Grealish among seven changes to Premier League Form XI as Leicester tumble


Following Boxing Day's fixtures there are a whopping seven new faces in the Premier League Form XI. Only Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Adama Traore - ahead of their battle on Friday night - keep their places.

After convincing, back-to-back defeats Leicester - who dominated the XI not long ago - are no longer represented, while we start with the goalkeeper merry-go-round in our latest roundup of this week's changes.

Goalkeeper: Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace) - 7.05 weighted rating

The gloves have been passed between Guaita and Newcastle's Martin Dubravka this month, with a disappointing display from the latter against Manchester United ensuring the Spaniard is back between the posts. The Palace keeper was hardly called upon against West Ham, producing just one save in a 2-1 win, but has now conceded just three goals in his last six appearances.

Right-back: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 7.72 weighted rating

You'd be hard pressed to find a better performance from a right-back all season than that of Alexander-Arnold against Leicester (9.66 match rating), with the youngster displacing Everton's Djibril Sidibe in the side as a result. The England international provided two sensational assists - taking his tally to eight for the season - before rifling home Liverpool's fourth in a dominant win that moved Liverpool another huge step closer to the title.

Centre-back: Harry Maguire (Manchester United) - 7.34 weighted rating

He may not have shone as centre-back partner in our form XI Virgil van Dijk continues to do but there can be little question that Maguire has had a very positive impact on United's defence. He put in a dominant display against Newcastle that included four tackles, a 90.9 per cent pass accuracy and seven aerial duels won, taking his tally for the latter to a massive 29 over his last three appearances.

Left-back: Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) - 7.33 weighted rating

He may have moved back in-field in a switch to a back three against Brighton on Boxing Day but prior to that each of Vertonghen's starts under Jose Mourinho had come at left-back. He takes that spot in this week's team from Thursday's opponent and fellow makeshift full-back Dan Burn having produced four tackles in a 2-1 win, taking his tally to 17 in his last five appearances.

 

Grealish among seven changes to Premier League Form XI as Leicester tumble

 

Central midfield: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) - 7.61 weighted rating

Having sparkled to inspire Villa to promotion from the Championship, any doubters that felt Grealish would struggle to make the same impact in the top-flight have been put on mute. In what was an unconvincing performance from his side as a whole, Villa's captain continues to carry them through matches and was influential once again against Norwich. The playmaker assisted Conor Hourihane's match-winner and has now had a direct hand in at least one goal in eight of his last 12 league appearances.

Striker: Harry Kane (Tottenham) - 7.73 weighted rating

Bagging his tenth league goal of the season in victory over Brighton, Kane takes the place of Danny Ings this time out after the latter was surprisingly rested from kick-off at Chelsea. The Tottenham hitman was named man of the match having had four attempts in total and completed three dribbles and has now had a hand in four goals in his last four league appearances.

Striker: Anthony Martial (Manchester United) - 7.58 weighted rating

Replacing Jamie Vardy this week, Martial scored twice in a 4-1 win over Newcastle to emerge from the recent shadow cast by Marcus Rashford's purple patch. The Frenchman was the star man on Boxing Day having been one of very few bright performers against Watford last weekend, with six shots, six dribbles and four key passes across both matches.

Grealish among seven changes to Premier League Form XI as Leicester tumble