After Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United were held to draws on Saturday, the door was wide open for Chelsea to take advantage and move in to top spot in the Premier league table with a win over Middlesbrough. The Blues had no problem taking care of a side that is tied for the fewest goals in the Premier League this season so it’s no surprise that Chelsea’s top two fantasy performers were limited to honorable mention status this week. Here is a look at the top EPL fantasy performers by position in the Premier League from this past weekend.
GK: Jordan Pickford, Sunderland
Pickford was up to the task against Hull City as he stopped all five shots that he faced in a 3-0 win. Vitor Anichebe received the bulk of the praise after recording a brace in the victory but Pickford was up to the task in his first start for Sunderland and he recorded the clean sheet win.
Honorable Mention: Adam Federici, Bournemouth; Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea
D: Nathan Ake, Bournemouth
Patrick Van Aanholt of Sunderland also earned honorable mention for recording a point and playing at such a high level defensively in Sunderland’s win but the top EPL fantasy defender honors belong to Ake for his outstanding performance in a 1-0 win over Stoke City. Ake scored the game-winning goal on his lone shot on target and helped hold down the fort at the defensive end of the pitch in order to register the best EPL fantasy score at his position this past weekend.
Honorable Mention: Patrick Van Aanholt, Sunderland; Seamus Coleman, Everton
M: Yaya Toure, Manchester City
Manchester City picked up another important three points with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace thanks in large part to the play of Toure, who scored both goals in the victory. Toure was a force from the opening whistle and his pair of goals including the game-winning marker are enough to hand him top fantasy honors regardless of position from this past weekend.
M: Juan Mata, Manchester United
Mata wasn’t as dominant as Toure but he did enough to make this list by scoring Manchester United’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal. United will need to lean on its top midfielders in order to contend for a league title this season so Jose Mourinho had to be happy with what he saw from Mata in the draw.
Honorable Mention: Etienne Capoue, Watford; Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea; Roberto Pereyra, Watford
F: Victor Anichebe, Sunderland
Anichebe was the hero up front for Sunderland with a pair of goals in their 3-0 win over Hull City. Following a quiet start to the season in which he didn’t record a single point through his first 10 games, Anichebe has recorded four points over his last two games while helping Sunderland pick up consecutive wins. It’s sage to say that Anichebe will continue to get his opportunities for Sunderland moving forward. Sunderland isn’t often on our EPL fantasy list but this was a rare occurence. They managed to get the win but the three goals they scored were just their 10th, 11th and 12th of the season. Only two other teams have scored less than them. They are now sitting in 19th place in the EPL standings with just eight points through 12 games. They are currently behind West Ham, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace – all of whom are tied at 11 points – and they’ll need to catch them to get out of the relegation zone.
F: Harry Kane, Tottenham
Kane is another striker that has certainly made an impact over the past couple of weeks with three goals in two games, including a pair in Tottenham’s 3-2 win over West Ham United. Spurs is right there with the big boys of the Premier League looking to make its move in to the top four and Tottenham will certainly need Kane to continue to perform at a high level in order for that to happen this season. Tottenham is now sitting in fifth place in the EPL standings. They have been a reliable team for EPL fantasy purposes as they’ve scored 18 goals in 25 games and they’ve only allowed eight, which is the fewest in the Premier League this season.
Honorable Mention: Jermain Defoe, Sunderland; Diego Costa, Chelsea; Olivier Giroud, Arsenal
