Yahoo Focus – Gameweek 21

There’s another big-money contest from our partner game Yahoo for Fantasy managers this weekend, while we also give you a reminder that Round 3 of the FFS Holiday Cup gets underway later today.

They are offering a Premier League £3.5k Saturday contest which takes in all seven matches from 3pm onwards, finishing with the 5.30pm encounter between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford.

The contest is guaranteed to run, costs £5 to enter and is a multi-entry game, which means you can select up to eight teams. The top 174 places pay out – there’s a minimum win-back of £10, with £350 going to the first place.

Driven by Opta data, the Yahoo game has a unique scoring system ideal for members of our community seeking a Daily Fantasy Sports game.

New players can sign up and claim a free £50 in credit to your account when you deposit just £5. Promo code: Fantasy50.

We also recommend having a look over our Strategy Guide before selecting your line-ups, as this gives you a better idea of the Yahoo game and the types of players who tend to benefit.

FFS Strongest XI

David De Gea – £17
Marcos Alonso – £17
Cesar Azpilicueta – £16
Andrew Robertson – £15
Paul Dummett – £11
Eden Hazard – £24
Jesse Lingard – £21
Johan Berg Gudmundsson – £16
Matt Ritchie – £16
Mohamed Salah – £27
Richarlison – £18

David De Gea is one of just four players to retain their places from our Gameweek 20 line-up. Up against a Southampton side that are third-bottom for shots on target (23) away from home and still without the suspended Charlie Austin, the Man United keeper will be confident of collecting an eleventh clean sheet of the season. His visitors have a disastrous away record and have managed a single victory on the road in 2017/18.

Marcos Alonso also remains in our plans after serving up back-to-back goal and clean sheet returns in his last two home matches. That reflects the Chelsea wing-back’s points potential at both ends of the pitch for the visit of struggling Stoke. With a share of free-kicks to his name, Alonso boasts a peerless goal threat at the back – a total of 40 attempts is at least 17 more than any defender, while he also leads the way for shots in the box (26) and efforts on target (14).

Cesar Azpilicueta offers a double-up route into a resolute Chelsea defence that have conceded just four goals in ten fixtures since N’Golo Kante returned from injury. The Spaniard claimed his sixth assist of the season against Brighton in midweek and is the type of player whose game is suited to the Yahoo scoring matrix – he sits fifth overall for successful passes (1252) and has more or less matched Alonso for points per game, with 8.3 to 8.8.

We turn to the league’s tightest home defence as Liverpool entertain Leicester having conceded just three times in front of their own fans. Since replacing the injured Alberto Moreno, Andrew Robertson’s raids forward have caught our eye – over the last six Gameweeks, he’s placed third in the Reds’ ranks for touches in the final third and has created five scoring chances. No team-mate has produced more crosses (23) or interceptions (11) across that period, highlighting his potential for points in the Yahoo scoring matrix. Furthermore, the Foxes have conceded more chances (93) and crosses (263) down their right flank than any side and are without first-choice right-back Danny Simpson through injury.

Handed a first start of the season in midweek, Newcastle’s Paul Dummett helped limit a rampant Manchester City attack to just a single goal at St James’ Park. At home to a Brighton outfit that has scored twice in eight matches – both at the Amex Stadium – he looks a decent budget enabler at a cost of just £11.

Priced at £24 to Alvaro Morata’s £26, Eden Hazard is our chosen Chelsea attacker at home to a Stoke defence that’s conceded more goals (41) than any side. The Potters arrive with a host of injury concerns at the back and are also without Kurt Zouma, who is also unavailable to face his parent club. Although he failed to score against Brighton in midweek, Hazard matched Morata for goal attempts (four) and also laid on three chances for team-mates. The Belgian also benefits from the Yahoo scoring system which awards points for fouls won – only four players have been brought down at home more often than Hazard’s 21.

We’re backing Jesse Lingard to maintain his fine recent form at home to a Southampton defence with a single clean sheet in 15 attempts. Emerging from the bench to bag a brace and rescue a midweek point against Burnley, he has produced six goals and a pair of assists in Man United’s last seven matches and looks set to start against the Saints. During that run, Lingard has fired 11 shots on target – only Harry Kane (17) has managed more.

An injury to Robbie Brady has boosted Johan Berg Gudmundsson’s potential in Yahoo over the last few fixtures. With the Irishman out of the picture, Gudmundsson has supplied more crosses (36) and successful crosses (13) than any player in the previous five Gameweeks. The Icelander is Burnley’s top-ranked player for shots (nine) and key passes (eight) ahead of a trip to Huddersfield and also sits in their top three for successful tackles (eight) and interceptions (seven).

Rested for the midweek match with Manchester City, Matt Ritchie is set to return for Newcastle’s home clash with Brighton. The Scotland international has delivered a league-leading 130 crosses and has supplied seven assists already. Newcastle’s number one for shots (38) and chances created (32), his defensive work also benefits from the Yahoo scoring system – Ritchie is among the Magpies’ top five players for successful tackles (27) and interceptions (19).

Mohamed Salah is our preferred Liverpool attacker for the visit of a Leicester side with just one clean sheet in 10 Gameweeks. The Egyptian remains the most consistent Fantasy option around right now, with a goal or assist in 11 of the last 12 Gameweeks. His underlying numbers at Anfield look highly encouraging, too – only Harry Kane has produced more shots (45), efforts in the box (32) or attempts on target (22) at home than Salah this season.

A home clash with Swansea’s porous defence could see Richarlison back among the goals on Saturday. Away from home, the Swans are among the bottom three sides for shots conceded in the box (107) and efforts on target against (58). Richarlison may have scored just once at Vicarage Road, yet he sits among the top five overall for shots in the box at home (25) and has been fouled more times in front of his own fans (33) than any player in the league.

As Yahoo allows late swaps up until each kick-off, our listed line-up may well be subject to change.

The Weekend Contests

As well as the Premier League £3.5k Saturday contest, Yahoo are also offering a Premier League £1k Saturday contest, which also covers the same seven matches from 3pm onwards.

This is also guaranteed to run, costs £25 to enter and is a single-entry game. The top 13 places pay out – there’s a minimum win-back of £50, with £200 going to the first place.

There is also a Premier League £1k Sunday contest, which covers the two matches that day. It gets underway at 12pm when Crystal Palace entertain Manchester City and concludes with the 4.30pm match between West Brom and Arsenal at The Hawthorns.

It’s guaranteed to run, costs £5 to enter and is a multi-entry game, so you can pick up to two teams. The top 50 places pay out – there’s a minimum win-back of £10, with £100 going to the first place.

The FFS Holiday Cup

As mentioned earlier in the article, it’s Round 3 of Yahoo’s inaugural FFS Holiday Cup on Saturday.

It’s a free to enter, single-entry contest that spans the next four Gameweeks, with a total of £500 on offer across the contest.

Similar to the Saturday contests mentioned above, Round 3 also kicks off at 3pm (there is no lunchtime match) and will cover all nine matches across Gameweek 20.

The starting times of each remaining round as follows.

Round 3 – Saturday December 30 at 3.00pm
Round 4 – Monday January 1 at 12.30pm

Here’s the state of play in the top ten after Round 2:

You can open an account and get started immediately.

If you register and deposit £5 or more, Yahoo will also give you a £50 bonus to be used as cash to enter paid contests.

Register here to claim the bonus.

You must be over 18 years of age, resident in the UK, and of legal capacity to register with Yahoo Daily Sports and open an Account. If you sign up, please always play responsibly.