Steem Fantasy Premier League - Gameweek 17 Preview

All six English teams made it through the group stages of Champions and Europa League. Liverpool took a must 1-0 win against Napoli after a Salah-goal while Spurs managed to take point in the away match against Barcelona. This was enough to keep Inter Milan behind in the group table. On Wednesday Man United lost 2-0 away to Valencia after a poor display while Sané was the star man in Manchester City’s 2-1 win against Hoffenheim by scoring City’s both goals. Of the four English teams only Manchester City came out as group winner and should therefore have a easier round of 16. Both Chelsea and Arsenal rotated their teams heavily in their final group stage matches in Europa league after already have secured group wins. Chelsea only managed a 2-2 draw away to MOL VIDI while Arsenal took a 1-0 away win against Qarabag after a goal from Lacazette.

After these midweek games there could once again be some rotation in the bigger teams and there are many questions but no answers when discussing who to own and who to ditch for this and upcoming gameweeks. A few questions I think many with me have to think about are:

Will both Sterling and Sané start against Everton after both playing 90 minutes on Wednesday or is it time for for Mahrez to start after not playing at all against Hoffenheim? Is it worth doubling up on Man City mids?

Spurs against Burnley at home looks like the best fixture of the weekend but who to own in Spurs midfield? Can we trust Kane or could even Son outscore him between now and New Year?

Salah will for sure start against Man Utd but is there better ways to spend the money taking into consideration he will play three “big six” clubs in the next six gameweeks and because of that not the greatest of options for the captains armband?

Is Hazard a must have with Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures? He should for example be more nailed on than Sterling, Sané..?

Is Aubameyang nailed or could he even be benched against Southampton in favour of Lacazette?

West Ham has got great upcoming fixtures and have score three goals in each of the last three games? Is Anderson the best West Ham player to won or are cheaper players like Chicharito or Snodgrass the way to go?

You are more than welcome to discuss these questions and have your say on them in the discussion section.

Gameweek 17 fixtures:

Match previews:

Manchester City- Everton

Manchester City are aiming to return to winning ways after their first Premier League defeat of the season against Chelsea last time out. Everton are targeting a first victory in four matches.
Everton haven’t been the easiest of opponents for Man City. In their last seven matches against Everton in all competitions, City have won only two and they have managed only one clean sheet in those matches. Everton have drawn their last three PL away matches against City, with just four goals being scored in these meetings. City haven't lost a PL match against a non "big six" opponent since January 2017 when they lost to Everton. Since then, they have won 139 points out of a possible 153 in these matches (W44 D7 L0).

Since the start of last season, Raheem Sterling has been directly involved in 26 goals in 21 PL home matches, with 17 strikes and nine assists. Somehow it feels like he is still going under the radar when people are talking about the best players in the Premier League. In my opinion this guy has been one of the top three best players in the league so far this season, if not the best?

Benjamin Mendy and David Silva are definitely out for City, while Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and John Stones will be pushing for a return this weekend. For Everton, Idrissa Gueye and James McCarthy are the only doubts.

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Delph; Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva, Gundogan; Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Sane

Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Mina, Keane, Digne; Andre Gomes, Gueye; Walcott, Sigurdsson, Bernard; Richarlison

Liverpool - Manchester united

The clash of the weekend. Unbeaten leaders Liverpool are aiming for a sixth straight Premier League win while Manchester United are trying to build on their 4-1 home win over Fulham. Results from recent meetings tells us it shouldn’t be a walk in the park for Liverpool. Liverpool are looking for their first win in nine PL matches against Man Utd (D3 L5) and Liverpool's attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are all yet to score or assist in a PL match for the club against United, despite playing a combined total of 855 minutes. And yes, this is true.

Jose Mourinho has won 50 per cent of his PL away matches at Anfield, with four out of eight. That is the best win percentage among managers who have taken charge of five or more such fixtures in the competition. Manchester United may also have an secret weapon in Juan Mata who has been involved in seven PL goals against Liverpool (three goals, four assists), including three in his last three matches at Anfield.

After Manchester Uniteds’ 2-1 defeat to Valencia this week the Manchester United manager confirmed that Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young, who all came off the bench on Wednesday, will start at Anfield. Manchester United are battling an injury crisis ahead of Sunday's match. Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling, Diogo Dalot and Scott McTominay are all injury worries for Mourinho while Victor Lindelof and Alexis Sanchez are definitely out with injuries.

Liverpool expect to be without Joel Matip for up to six weeks. The centre-back is set to undergo surgery on a broken collarbone sustained in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.With Joe Gomez also injured Lovren is set to start alongside Van Dijk in centre of the backline. Also Trent Alexander-Arnold (knock) and James Milner (cramp) will be assessed before the game.

Possible starting lineups

Liverpool: Alisson, Milner, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson, Keita, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Young, Matic, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Rashford, Lukaku.

Steem-pick

I have failed with my steem-picks recently. After Lacazettes’ substitution at half time and 1 point last weekend I will now try my luck with a player I love to watch and a player that has got really good upcoming fixtures. The player is Eden Hazard. Not so many are talking about hazard and it feels strange when taking into consideration he has got six good upcoming fixtures, a Talisman for Chelsea and therefore one of the most nailed players in that Chelsea team. Hazard has had a dip in form recently and has not scored since gameweek 8 but I have just got the feeling he will do really well in the upcoming weeks. There’s a good chance he will score away at Brighton on Sunday.