Yahoo! Fantasy Football: Manchester City to clinch title in Saturday’s Manchester derby
The focus of this weekend’s Premier League action will be on Saturday’s Manchester derby where Manchester City will wrap up the Premier League title with a win over their neighbourhood rivals Manchester United.
The WhoScored Expert has made his judgement on Saturday’s title showdown at the Etihad and believes Pep Guardiola’s side will bounce back from Wednesday’s defeat to Liverpool with a win over the Red Devils.
We are looking at Saturday’s main contest on Yahoo! Fantasy Football and want to win a share of £2,500. In order to enter, we have been tasked with picking a team from Saturday’s matches, excluding the Merseyside derby at 12:30.
Before running through our XI, check out this great sign-up offer. By using the promocode ‘Fantasy50’, new users will get a bonus up to £50 to use on any cash games when depositing at least £5! Now, here is our XI:
Goalkeeper – MAT RYAN (BRIGHTON)
Brighton will look to take a massive leap to securing their Premier League status for next season when they host relegation rivals Huddersfield on Saturday.
The Seagulls are on a two-game losing streak in the league but they have only lost to Leicester, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City at home this season.
Only four goalkeepers have made more saves than Brighton’s Mat Ryan (93) in the Premier League this season and he will hope for a quieter afternoon against a Huddersfield side on the slide.
The Terriers would be second from bottom if the Premier League table only accounted for results in 2018 (two wins from 11 matches).
Defender – JOHN STONES (MANCHESTER CITY)
Pep Guardiola is expected to make some changes to the side that lost 3-0 to Liverpool on Wednesday night despite the fact they face Manchester United on Sunday.
City have all but won the Premier League title and Guardiola knows that he needs his players as fresh as possible for the second leg of their quarter-final clash with Liverpool next week if they are to overturn a 3-0 deficit.
John Stones is one of the players expected to return to the starting XI after only making the bench at Anfield in midweek.
The England international has dropped down the pecking order since the turn of the year but should be given the chance to stake a claim for a regular starting berth for the remainder of the campaign on Saturday evening.
Defender – DAVINSON SANCHEZ (TOTTENHAM)
Such the ease to which Davinson Sanchez has transitioned into life in the Premier League that Tottenham no longer feel the need to fight for Toby Alderweireld’s long-term future.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are expected to cash in on Alderweireld this summer and it’s a decision that has been made much easier due to Sanchez’s form at the heart of Tottenham’s defence.
The Colombia international has endured few scary moments in his first season with Tottenham, which is all the more remarkable when you consider he is only 21-years-old.
Tottenham face a poor Stoke side this weekend against whom they have won each of their last four meetings with by a combined score of 17-1.
Defender – FABIAN DELPH (MANCHESTER CITY)
Now back at full fitness, Fabian Delph should also start Saturday’s Manchester derby. The 28-year-old has been immense for City this season, but has been limited to just four appearances in 2018 due to ongoing fitness problems.
While United will be out to spoil City’s party on Saturday, it’s hard to see that happening if United set up in typical Mourinho fashion. The Red Devils have failed to score in three of their four away league matches against their top-six rivals this season and it’s difficult to envisage anything changing in that respect here.
Delph will also know that a solid performance back in the starting XI could lead to a start against Liverpool next week and that extra incentive will push him on to play even better against Mourinho’s side.
Midfielder – DELE ALLI (TOTTENHAM)
Returning to Tottenham, Dele Alli is the first of four midfielders in our Yahoo! Fantasy Football XI. The England international answered his critics in spectacular fashion last weekend, notching twice against Chelsea as Tottenham beat them in the league at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 28 years.
Alli has now played a direct hand in six goals in his last six appearances for Tottenham (three goals, three assists) and is a Yahoo! Top-20 form player as a result.
As mentioned earlier, Tottenham have put 17 goals past Stoke across their last four matches and Alli has played a major part in those matches. In fact, against only Southampton and Chelsea (5) has Alli scored more goals than Stoke (4) in his career.
Midfielder – VICENTE IBORRA (LEICESTER)
After earning a place in the top-scoring Yahoo! Fantasy Football XI from gameweek 32, we have included Vicente Iborra in our team this weekend.
With Wilfred Ndidi suspended for Leicester, even more will be expected of Iborra when the Foxes take on Newcastle on Saturday.
Both teams are in good shape ahead of this weekend’s meeting at the King Power Stadium but home advantage should tip the balance of this match into Leicester’s favour.
Newcastle are winless in their last four away games, while Iborra enters the match having scored in consecutive league games for Claude Puel’s side.
Midfielder – PASCAL GROSS (BRIGHTON)
Having already selected Brighton goalkeeper Mat Ryan in our Yahoo! Fantasy XI, we have now included his team-mate Pascal Gross.
The 26-year-old has proved a wonderful signing for the Seagulls, playing a direct hand in 13 goals in 31 league appearances (five goals, eight assists).
11 of those have come on home soil and Chris Hughton will hope he can turn in another impressive display when Brighton host a struggling Huddersfield outfit.
In fact, the German creator has played a direct hand in four goals in his last four home matches for Brighton (one goal, three assists).
Midfielder – HEUNG-MIN SON (TOTTENHAM)
Tottenham are already fending off interest for a number of their key players and they will have to add Heung-Min Son to that list sooner rather than later.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a really impressive season for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season, scoring 12 goals and providing four assists in 30 league appearances.
Son is now one of the first names on the teamsheet and he will be looking to add to his tally when Tottenham play Stoke on Saturday.
The South Korea international has scored three times in Tottenham’s last three matches against the Potters.
Utility – RIYAD MAHREZ (LEICESTER)
It was between Riyad Mahrez and Wilfried Zaha, but a 78% of our Twitter fans voted for the former to be included in our Yahoo! Fantasy Football XI for Saturday’s Premier League action.
Mahrez has rediscovered his best form since failing to secure a move to Manchester City at the end of the January transfer window and Leicester are all the better for it in their pursuit of a sixth-place finish.
The Algeria international has played a direct hand in 18 league goals this season, nine more than he managed across the whole of last season and he will know a strong finish to the season could lead to a high profile move in the summer.
Forward – HARRY KANE (TOTTENHAM)
Harry Kane returned to first-team action earlier than anticipated in Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Chelsea, coming off the bench 16 minutes left at Stamford Bridge.
The Tottenham star is expected to return to the starting XI when they play league strugglers Stoke on Saturday and he will have his Mohamed Salah in his sights.
Kane starts the weekend five goals behind the Liverpool star in the race to finish as the Premier League’s top scorer this season but will be confident of closing that gap against Stoke.
In fact, against only Leicester (11) has Kane scored more goals against than Stoke (8) in his career.
Forward – RAHEEM STERLING (MANCHESTER CITY)
The surprise news on Wednesday night was that Guardiola elected to leave Raheem Sterling on the bench against former club Liverpool.
City were quickly torn apart in the opening half and Guardiola’s mastermind backfired completely. The same isn’t expected to happen this time around, with Sterling due to be reinstated in the starting XI for Saturday’s Manchester derby.
Sterling has been immense for City this season and his performances have even attracted reported interest from Real Madrid.
Of the 23 goals Sterling has scored or assisted in the Premier League this season, 15 have come at the Etihad.
