Another weekend of daily fantasy football is just around the corner and our very own @jamieFPL has returned with his expert advice for the fantasy Premier League Gameweek 11 fixtures taking place on Saturday 31st.
Our daily fantasy football tips focus on the games provided by
Mondogoal and
FantasyBet. However, they are still relevant to other daily games and also to the season long Fantasy Premier League game.
As always, we advise all readers to check the official team lineups one hour before kick off to ensure all your players (and our tips) are playing. Although we do our best to only select those who we think will start, it's tough to be 100% accurate.
For the purpose of this article all prices are via our daily fantasy football partners
Mondogoal (MO) and
FantasyBet (FB).
Fixtures:
Manchester City Vs. Norwich
Crystal Palace Vs. Manchester United
Swansea Vs. Arsenal
West Brom Vs. Leicester
Watford Vs. West Ham
Newcastle Vs. Stoke
Manchester City Vs. Norwich
Prediction: 4-0
Key Players: Bony, De Bruyne, Kompany
Manchester City returned to their winnings ways after smashing Crystal Palace 5-1 in the cup during the week, following their goalless bore draw derby against Manchester United last weekend.
City have now scored five or more goals three times already this month and this weekend host a Norwich side who have failed to win 15 of their last 16 away matches. The Canaries are going through a tough period at present and a trip to the Etihad - where they suffered a 7-0 defeat on their last visit - is no doubt causing Alex Neal some sleepless nights.
Most managers will no doubt be loading up on the maximum amount of City players in their daily fantasy football teams this weekend.
Wilfried Bony (MO £8.3 FB £8.0) looks set to continue leading the line for City having impressed during Agüero's absence. The Ivorian striker has scored three goals in his last three matches in all competitions and will look to extend that against a defensively fragile Norwich City.
Whilst all Manchester City midfielders look appealing, we've opted for
Kevin De Bruyne (MO £15.1 FB £10.0) over the likes of Toure, Sterling and Silva based on his recent form. The former Wolfburg attacking midfielder has made his mark on the Premier League since arriving, tallying up three goals and three assists in his opening six fixtures. With a goal against Palace in the Capital One Cup during the week he will no doubt be top of many managers lists coming in to Gameweek 11.
Last week saw the return of
Vincent Kompany (MO £6.6 FB £6.0) and subsequently Manchester City's sixth clean sheet of the season. During his four game absence, City leaked goals but the skipper marked his return last week with a sound defensive display against their Manchester rivals. With visitors Norwich failing to score at home to West Brom last weekend, we can see the skipper holding on to his 100% clean sheet record for this season.
Crystal Palace Vs. Manchester United
Prediction: 1-1
Key Players: Martial, Cabaye/Sako
Manchester United will be looking respond to their embarrassing cup exit to lower league opposition on their visit to Selhurst Park this weekend. Van Gaal's tactics are beginning to be questioned and without a win in their last three matches in all competitions, three points would help lift team morale.
Crystal Palace haven't been in the best of form either, losing their last three matches in all competitions. Historically speaking, Manchester United have dominated this fixture in the past. However, Pardew will feel confident they can at least take a point from this fixture, especially if the likes of Yohan Cabaye and Jason Puncheon return from injury in time.
Van Gaal has been selecting Wayne Rooney as striker in recent weeks, therefore forcing
Anthony Martial (MO £6.0 FB £8.0) to an unfamiliar position on the left wing. The critics have been all over this and following 180 goalless minutes against Manchester City and Middleborough, it's about time Rooney reverts to his number ten role. If Martial does get the nod up top � check the team sheet � then he looks a solid choice this weekend, especially with his generous price tag.
The signing of
Yohan Cabaye (MO £7.2 FB £6.5) from PSG turned a few heads during pre-season and although nobody doubted his ability for a second, he's really shown his class since arriving at Selhurst Park. The French midfielder takes penalties for the Eagles and boasts three goals and an assist in his last four Premier League games.
With Cabaye facing a late medical,
Bakary Sako (MO £11.4 FB £5.5) is our reserve choice for Crystal Palace coverage. The attacking midfielder displayed his potential at the beginning of the season and last week looked promising in attack despite failing to find the net. You could probably find better value for money on
Mondogoal, however he could be worth a punt on
FantasyBet.
Swansea Vs. Arsenal
Prediction: 1-2
Key Players: Giroud, Özil, Ayew
Arsenal suffered a shock 3-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday during the week and to make matters worse also lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott to injury. The duo are rumored to be out for at least three weeks and their absences will display what kind of squad depth Wenger has.
Swansea will feel confident after coming back from 1-0 to beat Aston Villa last week and Garry Monk will be looking to play on any nerves Arsenal have following their shock cup exit. Arsene Wenger however, will no doubt be looking to bounce back and prove to the critics that they are serious title contenders.
With Walcott out injured,
Olivier Giroud (MO £8.6 FB £9.0) has little to no competition for the lone striker role. The Frenchman earned himself a start last weekend after coming off the bench to score against Watford. With two goals in two games, Giroud is a cheap way in to one of the deadliest attacks in the league.
They say behind every great man is a great woman, when applied to football there's usually a great midfielder behind every great striker. In this case, Olivier Giroud's great woman is midfield maestro
Mesut Özil (MO £14.3 FB £8.5). The World Cup winning midfielder has come in to some good form lately, racking up four assists and a goal in his last three Premier League matches. If anybody is going to place a ball on Giroud's head this weekend, it's surely going to be him.
Last week we tipped
André Ayew (MO £12.8 FB £7.0) based on the premise that he was up against his brother Jordan for the first time in England. Apparently that's not a bad basis to judge a player on, as the midfielder converted a late winner against Aston Villa, and his brother. With two goals in his last two games, Ayew looks the logical choice if you're looking for Swansea coverage.
West Brom Vs. Leicester
Prediction: 1-2
Key Players: Vardy, Schlupp
Back-to-back wins have lifted West Brom in to the top half of the table and they'll be looking to maintain their form this weekend as they host in-form Leicester. However, the Baggies have struggled at home this season winning just one of their five games in front of home fans.
Leicester have been unstoppable this season losing just once so far. West Brom have recorded five clean sheets in their last seven Premier League matches, but it'll be a tall order trying to contain the attacking quality that Leicester possesses.
Man of the moment
Jamie Vardy (MO £9.7 FB: £6.0) starts off our picks for this game and for obvious reasons. The striker has scored 10 goals in his first 10 games this season and recently became one of eight players in Premier League history to score in seven consecutive games. Ruud Van Nistelrooy holds the record at 10, so you know what to do this weekend Jamie.
Everybody's favorite out of position player is becoming increasing appealing due to the fact that Leicester have begun keeping clean sheets.
Jeffrey Schlupp (MO £6.1 FB £5.0) is listed as a defender on
FantasyBet though the Ghanian international started his career as a striker before converting to a left-back at the beginning of his Leicester career. This week we'd expect him to start left midfield and with such good potential both ends of the pitch he's worth a punt.
Watford Vs. West Ham
Prediction: 0-2
Key Players: Payet, Jenkinson
West Ham have stormed out of the gates so far this Premier League campaign and their win against Chelsea last weekend rounds off an excellent opening 10 games for Slaven Bilic. Having already recorded away wins against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Crystal Palace, it's hard to see Watford putting up much of a fight.
The Hornets have proved hard to break down this season but haven't proved as impressive in the final third. So far this season they've only scored one goal at Vicarage Road in five attempts and that'll need to change as they host a West Ham side who are firing on all cylinders.
West Ham have scored at least two goals in their last eight Premier League matches and that can largely be credited to the top class performances from
Dimitri Payet (MO £14.1 FB £7.5). After joining the Hammers from Marseille during the summer, Payet has hit the ground running in the Premier League tallying up five goals and four assists. His performances have been consistent and he's contributed a goal or assist in his last six matches. If West Ham score this weekend, he'll no doubt play a part in it.
Watford have scored the joint least amount of goals this season (8) so you should consider opting for the defensive services of a West Ham player.
Carl Jenkinson (MO £6.1 FB £5.0) has shown his worth at both ends of the pitch in recent weeks and with two goals in his last three matches, he stands out as the defender with best attacking potential.
Newcastle Vs. Stoke
Prediction: 1-1
Key Players: Wijnaldum, Arnautović
Newcastle failed to carry momentum from their 6-2 demolishing of Norwich back in Gameweek 9, losing their sixth Tyne-Wear derby in a row. Fabricio Coloccini's controversial red car was the turning point in the derby with three goals flying in following the defenders dismissal. The Argentinian defender will be available this weekend however, as his red card has since been overturned.
Stoke have edged this fixture in two of their last three meetings and currently find themselves in a purple patch of form having won five of their last six matches in all competitions.
When looking for Newcastle coverage it's hard to look past bandwagon extraordinaire
Georginio Wijnaldum (MO £11.4 FB £7.0). Since his goal versus Chelsea at the end of last month, the Dutch attacking midfielder has stringed together a set of good performances including his FOUR goal thriller against Norwich. During the week he spoke of taking out his derby day frustration on Stoke this weekend, let's see if he keeps to his word.
Stoke's attacking points have been evenly spread out in recent weeks with the likes of Walters, Bojan and Diouf all having their time in the spotlight. However, our Stoke tip for this week is
Marko Arnautović (MO £7.0 FB £6.0) who impressed during Austria's Euro Qualifiers, finding the net in two successive matches. We expect Stoke's fast and creative attacking midfielders to wreak havoc against a shaky Newcastle defence and if we're correct, Arnautović could easily tally up a decent point haul.
