Premier League Team of the Week
The relegation race took centre stage in the Barclays Premier League at the weekend. Find out which players stole a march on their rivals.
With three of the top four teams in the Premier League in FA Cup action, the bottom-of-the-table clash between Reading and Aston Villa came to the fore on Saturday.
And it was Villa who came out smiling as goals from Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke sealed a 2-1 win at the Madejski.
West Brom secured a similar result against Swansea while bottom side QPR pulled off a huge 3-1 result against Sunderland.
It was a different story at Carrow Road where there were no goals to report between Norwich and Southampton largely because of Artur Boruc's goalkeeping.
On Sunday, it was the turn of Liverpool to steal the limelight as a first class display saw them overcome an in-form Tottenham Hotspur side 3-2 at Anfield.
Also on Sunday, Newcastle rallied to defeat Stoke 2-1 on the back of a Yohan Cabayefree-kick goal.
We've gone with a 4-4-2 formation.
GK: Artur Boruc (Southampton)
It was a close fight between Artur Boruc and Mark Bunn for the goalkeeping spot in our Team of the Week but in the end we went with the Southampton man as his stoppage-time penalty save ultimately preserved the goalless draw with Norwich and a valuable point for the Saints in their bid to avoid relegation.
RB: Jose Bosingwa (QPR)
QPR defender Jose Bosingwa is back in Harry Redknapp's good books and he celebrated the feat in style with a positive display in the 3-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday. His link-up play with midfielder Andros Townsend on the right was also vital to the outcome of the game.
LB: Jose Enique (Liverpool)
Many people thought high-flying Tottenham would give Jose Enrique and Co. plenty of problems on Sunday but it was the Reds who came out on top with the 3-2 victory.
Enrique played his part - defending well against Gareth Bale whenever he switched to the right and he also provided a neat assist for Luis Suarez to score the opener.
CB: Gareth McAuley (West Brom)
West Brom had Gareth McAuley to thank for a notable 2-1 win over Capital One Cup champions Swansea. The centre-back was robust at the back and in even contributed in attack - McAuley's header from a Chris Brunt corner was cleared off the line by Angel Rangel but rebounded back off a Swansea player into the net for the West Brom winner.
CB: Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham)
It wasn't the best display of defending by Tottenham against Liverpool on Sunday. However, it wasn't just the back-line who was complacent, as a team Spurs could have defended better.
One player who did stand out in a positive light for the North London outfit was Jan Vertonghen. His presence in both boxes is immense and Liverpool did not know how to deal with his threat properly and ended up conceding both their goals to him.
RM: Andros Townsend (QPR)
The relegation battles in the Barclays Premier League are just a joy to behold and on Saturday Andros Townsend put in a heroic effort to inspire bottom side QPR to a 3-1 win over Sunderland.
The midfielder was terrific all afternoon whether it was with his crossing, dribbling and, of course, his shooting - most notably the dipping half volley to edge QPR in front.
LM: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)
The frustrating thing for Aston Villa fans is that they know their team have quality players like Gabriel Agbonlahor yet they are still firmly entrenched in a battle to avoid the drop with nine games to go.
Played on the left for Saturday's showdown with fellow relegation candidates Reading, Agbonlahor sparkled and it was his timely finish on half-time which gave Villa the 2-1 lead which they managed to see out for victory.
CM: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle)
Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye played the role of midfield maestro in Sunday's 2-1 win over Stoke. Down 1-0 with around 30 minutes to go, Cabaye struck a beautiful free-kick to completely turn around the match in Newcastle's favour as they went on to win 2-1 albeit thanks to a stoppage time strike from Papiss Cisse.
CM: Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
Gareth Bale patrolled the Liverpool backline looking for a hint of weakness and while the Reds dealt fairly well with the Welshman's dribbling they were caught out on two occasions by the quality of his crossing.
A team might stop Bale from scoring from time to time but he's playing at such a high level now that he'll find another way to hurt you.
ST: Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
Luis Suarez made Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris look like a bit of a fool in Sunday's 3-2 win over the North Londoners. Suarez will do that to you if you are not on the top of your game which is why Lloris will be kicking himself for leaving a tiny gap at the near post for Suarez to sneak the ball in for Liverpool's opening goal.
Suarez also won a penalty for Steven Gerrard to convert which turned out to be the winning goal in the end.
ST: Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
Still a raw talent but when Christian Benteke turns it on it usually spells a troubled afternoon for opposing defenders. Reading found out on Saturday as the Belgium international scored a crucial equalising goal for Villa to help them secure a huge 2-1 result over their relegation rivals.