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What a brilliant match we witnessed of two teams in top form with different football style, but it was Roberto Firmino’s 90th minute header that proved to be a winner to keep Liverpool on top of the league table.
The month of December is always hectic in the English top-flight, and the same goes for the fantasy managers who just have to scratch their heads when picking players in this festive period. So let’s check out whom to choose for game-week 14.
Goalkeeper
Alisson Becker — £5.9 – Crystal Palace (A)
It’s strange to see Liverpool having just two clean sheets in the league so far, but given their injury crises, it’s understandable. However, Alisson looks fit again to have a longer run, and the up-coming fixtures seem to be friendly enough to hunt for a clean sheet: Crystal Palace, West Brom and Newcastle. Palace may have found the scoring edge but have won just once in their previous five. A giant like Liverpool, full of confidence and with majority of the ball, may very well spell a comfortable night for the Brazilian to get his clean sheet.
Emiliano Martínez — £4.8 – Burnley (H)
Martinez has had a massive impact for Aston Villa by keeping five clean sheets, but despite preserving just one in his previous five matches, he has a good match-up against a West Brom side that has recently sacked manager Slaven Bilic. The shot-stopper will look forward to having a not-so-busy night against a side finding difficulty firing the ball in the net which, puts the Spaniard in a good contention to grab a clean sheet.
Defenders
Tariq Lamptey —£4.8 – Sheffield United (H)
Lamptey looks fully fit after playing 77 minutes against Fulham, so he should start against relegation-fodder Sheffield United. The young fullback provided three assists in a row in the first three matches of the season, but then his momentum faltered. His overlapping runs do make him a candidate to grab a clean sheet and look for an assist against a side having difficulty keeping pace.
Conor Coady — £4.9 – Burnley (A)
Coady is extremely dangerous in the air and cherishes every set-piece. Against a struggling Burnley side, the Wolves’ captain can focus his back line to grab a clean sheet despite having to face tough fixtures lately. Wolves face Tottenham and Manchester United after this, but the captain is a good option at Burnley for sure.
Reece James — £5.3 – West Ham United (H)
James is having a phenomenal season for Chelsea. Frank Lampard has put his trust in the youngster to go forward when needed, which puts him in opportune spots to offer crosses to strikers Oliver Giroud and Tammy Abraham. The Blues will look grab a victory against David Moyes’ side after suffering two defeats in a row, which may give the Englishman confidence to help his team get three points.
Midfielders
Jack Grealish — £7.8 – West Brom (H)
Grealish has been average in his previous two games, but the game against West Brom can be a good fixture to bring back his goal-scoring form.
Heung-Min Son — £9.6 – Leicester (H)
Son has eleven goals and four assists so far and has been the driving force alongside Harry Kane to make Tottenham a real contender for the title. Despite Foxes’ being a difficult opponent, the South Korean always delivers one way or another.
Mohamed Salah — £12.3 – Crsytal Palace (A)
Salah has been fundamental for Liverpool’s form lately, with eleven goals and three assists. The next fixtures for the Egyptian are attractive for putting the ball in the net: Palace, West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton.
Forwards
Olivier Giroud — £6.7 – West Ham United (H)
Giroud has forced Frank Lampard to make him a starter recently by scoring goals both domestically and in Europe. His ability to link up with his teammates, and being simply deadly inside the box have put him in the position to become a regular for the Blues at the moment, paying returns to fantasy managers by scoring eight goals in all competitions.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin — £7.9 – Arsenal (H)
The Gunners have been poor, stumbling to three consecutive defeats and a draw in their previous four. Now they face Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin who is scoring for fun. He has failed to score in only five fixtures for Carlos Ancelloti, netting eleven times already.
Harry Kane — £10.9 – Leicester (H)
There is not much more anybody can say about Harry Kane except that he is one of the best players in Europe right now. His goal contributions make Spurs look like title contenders. Despite falling to Liverpool last time out, Spurs will look to the Kane-Son dynamic duo to resume applying pressure toward taking all three points from any match.
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What do you think of our picks this week? Which player(s) are you chancing? Should five substitutions be an option now with plenty of injuries happening lately? Which player will shine in the spotlight this week? Please let us know in the comments section below!
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