A condensed schedule of Premier League action made for an exciting week as each team played twice within a span of five days. While Manchester City, Manchester United and Everton picked up key wins it was a team at the other end of the table that delivered the most convincing performance in terms of fantasy production as Sunderland earned a key three points thanks in big part to a couple of strong performances from defensive players. Here is a look at the top individual EPL fantasy performances by position in the Premier League this past week.
GK: Vito Mannone, Sunderland
Sunderland captured an absolutely crucial three points to stay alive in the relegation picture thanks in large part to an incredible performance from their goalkeeper in a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. Mannone turned aside all eight shots he faced to preserve the clean sheet win and edge out Hull City’s Eldin Jakupovic and Manchester United’s David De Gea for the top spot at his position.
Honorable Mention: Eldin Jakupovic, Hull City; David De Gea, Manchester United
D: Lamine Kone, Sunderland
Kone certainly held his own for Sunderland as well with a complete performance in the 4-0 win. Kone scored the opening goal just nine minutes in to the contest and it wound up standing as the game-winning goal. Meanwhile, Kone was excellent at the defensive end of the pitch as well as he helped his club preserve the clean sheet and move three points closer to the relegation line.
Honorable Mention: Andrea Ranocchia, Hull City; Antonio Valencia, Manchester United; Chris Smalling, Manchester United
M: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Manchester United
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata were both excellent for Manchester United over the weekend but no one player was better from a fantasy perspective than Mkhitaryan. The top fantasy midfielder of the week delivered a goal, an assist, four shots and earned bonuses for both the game-winning goal and a Manchester United clean sheet to earn his spot on this list.
M: Joshua King, Bournemouth
The second-best EPL fantasy performance among Premier League midfielders actually belongs to a player whose team lost 6-3 over the weekend as Bournemouth couldn’t figure out how to slow down Everton despite a strong performance from King. The Bournemouth midfielder scored two goals on four shots to earn a spot on this list but it wasn’t close to enough to earn three points in what turned out to be a lopsided loss. Bournemouth now sits in 14th place in the EPL standings with 26 points in 24 games. Even though the loss was ugly, they’re still six points clear of the relegation zone, so they are OK for now.
Honorable Mention: Pedro Obiang, West Ham; Ross Barkley, Everton; Eden Hazard, Chelsea
F: Romelu Lukaku, Everton
Lukaku was the biggest reason why Bournemouth couldn’t earn even a point matched up against Everton as he produced the top fantasy performance of the week regardless of position. Lukaku scored a ridiculous four goals on five shots including the game-winning goal in an absolutely monster performance. There is a good chance you would have won your fantasy matchup if you had Lukaku in your lineup and if you didn’t then that would have been tough to overcome.
Everton is now is seventh place in the standings. They have been a reliable option for EPL fantasy in terms of offense as they’ve scored 40 goals so far 24 games. That number is the sixth-most in the Premier League this season.
F: Gabriel Jesus, Manchester City
City’s newest young star continued his dominance in a 2-1 win over Swansea City as he scored both goals for his club and finished with four shots in total. The 19-year-old is up to three goals, an assists and eight shots through his first three appearances and his two goals this week including a bonus for the game-winning goal was more than enough for him to produce the second-best EPL fantasy score of the week at his position.
Honorable Mention: Jermain Defoe, Sunderland; M’Baye Niang, Watford; Ashley Barnes, Burnley
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