Yahoo! Fantasy Football: Manchester City to overcome fatigue at Leicester’s expense

As predicted this time last week, Manchester United bounced back from their humiliating defeat to Tottenham by beating Huddersfield to nil. Now we turn back to their city rivals, Manchester City, as they look to at least maintain their 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League this weekend.

We have entered Saturday’s main contest on Yahoo! Fantasy Football this weekend and picked an XI from the latest five matches in a bid to win a share of £2,500! Think you have what it takes to beat us and win big this weekend? For new users, use the promocode ‘Fantasy50’ when you deposit £5 and benefit from a £50 reward to use in any cash games. Now, here is our XI:

Goalkeeper – LUKASZ FABIANSKI (SWANSEA)

Swansea have enjoyed a real resurgence under Carlos Carvalhal and they are now eight matches unbeaten in all competitions following their stunning 8-1 win over Notts County on Tuesday.

In fact, it’s the club’s best run of results since they went nine matches unbeaten eight years ago. Carvalhal’s side are now outside the bottom three on goal difference and will hope to continue that streak against Burnley on Saturday.

The Clarets are winless in 10 matches and haven’t won on the road since the end of November. In the subsequent seven away games, they have failed to score in four and come up against second highest WhoScored rated goalkeeper (5+ appearances) in the Premier League this season, Lukas Fabianski (6.96 rating).

Defender – ALFIE MAWSON (SWANSEA)

Moving into defence and we have selected Fabianski's defensive teammate Alfie Mawson. The Swansea defender was briefly linked with a January move away, but has put that speculation behind him and played an integral part in the club’s ascent in recent weeks.

A Yahoo! Fantasy Football Top-20 form player, alongside Fabianski, Mawson has actually proved a real threat in the opposition’s box. The 24-year-old has played a direct hand in two goals in his last three league outings and averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.68 in that time.

Defender – KURT ZOUMA (STOKE)

Paul Lambert slipped to his first defeat as Stoke manager last time out against a resurgent Bournemouth side, but will looking to get back on track at home to Brighton.

The Seagulls are winless in seven away matches in the Premier League and have failed to score in six of those. Kurt Zouma is Stoke’s highest WhoScored rated player in the league this season (7.22) and will be tasked with ensuring Brighton’s woes on the road continue.

The on-loan Chelsea defender is a Yahoo! Top-20 form player and should come into contention for your XIs ahead of Saturday’s action.

Defender – SEAMUS COLEMAN (EVERTON)

The 29-year-old made a remarkable return to first-team action in Everton’s 2-1 win over Leicester at the end of January, completing 90 minutes in his first game back following 10 months out injured with a broken leg.

Seamus Coleman was understandably not ready to compete in two matches in quick succession after being left out of Everton’s 5-1 defeat to Arsenal last weekend, but is poised to start again here.

The Toffees have sorely missed Coleman’s attacking endeavour down the right flank in the last 10 months and they will be all the better for his comeback. Palace have only won two away league matches all season and will be without a number of key players for their trip to Goodison Park on Saturday.

Midfielder – XHERDAN SHAQIRI (STOKE)

Stoke will be looking to capitalise on Brighton’s poor away form this weekend and Xherdan Shaqiri is best placed to exploit their weaknesses. The Switzerland international scored his fifth league goal of the season last time out and will want to build on that here.

Added to the six assists he has also registered in the Premier League this term, Shaqiri is enjoying the most prolific league-campaign in his career. This is all the more impressive when you consider how badly Stoke have performed this season.

Midfielder – ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE (WATFORD)

Abdoulaye Doucoure has arguably been one of the most impressive players outside the top-six teams in the Premier League this season and Watford will struggle to retain his services over the summer.

The 25-year-old has played a direct hand in nine goals from his central midfield role (seven goals, two assists) in the Premier League this season and will eye further goalmouth action when the Hornets play away to West Ham on Saturday.

West Ham are now winless in four matches and injuries are really starting to build up for David Moyes’ side. They are winless in their last three matches against Watford, if you needed further convincing for Doucoure’s inclusion.

Midfielder – KEVIN DE BRUYNE (MANCHESTER CITY)

Kevin De Bruyne has revealed his Manchester City team-mates are running on empty at the moment, but there is no let up for Pep Guardiola’s side as they set their sights on the Premier League title.

The Belgium international is the frontrunner for the end of season PFA Player of the Year award and is currently the highest WhoScored rated player in the Premier League (7.90).

Only Neymar has registered as many assists as De Bruyne (11) in Europe’s top five leagues this season. On top of that, the 26-year-old has won the WhoScored Man of the Match in three of his last four outings.

Midfielder – OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO (MANCHESTER CITY)

The Ukraine international is an attacker by trade, but Pep Guardiola has moulded the 21-year-old as cover at left-back in recent weeks. Oleksandr Zinchenko has shown promise out of position, garnering a WhoScored rating of 7.31 from three appearances in the league.

Riyad Mahrez’s failed move to City appears to have destabilised Leicester in their last two matches and Pep Guardiola’s side are expected to ease home to another home league win on Saturday.

Utility – BERNARDO SILVA (MANCHESTER CITY)

It’s perhaps not been the season many hoped from Bernardo Silva after he completed a move to Manchester City over the summer, but he has at least been afforded a run of games in the starting XI following injury to Leroy Sane.

The Portugal international has scored or assisted in six of his last eight matches for City (four assists, two goals). His relative freshness may prove key for City in the coming weeks as some of their players are running on empty, as touched upon earlier.

Forward – GERARD DEULOFEU (WATFORD)

As selected by our Twitter audience, January signing Gerard Deulofeu makes our Yahoo! Fantasy Football XI off the back of two impressive showings for Watford. The 23-year-old has hit the ground running for the Hornets, even opening his account for Javi Gracia’s side in their shock 4-1 win over Chelsea on Monday.

The former Barcelona winger has garnered a WhoScored rating of 7.93 from his two matches, creating 3.5 chances per game and completing four dribbles per game. Up against a West Ham defence that has shipped the second most Premier League goals this season (46), the Spaniard will be confident of continuing his fine start.

Forward – RAHEEM STERLING (MANCHESTER CITY)

Raheem Sterling was guilty of missing an obvious goalscoring opportunity against Burnley last weekend, but it shouldn’t take away from what has been a superb season for the Manchester City No.7.

In fact, the 23-year-old is one of only four Premier League players to have managed a direct hand in at least 20 goals this season.

At home, only two players have a higher WhoScored rating in the division than Sterling (8.04), while 14 of the 20 goals he has been involved in have come at the Etihad.