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Swansea ace Andre Ayew listed in EA Sports EPL Team of the Week

By ghanasoccernet.com
Sports News Swansea ace Andre Ayew listed in EA Sports EPL Team of the Week
MAY 4, 2016 LISTEN

Andre Ayew was named in the Team of the Week after his brace helped Swansea to beat Liverpool in the English Premier League. 

The Ghana international's selection was based on the EA Sports' Player Performance Index.

Leicester City might have been crowned surprise Premier League champions but just one player made the EA Select XI.

The Foxes drew 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford but secured the title after Chelsea came from behind to hold Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.

Captain Wes Morgan - who will now lift the Premier League trophy on Saturday - is the Leicester player to make the Team of the Weekend after his goal secured a point against United.

Elsewhere, Southampton's Saido Mane and Manchester City's Kelechi Iheanacho all make the side after impressive goalscoring performances.

Goalkeeper
Adrian - West Ham United (PPI score 16.6)
It's been a superb season for West Ham and their comfortable 3-0 victory over West Brom pushed them up to fifth and in sight of a place in next season's Europa League.

The Hawthorns clash saw Hammers stopper Adrian keep another clean sheet - his ninth of the campaign - as Slaven Bilic's men claimed an easy win.

Defender
Antonio Valencia - Manchester United (PPI score 21.8)

Something of a makeshift right back, Valencia again filled in in that position as United were forced to settle for a draw with Leicester.

The Ecuadorian flyer has suffered an injury hit season after undergoing surgery to fix a long-term foot problem.

But now back fit, he was his usual energetic self up and down the right wing and created United's opener when Anthony Martial drilled home his cross at the near-post.

HOW EA SPORTS WORK IT OUT...
The EA Sports PPI is the official player rating index of the Premier League.

It measures a player's contribution to the success of his team. The intention is to remove any opinion bias and only work with proven statistical measurements which become more accurate as the season progresses.

So, what are the six indices?

  1. Winning performance

  1. Player's performance per match

  1. Appearances

  1. Goals scored

  1. Assists

  1. Clean sheets

Defender
Leighton Baines - Everton (PPI score 35.8)
Under-pressure Everton boss Roberto Martinez will have been thankful to Baines after he scored the winner in the 2-1 home victory over Bournemouth.

The England defender struck the vital goal after the break at Goodison, securing what was Everton's first win in nine matches.

Defender
Wes Morgan - Leicester City (PPI score 32.6)

What a season it's been for Morgan and Leicester who can now say they are Premier League champions.

The giant defender has been an inspirational leader for Claudio Ranieri's men over the course of the campaign and was superb once again at Old Trafford.

The 32-year-old headed home a floated free-kick to secure a point for his team and now has all week to think about lifting the Premier League trophy. What a moment that will be.

Defender
Gary Cahill - Chelsea (PPI score 28.7)
In what has been an inconsistent season for Chelsea, Cahill has also had his own ups and downs.

The England defender couldn't help the Blues keep a clean sheet against Tottenham but he did find the back of the net, lashing home a 58th minute goal to start his team's comeback from 2-0 down.

Midfielder
Sadio Mane - Southampton (PPI score 77.4)
Mane produced a superb individual display on Sunday as his hat-trick saw Southampton prove too much for Manchester City to handle at St Mary's.

With City focusing on the Champions League and their semi-final second leg with Real Madrid, it was Mane rather than any of Manuel Pellegrini's men who looked like the European star.

His treble guided Saints to a 4-2 win and he took the match ball home for good measure.

Midfielder
Mark Noble - West Ham United (PPI score 65.7)

Noble doesn't get many plaudits but he's had a superb season for the Hammers. The midfielder doesn't score often but he netted twice at West Brom to take his goal tally for the season to seven.

Now 28 and yet to represent his country, should Noble be getting an England call?

Midfielder
Andre Ayew - Swansea City (PPI score 49.4)
Ayew started the season on fire with Swansea but as his team's form dipped, so too did his own.

The hugely talented Ghanaian was back to his best in the game with Liverpool though, scoring twice against the team he once offered to play for for free.

Ayew's header put Francesco Guidolin's side 1-0 up at the Liberty and when he added his second after the break, the Swans could finally celebrate Premier League survival after what has been a tough season.

Midfielder
Cheikhou Kouyate - West Ham United (PPI score 41.9)

While Dimitri Payet might grab most of the headlines for West Ham, Kouyate is almost equally as important.

The Senegal man opened the scoring at West Brom for what was his fifth goal of the season.

His header put Slaven Bilic's side ahead before he set up Noble's first goal to make it 2-0.

Striker
Kelechi Iheanacho - Manchester City (PPI score 51.7)

What a season the 19-year-old Nigerian has had. Given his chance to impress by City boss Pellegrini, Iheanacho has taken it with both hands.

His two goals - albeit in defeat to Southampton - made it 13 for the season and his form has seen him jump ahead of Wilfried Bony as the main striker back-up to Sergio Aguero.

With City up against it at St Mary's, Iheanacho was their star man. Starting the game in attack, he nodded home his first just before the break and curled home an outstanding second with 12 minutes to go.

It wasn't enough to help his team to victory but further showed what is undoubtedly his huge talent.

Striker
Troy Deeney - Watford (PPI score 45.8)
Watford skipper Deeney continued his impressive season with two late goals in the 3-2 win over relegated Aston Villa.

With Villa ahead at Vicarage Road but down to 10 men after Aly Cissokho was sent off, Deeney made sure Watford took advantage.

He rose to head home Steven Berghuis' cross in the 90th minute and then slotted in a loose ball in the box in added time.

His double made it 13 goals this season.

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