This article is part of our Starting Eleven series.
MATCHES (EDT)
10:05 a.m: Fulham v. Liverpool
12:30 p.m: Everton v. Chelsea
FORWARDS
The biggest decision Sunday is if you should use all three Liverpool forwards. Mohamed Salah hasn't scored in his last six starts in all competitions, while Sadio Mane has six goals in his last four. Roberto Firmino returned to the scoresheet last league match and should be in the mix as well due to opportunity. Even if those guys don't score for some reason against lowly Fulham, their floors could push close to 10 fantasy points. Salah isn't scoring, but he has a decent floor, pushing 15 points at times if Liverpool really dominate. That could be the case against Fulham, as the Reds had 73 percent possession in the first meeting. While it's not a great matchup for Aleksandar Mitrovic, he still has a floor of at least seven points in every match, no matter the opponent. Of course, the odds aren't in his favor to score, so that's an issue compared to the Liverpool guys.
The other choice is to roll with Eden Hazard or Gonzalo Higuain in a more difficult match. They're favored, but Chelsea haven't been easy to trust away from home, failing to score in three of their last four. Hazard may still have the best floor of the forwards because he's on the ball more than the rest. That said, his passing numbers have been hard to project, so it's not the easiest thing to bank on. His floor should still come close to 10 points, while Higuain is the safer version of Mitrovic with 25 shots in his last five starts. Richarlison is the biggest stretch at forward, and there's little reason to use him since his floor is often around five points.
MIDFIELDERS
This slate is highlighted by defensive midfielders, as there might not be one attacking player worth a selection. Gylfi Sigurdsson will draw some looks, but he hasn't surpassed eight fantasy points in three of his last four starts, something almost all defensive midfielders can say. Teammate Idrissa Gueye has been much better with at least 14 fantasy points in his last six starts thanks to 40 completed passes every match in addition to numerous defensive stats. He's been the most consistent of late, with Jorginho, Fabinho and N'Golo Kante close behind. Fabinho is probably the best bet since he should have a better floor from completed passes in the most favorable match, but the Chelsea guys are still guaranteed at least 10 points.
The rest of the midfielders are a mystery, with guys like Tom Cairney and Mateo Kovacic at risk of not hitting 10 points. James Milner could be in play if he starts, and the injury to Jordan Henderson could insure that happens. The biggest stretch may be Ryan Babel going against his former club.
DEFENDERS AND GOALKEEPERS
Defender is pretty simple, unless you want to hope for a goal or assist from someone like Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso or Lucas Digne. With Liverpool likely to dominate possession, all of their defenders will be in play. Trent Alexander-Arnold makes the most sense because he's on corners, but there's a wonder what else he'll provide if the defensive stats aren't there. His floor could be near 20 points or closer to 10, as seen in the recent Burnley match. Virgil van Dijk is slightly easier to trust with 60 completed passes almost a guarantee and around 15 points a good expectation. He's had at least 16 points in four of his last five starts. Joel Matip is in the same range with 15 points in four of his last five, though his total always seems to be a couple points below Van Dijk's. Andrew Robertson may be the hardest to trust since he has fewer crosses and completed passes, often keeping his floor below 15 points. None of the other defenders have a similar floor or as good of matchup, so you'd be stretching if you went somewhere other than Liverpool.
It's a little harder to predict at goalkeeper, but Alisson should at least make a few saves with Mitrovic on the other end. He also has the best odds for a clean sheet and a win. None of the other starters have been that consistent, though Sergio Rico has managed to hit seven fantasy points in six of his last seven starts thanks to averaging four saves per match.
