Yahoo! Fantasy Football: Brighton striker out to impress England manager

We are now entering the business end of the season where teams win titles, secure their top-flight status or finish in the relegation zone. It’s gameweek 30 in the Premier League and, as always, we are looking to win a portion of £2,500 on Yahoo! Fantasy Football.

By entering Saturday’s main contest, we have to pick an XI with players eligible from the 3pm matches onwards. We even enlisted the help of our WhoScored Twitter audience to help pick the final player for our team, which ended up being Leicester star Riyad Mahrez.

Think you have what it takes to beat us and win big this weekend? For new users, enter the promocode ‘Fantasy50’ when you deposit £5 and benefit from a £50 reward to use in any cash games. Now, see who else joins Mahrez in our XI.

Goalkeeper – MAT RYAN (BRIGHTON)

Brighton have picked up 32.4% of their total points haul in their last six matches (11/34), moving into the top half of the Premier League table with nine matches to go.

Chris Hughton has done a great job at Brighton and the Seagulls will be looking to make it eight games in a row without defeat when they travel to a struggling Everton side on Saturday.

The Toffees have only won two of their last 12 in all competitions and have been a real disappointment all season. Mat Ryan is a Yahoo! top-20 form player at the moment and he should be confident of another strong showing at Goodison Park this weekend.

Defender – JACK STEPHENS (SOUTHAMPTON)

Jack Stephens has developed into a regular in Southampton’s defence since Virgil van Dijk’s departure at the start of the year, starting each of the club’s last 12 Premier League matches.

Southampton are away to Newcastle this weekend looking to improve on a record of just one defeat in their last 10 matches and will know that stand a chance against a Newcastle side that generally struggle for goals.

In fact, no team have scored fewer goals at home in the Premier League this season than Newcastle (12), meaning Stephens stands a good chance of keeping a clean sheet.

Defender – HARRY MAGUIRE (LEICESTER)

One of the main takeaways from gameweek 29 in the Premier League was that Harry Maguire had more shots on goal than any other player in the division. The Leicester centre-back, incredibly, fired off seven shots against Bournemouth last weekend.

Maguire is not only impressive at the back, but the 25-year-old is also a real threat at the other end of the pitch. In fact, the England international has played a direct hand in six league goals this season (two goals, four assists).

The Foxes will be confident of returning to winning ways this weekend when they face a West Brom outfit devoid of any confidence. The Baggies have lost six matches in a row and have only won three league games all season.

Defender – CHRISTIAN FUCHS (LEICESTER)

Taking into account West Brom’s struggles, it’s worth including several Leicester players in your Yahoo! Fantasy Football XIs this weekend. Christian Fuchs’ place in the starting XI has not been as secure as it has in recent campaigns, but he is expected to start on Saturday.

The Austrian left-back will be keen to get forward as much as possible against the league’s bottom club and he could prove a real shrewd investment for you Yahoo! XIs this weekend, especially as he only costs £13.

Midfielder – WILLIAN (CHELSEA)

Chelsea are going through a rough time of it at the moment, but Saturday’s home game against Crystal Palace is a must win if they are to remain in the race for a top-four finish.

Antonio Conte’s side have lost four of their last five in the Premier League and each of their last two home matches against the Eagles, but this could prove their most important game of the season.

Willian has arguably been Chelsea’s best player during that poor run of results, scoring four goals in his last five appearances for the Blues. Furthermore, the 29-year-old has been named the WhoScored Man of the Match in three of those matches.

Midfielder – MARK NOBLE (WEST HAM)

Like Chelsea, it also feels like the wheels are coming off of West Ham’s season at the moment, illustrated by a run of four defeats in their last six matches.

The Hammers are only three points above the bottom three and simply have to get a positive result from Saturday’s match at home to Burnley.

David Moyes could well turn to an unlikely goalscoring hero in Mark Noble at the London stadium as the West Ham captain has scored the club’s last two goals in home matches against the Clarets.

Midfielder – CESC FABREGAS (CHELSEA)

Similarly to Noble, Cesc Fabregas also has form against the team he will line up against this weekend. Chelsea may have lost this corresponding fixture to Crystal Palace last season, but the Spaniard was at least on the scoresheet that day.

The 30-year-old hasn’t scored a Premier League goal since August, but this would certainly be the ideal moment to break his dry spell to alleviate some pressure on Antonio Conte. Even if Fabregas is not enjoying his finest season, he is a real bargain at £15 on Yahoo! Fantasy Football.

Midfielder – KI SUNG-YUENG (SWANSEA)

The second of the four Yahoo! Top-20 form players we have included in our XI this weekend is Swansea’s Ki Sung-yueng, who has really thrived in recent matches for the Welsh outfit.

Ki has played a direct hand in four goals in his last four Premier League appearances, even scoring and assisting in last weekend’s 4-1 win over West Ham.

In fact, it was first time the 29-year-old has scored and assisted in the same match since January 2014 (vs Fulham).

Utility – RIYAD MAHREZ (LEICESTER)

After failing to force a move through to Manchester City and going AWOL after the transfer window shut, Riyad Mahrez is starting to perform close to his best again for Leicester.

The Algeria international collected more than half of the votes in our Twitter poll to make our Yahoo! Fantasy Football XI for this weekend’s £2,500 contest.

Mahrez has scored or assisted eight goals in his last 10 appearances for Leicester and has received the WhoScored Man of the Match in two of his last three appearances.

Forward – JORDAN AYEW (SWANSEA)

Swansea’s stunning resurgence continued last weekend when they thrashed West Ham 4-1 to move three points clear of the bottom three.

Jordan Ayew has been a real success story for a Swansea side that has endured a very difficult campaign.

The 26-year-old has been named the WhoScored Man of the Match in Swansea’s last two matches, scoring in both games. He has six goals and two assists in the Premier League this season.

Forward – GLENN MURRAY (BRIGHTON)

News has emerged suggesting England manager Gareth Southgate is considering a shock call-up for 34-year-old Glenn Murray.

As the England squad for upcoming friendlies against Holland and Italy will be announced next Thursday, this is Murray’s last chance to impress Southgate.

Murray has scored six goals in his last six appearances for Brighton, while only three English players have scored more Premier League goals than the veteran this season (11).