There was certainly no shortage of excitement in match week 17 of the Premier League. Four teams (Manchester City, Watford, Southampton, Liverpool) recorded three or more goals this week, and all of them picked up wins. No team can win without individual efforts though, which certainly reflected in Fantasy as all four of those clubs have at least one entrant in this edition of the Goal Fantasy Team of the Week, which you can find below.
GK: Martin Dubravka - Newcastle - 1 Game, 6 Saves, 1 Clean Sheet = 10 Points
DF: Javier Manquillo - Newcastle - 1 Game, 1 Assist, 1 Clean Sheet = 10 Points
While owned by hardly anyone in the Goal game (.16%), Manquillo picked up an impressive 10 points for those that did select the Spaniard this week. The clean sheet was well earned, although not exactly a shock as it came against a Cardiff, but the assist was definitely a collector's item as it was just his second in five Premier League seasons. Because of that, the Newcastle defender has a very low ceiling and, therefore, very little value.
DF: Kieran Trippier - Tottenham - 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points
DF: Jose Holebas - Watford - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 2 Goals Conceded = 7 Points
MF: Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Arsenal - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 14 Points
This has certainly not been the season that Arsenal fans, or Mkhitaryan himself would have imagined, but he looked much better on Sunday, Despite the loss, the Armenian midfielder managed a brace against Southampton, thereby doubling his goal total for the season. Having played more than 60 minutes just four of the last 10 matches, the 29-year-old is far from a lock in Fantasy, but it’s nice to be reminded of the player he can be on his day.
MF: Xherdan Shaqiri - Liverpool - 1 Substitute Appearance, 2 Goals = 13 Points
MF: Gerard Deulofeu - Watford - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points
MF: Eden Hazard - Chelsea - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points
Hazard has refound his form of late, having recorded an impressive five assists in the last four matches. That, plus his goal today, means the Chelsea talisman has already been involved in more goals this season (17) than last (16). The Belgian international is now only behind Mohamed Salah and, with the more favourable schedule of the two, don’t be surprised if Hazard overtakes him by the New Year.
MF: Sadio Mane - Liverpool - 1 Game, 1 Goal = 8 Points
FWD: Gabriel Jesus - Manchester City - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 12 Points
Having been largely ineffective in his first four starts, Jesus stepped up in a big way on Saturday, scoring two of Manchester City’s three goals against Everton. To be fair, this kind of fantasy performance was coming for the Brazilian as he was way underperforming in expected goals. In fact, he’s still in line for more goals by that metric but, with Aguero returning to fitness, it’s likely that Jesus will not get another chance to do so anytime soon.
FWD: Danny Ings - Southampton - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 12 Points