Craig Dawson praised Wolves boss Gary O’Neil after their shock win over Manchester City.

The defender kept Erling Haaland quiet as Wolves earned a battling 2-1 win at Molineux on Saturday.

Hwang Hee-chan struck a second-half winner after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Ruben Dias’ early own goal.

O’Neil had come in for early criticism from supporters, especially after Tuesday’s 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat at Ipswich, but Dawson insisted the manager deserved all the plaudits from Saturday.

He said: “A lot of credit has to go to the manager for getting us so organised, with the game plan, and getting us fully prepared for the match, which he has done for every single game. That win goes down to the manager.

“It was a massive win and it was great to see this place bouncing.

“It’s clear at times we were man to man and the players stuck to that task brilliantly and stuck to the game plan for the full duration of the game, which is great for the lads.

“It was all about concentration and keeping focused and credit to the manager for preparing us, getting us organised, and today we stuck to the plan and managed to get the victory.”

Defeat ended City’s flawless start to the Premier League season but they remain top, a point ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal – with a trip to the Emirates Stadium to come on Sunday.

“We’re all a bit disappointed now of course. We should have done more I guess,” midfielder Oscar Bobb told the club’s official site.

“We pushed for it and unfortunately didn’t get it. Leipzig (in the Champions League on Wednesday) is next, a big game ahead and then Arsenal. We’re only thinking forward.

“It’s not the greatest feeling, losing. I just want to keep pushing for more.

“It gives us the chance to prove that we’re still the best team, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The fixtures are coming thick and fast on multiple fronts for many Premier League teams as European football returns, meaning plenty of tinkering from managers between games.

Add into the mix an array of January signings being eased into the sides, selecting a team of guaranteed starters is becoming increasingly difficult. 

But fear not as Stats Perform, using Opta data, has picked out four players who not only look certain to start this weekend but – crucially – also earn plenty of points.

Keylor Navas (Fulham v Nottingham Forest)

Paris Saint-Germain loanee Navas needed no time at all to settle in at Nottingham Forest as he kept a clean sheet on his debut in last week's 1-0 win over Leeds United.

The Costa Rica international made four saves against Leeds – only Hugo Lloris and David Raya (both five) made more while keeping a clean sheet in the last round of games.

Forest have now kept four clean sheets in their past six league matches, while opponents Fulham have failed to score in any of their past three top-flight outings.

Craig Dawson (Southampton v Wolves)

Dawson is another who made a fast start to life at a new club, with the centre-back scoring and keeping a clean sheet on his debut against Liverpool in a 3-0 win for Wolves.

That was Dawson's 20th Premier League goal – always a handy asset for a defender – including at least one in each of his eight top-flight seasons.

Wolves will be hopeful of building on a return of two shutouts in their past three league games when they face bottom side Southampton, who are averaging 0.8 goals per game.

Harvey Barnes (Leicester City v Tottenham)

Leicester midfielder Barnes has scored one and assisted another in his past two Premier League outings, taking his tally to seven goals for the campaign.

The one-cap England international is only two goals short of matching his best tally in a single season in the competition, set in 2020-21 with nine.

Having found their scoring touch with six goals in their past two league games, Leicester appear good value to net against Tottenham, who will have back-up Fraser Forster between the posts.

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City v Aston Villa, and Arsenal v Manchester City)

Whether he starts both games remains to be seen, but the fact City have two league matches in the next week means you have double the chance to score points with Mahrez.

He was unable to make a difference in the loss to Spurs, though he has still been involved in six goals in his past six league games for City (three goals, three assists).

Only Marcus Rashford (eight) and Erling Haaland (seven) have been involved in more Premier League goals since the World Cup than the City winger.

Liverpool's dire run of form continued as Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves got on the scoresheet for Wolves in a 3-0 thrashing of the beleaguered Reds at Molineux on Saturday.

The Reds' bid for a first Premier League victory of 2023 never got going as debutant Dawson followed up Joel Matip's bizarre own goal to put Wolves firmly in control within 12 minutes.

Jurgen Klopp's team enjoyed plenty of possession after the break, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed with 19 minutes left as Neves capped a swift break to put Wolves 3-0 up.  

As well as avenging last month's FA Cup exit against Liverpool, Wolves claimed a huge three points in their bid to avoid relegation, leaving crisis club Liverpool in 10th and winless in four league matches.   

Wolves needed just five minutes to breach a Liverpool defence bereft of confidence, as Hwang Hee-chan's cut-back spun off Matip and against the post before crossing the goal-line.

Rocked by that goal, Liverpool fell further behind seven minutes later when Joe Gomez inexplicably headed Matheus Cunha's cross away from Alisson's grasp, allowing Dawson to fire high into the net from close range. 

Jose Sa denied Darwin Nunez with a one-on-one save two minutes later, but Liverpool were fortunate to reach half-time 2-0 down as Matheus Nunes broke clear to draw a similar stop from Alisson.

Max Kilman cleared off the line amid a goalmouth scramble as Liverpool looked to respond after the break, before Mohamed Salah bent an effort narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner.

Sa made another huge save from Nunez's low strike as Wolves sat deep to defend their lead, but Julen Lopetegui's men made the points safe when Adama Traore broke clear to tee up Neves for a neat left-footed finish. 

Sure, relying on Mohamed Salah every week is a decent fantasy football strategy, it's certainly good enough for most, but what happens when the Egyptian magician isn't in Premier League action?

With Liverpool in EFL Cup final duty against Chelsea, the Reds' fearsome front-line and creative full-backs are suddenly off limits to fantasy football managers across the land, while Arsenal and Chelsea are also out of league action.

However, courtesy of Opta-powered data, Stats Perform has managed to pick out some of gameweek 27's potential stars, featuring the England captain, an in-form Burnley new boy, and one of the Premier League's most lethal defenders.

HARRY KANE (Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur)

Despite Antonio Conte's team lurching to a fourth loss in five Premier League games at Turf Moor in midweek, the England captain remains the perfect pick for managers who need a big-hitter in Salah's absence.

Kane has been involved in seven goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances, registering six goals and an assist in that time. Meanwhile, five of those contributions, including four goals, have come on the road.

If that isn't enough to make managers' minds up, Kane will be facing a Leeds team which has already shipped 56 league goals this term, and has scored 10 goals in his eight Premier League appearances in Yorkshire. 

DAVID DE GEA (Manchester United v Watford)

For those looking for an adequate replacement for the likes of Allison or Edouard Mendy between the sticks, Red Devils stopper De Gea looks to be the perfect choice, ahead of a kind home fixture with Watford.

When looking at Opta's Expected Goals on Target data, no Premier League goalkeeper has prevented more goals than the Spaniard this season, with De Gea conceding 32 Premier League goals from 39.09 xG on target faced.

Although De Gea did ship four times when Watford ended Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Red Devils reign earlier this season, United have never lost a home league game against Watford, recording 11 wins and two draws against the Hornets at Old Trafford. They have not faced any other side in more home games during their league history without losing (also 13 unbeaten vs Hull City).

CRAIG DAWSON (West Ham United v Wolves)

The best fantasy football managers are those that find themselves looking for marginal gains, and what better way to do that than to pick one of the division's most lethal defenders?

Since the 2014-15 season, no Premier League defender can match Dawson's tally of 14 headed goals, and the big centre-back has now netted in successive games, against Leicester City and Newcastle United.

West Ham's next Premier League clash sees them take on Wolves at the London Stadium. For all their good form, the visitors are averaging under a goal per game this season, so Dawson could also be in with a chance of a clean sheet.

WOUT WEGHORST (Crystal Palace v Burnley, Burnley v Leicester City)

Finally, Burnley's towering Dutch striker Wout Weghorst stands out as an appealing under-the-radar selection, ahead of the Clarets facing two games in four days.

Since Weghorst made his move from Wolfsburg to Turf Moor, he has weighed in with a goal and two assists, meaning only Salah (three goals and one assist) has registered more goal involvements amongst Premier League players since his arrival.

Although Burnley's weekend opponents Crystal Palace have been buoyed by a 4-1 win over Watford, they then host a Leicester team which has conceded 40.61 expected goals this season, a tally worse than all but three Premier League teams, so another Weghorst contribution could be on the cards.

Liverpool responded to Manchester City's thrashing of Norwich by recording a hard-fought 1-0 win at Burnley.

Fabinho struck the only goal in the first half, as the Reds continued their fine set-piece record on a day when set-plays proved decisive across the Premier League.

Elsewhere, Raul Jimenez starred as Wolves leapfrogged Tottenham with a shock 2-0 win, and Newcastle continued their revival with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, thanks to Kieran Tripper's free-kick.

The final game of the day saw West Ham rescue a dramatic 2-2 draw at Leicester City, with Craig Dawson netting a stoppage-time equaliser.

Burnley 0-1 Liverpool: Reds reap rewards of set-piece focus

Liverpool did not produce a vintage performance, but Jurgen Klopp's men kept leaders Manchester City on their toes by earning a vital away win.

The Reds had to work hard for the three points against Burnley at Turf Moor. After managing 27 shots, nine attempts on target and 50 touches in Burnley's penalty area in the reverse fixture at Anfield last August, Liverpool had just over half as many touches in Burnley's 18-yard box this time (26), managing 12 shots in total and just four on target.

However, Klopp's men dug deep to find a winning goal, and did so courtesy of their fantastic set-piece record. Excluding penalties, 14 of Liverpool’s 61 Premier League goals this season have come via set-pieces, more than any other team and more than the tally they recorded in the top-flight last term (13).

Fabinho's winning goal also means he has scored more goals in his last seven matches (five) than he managed in his first 142 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions (four).

Meanwhile, the Anfield outfit also maintained their record of having won each of their games in which the Brazilian has netted for the club, with that run now reaching eight matches.

Tottenham 0-2 Wolves: Jimenez proves decisive at Spurs once again

It was Wolves, rather than Tottenham, who asserted their top-four credentials by recording a huge win in north London, with Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker firing the visitors to a 2-0 win.

Mexican striker Jimenez has now scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances away at Spurs (three goals), with Wolves winning each of those contests.

Indeed, Jimenez has now scored four times in six appearances against Tottenham, and has only scored more Premier League goals against Southampton and Everton (five).

For Antonio Conte's Spurs, the defeat was their third Premier League reverse in succession, and they also lost three consecutive league games under Nuno Espirito Santo in September 2021. This marks the first time they have had multiple three-match losing games in a Premier League campaign since 2004-05 (also two).

Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa: Another free-kick continues Toon revival

Newcastle's clash with Aston Villa was not exactly one for the purists, featuring the third-lowest expected goals tally of the entire Premier League season so far, but Tripper ensured that it was a memorable day for the Magpies.

Trippier's 35th-minute free-kick was enough to see off Steven Gerrard's men in a contest where both teams created just 0.5 xG apiece.

Remarkably, Newcastle have now scored a direct free-kick goal in each of their last three Premier League games (Jonjo Shelvey at Leeds, followed by Trippier against Everton and Aston Villa), becoming the first side to do so since Liverpool in December 2013.

In a game of fine margins, the England right-back showed the quality that he brings to the Magpies' relegation fight, and he is now the first Newcastle player to score direct free-kick goals in consecutive Premier League games since Hugo Viana did so in May 2003.