Our Thursday regular casts an eye over the topics to monitor ahead of the weekend’s fixtures. City’s ailing form, West Ham’s attacking trio, Romelu Lukaku’s minutes against Sunderland and the Tottenham team sheet at home to Stoke all feature on this lunchtime’s menu.

Lukaku’s pitch time at the Stadium of Light…
Everton’s record of scoring in every league match this season was ended by Swansea at Goodison last weekend after a lacklustre goalless draw. Whilst Roberto Martinez was critical of the visitors’ defensive approach, it’s perhaps no coincidence that the Swans match was the first time the Toffees boss omitted Romelu Lukaku from his starting XI, with Ross Barkley tucking in behind Samuel Eto’o instead. Lukaku’s brute force is clearly a key weapon for the Merseysiders and with an obliging schedule on the horizon, his owners will be expecting to see his name back on the team sheet for Sunday’s trip to Sunderland. Given Martinez’ penchant for rotation, tonight’s line-up against Lille is likely to give us some pointers.

Pochettino’s teamsheet against the Potters…
After emerging from the bench to notch his seventh goal in as many appearances last weekend, will Harry Kane finally be handed the first league start his displays deserve? Certainly, if Mauricio Pochettino continues with a 4-4-2, the in-form youngster will be optimistic of making the first XI against Stoke on Sunday and, at a price of 4.8, a strong performance will surely kick-start the bandwagon over the international break. Christian Eriksen’s half-time withdrawal at Villa is also one to keep an eye on here – the Dane had seemed to be finding his form but a move back to the flank, allied with reduced minutes, could see owners look elsewhere.

City’s reaction to CSKA setback…
It’s three defeats and one draw in the last five across all competitions for the Etihad side now after last night’s home loss to CSKA. Manuel Pellegrini has pointed to a crisis of confidence amongst his charges for this recent stutter and there’s no doubt that some Fantasy managers may now think twice over captaining Sergio Aguero heading into the weekend. Domestically, though, the Argentine has still excelled – six goals in the last four league matches underlines his Premier League form as City roll up to Loftus Road to face the most porous defence in the top-flight. The visitors will be desperate for a response and it’s debatable whether Richard Dunne and Steven Caulker can put the stoppers on Aguero and derail City’s title tilt.

Januzaj as United Attacking cover…
The Belgian has now started the last three for Van Gaal but was sacrificed early against City due to Chris Smalling’s first-half dismissal. Nonetheless, it’s intriguing that Januzaj kept his place in the first XI for the Manchester derby as Juan Mata dropped out to accommodate the return of Wayne Rooney – the youngster clearly has his manager’s backing and if he can pick up the returns against Palace, a price of 6.1 may well persuade some he’s worth the outlay.

The Mane Option…
Stalled by a recent injury, we’ll be watching to see if Sadio Mane returns to the Southampton starting XI for the visit of Leicester. Despite playing just 302 minutes so far, the Senegal wide man has already scored more times than Dusan Tadic (two to one) and his blistering pace will pose the Foxes problems aplenty this weekend – owned by 0.3% of FPL managers, his differential appeal is obvious and another fine display could bring in the backers.

Is Sanchez the only Gunners option?…
Now up to 10.7 in FPL and rising, the Chilean’s price tag remains too rich for some. Those unwilling to splash the cash on Sanchez are looking to Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott step up and offer us a cheaper midfield alternative to their in-form team-mate, whilst Danny Welbeck could yet prove decent value at just 7.4 – if Walcott starts away to Swansea, we’ll be keeping a keen eye on the trio’s ability to keep pace with the former Barcelona man.

The Hammers’ key assets versus Villa…
Big Sam’s side could hardly be in better shape right now. Sitting fifth in the table, they’ve seen off Liverpool and City in recent home matches and are filled with goals – a total of 19 strikes has been bettered only by the top three teams to date. Stewart Downing hogged the headlines last week with a 13-point haul at Stoke, though Enner Valencia took his tally to two goals, three assists and three bonus points in the last five with a double-figure return at the Britannia. With fit-again Diafra Sakho having averaged eight points per start over his six first XI appearances, there’s options aplenty for us to consider at Upton Park right now – ahead of an excellent run of fixtures, just how many Hammers are we willing to bring on board?

Newcastle’s progress at the Hawthorns..
Only a month ago, the clamour for Alan Pardew’s departure had reached fever pitch but the Magpies boss has silenced the doubters after steering his side to four back-to-back wins in all competitions. Whilst a trip to in-form West Brom is far from straightforward, the Tyneside team have already beaten City and Spurs on their own patches and have now conceded a single goal in the last three Gameweeks. From back to front, Newcastle have options at rock-bottom prices that could well prove worthy of the investment – Steven Taylor, at 3.9, has been instrumental to their upturn in resilience, whilst the likes of Rolando Aarons (5.0) and Ayoze Perez – 4.8 with a goal in each of his last two – have the chance to stake a claim for our consideration ahead of showdowns with QPR and Burnley in the subsequent three.