Premier League team of the weekend: Kante bosses the middle (again)

After another weekend featuring some great individual performances, theScore puts together a best XI from the latest slate of Premier League fixtures.

The lineup

GK - Thibaut Courtois

Edging out Sunderland's Vito Mannone is Courtois, who didn't have a great deal to do on Saturday but showed superb reflexes when called upon. He made four saves, but the two which scuppered Gabriel Paulista and Danny Welbeck were standouts.

DF - Andrea Ranocchia

Just as he did at Estoril, Marco Silva is merging a collective of write-offs at Hull City - and Ranocchia is one of them. The defender, who has never met the promise he showed at Bari, helped the Tigers to a clean sheet in the 2-0 defeat of Liverpool, and lofted a ball through to Oumar Niasse for a beautiful assist.

DF - Lamine Kone

Kone was again solid at the back for Sunderland, but his display of athleticism to score his side's opener at Crystal Palace - springing up from the turf to poke home a tidy volley - belied his bulky frame. He also banged nine clearances and made three interceptions.

DF - Bryan Oviedo

The cheap alternative to the departed Patrick van Aanholt was Oviedo, but in Saturday's debuts for both players, it was the latter who stood out in Sunderland's 4-0 win. The Costa Rican made nine tackles - more than Crystal Palace's 14 representatives put together - and ensured Wilfried Zaha had a frustrating afternoon.

RM - M'Baye Niang

A promising outing at Arsenal was followed by an instrumental performance against Burnley for Niang, who was the beneficiary of Tom Cleverley's intelligent work in the midfield. The AC Milan man, on a season-long loan at Watford, teed up Troy Deeney for the opener and scored what turned out to be the match-winner just before the interval.

CM - N'Golo Kante

Is there a better midfielder in the Premier League right now? Kante harried Arsenal's dangerous attacking contingent, ensuring Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, and Alex Iwobi had quiet games. Eden Hazard may dazzle, and Diego Costa is ruthless, but you'd be hard pressed to argue that Kante isn't Chelsea's most important player this season.

CM - Henrikh Mkhitaryan

When Manchester United moved from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1, Mkhitaryan's artistry was liberated. He could beat the most competitive Operation board-game player with that dexterous right foot, and glides when he moves with the ball. At Leicester City on Sunday, the Armenian opened the scoring, then set up Juan Mata for the last goal in a 3-0 win.

LM - Marcos Alonso

Like Cesar Azpilicueta, a wonderfully consistent and underrated member of Antonio Conte's designs. With each passing week, Alonso appears more comfortable in joining attacks, and showed great strength and determination in heading home. Overall, the wing-back won a game-high six aerial duels.

FW - Gabriel Jesus

What a start to Jesus' Manchester City career. The teenager's propensity to muck in defensively but also make intelligent runs and passes through the channels has won him a starting spot ahead of club great Sergio Aguero. He could take some usurping. The Brazilian bagged a brace against Swansea City, including a last-minute winner.

FW - Jermain Defoe

The evergreen Defoe showed his incredible ruthlessness at Crystal Palace to help give the Black Cats legitimate hopes for survival. The service isn't always great for the 34-year-old, but he makes the most of half-chances and scored two in Croydon. Only Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Costa have scored more in this campaign.

FW - Romelu Lukaku

Even after four goals against Bournemouth in Saturday's 6-3 thriller - and a general lack of service from the Everton flanks for much of this term - you suspect Lukaku will still be inexplicably overlooked by many. The speedy 23-year-old is now leading the division with 16 goals in 23 appearances.