This article is part of our FPL Best XI series.
In Gameweek 17 of the Premiership, front-runners Chelsea were put under a bit of pressure to maintain their unmatched top spot and label of title favorites.
That's because Manchester City opened the Gameweek by taking care of Crystal Palace 3-0 at home, which brought them level on points with Chelsea, until the Blues won 2-0 at Stoke City on Monday to restore their three-point cushion atop the table.
Elsewhere, City's cross-town rivals Manchester United's six-match winning streak was snapped by a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa. That result allowed West Ham to close the gap on third place to merely one point, as the Hammers' wonderful campaign continued with a 2-0 win over Leicester City.
Currently in fifth, Southampton broke their recent rough spell by edging Everton with a convincing 3-0 score, while Swansea City ended their two-game losing steak with a 1-0 win at Hull City.
Meanwhile, Queens Park Rangers earned three points of their own behind a Charlie Austin hat-trick that proved too much for two-goal West Brom at Loftus Road. Staying in London, Tottenham received an awesome goal from Erik Lamela to clinch a 2-1 victory over Burnley.
Sunday featured a pair of sensational, spirited showdowns, as Sunderland won the Tyne-Wear derby thanks to a 90th minute goal at St. James' Park and Arsenal's Anfield anguish was almost alleviated, but a bandage-brained Martin Skrtel scored six minutes into stoppage time to claim a 2-2 draw for Liverpool.
From those outcomes, the Best XI compiled three goals and five clean sheets.
Between the posts, Joe Hart made the only save he was required for to preserve a clean sheet for Manchester City against Crystal Palace.
Defensively, both Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and West Ham's Aaron Cresswell joined Hart in the clean sheet club, while fellow left-back Ben Davies was shown a yellow card in Tottenham's 2-1 finish.
The midfield received fantastic returns from a pair of in-form selections, as Yaya Toure banged home a powerful 80th-minute goal for Manchester City and Stewart Downing sealed West Ham's win by scoring a 56th-minute goal Saturday. Furthermore, both players came away with clean sheet points as well.
Entering the weekend with high hopes, Best XI skipper Alexis Sanchez failed to make a real impact for Arsenal and Tottenham's Christian Eriksen also only garnered points for minutes played this weekend.
Up top, Arsenal's Olivier Giroud carried the Best XI strike force with a go-ahead goal from close range at Anfield, advancing Giroud's impressive goal record in limited action this term.
Besides the Frenchman, a scoreless Wayne Rooney was deployed in a deeper position versus Aston Villa, which allowed loanee Falcao to partner Robin van Persie up front for Manchester United. Similarly, the role of Swansea's Wilfried Bony disappointed, as their top striker only featured for roughly 15 minutes off the bench at Hull City.
With Gameweek 17 in the books, the next round of the Premier League is the traditional Boxing Day fixtures, which features all 20 teams playing throughout the day after Christmas on Friday.
Sort of appropriately, leaders Chelsea host the first match of the day, with hopeful fourth-place West Ham visiting Stamford Bridge for a delicious London derby.
In the standard afternoon time slot, Manchester City travels to West Brom looking to keep pressure on Chelsea's first-place position, while Manchester United welcomes Newcastle in a cagey affair set for Old Trafford.
Coming of an emotional win in Newcastle, Sunderland carries momentum into their home match versus Hull City, whose haunting form is cause for considerable concern at the moment.
The Tigers' most recent conquerors were Swansea City, who await an Aston Villa outfit unbeaten in five of their last six outings.
Positioned on either side of Aston Villa in the standings, 11th-place Everton will attempt to rebound from last weekend versus 13th-place Stoke City at Goodison Park. All the while, fellow city inhabitants Liverpool will hit the road for a date at lowly Burnley.
After beating Burnley, Tottenham approaches an even more inferior foe on paper, as Mauricio Pochettino's posse plays at last-place Leicester City.
Two points ahead of Spurs, Southampton visits Crystal Palace in the capital, where the Boxing Day battles conclude with Arsenal hosting Queens Park Rangers.
Given that outline of the festivities, let's unwrap the Best XI for Gameweek 18.
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper
Joe Hart
v. 
For consecutive weeks, Hart will tend the net for the Best XI, as the Manchester City No. 1 holds another favorable matchup this week against West Brom. Along with Hart himself having posted an impressive four straight clean sheets across all competitions, City's mere nine away goals allowed ranks second-best league wide. Additionally, only two teams have scored fewer than West Brom's four goals over their past six league matches, and two of those goals came last weekend versus the Premier League's worst defense. As City takes aim at keeping pace with Chelsea, Hart's presence in goal could prove vital toward their league aspirations, particularly as captain Vincent Kompany (hamstring) remains sidelined.
Defenders.
Although a 3-0 loss at Southampton continued Everton's inconsistent campaign in Gameweek 17, the Toffes may take respite in returning to Goodison Park this week. That's because Everton has gone unbeaten in their past five home matches, with Stoke City their next opponent. When the Potters visited last season, Everton enjoyed a 4-0 win, with Coleman finding the scoresheet to go with his clean sheet effort. The right-back will hope for similar success this week, especially considering Stoke has just one win from their past six league outings and was held without a goal at home Monday.
Arguably the Premiership's best defender over the weekend, Williams registered an insane 29 clearances in Swansea City's clean sheet victory at Hull City. That's no typo, and following that performance, Williams moved into first-place league-wide with an average of 11.5 clearances per game. This week, the Welshman and Swansea return home to face Aston Villa, the Premier League's lowest-scoring side. Anchoring for what's currently tied for the top-flight's fifth-best defensive unit, Williams should relish facing Villa without their joint-top scorer, Gabby Agbonlahor, who is suspended for the encounter.
On the heels of yet another clean sheet performance, Clyne and Southampton's eight clean sheets remain without a superior thus far. The Saints' defense should be boosted this week by the return of central midfield partners Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama, who combine to shield Ronald Koeman's back-four. What's more, Clyne is paired against Crystal Palace, who have scored only once over their past four matches. Also, only three teams have recorded fewer goals at home than Palace, which plays nicely into Clyne and Southampton's stout defensive standing.
Midfielders
David Silva v.
After missing November due to a knee injury, Silva broke out last weekend in his third game since returning. The superb Spaniard scored Manchester City's first two goals versus Crystal Palace and did so while interchanging with teammate James Milner as the Citizens' false nine. With striker injuries persisting, manager Manuel Pellegrini may use Silva similarly this week at West Brom, who allowed City to score three times in both meetings last season. The Baggies have proven particularly vulnerable at home, as only Everton has conceded more home goals than West Brom's 13 this term.
Another recent returnee, di Maria overcame a hamstring injury to feature as a second-half substitute over the weekend for Manchester United. Heading into the holiday period, the Red Devils will surely welcome the timing of di Maria's return to contention for a starting midfield position. That role could be reclaimed this week versus Newcastle, who have leaked nine goals in three matches since beating Chelsea. Meanwhile, only Chelsea and Southampton have scored more than United at home, and di Maria is undoubtedly the kind of catalyst capable of sparking further goal-scoring exploits.
Santi Cazorla (C)
v. 
In time for the Christmas period, Santi's gifts have been evident in his recent performances. Arsenal's elf-sized playmaker has distributed three goals and four assists over his past six outings across all competitions. Additionally, he's attempted 18 shots over that span, proving his impact from being moved back into his preferred No. 10 position. This week, Cazorla is slated to attack Queens Park Rangers' last-ranked defense in what could be an inhospitable experience for the visitors. Given Cazorla's recent form, tasty matchup and some holiday cheer, Santi dons the Best XI captain's armband for Boxing Day.
Cazorla's teammate, Alexis endured possibly his worst performance in an Arsenal shirt over the weekend, as he was often frustrated at Anfield with unsuccessful attack attempts. No matter, the magnificent midfielder (or striker in some fantasy leagues) has still been electric this term, as his 13 goals in 22 total appearances for the Gunners suggest. With nine of those goals coming in league play, only three players claim more scores than the Chilean, but Alexis has three more goals than any other midfielder. Numbers like that, as well as a home date against QPR's aforementioned awful defense, make him a sound candidate for a rebound performance this week.
Forwards
Thought to be slumping along with his Southampton comrades, Pelle has responded with two goals in his past three matches, which has brought his season tally to eight through 17 games. That's a quite commendable record in front of goal for a Premier League new-boy, and Pelle's 66 shot attempts rank only behind Manchester City's Sergio Aguero. This week, Pelle goes against a Crystal Palace side that is tied for the Premiership's third-worst defense. Despite Pelle finding goals hard to come by on the road, his prospects this week appear brighter when considering Palace have conceded 11 goals in their five games this season versus the top-six teams other than Southampton.
Harry Kane
v. 
With their more senior strikers underwhelming, Tottenham may have finally crowned a new first-choice forward, as Kane's three goals from Spurs' past three matches (all wins) have certainly been uplifting. On the whole, the 21-year-old boasts 13 goals in 22 appearances (just 14 starts) across all competitions this season. Those proud achievements should cement Kane's place in Tottenham's starting lineup this week at Leicester City, whose troubles this season have been well-documented. Along with having gone an ugly 12 matches without a win, last-place Leicester's defense presently sits in the bottom-three in home goals (13), away goals (16), and total goals (29) allowed.
Diego Costa
v. 
Given his extremely good start to life in the Premier League, it's perhaps no surprise that Costa has slowed down of late. However, over the course of this season, a trend has developed to suggest Costa is far more comfortable playing at Stamford Bridge. To that point, eight of the Spanish striker's 12 goals have come at home this season. Moreover, since his match-winning goal at Liverpool in November, Costa has not scored on the road since Gameweek 3's frantic 6-3 win at Everton. Fortunately, Chelsea is at home this week, and although West Ham has been tough to beat on the campaign, the Blues rarely struggle to score, and Costa's eight home goals have come from just seven home league appearances.
Hart
Coleman – Williams – Clyne
Silva – di Maria – Cazorla (C) – Alexis
Pelle – Kane – Costa
