With the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League group stage completed, English Premier League will take over as the dominant footballing action for the remainder of the month. It kickstarts with the match week 12 on Saturday, December 12.

With PL games coming thick and fast, we bring to you some of the names who could be the standout performers in your fantasy team this weekend.

Player: Patrick Bamford

Match: Leeds United vs West Ham United

The ideal executioner of Marcelo Bielsa's masterplan, England's Patrick Bamford has been a revelation in the Premier League this season. Since his first goal at the Anfield, where Leeds United announced their arrival against defending champions Liverpool, Bamford has led Bielsa's three-pronged attack through the middle scoring eight goals in 11 matches. His hat-trick against Aston Villa exhibited the phenomenal talent that English football has at its disposal. After scoring blanks against Arsenal and Everton, Bamford was Leeds' sole goal-scorer in their loss to Chelsea last week. With a less competitive challenger in West Ham United up next, Bielsa would be hoping his striker can turn on the heat.

Player: Son Heung-min

Match: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min is undoubtedly the most popular footballer in North London right now after his screamer against arch-rivals Arsenal. The 28-year-old South Korean has been Jose Mourinho's best player this season so far, partnering alongside England talisman Harry Kane up front - who have been their goal-scoring threat against their PL opponents. Son has tallied a whopping 10 goals in 11 PL encounters so far, with his four-goal cameo against Southampton the best so far. While a conservative Crystal Palace would pose a different challenge for Mourinho’s men, Son remains his best shot at unlocking their rivals defence. And given his current form, Son is a must for any fantasy manager.

Player: Mohamed Salah

Match: Fulham vs Liverpool

Unlike last season, where Mohamed Salah wasn't Liverpool's most potent threat, he has been at his usual best this time around. The Egyptian international has played 10 games for the Reds in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals and assisting twice. And the availability of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have hardly mattered for the right-winger who has been at his prolific best. Though Salah was one of the very few Liverpool regulars to feature in their midweek UEFA Champions League clash, where he leapfrogged Steven Gerrard as the club's highest UCL goal-scorer, he is expected to start against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Interestingly, an underperforming Fulham have conceded 21 goals in 16 PL matches this season and Salah will certainly fancy his chances to add to his goal-scoring tally.

Player: Kevin De Bruyne

Match: Manchester United vs Manchester City

If there has been a Manchester City player who is as important to Pep Guardiola, as Lionel Messi was to him in Barcelona, it is Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgium international is the lynchpin at his favourite number 10 position for City, who orchestrates Guardiola's team like a well-oiled machine. After a slow start to the campaign, where De Bruyne didn't feature in the first few games, he is now back to his very best. Playing nine games for the Cityzens, De Bruyne has been directly involved in eight goals. City's next match is against arch-rivals Manchester United, who have just been dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. There will be no better time to go to Manchester derby and earn a legendary status for himself at Old Trafford.

Player: Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Match: Everton vs Chelsea

For Everton to become a giant slayer and a top-four contender, which they have shown the intent of early in the season, Dominic Calvert-Lewin needs to keep his magical form going. The English forward has come of age in the 2020-21 Premier League season with 11 goals to his name in as many games, becoming the perfect number 9 any manager could wish for. With James Rodriguez and Richarlison flanking him, Calvert-Lewin has no dearth of deliveries inside the box and the striker has been brimming with confidence this season. With goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, Calvert-Lewin will be confident about scoring against a star-studded Chelsea side at Merseyside on Saturday.

Gameweek 10 of the English Premier League promises to be another enthralling round of fascinating fixtures. Right from Everton’s home game against Leeds United to Tottenham’s trip to Stamford Bridge, fans are certain to be entertained.

The fantasy managers, however, will once again have the selection dilemma with so many football stars pitted against each other. To ease the pressure, we give you five players who are tipped to shine in the upcoming games.

Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) vs Brighton

Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson has been quiet so far, this season. With a solitary goal and three assists in nine Premier League games, the Scotland international has been a shadow of his former self. Hence, Liverpool’s clash against Brighton on Saturday will be a great chance for the full-back to not only get bonus points from a clean sheet but contribute to the goals as well. If you are looking for a defender, Robertson is definitely your man.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) vs Leeds United

If there’s one player who needs to be a constant in every fantasy team this season, it is Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The 23-year-old striker has bagged 10 goals in nine Premier League games this season and judging how Everton have been faring so far, the tally is sure to rise. Leeds United, on their part, have kept just three clean sheets so far, conceding eight goals in their last three outings. Hence, Calvert-Lewin’s ability to breach the defences should come in handy.

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) vs Southampton

Bruno Fernandes�?influence in the Manchester United squad is unparalleled, to say the least. The 26-year-old Portugal international has been the club’s driving force since arriving in January and is arriving at the Southampton clash with three goals in his last two games - which includes the winner against West Brom. Now, Southampton may well and truly be a tough nut to crack, but if there’s anyone in the Manchester United team who can unlock their defence, it is Bruno Fernandes.

Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) vs Chelsea

Chelsea might have been unbeaten against Tottenham in their last three games, but Jose Mourinho's Spurs are a different beast this season. The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager has taken the team to the top of the Premier League standings and a certain Son Heung-Min has been in the form of his life. Having already scored nine goals in the league this season, the South Korean international will be the one to keep a keen eye on against Chelsea.

Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) vs Fulham

Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy has scored two goals in his last two games against Fulham. Moreover, his current form remains another concern for the Cottagers as he comes on the back of five goals and an assist in his last six games across all competitions. A potential threat for any opposition, Fulham will be wary of Vardy’s goal scoring abilities, especially with their leaky defence (Fulham have conceded 18 goals in the league).

Everton FC are one of the most influential clubs in English football history. They have featured in the top flight in a record number of 117 seasons while missing out on only four occasions. Moreover, they have been the champions nine times as well. Yet, they haven't been in the reckoning as a top Premier League club for at least the last couple of decades or so.

The reason for that can be primarily attributed to their failure of winning the title in the last three decades. The 1987-88 season was the last time Everton became the Champions of the top division of English football. The league wasn't even known as the Premier League back then. It was officially renamed as the English Premier League five seasons later in 1992-93. So Everton have gone through a 32-year title drought now and that is long enough a period for people to forget their status as a club, no matter how rich their history or legacy is.

Something different about Everton in the current season?

Everton have gone unbeaten in the five Premier League matches they have played in the ongoing season till now and that has propelled them to the top of the league table for the time being. Yes, we have seen many clubs who enjoyed such initial bursts of form in the past editions but they have eventually gone on to finish mid-table by the end of the season. However, the spark that we have seen in Everton's playing style this season is similar to that of a champion team.

Out of the five matches that they have played so far, two of them have been against top clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Everton faced Spurs in their opening fixture of the Premier League season and registered a clinical 1-0 win over them. And against the defending champions, they put up yet another stellar show as they drew the game 2-2. Such success can be attributed to a number of factors working together for them.

The rise of Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton's 23-year-old English striker, has been in sensational form since last year. He finished as their joint-top-scorer in the last Premier League season with 13 goals to his name. And as things stand five matches into the 2020/21 edition of the League now, he has netted a total seven goals, which is more than half of what he scored last time around.

The forward is far more aware of his abilities right now and has added some nice skills to his style of play as well. His chemistry with Brazilian forward Richarlison up top has always been pretty good but it seems like they have taken it up a notch in this edition. Most defences have found the Everton duo very difficult to contain and a strengthened midfield has only freed them up to do what they are best at.

The arrival of James Rodriguez

The signing of James Rodriguez from Bayern Munich was one of the main highlights for Carlo Ancelotti this season. The Colombian midfielder used to be one of his favourite players during his stint as the Real Madrid manager. Rodriguez had the best time of his career at Real Madrid under Ancelotti and it seems like the same combination is doing wonders once again.

The form of Gylfi Sigurdsson had been a major cause of concern for Everton since the last season. He was neither posing a threat to the opposition in terms of scoring nor was he able to create chances on a consistent basis for the Everton forwards. Injuries have had a lot to do with his dip in form and it left Everton crying out for a quality playmaker in their ranks. That's why the arrival of Rodriguez turned out to be such good news for the club.

Yes, he hasn't had the best of times in the last couple of years but here he had the chance of making a fresh start. And as things have panned out so far, he has grabbed his opportunity with both hands. Rodriguez has not only scored three goals in the Premier League season thus far but assisted thrice as well.

His pitch-perfect passes and through balls have helped the likes of Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison a lot and the support he has provided in offence has only taken the load off their backs. Yes, he might not be a like-for-like playmaker as Sigurdsson - the Iceland international is more of a central midfielder whereas Rodriguez mainly plays from the right side - but Everton have tweaked their style of play to accommodate Rodriguez and most of their offenses are now built from the right side of the midfield.

Abdoulaye Doucoure pulling the strings from deep inside the midfield

Even though it was the transfer of Rodriguez that created all the buzz in the transfer market for Everton, the club made an equally good signing by hiring the services of Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford. The defensive midfielder now sits at the heart of Everton's midfield and allows the trio of Rodriguez, Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin to unleash all of their firepower on the opposition defence.

He has featured in all matches of the season so far and made some brilliant interceptions and clearances for Everton. He is quite useful in counterattacks as well. Doucoure has accounted for a total of 17 Premier League goals in his four seasons with Watford and will be eager to add more of those to his name while being at Goodison Park as well.

All of these changes have worked out pretty well for Everton so far. They seem like a champion team considering the kind of confidence they have right now and the form they are in. But a lot will depend on how far they can take this consistency forward.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Peter Byrne

After a brief international break, Premier League football returns this weekend, and we have some exciting games waiting in store. The gameweek five kicks off with the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park followed by Manchester City playing host to Arsenal at the Etihad. And with that being said, here we give you five players who are highly tipped to gather most points from the upcoming round of fixtures.

Player: Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Team: Everton

Match: Everton vs Liverpool

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is thriving under Carlo Ancelotti, but more so alongside James Rodriguez. So when they welcome their city rivals Liverpool - a team they haven’t defeated since 2010 - at Goodison Park on Saturday, October 17, a lot will depend on how the 23-year-old striker performs. Having already scored nine goals in all competitions this season, including two hat-tricks, Calvert-Lewin is certain to be Everton’s go-to man. More effective in front of the goal this season, the 23-year-old is highly tipped to add further misery to Liverpool’s defence which has already shipped in 11 goals in just four Premier League outings.

Player: Kurt Zouma

Team: Chelsea

Match: Chelsea vs Southampton

Chelsea welcome Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with a hope keeping their second clean sheet of the season. The Saints have scored just six goals in four league appearances and Chelsea will be counting on Kurt Zouma in order to keep their goal clean. Zouma, a clear danger in set-piece situations, has bagged two goals in four appearances already this season. 

Furthermore, since their 3-1 win over the Blues in 2015, Southampton have won just one of their last 10 encounters against Chelsea, scoring a mere eight goals in the process. Chelsea, on the other hand, have kept six clean sheets during the tenure, and one can expect more of the same on Saturday.

Player: Raheem Sterling

Team: Manchester City

Match: Manchester City vs Arsenal

Manchester City have sure endured a difficult start to their 2020/21 Premier League campaign, but they will be riding high on the fact that a certain Raheem Sterling has enjoyed great success against their Saturday’s opponents, Arsenal. The Gunners, who have won three of their four league games so far, visit Etihad Stadium on October 17, and will be wary of the threat Sterling poses. The English winger, along with Kevin de Bruyne, has terrorized Arsenal’s defence in his recent outings, having scored three goals in his last five games. City will be hoping to get back to winning ways against Arsenal and for that, expect them to count on Sterling a big time.

Player: Callum Wilson

Team: Newcastle United

Match: Newcastle United vs Manchester United

Newcastle’s summer acquisition, Callum Wilson has been a total revelation of the Magpies, scoring four goals in as many league matches so far. Steve Bruce’s men next face a struggling Manchester United side, which has shipped in 11 goals a mere three outings. Judging by how leaky their defence has been, expect striker Callum Wilson to rub salt on United’s fresh wounds. He is highly tipped to find the back of the net. Coming on the back of an exhilarating performance against Burnley, the former Bournemouth striker will be riding high on confidence against Manchester United. He sure is a gamble, but United’s ongoing struggles make him one of the top candidates in fantasy football.

Player: Harry Kane

Team: Tottenham Hotspur

Match: Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is in the form of his life. Having already bagged eight goals and six assists in all competitions this season, it goes without saying that he needs to be the first man in your team. Tottenham take on West Ham United, who have surprisingly defeated both Wolves (4-0) and Leicester City (3-0) already this season. They, however, have also shown defensive frailties at times, and Kane would need no second invitation in that regard. The English striker, alongside Son Heung-Min, has been an absolute terror, and one can expect more of the same agianst West Ham on Sunday.

If you wish to raise the stakes further, Sportsbet.io has even more to offer!

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Andrew Boyers

Gameweek 2 of the Premier League witnessed plenty of action and was the highest-scoring weekend in the league’s 20-team history, with 44 goals scored. Defending champions Liverpool continued their perfect start to the season while ruining Chelsea’s courtesy a 2-0 away win at Stamford Bridge. The upcoming gameweek could see more teams lose their perfect starts this season with a couple of encounters taking place between clubs who are yet to drop points so far. Here’s a look at what could happen in those contests.

Crystal Palace vs Everton

Both teams are unbeaten this season, having won their opening two matches. Crystal Place will be confident in their ability to beat Everton even though they have lost three of their last five league meetings against them and played out goalless draws during the Merseysiders�?last two visits to Selhurst Park. Wilfred Zaha will be brimming with confidence after bagging a brace in the previous gameweek and will want to leave his mark on the game again.

Everton, on the other hand, can be expected to get the better of Palace, especially if their last visit to London, when they beat Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season, is anything to go by. Their performance last week was even better with new acquisitions James Rodriguez, who scored his first goal for the club, and Allan pulling the strings from midfield to help the Toffees make it consecutive wins to help kickstart their campaign.

Watch out for:

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: Dominic Calvert-Lewin has begun the new season like a man on a mission and if he can manage to sustain his early-season form for the entirety of the campaign, then it’s hard to see England manager Gareth Southgate leaving him out of the squad for the Euros next summer. The 23-year-old is the joint top-scorer in the league at present and scored Everton’s first Premier League hat-trick since Wayne Rooney netted thrice at Goodison Park in November 2017.

Liverpool vs Arsenal

Liverpool demonstrated just why they are champions of England last week. A controlled and relatively comfortable display saw the Reds beat a ten-man Chelsea side, and Jurgen Klopp’s men will back themselves to snap Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season. The last two league meetings between the teams at Anfield has ended in a 5-1 and 3-1 win for the hosts, and it will take something special from Arsenal to avoid another defeat on the red half of Merseyside.

Arsenal, though, will be bullish about their chances of taking something from the match having beaten Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium after Project Restart and edging them on penalties in the FA Community Shield last month. The Gunners will also take heart from the positive manner in which they have begun the season and hope that their manager Mikel Arteta can add another win to his record of four victories and two draws in nine matches against the league’s big six as Arsenal boss.

Watch out for:

Roberto Firmino: The Brazilian attacker may not have opened his account in the league yet, but Roberto Firmino is certain to enter this contest in a positive frame of mind with plenty of good memories of playing against the Gunners to back him up. Firmino, who provided the assist for Sadio Mane’s opener against Arsenal last week, has netted eight goals against Arsenal in the Premier League. Seven of his eight strikes have come at Anfield, including a hat-trick in December 2018.

If you wish to raise the stakes further, Sportsbet.io has even more to offer!

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Childs/Pool

With the second game week of the new Premier League campaign close to its conclusion, fantasy team owners across the world are either rejoicing for having Harry Kane or Son Heung Minor both in their team, while others are left ruing for not captaining either or worse, not having either player in their side.

But, a new game week brings new hope. If you are tired of your unproductive forward line or your leaky defence, we have a few fixes for you:

Player: Timo Werner

Team: Chelsea

Match: West Brom vs Chelsea

Liverpool may have rinsed Chelsea in their meeting last week but the Blues will take solace in the performance of summer signing Timo Werner.

The German striker had very little to feed off and still managed to put in a decent shift against the reigning Premier League champions and even managed to win a penalty that Jorginho missed. Werner was sharp and ran relentlessly all evening rather futilely. However, with Christian Pulisic and new boys, Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech close to full match fitness, Werner will receive some much-needed support upfront.

He’s due a goal and newly-promoted West Brom, who have shipped eight goals in two games, could be the perfect opponents for Werner to get off the mark.

Player: Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Team: Everton

Match: Crystal Palace vs Everton

With four goals in two Premier League games, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the most in-form striker in the Premier League.

The young Englishman has been terrific so far and is rather modestly priced. The 23-year-old is enjoying life under Ancelotti and the signing of James Rodriguez has added a new dimension to Everton’s attack that Calvert-Lewin is well and truly feeding off.

A great option if you are in the hunt of a mid-ranged forward.

Player: Conor Coady

Team: Wolves

Match: West Ham vs Wolves 

Defence leaking goals? Time to get in Conor Coady.

The Wolves skipper sits at the heart of a sturdy defence that rarely concedes heavily. Wolves face West Ham, Fulham and Newcastle in three out of their next four matches. Expect Wolves to keep clean sheets and Coady to score a few points for your team.

Player: Patrick Bamford

Team: Leeds United

Match: Sheffield United vs Leeds United

If the first two gameweeks are anything to go by, Leeds United are going to be a lot of fun to watch this season.

Coach Marcelo Bielsa’s men score and concede for fun and what better to have the striker of the team that is just relentless in front of goal. Patrick Bamford has scored in each of his first two games and provided a couple of assists as well. The former Chelsea striker found a home at Elland Road and will be extremely productive for Leeds as well as your fantasy team.

Player: James Justin

Team: Leicester City

Match: Manchester City vs Leicester City

If you are in the hunt for a cheap defensive reinforcement, Leicester City’s James Justin is the way to go.

The young fullback has locked down the left-back position for the Foxes, vacated by the departure of Ben Chilwell to Chelsea. The young defender won a penalty on opening weekend against West Bromich Albion and scored against Burnley, showcasing his incredible attacking output.

Justin could prove to be a great acquisition in the long term for your fantasy team.

If you wish to raise the stakes further, Sportsbet.io has even more to offer!

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Alex Livesey

The 2019/20 season of the Premier League has been full of surprises. Starting right from Liverpool's stellar run to West Ham's poor performance, the season has overturned many predictions that were being made before it started. 

Not just only teams, but some popular players have gone through a rough patch of form as well. However, like Liverpool, there have been players who have surprised everyone with their performance and thus their stocks have only gone on to rise this season. Let's have a look at three of those players.

Read | Premier League 2019/20: Three players who exceeded expectations

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)

There were a lot of questions about his quality as a striker in the Premier League until last season. However, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been a revelation this time around, having scored a personal best of 13 goals in 22 games for Everton. That includes goals against top teams like Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal. Such has been his form this season that he has even overshadowed Everton's star forward Richarlison, who has netted 10 goals so far.

Read | Top five active free-kick takers in football

Calvert-Lewin had almost played almost the same number of minutes in the last two seasons, but had scored fewer goals. He had scored four goals along with eight assists in a total of 1871 minutes in the 2017/18 season and followed that up with six goals and five assists in 1769 minutes in the 2018/19 season. So it's clear how his finishing abilities have improved this season and that is the reason why the 23-year-old has become Carlo Ancelotti's frontman for the club.

Dean Henderson (Sheffield United)

Almost all clubs who progress into the top flight from the Championship like to bolster their squad with an experienced shot-stopper. However, Sheffield United retained their faith in England's U-21 goalkeeper Dean Henderson who had been terrific during their 2018/19 season in the Championship. Playing in the Premier League was expected to be a stern test for Henderson but he showed that he is as good as any other shot-stopper in the competition. 

Read | Premier League team of the season so far

The 23-year-old has 10 clean sheets to his name this season, the second-most in the entire league, and has made 70 saves with a save percentage of 75% as well. He has played a key role to help Sheffield being the second most successful team in terms of goals conceded (25) this season. Hence, Henderson definitely has bigger and better things coming for him in the future.

Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)

It was due to Jack Grealish's sublime form towards the business end of the 2018/19 EFL Championship that Aston Villa could make their way into the Premier League. However, there was always a question mark over how he would be able to cope with the standards of the Premier League. But the 25-year-old cleared out all doubts as he emerged as one of the most prolific playmakers in the league during the season.

Read | Premier League team of the season �?Excluding top six clubs

Even though Aston Villa struggled as a unit (they stood at 19th in the table when coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a standstill), Grealish was highly impressive as he scored seven goals and assisted six times for the club. Such performances have made Manchester United highly interested in acquiring his services. Hence, we might see the Villa skipper donning the United jersey next season.

Feature Image: AFP / Paul Ellis

We have seen some great action in this season of the Premier League just as any other season. The likes of Sergio Aguero, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, among others, have been at their lethal best as expected. However, there are some players who have stepped up with their performances and exceeded all sorts of expectations this season. That said, let's have a look at three of the best players among them.

Danny Ings

After a terrific opening season of the Premier League in 2014/15, during which he bagged 11 goals along with four assists, his career over the last four seasons was largely marred by injuries. But it seems like he is back to the peak of his fitness once again as Ings was seen in prolific scoring form for Southampton this season. 

Read | Three best signings in the January transfer window

Ings has already scored 15 goals this season and has one assist on top of that as well. That's not only his individual best in any Premier League season but the fourth most tally of goals among all players in this season as well. Ings has been exceptional with his finishing and has played like a one-man army for Southampton. He would be eager to carry this form into the upcoming seasons.

Tammy Abraham

Chelsea's 20-year-old academy product has enjoyed a pretty successful season with the senior squad. Abraham has been trusted upon as their first team forward in the absence of other established names in their squad. Although Olivier Giroud and Mitchy Batshuayi were also available, manager Frank Lampard showed immense faith in the youngster.

He didn't disappoint though. Abraham fully repaid Lampard's faith in him as he is their top scorer in the league this season with 13 goals and five assists in 25 appearances. He has pace and his sense of positioning helps him to get into unmanned pockets inside the 18-yard-box on most occasions. He will only grow as a player with the amount of exposure he got in this season.

Read | Premier League team of the season so far

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

The Everton forward has had an immense growth as a player this season, so much that he has even overshadowed their star player Richarlison with his performances. Calvert-Lewin is the club's top scorer this season with 13 goals and an assist to his name in 27 league appearances for the club.

His goal tally in this season is more than what he had scored in the previous three seasons combined. Calvert-Lewin's career graph has always had an upward growth curve. He scored just one goal in 2016/17 season after playing just 347 minutes, four goals and eight assists in 2017/18 season after 1871 minutes, and finally six goals and five assists in 2018/18 seasons after 1769 minutes on the field. This season, Calvert-Lewin has been even more efficient as his 13 goals have come in just 1904 minutes.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis