Premier League Team of the Week XXXVII feat. Sunderland and Southampton stars

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Jamie Vardy: Jamie Vardy signed off his season’s exploits at the KP Stadium in style by bagging a brace, with his afternoon only able to be improved had he converted that into a hat-trick. Indeed, he had a prime opportunity to do such that with a second effort from 12 yards out during the game, but this did not have the same outcome as the first, launching his spot-kick into orbit over Robles’ bar. Nonetheless, Vardy came back into Leicester’s line-up and reminded us exactly what he is all about, hassling Everton defenders into mistakes and always being in the right area to turn home a chance. The 29-year-old is still in with a chance of ending the campaign as the winner of the Golden Boot to go along with his Premier League medal and FWA Player of the Year Award – what an ending that would be to this Hollywood storyline.

Dwight Gayle: Crystal Palace’s strikers have been notoriously erratic this season, but it seems as though each time that he is given the opportunity to shine, Dwight Gayle grabs it with both hands. This was no different on Saturday afternoon, as he hit the back of the net twice. His first of the day came after simply applying the finishing touch to Yannick Bolasie’s typically mazy dribble and cut-back, but the second was all his own work. Winning a free-kick just outside Stoke City’s penalty area, Gayle took the dead-ball situation into his own hands and struck a superb effort into the bottom corner from around 25 yards out. He was a nuisance to the Potters’ defenders throughout the game, forcing them to foul him seven times, and he also managed to create two chances for his team-mates.

Jermain Defoe: Where would Sunderland be without this man? Jermain Defoe has scored 13 more goals than any of his team-mates this season – which is coincidentally over a third of the team’s total – and his strikes have been directly responsible for securing 14 of The Black Cats’ 35 points. Bar a great deal of hard work coming to receive the ball into feet and also spinning into the channels, the former Spurs man did not actually have too much of an overall impact on the game during the build-up and general play. Nonetheless, his contributions are brief yet meaningful, exactly as Sam Allardyce needs them to be. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Defoe could stick the ball in the back of the net against Everton in mid-week and secure Sunderland’s survival in the process.

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