Premier League Fantasy Player Picks, Week 16

Week 16 Fixture List

Norwich City v. Everton

West Ham v. Stoke City

Sunderland v. Watford

Manchester City v. Swansea

Crystal Palace v. Southampton

Bournemouth v. Manchester United

Aston Villa v. Arsenal

Tottenham v. Newcastle

Liverpool v. West Brom

Leicester City v. Chelsea

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My Best Bets for 2+ Goals: Tottenham, Manchester City, Leicester City, Arsenal, Everton

My Best Bets for a Clean Sheet: Tottenham, Arsenal, Stoke City, Manchester City, Liverpool

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Goalkeepers

Jack Butland (STO) - Clean sheets tend to come in bunches, and right now Butland and company are rocking and rolling with six donuts in the past eight games. West Ham is no pushover, but has certainly been weakened mightily in the wake of Payet's sad injury, so don't be shocked if the trend continues.

Petr Cech (ARS) - Another road team? Really? Really! Combine one of the stingiest defenses and best keepers in the game with a visit to meager Aston Villa, that's what you get.

Hugo Lloris (MCI) - Newcastle has managed just three goals scored total in its seven games away from St. James' Park.  Meanwhile, Spurs have allowed only three goals in their past seven clashes at White Hart Lane. You don't even need a calculator to do that math!

Defenders

Toby Alderweireld (TOT) - Great chance at a clean sheet combined with a decent shot at an assist or goal. Sound good to you? Sounds good to me.

Aleksandar Kolarov (MCI) - Not exactly going out on a limb here, and seemingly almost everybody owns him, but if you don't, this is certainly a week where you probably don't want to be left on the outside looking in.

Nacho Monreal (ARS) - Scoring better lately in Fantrax than similarly-priced Gunner defenders Hector Bellerin and Laurent Koscielny.

Jonas Olsson (WBA) - West Brom's tough stretch of fixtures comes to an end one game earlier than expected, what with the trip to Liverpool not looking anywhere near as daunting now as it used to. While a 'Pool win wouldn't surprise me, I really wouldn't be too shocked at a nil-nil finish either, and Olsson offers a very affordable option compared to Jonathan Evans et al.

Philipp Wollscheid (STO) - This is my penance for dropping Wollscheid several weeks back, right as the run of clean sheets was beginning, since I was worried Shawcross would take his starting spot upon return from injury. Oops. Wollscheid's still a fairly cost-effective way to get in on the Stoke party.

Midfielders

Andre Ayew (SWA) - Swansea has a difficult task at the Etihad, but will definitely look to impress following the dismissal of Garry Monk. Given the possibility that Ayew could be given a shot as the lone striker amidst the struggles of Bafetimbi Gomis and Eder, you may be able to take advantage of the favorable out-of-position listing.

Gerard Deulofeu (EVE) - Considerably cheaper than Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, but pretty much doing the same thing with a barrage of assists plus the odd goal scored.

Christian Eriksen (TOT) - You probably want to go with at least one Spurs midfielder, the only question is whether you're willing to pony up for Eriksen or would you rather save some dough and go with Lamela or Alli?

Aaron Ramsey (ARS) - May be a week late if you didn't get him on the barndoor, but Ramsey will look to continue his rejuvenation with things opening up thanks to Santi Cazorla's injury and it's certainly a favorable match up to boot.

David Silva (MCI) - Gotta love the locale and opposition, while your competing fantasy managers have somewhat forgotten about the Spanish magician thanks to his recent injury. Hopefully he's built up the stamina to go deep into the game.

Strikers

Wilfried Bony or Sergio Aguero (MCI) - Whomever starts should not have too much trouble pillaging the visiting Swans. Check injury news closer to game time.

Olivier Giroud (ARS) - Midweek Champions League games are not precisely predictive when it comes to the Premier League. That said, you didn't think I'd leave out the hat trick hero traveling to Villa, did you?

Romelu Lukaku (EVE) - To Troll or not to Troll, that is always the question. At Norwich, I think you know the answer.

Harry Kane (TOT) - Seven goals in the past seven games, you really think he won't keep his form flowing against Newcastle?

Jamie Vardy (LEI) - Even when he finally didn't score last week, he managed an assist. Chelsea's defense has been better lately, but has struggled with quick players all season. If you got off the Vardy bandwagon, you may want to get ready to climb on again.

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While there is plenty of time for further injury news and mind-changing, currently my teams are:

Hennessey / Alderweireld, Bellerin, Kolarov / Ayew, Barkley (V), De Bruyne, Deulofeu, Mahrez / Aguero, Lukaku (C), Vardy (Official BPL)

Hennessey / Lovren, Monreal, Olsson / Ayew, Cabaye, Eriksen, De Bruyne, Mahrez / Kane, Vardy (Fantrax)

Lloris / Kolarov, Monreal, Moreno, Rose / DeBruyne, Eriksen, Mahrez, Ozil / Kane, Vardy (Togga Perfect XI)

So who is set in your line-ups and what choices are you agonizing over?