This article is part of our Starting Eleven series.
MATCHES (EDT)
8:30 a.m: Bournemouth v. Manchester United
11:00 a.m: Newcastle v. Watford
11:00 a.m: West Ham v. Burnley
11:00 a.m: Cardiff City v. Leicester City
11:00 a.m: Everton v. Brighton
1:30 p.m: Arsenal v. Liverpool
3:45 p.m: Wolverhampton v. Tottenham
FORWARDS
Everton are heavy favorites in a home match against Brighton, which should make Richarlison one of the most coveted attackers. He's relatively goal-dependent, making his selection slightly risky, but Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun are secondary options to Richarlison.
Callum Wilson will be the main man in attack for Bournemouth this weekend because Joshua King will miss out again due to injury. Wilson won't have an easy task facing Manchester United's backline, but he will be the focus of the Cherries' attack. On the other side, Romelu Lukaku hasn't scored more than 4.50 fantasy points in the past five matches and may be worth looking over against the Cherries.
The oddsmakers are looking at Saturday's match between Arsenal and Liverpool as a potential goal-fest, giving the clash the highest implied goal total on the slate. Mohamed Salah is the top fantasy option in that match, while Sadio Mane slightly edges out Roberto Firmino for Liverpool. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is riding a three-match scoring streak and will be Arsenal's top attacking option against a stingy Liverpool defense. I don't expect a clean sheet from either side.
In the best of the rest, Marko Arnautovic will face a Burnley defense that has allowed nine goals in their past two matches, while Harry Kane and Tottenham travel to Wolverhampton, a backline that has allowed just nine goals this season.
MIDFIELDERS
I don't necessarily look at Etienne Capoue and think "fantasy stud," but that's what he's been this season. He has just one match scoring in the single-digits, which came back in August against Burnley. Capoue's last three matches have yielded 14.6 fantasy points against Bournemouth, a whopping 34.9 against Wolves and 14.9 against Huddersfield. Watford take on Newcastle this weekend in what is another prime matchup for Capoue to have a nice fantasy day.
Idrissa Gueye has been another consistent performer this season, scoring in the single digits just once. He's unlikely to score more than 20, but his floor has been consistently in the teens. Teammate Gylfi Sigurdsson is another viable option and will have a higher ceiling because he features much more prominently in the attack.
Lucas Moura has seen significant playing time in Tottenham's attack, starting every Premier League game. He's been inconsistent but may be worth a flier against Wolves. It will be interesting to see if Christian Eriksen comes back into the starting XI after being a second-half substitute against Manchester City. Dele Alli made his first appearance in over a month against City and will also be vying for a starting role. Tottenham midfield roulette is a thing now apparently, but Alli is my selection if he starts.
Finally, Paul Pogba is about as chalky of a selection as you can make in this format and will be an auto-selection for me. He has hit 20+ points on five separate occasions, while failing to score fewer than 11 points; high ceiling, high floor is about as good as it gets.
DEFENDERS
Logic would say to avoid defenders from the Arsenal - Liverpool match, but the inner Red in me is considering Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool shut out Manchester City, so why wouldn't they be able to keep Arsenal out? If you'd like to avoid the risk, there are certainly other safer options, including Burnley's James Tarkowski.
Even if Burnley let a few goals in, Tarkowski has the ability to contribute enough blocks and duels won to keep a relatively safe fantasy floor. After being crushed by Manchester City and Chelsea, a matchup with West Ham should be a bit easier.
Kieran Trippier isn't quite on Paul Pogba's level, but he's hit double-digit points in all but one of his starts, which came in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool. He's safe to consider for 10+ points, especially against Wolverhampton, an attack that has been shut out in their previous two league matches.
Lucas Digne is an interesting prospect this week. He has a license to get forward from his left-back position and will likely see plenty of the ball in attack against Brighton. The Seagulls have won three straight matches 1-0, which indicates this one could be low-scoring. Digne had a dud last weekend against Manchester United, but he has otherwise been a good asset when he starts.
GOALKEEPERS
As I just mentioned, Brighton are hardly the attacking juggernauts of the Premier League. Jordan Pickford has the best clean sheet odds on the slate, as well as a good chance to win when the Toffees host Brighton.
Lukasz Fabianski and Joe Hart will face off Saturday as they battle it out for the saves lead. They are tied with 44 saves, mostly due to the propensity of their defenses to allow shots, but it nonetheless makes them decent goalkeeping options. West Ham are favored in the match, which could make Hart the better choice.
Finally, Ben Foster and Watford travel to Newcastle to face a Magpies attack that has been shut out four of the past five matches, and they've shown very little evidence that they'll be able to turn it around against the Hornets.
