Some strong defensive efforts led to a number of goalkeepers standing tall in the Premier League this past weekend with West Ham United, Watford, Stoke City and Chelsea among the teams that earned clean sheet victories. However, there was still some considerable scoring output in a handful of games including an unexpected explosion from a Bournemouth side that registered just its third win of the season. Here is a look at the top individual EPL fantasy performances by position from this past weekend.
GK: Adrian, West Ham United
Adrian was outstanding in West Ham’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, making a couple of big stops in order to help preserve the one-goal lead and earn a maximum three points. Adrian finished with three saves and the clean sheet win put him over the top as the No. 1 fantasy performer at his position from this past weekend. In terms of EPL fantasy, it’s rare to find West Ham in this spot as they have been terrible from a defensive perspective. Their 17 goals allowed so far this season are the second-most in the EPL
Honorable Mention: Heurelho Gomes, Watford; Lee Grant, Stoke City; Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea
D: Jose Holebas, Watford
Holebas broke a scoreless tie in the 54th minute with a beauty goal that stood as the lone marker in the match and the eventual game-winning goal. The veteran defender was excellent at both ends of the pitch and his second goal of the Premier League season was enough to help him clinch top fantasy honors at his position.
Honorable Mention: Charlie Daniels, Bournemouth; Steve Cook, Bournemouth; Erik Pieters, Stoke City
M: Junior Stanislas, Bournemouth
Bournemouth were the big winners over the weekend as their offense exploded in a 6-1 win over Hull City. Stanislas led the way in the midfield with two goals and an assist with five shots in total to take top fantasy honors at the midfield position. Bournemouth is now in 11th place in the standings table. In terms of EPL fantasy, they’ve managed to score and allow 12 goals so far this season, which is right around the middle of the pack.
M: Joe Allen, Stoke City
Stoke City earned three points from a 2-0 win over Sunderland thanks in large part to Allen’s pair of first-half goals. Allen opened the scoring in the eighth minute and then added another marker in the first minute of first-half injury time to seal the win. It was a strong fantasy performance on a relatively quiet weekend from some of the top Premier League midfielders. Stoke City has been terrible in terms of EPL fantasy so far this season, so seeing them in this list is a rarely. They have given up a whopping 16 goal through eight games so far, which is the second-most in the Premier League. That’s why they find themselves in 18th place in the standings with just six points.
Honorable Mention: Theo Walcott, Arsenal; Manuel Lanzini, West Ham United; Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
F: Charlie Austin, Southampton
Austin opened the scoring for Southampton with a goal in the 52nd minute and then added a penalty shot marker in the 66th minute to give his club a two-goal cushion en route to a 3-1 win over Burnley. Austin’s two goals and eight shots in total were more than enough for him to earn top fantasy honors at his position for this past weekend. Southampton now sits in eighth place in the EPL standings as they’ve managed to collect 12 points so far. For EPL fantasy purposes, they are right in the middle of the pack in terms of offense and defense with 10 goals scored and seven allowed so far this season.
F: Callum Wilson, Bournemouth
Wilson’s performance wasn’t nearly as outstanding as his teammate Stanislas, but it was enough to earn him a spot on this list as he finished with one goal and five shots in total. Bournemouth likely won’t have too many games in which they score six goals this season but Wilson should be a steady fantasy contributor moving forward.
Honorable Mention: Diego Costa, Chelsea; Romelu Lukaku, Everton; Sam Vokes, Burnley
