This article is part of our Starting Eleven series.
MATCHES (EST)
7:00 a.m: Crystal Palace v. Chelsea
9:15 a.m: Burnley v. West Ham
9:15 a.m: Southampton v. Manchester City
11:30 a.m: Manchester United v. Bournemouth
FORWARDS
Sunday's slate features three bigger favorites, and they're the main ones to consider at almost every position. As usual, Eden Hazard leads the forwards after scoring a brace last match and reaching 19.9 fantasy points in his last six starts. His floor continues to be unmatched by other forwards because he averages close to four fouls drawn per match, but also because he's on the ball so much, with 40 completed passes often a good bet. Behind Hazard, the next best options are whoever starts up front for Man United, with both Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial possibly moving into the starting XI. If Marcus Rashford gets the call again, he's had the best floor of the United forwards.
It's a little more difficult with Man City, not only because they are struggling as a whole, but most of their forwards have lower floors. Gabriel Jesus is likely to make the starting XI over Sergio Aguero, while the other positions are less decided. Either way, Willian is usually a better bet than Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane because his floor is a few points higher for Chelsea. If Marko Arnautovic returns to the West Ham squad, he's in that same mold, but similar to Chicharito he doesn't have much of a floor.
MIDFIELDERS
The top midfield options are dominated by Manchester United players given their matchup, as Bournemouth fall apart any time they play a top club. Paul Pogba has decided to try again and has two goals on eight shots and two assists on five chances created in the last two matches. His floor is usually higher than most, but with this recent upside, not many are on his level. Martial and Ander Herrera are the other two to consider, with Martial having more upside in an attacking role, while Herrera accrues most of his stats from a defensive position.
While United have the best matchup, there are still other options from each team worth considering. Fernandinho doesn't have much upside, but his floor is one of the best due to running central midfield for City. Luka Milivojevic's value is based around his defensive stats, and he should be plenty busy against Chelsea with 15 fantasy points a possible floor.
It's a little harder to trust players not in defensive midfield positions, with ones like Robert Snodgrass and Andros Townsend more reliant on making the score sheet. Both have been in excellent form, but with West Ham having the better matchup, Snodgrass and Felipe Anderson may be easier to trust than Townsend. The return of David Silva could be a useful place to look, but if Riyad Mahrez starts up front, he'd have more upside. However, predicting production from a struggling City side isn't the easiest thing. Backing defensive midfielders may be the better route, and even Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could be the better play on the other end of the field simply because of a better floor.
DEFENDERS AND GOALKEEPERS
While United dominated the other positions, they should be avoided at defender. Ashley Young has upside but it's rough if he doesn't make the score sheet, as his floor hit six fantasy points in his last start, the 5-1 win at Cardiff. The same can't be said for David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta for Chelsea due to all-around better numbers and, more importantly, more completed passes.
Outside of those two, there aren't many defenders in the same mold on this slate. Aaron Wan-Bissaka does a little bit of everything and should get a decent amount of work against Chelsea, while Aymeric Laporte and Antonio Rudiger are usually good for around 10 fantasy points no matter the matchup.
Goalkeeper is a little more of a mystery since Ederson hasn't done much during City's losing streak, while David de Gea has allowed goals in each of the last two matches despite United dominating both. Kepa Arrizabalaga is similar to those two, though he may have more work at Palace. The best play may be to go with Lukasz Fabianski and hope he's forced to make saves, but that he also snags a clean sheet against Burnley.
