This weekend promises to be the most challenging of the season so far for fantasy football managers.

With only four Premier League fixtures going ahead due to the FA Cup sixth round, many are set to find slim pickings when they come to choose their gameweek 28 starting line-up.

Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku will be most people’s pick as captain this week.

The Everton striker barely had a touch against Tottenham last time out, but delivered the goods once again with an 82nd minute strike out of nothing.

He has an appealing home fixture against West Bromwich Albion this weekend and with that haul against Bournemouth still fresh in the memory, it’s no wonder he’s caught many an eye.

Sadio Mane

Brought in by many a manager before the recent blank at Leicester City, Sadio Mane made up for it against Arsenal last weekend.

Surely against Burnley, who are infamously atrocious on the road, he’s in line to match last week’s 13-point total?

Well, hopefully. Liverpool’s forward line is a lottery at the best of times but with Roberto Firmino out and Philippe Coutinho yet to hit top form, Mane remains your best bet.

Gylfi Sigurdsson

Gylfi Sigurdsson has been a consistent fantasy pick in recent weeks (Getty)

A staple fantasy pick in recent weeks, Sigurdsson maintained his streak of returns with an assist for Martin Olsson against Burnley last weekend.

It is slightly worrying that he has not scored in his last three, but he has every chance of ending that drought at Marco Silva’s Hull City.

Josh King

Josh King came close to making our shortlist last week, then he went and showed us what we missed, scoring a penalty at Old Trafford.

It was his fourth goal in the last four gameweeks and, despite being listed as a midfielder in the official Fantasy Premier League game, he’s being played up top by Eddie Howe.

Gareth McAuley

Gareth McAuley has proven time and again that he is an excellent source of goals (Getty)

Despite doing nothing for us last time out, Gareth McAuley makes our selection for the second week.

Why? Well, a small talent pool for starters, but let’s not forget that West Bromwich Albion’s top scorer always carries a threat on set-pieces and has the ability to notch at any time.

He may be facing a fearsome Everton attack, but he remains one of the better budget options in defence.

Andy Carroll

A short-term option if there ever was one, due to his tendency to sit in the treatment room, but if you need a one-week punt there are few better options than Andy Carroll.