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Ultimate Premier League #One2Eleven: Alan Smith picks his team ahead of Christmas special

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On Christmas Eve the Soccer Saturday pundits Paul Merson, Phil Thompson, Matt Le Tissier and Charlie Nicholas will pick their Ultimate Premier League #One2Eleven. Tune in to Sky Sports 1 HD at 6pm to see who made their team.

But who would Sky Sports’ other pundits have gone for? We asked them to find out. Read on to see who football expert Alan Smith would have in his best-ever Premier League line-up…

Alan Smith’s Ultimate Premier League #One2Eleven

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GK – Peter Schmeichel – Obviously there a lot of great keepers – Petr Cech, Edwin van der Sar, my old team-mate David Seaman… but I have picked Schmeichel for his presence, his aggressive way of keeping and dominating his area.

RB – Pablo Zabaleta – The last few seasons he has led the way in terms of how a modern day right-back plays. Very good defensively, he times his forward runs beautifully and he’s a really solid character in the dressing room.

One2Eleven Special

CB – Rio Ferdinand – Very good footballer, very good ball player who in his prime was extremely quick, dominant in the air and had it all as a centre-half. He read the game really well and was a very classy central defender.

CB – John Terry – He is still playing brilliantly well into his 30s. He is somebody with a natural defender’s mindset and he sniffs danger instinctively.  A great leader, very brave, and a great centre-half, he has had a long and successful career.

LB – Ashley Cole – He was the left-back in the Arsenal Invincibles team having come through the ranks at the club. Again a very resilient defender and brilliant going forward like Zabaleta. He had another highly successful spell when he went across London to Chelsea so consistency was the key with Cole. Very good player and a great athlete.

RW – Cristiano Ronaldo – In his first season he was a bit of a showboat but Sir Alex Ferguson and his team-mates soon knocked that out of him and the goals he produced as well as the assists were astounding. Again he had it all, very strong in the air and still going great guns now. He is one of the best players ever.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United lifts the Barclays Premier League trophy, May 2009

CM – Patrick Vieira – He will just shade Roy Keane. Difficult to choose between the two but I am going to go for Vieira because of his all-round game. He could score a goal, had leadership qualities and was a very elegant midfielder with bite and an aggressive streak. He was wonderful to watch in his prime.

CM – Paul Scholes – Not a lot needs to be said about him. Technically he’s one of the best players we have ever seen in this country. Passes short or long, hardly ever caught in possession, he saw the picture so quickly and so accurately and had a thunderbolt of a shot. What a player.

LW – Ryan Giggs – He went on and on and maintained an extremely high level, adjusting his game when he got into his 30s. He got over the injury problems and became less of a flyer but more of a passer and what a passer of the ball he was. He was a very clever footballer.

CF – Thierry Henry – He is the best player I have seen in this country, bar none. At his peak he was unstoppable, he was a strong, lightning-quick runner and had an arrogance about him. He knew he was the best and he was. He was a wonderful footballer.

CF – Dennis Bergkamp – A bit of Arsenal bias! I was going to put Alan Shearer next to Henry as he is the all-time highest scorer in the Premier League but in terms of matching somebody up with Henry I have put his club-mate Bergkamp for his ability to pick a pass. He was the master at it, one of the best number 10s ever and him and Henry went together brilliantly.

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Who would make YOUR Ultimate Premier League #One2Eleven? Download The Fantasy Football Club #One2Eleven tactics board from skysports.com and then tweet @SkyFootball with an image of your favourite XI players from the Premier League era with #One2Eleven.

We'll pick one winner at random, who will win a signed copy of Phil Thompson, Charlie Nicholas, Paul Merson and Matt Le Tissier’s combined #One2Eleven plus a 12 months' supply of shaving kit courtesy of Gillette! Terms and conditions on skysports.com  

Watch Ultimate Premier League #One2Eleven on Christmas Eve on Sky Sports 1 HD at 6pm

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