Newcastle’s teenage star Lewis Miley opens his Premier League account, West Ham’s dynamic duo tame Wolves and it’s three goals in two games for a Spurs forward – but who takes top spot in this week’s POWER RANKINGS?

• Arsenal leapfrogged Liverpool at the top of the Premier League standings
• Manchester United avoided another thrashing at Anfield in a deserved draw
• Roy Keane can be a pantomime villain, but you can never accuse him of faking it. He couldn’t hide his simmering irritation – It’s All Kicking Off

The festive run-in is in full swing as the Premier League again offered up plenty of thrills and spills as we edge further towards Christmas.

Manchester City’s title credentials were dealt another damaging blow as Pep Guardiola’s side surrendered a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace, while Arsenal leapfrogged Liverpool at the top of the table.

Jurgen Klopp was denied an early Christmas present in the form of another Manchester United thrashing as Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils held their resolve to claim a deserved point at Anfield. 

There were further headlines to be made in the north east as Newcastle youngster Lewis Miley opened up his goalscoring account for his boyhood club at Brentford.

Here, Mail Sport takes you through our latest Power Rankings as we take a look at the most in-form players from across the Premier League.

Liverpool were leapfrogged by Arsenal at the top of the Premier League after drawing with Man United at Anfield

LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS

10. Richarlison

9. Abdoulaye Doucoure

8. Dominic Solanke

7. Matheus Cunha

6. Trent Alexander-Arnold

5. Leon Bailey 

4. Alex Iwobi

3. Mohamed Salah

2. Son Heung-min

1. Raul Jimenez

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10. Lewis Miley (first goal for Newcastle) – new entry

At just 17-years-old, the Newcastle midfielder opened his goalscoring account at the weekend as Eddie Howe’s signed grinded out a crucial 3-0 Premier League win over struggling Fulham.

Miley kept his place in midfield ahead of Sean Longstaff in Newcastle’s Champions League defeat against AC Milan but started on the bench against Fulham before coming on to mark his memorable moment.

The youngster has starred since his becoming the club’s youngest ever Premier League debutant when he featured on the final day of last season and has grown in maturity in the recent months.

His goal doubled Newcastle’s lead at the weekend and Miley is continuing to shine as a reliable asset in Howe’s injury-hit squad. 

Lewis Miley scored his first senior goal for Newcastle aged just 17 at the weekend

9. Cole Palmer (new entry)

The Chelsea and England forward was brave enough to leave Manchester City after winning the Treble last season and has continued to reap the rewards from his decision under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino.

Palmer is doing his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s England European Championship squad no harm by starring for Chelsea, with his goal against Sheffield United his sixth in the Premier League this season.

Chelsea have been inconsistent this season, one-match showing credentials to challenge for a place in Europe and the next coming comfortably unstuck, but Palmer is shining on a more regular basis.

Heavy praise has been laden on him by both club and country camps and if his Chelsea team-mates could match his rich vein of form then they could be in for a strong second half of the season. 

Cole Palmer continues to star for Chelsea after scoring again in win over Sheffield United

8. Michael Keane (new entry)

Everton snatched their fourth consecutive Premier League victory without conceding and Keane starred on his first match back in Sean Dyche’s starting side.

Three points at the weekend means the Toffees have already clawed back their 10-point deficit handed to them by the FA, with their defeat against Manchester United the only one since the penalty was implemented.

Keane scored the game’s second goal at Turf Moor to ensure Dyche’s return to his former club was a winning one and the Englishman defended resolutely to help his side additionally record a valuable clean sheet.

The 30-year-old must continue to perform in similar fashion if he wants to keep his starting role in a much-improved Everton.

Michael Keane helped Everton to their fourth consecutive Premier League victory as they beat Burnley

7. Mohamed Salah (down four)

Liverpool had 34 shots in their 0-0 draw against fierce rivals Manchester United on Sunday, but were unable to get three points at Anfield in a win that would have moved back to the top of the Premier League.

Salah recently scored his 200th goal in the English top-flight and went close to adding further strikes to his record against United as he sought a sixth consecutive goal in five games against the Manchester club.

The Egyptian was brilliant in running in behind United’s defence all afternoon but lacked his usual accuracy in the final third as did the majority of his Liverpool colleagues.

Salah lives for the big occasion and then aren’t many bigger than next weekend’s clash against Arsenal to decide who goes top of the table.

Mohamed Salah was unable to extend his goalscoring form against Manchester United

6. Son Heung-min (down four)

The Tottenham forward’s leadership qualities were perhaps not always apparent during Harry Kane’s time in north London, however, this season is dragging them to the European places as club captain.

Son does so much more than just score goals in Ange Postecoglou’s set-up, often starring as a creative link as much as a potent finisher, and Friday’s win over Forest was another example of his multiple talents.

He didn’t add to his impressive goals tally against Forest but was influential in creating chances and crucially disrupting Steve Cooper’s side in their attempts to play out from the back.

The South Korean has been the most trusted partner of Postecoglou’s revolution, but it will be interesting to see how Spurs cope in his absence when he leaves for the Asia Cup with his national team in January.

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min again demonstrated his outstanding leadership qualities in Friday’s win over Forest

5. Jean-Philippe Mateta (new entry)

Crystal Palace may be in a difficult run of form, despite what their shock 2-2 draw against Man City might suggest, but Mateta is doing his best to help pull them out of trouble during the Festive period.

The Eagles continued their trend as Pep Guardiola’s bogey side by stealing a point at the Etihad and avoiding defeat for the second time this season after previously winning at Old Trafford.

Palace were two-nil down when Mateta latched onto the end of Jeffrey Schlupp’s cut-back to reduce the deficit before Michael Olise snatched a late equaliser from the penalty spot after Mateta had initially won the spot-kick.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the first goal in Crystal Palace’s comeback draw against Man City

4. Richarlison (up five)

The Brazilian has been constantly searching for form since joining Tottenham from Everton in a £60m deal last year and finally it appears he has found it.

Richarlison has often been used given the club’s lack of another proven first-team striker this season and scored his third goal in two matches against Forest.

There are still some unconvincing traits in Richarlison’s finishing, but showed valuable improvement with his header that gave Spurs the lead at the City ground.

More is still needed from the 26-year-old as Spurs mull over potential options in the upcoming January transfer window and staying fit is vital for his progress. 

Richarlison continued his recent goalscoring form in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Forest

3. Lucas Paqueta (new entry)

Paqueta is a new entry and a deserved one after registering a hat trick of assists in West Ham’s convincing 3-0 thrashing of Wolves.

Progressing the ball forward quickly as West Ham counter-attacked on Saturday was his biggest strength and Wolves’ midfield couldn’t lay a finger on him as he thrived in being the main connection between defence and attack.

The 26-year-old clipped a beautiful lobbed chip for Mohamed Kudus to run onto and score West Ham’s first of the game before bagging a second assist of the match with an even better through ball that Kudus again benefitted from.

His third followed when he released Jarrod Bowen through on goal, with the England international scoring to wrap up another impressive afternoon for David Moyes’ side heading into Christmas. 

Lucas Paqueta is quickly developing a blossoming romance with Kudus at West Ham

2. Mohammed Kudus (new entry)

West Ham’s summer arrival from Ajax had to wait a while to work his way into Moyes’ best Premier League squad this season, but is quickly making up for lost early-season ground.

Kudus was clinical against Wolves, his first goal being a stunning strike from range after first chopping inside off the wing to finish powerfully, while his second was a powerful close-range effort after being played through on goal.

His form is being aided by a blossoming bromance that is developing with Paqueta and two first half goals capped off an impressive display from the 24-year-old Ghana international.

West Ham have at times struggled to find reliable goals under Moyes, but Kudus is doing his best to change that narrative at the London Stadium.

Mohamed Kudus scored two impressive goals as the summer recruit impressed in West Ham’s win over Wolves

1. Ollie Watkins (new entry)

An England international striker leading his side on in a title charge as we approach Christmas? No, it’s not Harry Kane, despite him scoring his 20th goal for Bayern at the weekend, the place at the top of our Power Rankings is reserved for Aston Villa’s, Watkins.

Villa’s title credentials were given another rubber-stamp of approval as they dispatched Brentford 2-1, with Watkins getting the winning goal in London.

Ollie Watkins is a new entry at number one after his continued goalscoring form at Aston Villa

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

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The 27-year-old is the predicted back-up choice to Kane within Southgate’s England squad for next year’s European Championship in Germany and scoring his 14th goal in all competitions this season against the Bees was another reasoning for why.

Unai Emery’s side can go top of the Premier League with victory against Sheffield United on Friday evening and what a moment that could be for Watkins to star again just before Christmas.

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