For the second time this week, we catch up on Premier Punt’s latest competitions as I roll out an update on my ongoing quest for Fantasy Football profit.

This Week’s Games

There are three big guaranteed pots for this weekend’sfixtures on PremierPunt – the largest contest has a £350 pot with a £5 entry fee and it’s possible to enter three line-ups. There’s also a £150 pot for a £10 fee, while for the high-rollers, there’s a £50 contest – with the winner taking all the money; this was won with only 30 points last week. A good entry point game is the £100 guaranteed pot, which has just a £2 buy-in.

Premier Punt also offer a unique single-game format for each fixture – these contests are quick to enter with no budget and only five picks are needed with at least one player from each team. For this weekend, there’s a free £30 pot for the match between Liverpool and Manchester United, which is available to anyone who has entered a paid game. Both sides played out captivating 3-3 draws during the week, suggesting this could be another thrilling encounter at Anfield. Wayne Rooney and Roberto Firmino scored braces in the week so are likely to be key players for this clash.

My Team

Three teams dominate my line-up for this round. With Arsenal facing a tough trip to Stoke, it’s the other three sides in the current top four that contribute eight players to my starting XI. Leicester City’s victory at Spurs re-affirmed their status as Champions League contenders and three consecutive clean sheets for the Foxes hands Kasper Schmeichel (6.6m) the keeper’s spot. The Danish shot stopper travels to a Villa side that may have secured a narrow win over over Crystal Palace but have failed to score in five of their ten home matches. Riyad Mahrez (9.3m) also gets the nod in the hope the Algerian will rediscover the form that has helped Claudio Ranieri’s side exceed expectations this season.

Tottenham’s midweek loss to the Foxes makes their home clash with Sunderland all the more crucial if Mauricio Pochettino’s men are to hold on to fourth spot. Toby Alderweireld’s (8.2m) quality at both ends of the pitch is reflected in his position at the top of the defender’s leaderboard, while midfielder Dele Alli (8m) offers excellent value, with the youngster already notching five goals and as many assists this campaign. Harry Kane (13.6m), as usual, will be the focal point for Spurs and despite not having scored in three outings, is still posting healthy numbers, with ten attempts on goal and six chances created in that period.

Manchester City were held to a goalless stalemate by Everton last time out, the first time this term they have not scored at the Etihad. Crystal Palace are unlikely to repeat the Toffees achievement, so a trio of City assets makes my line-up. In defence, the marauding full-back Aleksander Kolarov (8.9m) was rested for the midweek match so should return here and served up a second assist of the season in his last league outing.

Kevin De Bruyne (10.2m) has blanked in six of seven Gameweeks but gets a spot based on his relatively cheap price tag compared to David Silva (13.4m) and Yaya Toure (12.7m). There’s similar thinking behind picking Raheem Sterling (12.7m) over Sergio Aguero (16m). The ex-Liverpool player is classed as a forward so finds a berth as an alternative to the Argentine and a potentially explosive differential. An appearance on Jonty’s goals imminent table is usually a good sign and the forward has scored all five of his league goals at the Etihad, including a hat-trick against Bournemouth.

To make up the rest of the line-up, I’ve gone with three picks whose merits were outlined in the Weekly Shop. Left-back Charlie Daniels (7m) is our pick of the Cherries defenders as they host Norwich. After his performance against Bournemouth, Dimitri Payet (7.5m) is difficult to ignore – the French midfielder should pick up some points in an away trip to a Newcastle side that have one clean sheet in nine, with 16 goals conceded in the other eight ties. Odion Ighalo (7.4m) completes the team. Although the Watford frontman is yet to score this calendar year, his 14 goals and five assists in the first half of the season indicates it’s only a matter of time for the Nigerian, who travels to seventeenth-placed Swansea.

The Bottom Line

It was a reasonably successful week for me last time out. A first-place finish in the £30 free pot that covered the draw between Liverpool and Arsenal bought in £10.50, with Firmino and Aaron Ramsey my top scorers. I also picked up £8.75 with a ninth-placed finish in the big pot, leaving me on £266.18.

Dmitriy Maximov picked up the biggest share of the winnings, with midfielders Dimitri Payet and Georgiano Wijnaldum contributing to a 52-point score.

This Week’s Stake

I place two teams into the big £350 pot as usual and also enter two line-ups into the £2 game – these also allow entries into the freeroll contest, so I pick three five-man selections for the Anfield clash.

Stake – £12
Current Balance – £254.18

If you would like to take me on in that £2 challenge a pundit game or try out PremierPunt’s unique single fixtures game sign up here.