This article is part of our Mondogoal Fantasy Soccer series.
Now that the Premier League has reached its mid-way mark, fantasy owners have a good benchmark to utilize when building their rosters for the remainder of this season.
In daily fantasy formats, MondoGoal kicks off 2016 with the usual plethora of contests available for Week 20, which will take place over the course of Saturday and Sunday.
Here are a handful of players that could help fantasy owners cash in to begin the New Year:
Romelu Lukaku, FWD (£13.6M)
With two goals versus Stoke City on Monday, Lukaku pulled even with Leicester City's Jamie Vardy for the league-high with 15 in the category. The bulldozing Belgian has found the back of the net 11 times in his past 10 total appearances, building an average of 11.61 points per game on Mondogoal. That mark leads all forwards thus far, so Saturday's matchup against Tottenham's league-best defense personifies an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Considering the game is at Goodison Park, where Lukaku has scored in five straight tries, he certainly enters the affair as a favorite to find the scoresheet.
Chris Smalling, DEF (£8.2M)
Arguably Manchester United's best player this season, Smalling boasts 10 clean sheets heading into 2016, putting him ahead of all defenders and goalkeepers by at least two such performances. Such stability in defense has helped Man United avoid even worse results lately, when their offense has gone missing. This weekend, Smalling will look to clinch his eighth home clean sheet of the campaign against a Swansea City side whose 16 goals scored ranks 19th out of 20 Premier League teams.
Riyad Mahrez, MID (£14.4M)
Yes, Leicester City has failed to score in back-to-back games, but despite losing steam of late, the Foxes' 37 goals this season remain tied for the best tally in England. Furthermore, no player has directly contributed toward more goals than Mahrez, who sports 13 goals and seven assists at the moment. The Algerian attacker also leads all players on Mondogoal with 246.73 fantasy points, and he could very well improve that total significantly this Saturday at home against Bournemouth, whose defensive record is currently tied for the second-worst in the Premiership.
Erik Pieters, DEF (£9.2M)
A player that thrives under Mondogoal's scoring system, Pieters' 47 interception and league-high 60 tackles has helped him accumulate the second-most points among defenders scheduled to play Saturday. Despite his team conceding three goals at Everton this week, Pieters still managed to produce 5.64 fantasy points, which came after he combined for 41.02 points over his previous five appearances. At the mid-way point, only four teams have allowed fewer goals than Stoke City, and this weekend, Pieters and company only have to slow down the league's third-worst attack, West Brom.
Theo Walcott, FWD ($£10.7M)
Among forwards with at least 10 appearances, Walcott's 6.91 fantasy points per game on Mondogoal places sixth out of those slated to play Saturday. With sublime playmaker Mesut Ozil (£16.0M) creating countless scoring chances for those around him, Walcott has a great opportunity to add to his totals at home versus Newcastle this weekend. Only one team has conceded more goals than the Magpies, and they've shipped 14 goals in their last three visits to the Emirates Stadium, where Walcott netted a hat trick versus Newcastle in the winter of 2012.
