You know it’s been a strange round of Premier League action when Danny Welbeck ends up as the Player of the Week.
Liverpool and Manchester City rested their stars, only Liverpool and Everton kept clean sheets, and Arsenal were the only team to win a home match. All those factors led to one of the most interesting weekends of football we’ve seen of late, and that has certainly been reflected in our Fantasy Football Team of the Week.
GK: Jordan Pickford - Everton - 1 game, 4 saves, 1 clean sheet = 9 points
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta - Chelsea - 1 game, 1 goal, 1 goal conceded = 8 points
Chelsea are having a phenomenally disappointing season but Azpilicueta just refuses to succumb to it. He has been a top five defender in the Goal game for most of the season and has more combined goals and assists than in any other season for the Blues. Fixtures against low-scoring Burnley and Southampton in the coming match week should see the 28-year-old continue to rack up the points.
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DEF: Chris Smalling - Man Utd - 1 game, 1 goal, 2 goals conceded = 7 points
DEF: Seamus Coleman - Everton - 1 game, 1 clean sheet = 7 points
MID: Christian Eriksen - Spurs - 1 game, 2 goals = 14 points
What a run this has been for the Danish maestro having now scored five goals in his last three matches in all competitions. Eriksen’s second goal on Saturday was a bit controversial as Harry Kane continues to claim that it hit his shoulder on the way in, but neither video replays nor Opta seem to agree. If you are looking for a player that provides a goal threat and elite creativity that will also offer double gameweek opportunities, there are few better options.
MID: Paul Pogba - Man Utd - 1 game, 2 goals = 14 points
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MID: Wilfried Zaha - Crystal Palace - 1 game, 1 goal = 8 points
It was a couple of weeks late for those that bought Zaha for blank match week 31, but his Fantasy owners will surely be grateful for the goal. The Palace winger constantly gets in dangerous areas which have lead to him sitting top five in touches in the box this season. While the Eagles do not have any double gameweeks to come, they do have a very kind run, facing three bottom 10 defences in their remaining four matches. If you’re looking for a big differential play for the rest of the season, Zaha could well be your man.
MID: Jonjo Shelvey - Newcastle - 1 game, 1 goal = 8 points
FOR: Danny Welbeck - Arsenal - 1 game, 2 goals, 1 assist = 15 points
This performance came out of nowhere considering Danny Welbeck had not scored in the league since September. Funnily enough the last time he did score he had two goals and an assist, exactly the same as Sunday’s performance. It’s hard to advocate owning Welbeck even with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s injury in mind, but all credit to the forward for securing the win for Arsenal this week
FOR: Ayoze Perez - Newcastle - 1 game, 1 goal, 1 assist = 10 points
FOR: Alexis Sanchez - Man Utd - 1 game, 2 assists = 8 points
