Fantasy Football tips for Gameweek 21 in the Premier League

With the third round of the FA Cup out of the way now is the time to re-focus your attention on your fantasy football teams as the Premier League enters gameweek 21. It’s hard to look anywhere other than Manchester United’s blockbuster clash with Liverpool on Sunday, but there are still points to be earned elsewhere over the weekend. The tipster has scoured the fixtures and come out with some tips you should be considering this weekend.

ANDRE GRAY (BURNLEY)

It was been a difficult season for Andre Gray, who has struggled to take his prolific goalscoring form from the Championship to the Premier League. Couple that with the fact he has been in and out of the team this season for various reasons, and it’s fair to say the Premier League has not lived up to its billing for Gray in his first season in England’s top-flight.

However, there have been signs since Christmas that things are starting to turn in Gray’s favour. Four of his five league goals for the season have come in his last three appearances, including a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over relegation rivals Sunderland on New Year’s Eve. The Clarets end a two-match run of games away from home, in which Gray failed to score, this weekend when they host Southampton and the 25-year-old should be confident of finding the back of the net once more.

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Burnley seem to have learned from harsh lessons of the last time they were in the Premier League and have turned Turf Moor into a fortress. Burnley have already won more points on home soil in 11 matches this season (22) than they managed in the whole of the 2014/15 campaign (19), while Southampton may be jaded from their League Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool on Wednesday. With Jose Fonte not considered for selection until his future his resolved, Gray should look to target his replacement, Maya Yoshida. Fonte’s understudy has committed three errors that have led to an opposition goal in just 25 league appearances since the start of last season.

CHARLIE DANIELS (BOURNEMOUTH)

Perhaps an unheralded star of the fine work Eddie Howe has done at Bournemouth, Charlie Daniels is a name that should definitely come into contention for your fantasy football teams this weekend. The departure of Nathan Ake and the suspension of Simon Francis – perhaps a blessing given his tendency to make unforced mistakes – will likely mean Daniels is pushed into the heart of the back four when they face an injury hit Hull on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Daniels’ ability to set up a teammate should not be underestimated. No orthodox defender has played a direct hand in more goals since the start of last season in the Premier League than Daniels (14). His ability to create an opening for a teammate has been crucial to their success of their last two seasons in England’s top flight.

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Things couldn’t really get much worse for new Hull manager Marco Silva. Their resilient performance against Manchester United was undone by a crushing late goal and blighted by more injuries to their players. The loss of Robert Snodgrass in this window would be a further blow to their chances of beating the drop and while this a match they would have earmarked as one to get points from, it may well just be out of their physical capacity after playing in midweek.

DELE ALLI (TOTTENHAM)

Fantasy football is all about catching players in form and there is arguably no player at the peak of their powers in the Premier League than Dele Alli at the moment. The Tottenham ace has finally hit his grove in recent weeks and is finding the back of the net with frequent regularity.  In fact, Alli has scored seven of his 10 league goals this season in his last four outings. He has scored a brace in each of his last three league appearances to match his tally for goals last season in just 19 appearances this time around. Furthermore, not only is he the highest scoring midfielder in the Premier League since the start of last season (20 goals), but only Matt Le Tissier (50 games) brought up the landmark in quicker time than the Tottenham ace (52 games) in Premier League history.

The England international will be more than confident of extending his fine goalscoring form when Tottenham host an in-form West Brom outfit on Saturday having scored two goals in his three encounters with the Baggies in the past.

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Tottenham fans can rest assured that if Alli does hit the back of the net then they will more than likely go on to win the match. In fact, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have never lost a league match in which the 20-year-old has hit the back of the net, a run that spans 16 matches (12 wins, four draws). A confident win over Chelsea, in which Alli scored both of their goals, should really Spur Pochettino’s side on now as they look to close the gap on Antonio Conte’s side at the top of the table.

PAUL POGBA (MANCHESTER UNITED)

The former Juventus midfielder was heavily criticised at the start of the season following his world record move back to Manchester United but Paul Pogba finally looks to have settled back at Old Trafford and now just needs a statement game to finally announce himself as one of the most influential players in the Premier League.

He has been by far and away United’s best player this season (7.85 WhoScored rating) and he will need to be once again when they host Liverpool on Sunday. Jose Mourinho’s side drew 0-0 in the reverse fixture in which Pogba was relatively anonymous but much has changed since October.

The France international is creating more chances per game for his teammates (1.9), while only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (4.5) take more shots per game than the United No.6 (3.5). Given Pogba has hit the woodwork seven times already this season – the joint most of any player in England’s top flight – he is always a threat, and with Ibrahimovic set to return to the starting XI after a two-game absence he is expected to be in the thick of it at both ends of the pitch.

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In fact, the combination of Ibrahimovic and Pogba is the most creative in the Premier League this season, linking up to create 25 chances for one and other. United have won six of their last seven home league meetings with Liverpool, who come into this match having failed to score in successive games under Jurgen Klopp for the first time since February last year. United are primed to win with Pogba finally announcing himself as the best player in the league.