This article is part of our Starting Eleven series.
MATCHES (EDT)
9:05 a.m: Crystal Palace v. Manchester City
11:30 a.m: Liverpool v. Chelsea
FORWARDS
In a two-game slate, there aren't many places to go at forward, especially with most of these teams playing one lone striker. Because of that, you may only want one, with Sergio Aguero or Gabriel Jesus the top option because they have the best odds to score. It's still not an easy situation for Man City since Crystal Palace have allowed only 17 goals in 16 home matches. City's starter may have the best odds to score, but Wilfried Zaha may have a better floor because he's averaging three fouls drawn per match in addition to getting shots and crosses. He's usually good for at least eight fantasy points, but upside could be limited against Man City.
Otherwise, Roberto Firmino may be the only other usable forward and a good pivot away from Mohamed Salah in the midfield. He has made the scoresheet in five of his last six starts, supplying four goals and three assists. His floor struggles at times, but Chelsea have struggled away from home, especially against top competition, losing their last three away against Man City, Arsenal and Tottenham by a combined 11-1 score line. Gonzalo Higuain may be the only other starting forward, and his floor could only be a couple points at Liverpool.
MIDFIELDERS
Due to the positional changes, the midfield is stocked on this slate with the likes of Eden Hazard, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Raheem Sterling all available for selection. That's a good reason to fill all five midfielder spots, and that means you may not have to decide between the Liverpool and Man City guys, with a lot of rosters likely focusing on a mix of Sterling, Salah and Mane. Man City are expected to score more goals, but it could be a good strategy to use all three Liverpool attackers and hope to capitalize on Chelsea's away struggles. It's a mystery as to who will score for Liverpool, but similar to Sterling, all of their floors should be around 10 points with help from a variety of stats. Hazard is most in form, but he also has the toughest matchup. He could be worth a shot since he still managed 16.60 fantasy points in the recent 2-0 loss at Everton. You could throw any of the Man City players in the mix, with David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne providing the best upside. De Bruyne could be the most popular since he's racking up at least five corners every start, which come in addition to around 50 completed passes and a few shots.
There are also a few worthy defensive midfielders who have higher floors but less upside. The only downside is that the best defensive midfielders like Luka Milivojevic and Jorginho will likely have lower floors because their teams will have less possession. There will still be some backers for Milivojevic with the hopes he somehow gets to take another penalty. The best defensive midfielder will likely be Fernandinho, who has a floor of at least 17 fantasy points in each of his last three starts. He's a little easier to trust than Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who aren't as consistent. That said, Fabinho is usually good for 10 points and has at least 12 fantasy points in seven of his last eight starts.
DEFENDERS AND GOALKEEPERS
Defender is a little more straightforward since you can use whoever starts in the back for Liverpool and Man City. Nicolas Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte have both hit at least 14 fantasy points in each of their last five starts and will likely be two of the highest-owned defenders, as they have safe floors from completing passes and defensive stats. That's usually the case for Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk, though their passing numbers have dipped in recent matches. They're still easier to trust than any of the Chelsea guys since they won't get as much possession at Liverpool. The same goes for anyone on Crystal Palace, and even though Aaron Wan-Bissaka can have a solid floor, he's more reliant upon defensive stats since he rarely completes more than 30 passes.
None of the goalkeepers stand out, but it'll be hard to go against Ederson, who has at least 8.70 points in six of his last seven starts. As for Alisson Becker, he's barely making any saves and hasn't surpassed five points in his last four starts. Vicente Guaita is a solid contrarian play if you're not basing your lineup around Man City attacking players since he's racked up 18 saves in the last three matches.
