If Roberto Martinez's Latics lose their fight for survival this season, there'll be a long queue of admirers lining up to land the Honduras star in the summer.
SW
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle): Having conceded four times at Carrow Road earlier in the season, Newcastle fans were quick to point to the absence of Coloccini that day as a key factor. So his presence in the heart of the backline meant Newcastle would at the very least have a more solid look about them in Sunday's return fixture.
And although not the easiest of 90 minutes for the Argentinian - especially given the shortcomings of his central defensive partner Mike Williamson - he can take particular pleasure from this latest clean sheet as the Magpies returned to winning ways.
Defensive frailties have often undermined Newcastle's sides of old, but should the Magpies finish in a European spot this season, Coloccini's displays at the heart of defence can be underlined as one of the key factors. James Marshment
Jonny Evans (Manchester Utd): We have a horrible tendency in this country to not give credit where credit is due and United defender Evans is a classic case in point. Easy to lambast given his lack of grace and poise, Evans has come on leaps and bounds this season and has really found form in the absence of Nemanja Vidic. OK, so Wolves hardly provided the stiffest test in the world, but everything Evans did was on the money, and you can only beat what is put in front of you. And if a clean sheet wasn't good enough, the Northern Irishman was in the right place at the right time to net the opener and his first ever goal in United colours.JM
Jean Beausejour (Wigan): Figueroa played a blinder at the DW Stadium, but was upstaged by Beausejour, who whipped in a string of undefendable crosses from the left flank, only to see them squandered.
The Chile star is more accustomed to a midfield role but played an attacking left wing-back for the Latics, and deserved to be a winning side after proving a constant menace to the visiting defence. SW
Midfielders
Antonio Valencia (Manchester Utd): Flying wingman Valencia gets the gig for us on the right flank having helped the Red Devils rip woeful Wolves to pieces on his return from a month on the sidelines.
Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced he has an "important" role to play in the title race with Manchester City, saying: "He can tackle, he can run, but he can also beat a man. He has got everything really."
And he could be right, as United are a different animal with Valencia in their team. The Ecuador star had a hand in creating two of United's five goals, and scooped nearly 20% of our best weekend goal poll votes after powering into the Wolves box and smashing an unstoppable strike past Wayne Hennessey.
SW
Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea): I've labelled Sigurdsson the best signing of the January transfer window in this week's TEAMtalk Podcast and with five goals in six games for the Swans, who would argue against that? And his brace in Saturday's 3-0 win at Fulham underlined just how vital a player he is for the graceful Swans.
Sigurdsson - very much in the Frank Lampard school of goalscoring midfielders - had two chances, and scored two goals.
But it wasn't just his goalscoring prowess for which he earns selection, his overall domination of the midfield at Craven Cottage means he was one of the first names down on our team sheet this weekend. JM
Joe Allen (Swansea): For every Batman, there's a Robin, and in Sigurdsson and Joe Allen, the Swans have found their own superhero double act. Allen, alongside the industrious Leon Britton, is the heartbeat of the Swans team and was again at his brilliant best on Saturday.
His energy, vision, movement and range of passing had the Cottagers chasing shadows for long spells on Saturday and I'll be amazed if we don't see Allen the subject of some serious transfer interest over the summer.
JM
Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle): Gutierrez has been largely overshadowed by the headline-grabbing heroics of team-mates Demba Ba and Johan Cabaye so far this season. But he has been a vital cog in Alan Pardew's mean machine, starting 28 Premier League games so far.
The 28-year-old started the Norwich game at left-back - but still poured forward early on and created the 11th-minute goal for Papiss Cisse with a sublime cross into the box which just begged to be banged into the net.
Another sumptuous throughball from Gutierrez put Cisse one on one with John Ruddy but the Canaries keeper kept the Toon striker at bay.
Although not blessed with pace, the Argentinian's ball appreciation and touch when trying to beat a defender - which he succeeds in doing more often than not - is a joy to behold, making him a firm favourite with Magpies fans. SW
Strikers
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United): Fantasy football managers will have had their head in their hands after Rooney's name was absent from the scoresheet in a 5-0 walloping of Wolves.
But the England forward was in imperious form against Terry Connor's men, especially after Ronald Zubar had seen red, allowing Rooney the freedom to seek and destroy at Molineux.
We're playing him in the 'pocket' behind his United team-mate Hernandez, as Rooney's vision and ability to pick the right pass makes him ideal for this role, as shown when he laid on a fine set-up for Valencia's goal.
There's no doubt Rooney was given a ridiculous amount of time and space by the men in gold and black - but his current form is great news for United's bid for a 20th league title and England's European Championship hopes. SW
Javier Hernandez (Manchester Utd): He might have been in and out of the United side this season, but when it comes to finishing off chances, there's not many better around than the Little Pea.
His first goal at Molineux owed as much to his brilliant movement as it did his heading prowess. But it was his second strike - and United's fifth of the afternoon - which really caught the eye, the Mexican blasting an unstoppable shot into the roof of the Wolves net to underline not only United's dominance, but also his return to genuine goalscoring form.JM
That's our team, now pick yours!
By Simon Wilkes and James Marshment






















© 2013 - British Sky Broadcasting Ltd
Comments
Add Comment: