This article is part of our FPL Roundup series.
Gameweek 14 of the Premier League season proved to be wildly entertaining and featured goals galore for fantasy owners to feast on.
Seven of the 18 teams that played Saturday or Sunday scored at least three goals. Appropriately, leaders Chelsea were the first to do so, as they put three past Manchester City in this weekend's opening match. The Blues continue to stream roll opponents since manager Antonio Conte switched to his favored three-man defense, which has propelled Chelsea to 22 goals scored and just two conceded during their current nine-match winning streak.
While such success has seen many Blues players blossom into fantasy standouts, striker Diego Costa continues to be Chelsea's most consistent performer. With a goal and an assist Saturday, Costa brought his tallies to 11 scores and five helpers, contributing toward a league-best 16 goals overall.
That record has seen Costa's price in the Premier League's official fantasy game skyrocket from a season-opening £9.5m to £10.7m. That being said, Costa still comes cheaper than three other forwards, and he has a great opportunity to build on his position-leading 99 fantasy points with upcoming matches against West Brom (H), Sunderland (A), Crystal Palace (A), Bournemouth (H) and Stoke (H).
While Chelsea's star striker was able to keep his cool Saturday, Manchester City's emphatic home defeat caused the Citizens' star man, Sergio Aguero, to take Costa-like means to express his frustration. The Argentine earned his second dismissal for violent conduct this season after a petulant, karate-style challenge in second-half stoppage time, which will now see him suspended for Man City's next four matches. That obviously takes Aguero, who ranks third among fantasy forwards with 6.2 points per game, out of the equation until Gameweek 19, so look for youngster Kelechi Iheanacho to get another chance to impress in his absence.
When Aguero was first suspended for Gameweeks 4 and 5, Iheanacho filled in with a goal and an assist in both of Man City's matches, compiling 20 fantasy points. Although the Nigerian, who turned just 20 years old Saturday, has scored only once since then, he still boasts a hugely impressive three goals and three assists in merely 299 minutes of league play. If he starts all four games Aguero is forced to miss, Iheanacho could very well improve on that mark, as three of City's next four come against bottom-half opposition. Costing just £6.6m right now, Iheanacho is an Aguero replacement that would give fantasy owners huge flexibility with the cash opened by switching him into their sides.
Along with Iheanacho, young Liverpool striker Divock Origi faces a stretch in which he could significantly improve his stock, and the Belgian started to do just that in Sunday's game against Bournemouth.
With Philippe Coutinho sidelined by an ankle injury that could keep him out until the New Year, Origi occupied the vacant spot in Liverpool's front three Sunday and scored a wonderful first-half goal to mark the occasion. That came after Origi opened his account against Sunderland last weekend, and followed up with a midweek goal in League Cup play.
Given his three goals in the Reds' last three outings, as well as the fact that Daniel Sturridge is injured (again) and out of favor, Origi should be a hot fantasy commodity, especially considering he currently costs just £6.5m.
Although Origi will need to keep the goals coming to justify his place in the fantasy forefront, the expectation that he'll spearhead Liverpool's league-leading attack adds to his intrigue. Furthermore, with Sadio Mane scheduled to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations in January, Origi could parlay his playing time in Coutinho's absence into even more extended involvement if all goes well.
Whereas this weekend's action rightfully drew attention to goal scorers, one of the three teams to keep a clean sheet also deserves ink for its overachievement lately.
In blanking Burnley 2-0 at home, Stoke City clinched their fourth clean sheet in the past seven gameweeks, a span in which they've won five times. Such shining form has propelled the Potters into the top half of the table, making their goalkeeping and defending options fantasy bargains along the way. However, now seems the time to sell on Stoke's standouts, as they are set to embark on a brutal stretch of their schedule to close out 2016: Arsenal (A), Southampton (H), Leicester (H), Liverpool (A), Chelsea (A).
Given the firepower present in most of those upcoming opponents' setups, fantasy owners should look elsewhere for cheap defensive returns, and one unlikely team may emerge as a source for just that.
Yes, after shipping five goals at Tottenham on Saturday, last-place Swansea have now conceded an abysmal 16 goals in their last five matches. However, considering the Swans' next six games come against Sunderland (H), West Brom (A), Middlesbrough (A), West Ham (H), Bournemouth (H) and Crystal Palace (A), there seems to be achievable room for improvement.
While new manager Bob Bradley will certainly have to straighten things up at the back before Swansea's defense can be taken somewhat seriously, those matchups at least appear to have the potential to benefit goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (£5.0m), as well as defenders Kyle Naughton, Jordi Amat, Mike van der Hoorn and Neil Taylor, all of whom cost £4.5m or less.
To close things off, a couple of veterans to the English game deserve shout outs for their recent fantasy forays.
With both of their respective teams surprisingly having won three of their past four games, West Brom's Matt Phillips and Sunderland's Victor Anichebe have popped up as in-form fantasy options, particularly in daily formats.
Although Anichebe didn't score versus Leicester on Saturday, he did attempt a hefty eight shots, placing three on target. That continued his increased activity of late, as Anichebe has scored three times in Sunderland's last four games, taking a total of 16 shots. In his 10th year of English football, Anichebe has formed a strong partnership with fellow veteran Jermain Defoe up front, putting his fantasy stock on the rise.
Similarly, Phillips' form has taken flight lately, with his goal against Watford on Saturday marking his third in West Brom's last four outings. The 25-year-old, who started with Wycombe Wanderers back in 2008, has also registered three assists over the Baggies' past four, which has seen them vault up to the Premiership's seventh-best attack. While such potency is unlikely to continue under manager Tony Pulis, Phillips' latest performances should cause fantasy owners to at least take notice.
