This article is part of our Starting Eleven series.
MATCHES (EDT)
10:00 a.m: Southampton v. Manchester City
10:00 a.m: Newcastle v. Chelsea
10:00 a.m: West Ham v. Everton
10:00 a.m: Crystal Palace v. West Brom
10:00 a.m: Huddersfield v. Arsenal
10:00 a.m: Manchester United v. Watford
10:00 a.m: Liverpool v. Brighton
10:00 a.m: Burnley v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Tottenham v. Leicester City
10:00 a.m: Swansea City v. Stoke City
FORWARDS
The final gameweek of the season leaves us with plenty of matches that, unfortunately, don't really matter. Stoke City and West Brom have already been relegated, Man City have won the title and Manchester United and Tottenham have secured Champions League football next season. Swansea City are likely to join Stoke and West Brom in the Championship, as their loss to Southampton earlier this week essentially clinched their fate (and Southampton's in the Premier League next season).
The one thing left to decide is the final Champions League spot, with Liverpool needing only a point at home against Brighton to lock it up. If they fail to get that point, a win by Chelsea at Newcastle would give the Blues the fourth spot, though Liverpool could still get in by beating Real Madrid in two weeks. However, facing Brighton at home is a lot more attractive than Real Madrid in Kyiv, so the expectation is the Reds will come out swinging. As a result, Mohamed Salah is likely to be the most popular player on Sunday's slate given his incredible season and Liverpool's overwhelming expectations to win and score multiple goals. Teammate Roberto Firmino won't be far behind, and pairing the two together certainly makes sense.
Chelsea's need for three points at St. James' Park should put Olivier Giroud and/or Alvaro Morata in view. Both are capable of winning duels to give them a decent floor, but it's scoring goals where they make their us money.
Speaking of goals, Harry Kane comes in just three goals behind Salah (at least in the eyes of the Premier League) for the Golden Boot, and there's no secret that he's gunning for another after winning the award in both of the past two seasons. Kane continues to shoot at a high rate, and the matchup against Leicester City is hardly one that is likely to slow him down; in fact, he scored one goal on six shots against them back on Nov. 28 at Leicester. Kane famously finished last season with a hat trick on the final matchday (he scored four goals the match before), so don't sleep on the Spurs striker even though Tottenham have nothing to gain from a win.
Most other teams have nothing to gain as well, but there's no denying how good Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have been for Arsenal lately. If they're in the starting XI, I wouldn't hesitate to play either of them to pair with Salah and Kane, though it's a strategy that could be duplicated by many others.
And if you're looking for the desperation play, Swansea City need to win and score almost a dozen goals to stay in the Premier League, so we could see lots of shots from Jordan Ayew and maybe Tammy Abraham.
MIDFIELDERS
The upside midfield play is Sadio Mane, who has three goals on 17 shots (nine on goal) and 11 fouls drawn in his last five games in all competitions. Again, with Liverpool needing a point (and who thinks they're going in looking for a scoreless draw?), Mane should be flying again.
Chelsea offer plenty of options as well, with Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante, Willian and Cesc Fabregas all strong possibilities. They need to score at least one goal to win, and they could be flying all over the pitch if they happen to allow one early. Kante is the most reliable of the bunch because he scores his points without much need to join the attack, while Hazard and Willian offer the goal upside.
Targeting players in form, Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha is one of the hottest midfielders in the league, scoring five goals on 15 shots (eight on goal) in his last five games. He is a menace in the attack and will surely have no problem cutting through the relegated West Brom defense.
The Manchester clubs have nothing to play for but, of course, are loaded with good fantasy options. There's just no guarantee that they'll all start or play 90 minutes if they do, but that won't stop people from going after Kevin De Bruyne or Paul Pogba. Playing time may be a hesitation, but don't forget that you can make up to three substitutions, so while KDB and Pogba may be too risky on some daily fantasy soccer sites, they are a lot more favorable on Starting Eleven.
DEFENDERS AND GOALKEEPERS
We're back to Liverpool and Chelsea, with the benefit of knowing their defenders love to get involved in their respective attacks. Chelsea actually have the fifth-best win odds on the slate but the second-highest clean sheet chances, trailing Liverpool in both categories. Virgil van Dijk should be very popular, and there's nothing wrong with adding Trent Alexander-Arnold and/or Andrew Robertson to the mix. Chelsea offer a number of solid defensive options, with Marcos Alonso bringing the most upside and Cesar Azpilicueta the most reliable floor. Using those defenders obviously opens the door for either Loris Karius and Thibaut Courtois, the latter of whom missed out earlier this week because of a back issue.
Manchester United and Tottenham's matches don't matter but that doesn't mean they are bound to give up goals to Watford and Leicester City, respectively. If anything, we may get a few faces we haven't seen in a while, but they're overwhelming clean sheet odds provide security for taking those risks.
