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Sunderland midfielder Lorik Cana is the first name on the team sheet this week after a sterling showing in the win over Liverpool.

HOW IT WORKS

We take marks out of 10 awarded to Premier League players from a selection of six national newspapers - The Sun, Daily Star, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, The Times and the Guardian - then create an average and round to the nearest half. The top player in each position will be rewarded with a spot in the team of the week, while the worst scorers will be named and shamed in our Flops XI.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

We've seen some true stand-out performances lighting up the TOTW in the last few weeks - Robbie Keane and Cesc Fabregas springing to mind - and there was another one to savour this weekend.

It came from Sunderland midfield man mountain Lorik Cana, who was adjudged by Fleet Street's finest to be the rock - no, the boulder - on which Sunderland's victory over Liverpool was built.

Also credited with inspiring his team to victory over a big-four team was Aston Villa's Stiliyan Petrov, who helped Martin O'Neill's side pick up the scalp of Chelsea at Villa Park on Saturday.

Also drawing lavish praise was Stoke City centre-back Ryan Shawcross, whose mixture of physical presence and goal-saving tackles made him an automatic choice, as was Wolves veteran Jody Craddock.

Elsewhere, Ryan Giggs demonstrated the kind of form that earned him a place on the Ballon d'Or shortlist in Manchester United's win over Bolton, while Spurs fans will be delighted to see Heurelho Gomes not only back in the side but turning out a performance good enough to put him between the TOTW sticks.

Most bizarre selection of the week is the appearance of Sunderland's Darren Bent up front. But since his fifth-minute strike against Liverpool would have been comfortably saved by Pepe Reina without the interference of the now-infamous beach ball, we thought it only right to add a 12th 'man' to the team for one week only...

Team of the week (4-3-3-1):

GK: Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham) - 8

LB: Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa) - 7.5

CB: Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City) - 8.5

CB: Jody Craddock (Wolverhampton) - 8.5

RB: Phil Bardsley (Sunderland) - 7

LCM: Stiliyan Petrov (Aston Villa) - 8.5

CM: David Dunn (Blackburn Rovers) - 8

RCM: Lorik Cana (Sunderland) - 9

RW: Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan Athletic) - 7.5

LW: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) - 8

FW: Darren Bent (Sunderland) - 7.5

FW: Beach Ball (Sunderland) - 10

FLOPS OF THE WEEK

Following their loss to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light it's no surprise to see a trio of Liverpool players lining up for the flops this week, with Ryan Babel, Martin Skrtel and Lucas Leiva all being judged harshly by Fleet Street.

It's a blow for Leiva, whose often-solid performances this season had started to make people believe that perhaps he wasn't that bad after all. Still, one bad game is no disaster and he's still well clear of the Flops of the Season.

Burnley's legendary goalkeeper Brian 'The Beast' Jensen got a general panning for shipping three goals in the first half against Blackburn in the big derby game of the weekend, with Clarets centre-back Steven Caldwell also making the team for aiding and abetting.

Bolton's Chinese midfielder Lee Chong Yong had a good first start for his side before the international break, but was adjuged well out of his depth against Manchester United - fairly harsh, considering that he was playing on the same flank as Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra.

Also worth a special mention is Portsmouth's Aruna Dindane, who enjoyed a trio of close-range chances as Portsmouth struggled to get back into the game against Tottenham at Fratton Park - but blew all three.

Flops of the week (4-3-3):

GK: Brian Jensen (Burnley) - 4.5

LB: Tal Ben Haim (Portsmouth) - 5

CB: Martin Skrtel (Liverpool) - 4.5

CB: Steven Caldwell (Burnley) - 5

RB: Stephen Carr (Birmingham) - 5

LCM: Tamir Cohen (Bolton) - 5.5

CM: Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) - 5

RCM: Lee Chong Yong (Bolton) - 4.5

LW: James McFadden (Birmingham) - 5

RW: Ryan Babel (Liverpool) - 4.5

FW: Aruna Dindane (Portsmouth) -4.5

TEAM OF THE SEASON

A rare lacklustre performance from the normally superb Shay Given was not enough to stop the Manchester City and Ireland keeper from retaining his place in the Team of the Season - but Given's team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor was not so fortunate.

A poor display from the former Arsenal striker against Wigan means he loses his place - but the good news for City fans is that the man who takes it is Craig Bellamy.

City might have had a fourth player in the Team of the Season if they'd played their cards differently, because Richard Dunne's brilliant showing for Villa against Chelsea at the weekend (which very nearly got him in the TOTW) puts him in among the season's best.

Another player who 'Dunne' well at the weekend is Blackburn's David Dunn, whose attacking midfield role seems to be what he's been waiting for all his life.

Team of the Season (4-4-2, minimum four starts):

GK: Shay Given (Manchester City) - 7.05

RB: Glen Johnson (Liverpool) - 6.81

CB: Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal) - 7.12

CB: Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - 6.93 - NEW ENTRY

LB: Ashley Cole (Chelsea) - 6.78

RM: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) - 7.33

CM: Gareth Barry (Manchester City) - 7.33

CM: David Dunn (Blackburn Rovers) - 7.28 -

LM: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) - 7.40

FW: Craig Bellamy (Manchester City) - 7.67 - NEW ENTRY

FW: Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - 7.59

FLOPS OF THE SEASON

A handful of changes to the flops XI this week, with Herita Ilunga's solid game for West Ham doing enough to pull him ahead of Stoke's Danny Collins.

Don't feel sorry for Collins, however: the Stoke centre-back has started eight matches this season, so has had every chance to pull himself out of trouble.

The same can't be said of Birmingham's Paul McShane and Chelsea's Ibrahima Sonko, both of whom are on the starting list this week, but with the minimum number of starts apiece they are likely to disappear as of the next TOTW.

Flops of the Season (4-4-2, minimum four starts):

GK: Carlo Cudicini (Tottenham) - 5.33

RB: Paul McShane (Hull) - 5.33

CB: Ibrahima Sonko (Hull City) - 4.92 - NEW ENTRY

CB: Marc Wilson (Portsmouth) - 5.44

LB: Danny Collins (Stoke) - 5.67 - NEW ENTRY

RM: Greg Halford (Wolves) - 5.67

CM: John Obi Mikel (Chelsea) - 5.25 - NEW ENTRY

CM: Hayden Mullins (Portsmouth) - 5.50

LM: Kevin Kilbane (Hull) - 5.67

FW: Gary O'Connor (Birmingham) - 5.53 - NEW ENTRY

FW: Andrew Johnson (Fulham) - 5.47

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