Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 24

Manchester City have gone 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League and at this moment another league title looks inevitable for Pep Guardiola’s side. City swept Tottenham aside by beating them 3-0 at the weekend to win their 16th game of the season.

Leicester were brilliant as they stunned an out of sorts Liverpool by coming back from a goal down to beat the current champions 3-1. Leicester have 46 points and that is the same as 2nd placed Manchester United who have won just once in their last five games. Liverpool look out of the title race now and they are 13 points behind Manchester City and the league leaders have a game in hand over them.

Everton, Tottenham and Leeds have dropped off the pace for a European position as they were all beaten at the weekend but Arsenal beat Leeds 4-2 and they are just 5 points from a possible European finish.

Let’s check out the team of the week below and you can see if any of your players have made the grade.

Goalkeeper: Ederson Moraes- Manchester City 10pts

Ederson earned a huge 10 points as he kept a clean sheet against a strong opponent in Tottenham as Manchester City won 3-0. Ederson kept his 14th clean sheet of the season but the story of this game was that Ederson earned extra points as he actually assisted in one of the goals, very rare for a goal keeper.

Defender: Ola Aina- Fulham 7pts

Ola Aina had a superb game for Fulham as they won at Everton 2-0 in perhaps an unlikely result. The beauty of his game is that he helped keep a clean sheet and helped give Fulham 3 huge points and he assisted in the opening goal to cap off a great game for the defender. He is the top defender at Fulham and has 22 points so far.

Defender: Matthew Lowton- Burnley 9pts

Burnley beat Crystal Palace very convincingly at the weekend 3-0 and Matthew Lowton not only kept a clean sheet to earn the points but he also scored the last goal for Sean Dyche’s side. He has 28 points so far.

Defender: Joao Cancelo- Manchester City 5pts

The defender has been one of the best for Manchester City this season and is an integral part of the team. He earned 5 points as City beat Tottenham 3-0 and that means he has kept 12 clean sheets this season and with 64 fantasy points earned is currently the number 1 defender at the club.

Defender: Lewis Dunk- Brighton 5pts

Lewis Dunk now has 28 points for Brighton and he is the best defender for the club presently. Dunk kept his seventh clean sheet of the season and that is impressive for a club like Brighton, who at times, have struggled this season. His value is 7m.

Midfielder: Ilkay Gundogan- Manchester City 10pts

If Manchester City win the league then Ilkay Gundogan would have been a big part of the reason, he has simply been superb for the club and earned a staggering 10 points this week. Gundogan scored 2 goals against Tottenham and now has 13 goals and has also assisted another 5 times so far.

Midfielder: Rodrigo- Manchester City 6pts

Rodrigo opened the scoring for City as they beat Tottenham 3-0. He had to keep his cool to convert the penalty and ultimately that set up the rest of the game. It was an important goal for the midfielder as it was his 1st league goal of the season.

Midfielder: Ruben Neves- Wolves 6pts

Wolves have been under pressure lately but Ruben Neves helped ease that as they beat Southampton away from home 2-1. Neves opened the scoring for his club and then assisted in the match winner for an all round great performance.

Midfielder: Johann Gudmundsson- Burnley 6pts

Burnley went a long way to staying up by beating Crystal Palace 3-0 away from home and there was joy for Gudmundsson who has suffered a few injuries this season but scored the first goal which set up his team for all 3 points.

Striker: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- Arsenal 14pts

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has had a poor season by his standards by the Arsenal striker was back to his very best as he helped the Gunners beat Leeds United 4-2. Aubameyang scored a fantastic hat-trick including a penalty to put his name back amongst the very best in the Premier League. He has 8 goals so far in the league this season.

Striker: Jay Rodriguez- Burnley 6pts

Jay Rodriguez was able to earn six points at the weekend as Burnley beat Crystal Palace 3-0. Rodriguez scored the 2nd goal after just 10 minutes and assisted in the clubs third goal to wrap up a great win. Rodriguez has scored just once now but he has been injured for a long spell and has a total of 3 points as he was on minus before.

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Predicted lineups for this weekend’s EPL fixtures

Premier League predicted lineups

It’s time to look ahead to this weekend’s Premier League action as we predict the starting lineups for each EPL game.

Cardiff City v Watford

Cardiff XI: Etheridge, Peltier, Manga, Bamba, Bennett, Paterson, Gunnarsson, Arter, Murphy, Cordova-Reid, Niasse

Watford XI: Foster, Janmaat, Mariappa, Cathcart, Masina, Doucoure, Capoue, Pereyra, Sema, Deeney, Deulofeu

Questionable: Ashley Darel Jazz Richards (Cardiff)

Out: Sean Morrison (Cardiff); Holebas, Kiko Femenia (Watford)

The most wanted players outside of the Premier League top-six

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The Premier League and the top-six clubs will always be the main topic on a regular basis, no matter how they do against their opposition. The key big-game players such as Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero are already starting to show their fine form as they look to help their respective clubs to challenge for the league title as well as compete in the other competitions.

However, the English media and the Premier League experts do not show enough respect and value to the teams and players outside of the top-six. The reason to why it is like this is not known as of yet, but the only time players from the likes of Crystal Palace, Everton and Southampton are mentioned, is when they are linked with a huge move to one of the clubs from the top of the league.

It’s time to now look at three most wanted players outside of the top-six in the Premier League…

James Tarkowski – Burnley

Looking at the campaign so far compared to recent seasons, Burnley’s defensive record  has been below standards and unconvincing as they have already conceded ten goals in six league games, which is more than the likes of Newcastle, Watford and Wolves. Though, when they are at their best, it is normally due to the ideal brilliance and consistent display of centre-back James Tarkowski.

The 25-year-old has been a dominant and reliable player for Sean Dyche’s side since joining the club from Brentford in February 2016. Furthermore, he has gone on to complete over 50 Premier League appearances and has also made his debut for the England national team early this year. Overall, his defensive tools could be really helpful for a side like Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United.

Ruben Neves – Wolves

Wolves have had a memorable transfer window in the summer, having brought in players with huge influence such as Adama Traore, Diogo Jota, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves. Out of the all the many signings that have arrived at Molineux Stadium, it’s been the perfect performances of central-midfielder Ruben Neves that has allowed the side to control and lead the matches from midfield.

Neves has already come up with some impressive showing against the likes of Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United, which has caught the attention of many as well as a number of scouts from the top-six sides. At the age of 21, the Portuguese international is showing that he can read the game on both areas of the pitch and has the pure ability to dictate the tempo and pull the strings.

Wilfred Zaha – Crystal Palace

The story of Wilfred Zaha and his time in the Premier League will always be deemed as an interesting and motivational one. He went from being a Manchester United player that had an attitude problem and was not given enough opportunities to show his worth, to an individual that has developed and maturely improved season by to season to go on to becoming the main man for Crystal Palace.

When he is not in the starting line-up, Roy Hodgson’s side suffer a lot as no other player in the squad has the ability to stretch the opponent’s defence and create chances for their team-mates in the final third like Zaha does. On top of that, he has the special spark to produce something out of nothing as well as proving himself to be one of the best dribblers in the league and in Europe.

Honourable mentions: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Harry Maguire, Manuel Lanzini, Richarlison, Ryan Sessegnon and Wilfred Ndidi.

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EPL Weekend Picks – Round 5

Alexandre Lacazette

Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso are among the high-scorers for EPL Fantasy managers so far this season, but there are plenty of other players across the league who could be worthy of inclusion in your team this weekend.

GK – Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Chelsea’s big-money summer signing has picked up 12 points so far this season – Liverpool’s Alisson is the only goalkeeper with more – and he will surely add to that tally in the upcoming matches against low-scoring Cardiff and West Ham.

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EPL Weekend Picks – Round 3

mkhitaryan

Time now to look ahead at this weekend’s Premier League action, and see which players will be worth keeping a keen eye on. Some of these players will be included based on their fine form so far this season, while others maybe have an opportunity to get their season going after perhaps a stuttering start. We will be playing a 4-4-2 this week.

Goalkeeper – Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
The former world’s most expensive goalkeeper, Alisson  is now the only custodian yet to concede a goal this season. He has a solid defence in front of him, but the visit of Brighton – who beat Man Utd last weekend – will be another testing fixture.

Defender – Steve Cook (Bournemouth)
Former Brighton defender Cook has impressed so far this season, with the Cherries having only conceded one goal in their opening two games. Everton are this weekend’s guests, and so fans will be after a real confidence-boosting performance.

Defender - Cédric Soares (Southampton)
Soares  has had a dodgy time of things last weekend against Everton, being booked as Saints conceded two. This weekend sees Leicester arrive at St. Mary’s, and while that is a tough game it is one Mark Hughes’ men must look towards to get something. 

Defender – Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)
The Spaniard’s improved valuation of 8.5m (over last season’s 2.5m) means he will likely not be picked by as many fantasy league managers this term, but having earned five points from each of Chelsea’s first two games he seems in fine fettle.

Defender - José Holebas (Watford)
Holebas’ season started with a bang as he provided both assits in the Hornet’s 2-0 win over Brighton, but he was almost anonymous in their 3-1 win at Burnley a week later. They welcome Crystal Palace to Vicarage Road this weekend.

Midfielder – Roberto Pereyra (Watford)
The second Watford player in a row, Pereyra’s story is much like that of team-mate Holebas. 10 points on the opening weekend had people waxing lyrical, but a quiet game against Burnley dampened things. He too will want something from the Palace game.

Midfielder – Paul Pogba (Man Utd)
The Frenchman will be after a good performance and result when United take on Tottenham at Old Trafford on Monday night. Pogba was vocal about his disappointment with the Red Devils’ performance against Brighton, and should lead by example here.

Midfielder – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal)
Arsenal midfielder Mkhitaryan  will want to be the engine to get the Gunners moving this season after defeat in their opening two games. Those two were horrific first fixtures admittedly, but Unai Emery will want the likes of the Armenian to produce the goods.

Midfielder - Rúben Neves (Wolves)
Neves was vital in Wolves’ opening day draw with Everton, but failed to do anything of note when they were beaten at Leicester a week later. Wolves welcome champions Man City to Molineux this weekend, giving the Portuguese star a chance to shine.

Attacker – Sergio Aguero (Man City)
The Argentinian striker hit a hattrick in the Citizens’ 6-1 win over Huddersfield last weekend, and all eyes will be on whether Aguero can replicate that clinical finishing at Wolves.

Attacker - Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Kane finally ended his August hoodoo with his goal against Fulham last weekend, and may well feel the match at Old Trafford against Man Utd on Monday evening could be the perfect platform to really get up and running this season.

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Jeff Shi planning a bright future for Wolves

shiWhen Fosun International completed their purchase of W.W. (1990) Ltd in 2016, little did Wolves fans know how quickly their future could be changing. W.W. (1990) Ltd were the company who owned the club, and as a result Fosun International became the organisation in control of things at Molineux. Since the takeover, Wolves have seen a couple of managerial changes and their transfer activity has been impressive to say the least. When Jeff Shi was appointed the executive chairman of the club in July 2017, he relocated from China to Wolverhampton to oversee the club personally – and some of his plans for Wolves’ expansion have proven popular among the supporters.

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EPL Weekend Picks – Round 2

pereyra

With the first round of Premier League action in the bag and the second fast approaching, let’s travel a little into the future and see which players could find themselves starring once again for their respective sides this weekend. For this one, we have gone for a 4-3-3 formation, as adopted by Liverpool in their 4-0 hammering (sorry) of West Ham last weekend.

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World Cup 2018: Fernando Santos looking to Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani to recreate Portugal’s Euro 2016 glory

Portugal

Next up in our look ahead to the World Cup in Russia this summer, it is the turn of European champions Portugal to rest under the spotlight. Having surprised many by winning the Euros in 2016 after a relatively sub-par tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo and company will be hoping they can build on their momentum and carry a great showing to the biggest tournament in football. Their 35 man preliminary squad features many stars who played in that title winning campaign two years ago, including Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma, Nani  and goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Having won their previous major tournament, Fernando Santos’ men will have the expectations of a nation raised quite considerably this time around. Renato Sanches, however, misses out.

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