With most high-priced midfielders (including Sanchez, Ozil, Coutinho, Firmino, Mane, Eriksen and Hazard among others) failing to perform last weekend, Fantasy Football Managers will be hoping their faith, and money, isn’t misplaced. Top scorer, Diego Costa with his consistent performances is bludgeoning his way into fantasy teams while managers look for budget options in midfield to free up cash to get him in their teams.

Chelsea(1st) vs Tottenham(5th)

Recent form clearly suggests Chelsea’s dominance going into this fixture having kept 6 clean sheets in a row while Spurs have had a difficult time scoring goals (and winning games) from open play, relying heavily on Vincent Janssen’s and now Harry Kane’s penalty taking abilities. Kane(3 goals in 2 games) is possibly the only Spurs player currently worth investing in after his late brace against West Ham and his converted spot kick against Monaco. Due to injuries and suspensions, Tottenham will miss Rose, Davies and Alderweireld and Vertonghen or Trippier may have to provide cover at left-back. Chelsea will look to attack down that flank and exploit the defensive weaknesses of Tottenham. Costa and Hazard are good bets to perform this weekend at the Bridge. Marcus Alonso is also a good buy, with 2 shots on target against Middlesbrough, as he gets clean sheets and plays more like a winger than a defender but with Walker at right-back his attacking freedom would definitely be constrained by Conte.

Players to watch: Costa, Hazard, Kane

Manchester United(6th) vs West Ham United(17th)

Last 5 Gameweeks for Manchester United:

Thursday night’s 4-0 win against Feyenoord should get the confidence and much needed momentum for the Red Devils after a well played game against Arsenal last weekend at Old Trafford where they were unlucky to miss out on a victory. Their goal-scoring in the last few gameweeks has been dreadful with a very low conversion ratio(a goal from every 6.25 shots on target) and an average of 0.8 goals per game in the last 5 premier league matches. For a club that spent around £150 million in the summer, 6th position is not acceptable and Mourinho will strive to achieve better results and reduce the gap from the top of the table. Recent form from Rooney and Mkhitaryan against Feyenoord as well as Rashford from the Arsenal game are positives and should be enough to get United a victory against West Ham who have lost 3 games in a row. However, if Payet is able to work his magic against United this may not be a stroll in the park.

Players to watch: Ibrahimovic, Mata, Payet

Liverpool(2nd) vs Sunderland(20th)

Barring last week at Southampton, Liverpool have been brilliant going forward, and have scored 12 goals in the previous 4 games(including one 0-0 draw against Manchester United). A home game against Sunderland followed by Bournemouth(A), West Ham(H), Middlesbrough(A), Everton(A) and Stoke(H) suggests that picking 2 midfielders, Firmino and Coutinho is a good option with favourable fixtures and a strong goalscoring record. Lovren(2 goals) or Matip(1 goal) may also be good picks with their aerial threat earning them points from set pieces and corners as well as a chance at possible clean sheets. Defoe and Anichebe however have been a formidable attacking pair with 5 goals and 3 assists combined in the last 2 games which has got them off the bottom of the Premier League table.

Players to watch: Coutinho, Firmino

Burnley(12th) vs Manchester City(3rd)

Yaya Toure was back (with a bang!) last week against Crystal Palace scoring the opener and the winner in a 2-1 victory having finally cleared the air with manager, Pep Guardiola. In Burnley, they face a defence that conceded 4 goals against West Brom last week and a thrashing could be on the cards with Sergio Aguero(8 goals) just 2 goals off the top scorer, Costa. Toure(£7.6) comes at an affordable price as compared to De Bruyne(£10.8) and could be a top pick against Burnley. However a match against Chelsea next week may put managers off and I suggest not overloading the team with City players who drew midweek(1-1) in the Champions League against German side, Borussia Mönchengladbach

Players to watch: Aguero, Toure, De Bruyne

Arsenal(4th) vs Bournemouth(10th)

With fixtures against Arsenal and Liverpool in consecutive weeks, Bournemouth players, especially defenders, should be avoided from your squads. Giroud’s role as a super sub in his last 2 Premier League games(3 goals in 3 substitute appearances) as well as a goal midweek against PSG should earn him a starting berth which may cause Sanchez to move back to left winger. The absence of creativity from Wilshere’s unavailability(on loan) for Bournemouth against his parent club also suggests that managers should be on the lookout for Arsenal defenders, with only 1 game(vs City in GW17) against a top 6 side in their next 11 fixtures. Carl Jenkinson(£5.0) is a good temporary option filling in for Bellerin who is out for the next 4 gameweeks(till GW17) at least.

Players to watch: Sanchez, Giroud, Walcott

Southampton(11th) vs Everton(7th)

Ronald Koeman returns to face his former club with both teams matched equally in the last 5 fixtures between them(W2 D1 L2). A 1-0 loss in the Europa League to Czech club Sparta Prague on Thursday night highlighted the importance of Tadic(injured) and Austin(sub) due to poor finishing from the Saints. Austin is a definite starter for this game against Everton and if Tadic does not make it back in time for the game Sofiane Boufal, who did not start in the midweek game, may be the source of creativity in attacking midfield. Lukaku(7 goals) will look to get back to his goal-scoring ways however a central defence partnership of Van Dijk and Jose Fonte should do enough to contain him..

Players to watch: Austin, Lukaku

Elsewhere…

Last year’s champions Leicester City(14th) host Middlesbrough(15th), however a 3 match ban to midfielder Danny Drinkwater will do them no favours here and Middlesbrough may be able to get away with more than a point here. Alvaro Negredo(£6.2) is a good budget pick with their next game at home, hosting Hull City. Mahrez(£9.0) is a good but expensive option having converted penalties in each of his last 2 games

Hull City(18th), the team with the worst defensive record currently, having conceded 27 goals already, take on West Bromwich Albion(9th) who demolished Burnley 4-0 last week. Rondon(£6.5) and Philips(£5.2) are good buys due to their current form and if Chadli gets fit in time he should be considered as well. Brunt and Mcauley are also good picks with a possible clean sheet. For Hull City, all attacks go through Robert Snodgrass and with set piece duties and 4 goals already this season he is a player to look at with games against Middlesbrough(A) and Crystal Palace(H) next.

Swansea(20th) need Sigurdsson(3 goals, 3 assists) to produce a match winning display in a bid to escape relegation as they take on Crystal Palace(16th). Zaha has produced an assist in each of his last four games and Palace will hope Benteke, Wickham and Zaha can take them further away from the relegation zone.

Watford(8th) take on Stoke City(13th) as Jose Holebas, who has set piece duties, is back from suspension. Expect Watford to get the win at home, with Pereyra a good option in attacking midfield. Stoke City will be relying on Arnautovic, Shaqiri and Bony however a lack of consistency from their top 3 is the reason they are in a mid-table position.

Good luck for Gameweek ‘13′. Please do provide your valuable feedback below. Cheers!

Do take a look at http://www.draftfantasyfootball.co.uk which offers a different variant of fantasy football to compete within a group of friends in your own competitive league