After Chelsea strode six points clear at the summit with a 2-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge this lunchtime, we now have a further nine matches on offer today.
Eight of those encounters take place at 3.00pm. Burnley slipped back into the bottom three last weekend and now face a Liverpool side that are hinting at shoots of recovery following a switch to 3-4-3. Raheem Sterling and co. face further scrutiny by Fantasy managers in light of the Merseysiders’ superb schedule.
Southampton have Dusan Tadic, Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama back for the trip to Palace, though of that trio, only the Frenchman starts, with Tadic and Wanyama amongst the subs. Graziano Pelle is edging back to form with two goals in his last three and, with some tough fixtures ahead, the Saints will be keen to kick on from last weekend’s convincing 3-0 win over Everton.
Speaking of the Toffees, Roberto Martinez will be desperate for a response after a disappointing display last time out. Leighton Baines has a chance to boost his stock after serving up five straight blanks, whilst Romelu Lukaku has four goals and an assist in his last five home starts ahead of the visit of Stoke. Kevin Mirallas shrugs off an ankle problem to return to the XI.
Tottenham head to Leicester looking for a third straight league win under Mauricio Pochettino. Harry Kane has earned plenty of new investors over the last few days after netting in each of his last three in all competitions, whilst in midfield, Christian Eriksen has returned 13 points in two of his previous three away appearances.
Man United have a host of attacking options all vying for our affections as Newcastle roll up to Old Trafford. Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao lead the line once again and Wayne Rooney is looking to score in front of his own fans for the third successive appearance. There’s no Angel di Maria for United, though, after he sustained another injury in training – Juan Mata retains his starting role once again.
Sunderland’s recent defensive displays have seen the likes of Costel Pantilimon and Santiago Vergini arrive on Fantasy radars. The Black Cats have four clean sheets in six and host a Hull side with a meagre two goals in their last nine, whilst further up the field, Adam Johnson’s goal and assist in the last two suggests he’s starting to find his form.
Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wilfried Bony both return as Swansea host Villa at the Liberty. With the Ivorian soon to depart for African Cup of Nations duties, Christian Benteke has the chance to step up as a potential replacement – the Belgian has two goals and an assist in his last four and has some excellent fixtures to follow.
Man City roll up to West Brom looking for a seventh straight win. As we saw last week against Palace, the champions still have the weaponry to cope without their first-team strikers, with David Silva, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri looking key for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. The City boss rotates his full-backs once again, though, as Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksander Kolarov are replaced by Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy.
In the 5.30pm kick-off, Arsenal will fancy their chances against a QPR side that have lost all eight of their road trips to date. There’s no doubt Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud are the form options for the Gunners, with Captain Poll favourite Alexis Sanchez notching just once in six appearances since a change of formation forced him onto the flank. Harry Redknapp’s side have scored a mere three goals on their travels, and for all his impressive home form, the odds are stacked against Charlie Austin grabbing the goals again.
