This article is part of our Mondogoal Fantasy Soccer series.
After a weekend round in which two matches were forced to be rescheduled due to Sunday's enthralling League Cup final between victors Manchester City and Liverpool, the Premier League embarks on a quick turnaround with a full slate of games this week.
That includes an even split of five matches on both Tuesday and Wednesday, giving fantasy owners plenty of opportunities to win money through Mondogoal's many contests, including Wednesday's £5,000 BPL Shootout.
With a focus on Wednesday's five-game slate and given Mondogoal £100M budget, here's a team that could potentially reap rewards for contestants.
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper:
David de Gea, v. (£6.7M): Following a three-game absence due to a knee injury, de Gea returned to his position between the poles for Manchester United's emotional 3-2 triumph over Arsenal on Sunday. Although the Spaniard failed to impress individually in that contest, Wednesday's home date with Watford presents a decent enough clean sheet opportunity to make de Gea's tiny £6.7M salary a possible steal. No team has scored fewer goals than Watford over its past six appearances, and despite the constant shuffling of Man United's backline, still only one team has allowed fewer goals, creating a contrast that should benefit de Gea.
Defenders:
Laurent Koscielny, v. (£8.6M): In dire need of a rebound after Sunday's nightmarish outing at Old Trafford, Koscienly and company are pitted against 16th-place Swansea City at home. Although the Swans have earned four points from their last two visits to the Emirates Stadium, Wednesday's affair comes while they rank second-last in the Premiership with only 25 goals scored. Meanwhile, even after shipping three goals over the weekend, Arsenal's defense is still tied for second-best. Koscielny is an instrumental member of that unit, and his 7.20-point average places third among Wednesday defenders that have made at least 13 appearances this season.
Kevin Wimmer, at (£7.5M): Since jumping in for injured teammate Jan Vertonghen, all Wimmer has done is help string together four clean sheets while averaging close to six Mondogoal points per game in seven matches across all competitions. While Tottenham has narrowly missed out on clean sheets in back-to-back league showings, Spurs' mere 21 goals allowed is at least five better than any other English outfit. On Wednesday, Mauricio Pochettino's team will try to blank cross-London rivals West Ham for the second straight time at Upton Park, and Wimmer's £7.5M valuation makes him the cheapest option out of Spurs' stingy defense.
Phil Bardsley, v. (£5.7M): With injuries ravishing Stoke's defensive setup, the 30-year-old Bardsley was asked to make just his third appearance of the Premier League season Saturday versus Aston Villa. In response, the veteran turned up with an unlikely assist while helping Stoke's defense only concede one goal for the second game in a row. Given that performance, Bardsley is expected to keep his place in the side for Wednesday's welcome of Newcastle, who have failed to score in three of their past four games against Stoke. That makes Bardsley is nice buy-low option at just £5.7M, especially when considering that Newcastle has scored a league-low seven goals in 13 road trips this term.
Midfielders:
Mesut Ozil, v. (£13.8M):Increasingly carrying Arsenal's attack on his luscious left foot, Ozil incredibly registered his 18th assist of the season while also scoring for the fifth time in Sunday's letdown at Manchester United. Those contributions banked Ozil 13.05 points on Mondogoal, giving the German four consecutive double-digit outings against English opposition. In fact, through 25 league appearances, Ozil averages 10.89 points per game, which is the highest among midfielders slated to play Wednesday. That's when Arsenal will host Swansea City, who Ozil doled out a pair of assists against earlier this season, thus providing further reason to stump up his unprecedented £13.8M salary.
David Silva, at (£10.3M): Silva still has only scored once in 18 league efforts this season, but his eight assists evidence his creative ability is still very much intact. That being said, Silva scored in Manchester City's Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv last week, which preceded the Citizens lifting the League Cup trophy over the weekend. Such a successful week should have Silva's confidence bubbling ahead of Wednesday's second straight match versus Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's side has gone winless in its past three home Premier League outings, while allowing two goals on average over that span, marking another development that favors Silva.
Dele Alli, at (£9.2M): Currently on his longest scoring drought since netting his second career Premiership goal in November, Alli has gone three matches without finding the back of the net. That alone illustrates the huge impact the youngster has made for Tottenham this season, while also suggesting that he's due to score before long. On Wednesday, he will face a West Ham outfit that he supplied an assist against earlier this season. On that occasion, Tottenham's attack struck for four goals, and following their two goals over the weekend, Spurs are now tied for the league-lead in the category, with Alli boasting seven himself.
Juan Mata, v. (£8.9M): Although his team scored three times over the weekend, Mata was relatively quiet against Arsenal. Nonetheless, still no Man United midfielder has scored more than Mata's four goals, and his three assists lead his team at the position. Thanks to those numbers, Mata's average of 7.06 points per game puts him among the top 20 midfielders slated to play Wednesday, when he'll face Watford at Old Trafford. The Hornets have lost three of their last four road matches, while Man Utd enters this week's contest having scored a whopping 11 goals in their last three home games across all competitions. Such recent firepower bodes well for Mata in the middle of the Red Devils' attack.
Forwards:
Sergio Aguero, at (£14.6M): A scorer in Man City's cup-winning penalty shootout Sunday, Aguero also assisted his team's lone goal in regulation, paving the way to 15.28 points on Mondogoal. Since the calendar turned to 2016, Aguero has been on an absolute tear, tallying 10 goals and three assists in 12 showings across all competitions. With form like that, the Argentine's hefty salary is more than justifiable, and this week he'll get to take on Liverpool for a second straight game. Aguero supplied City's lone goal in the prior meeting with the Reds this season, and if his recent play is any indication, he could very well find himself on the scoresheet once again come Wednesday.
Marko Arnautovic, v. (£7.5M): With a pair of goals in Stoke's win over last-place Aston Villa on Saturday, Arnautovic netted 20.12 points on Mondogoal, his second-best single-game total this season. It also pushed the imposing Austrian's league account to nine goals, giving him the fifth-most among forwards playing Wednesday. With four assists as well, Arnautovic is easily Stoke's most dangerous attacking threat going into this week's home tie with Newcastle. Losers of five straight on the road, only one team has shipped more away goals than the Magpies, revealing a deficiency Arnautovic should be keen to capitalize upon.
Marcus Rashford, v. (£7.2M): Thrown into the deep end and forced to start Manchester United's past two games due to the Red Devils' depleted stable of strikers, all Rashford did was respond by scoring twice in their Europa League comeback leg and twice again at the weekend against Arsenal. At 18 years old, Rashford's dazzling debuts were reminiscent of those from the likes of Anthony Martial, Adnan Januzaj and Federico Macheda in years past. Whether Rashford establishes himself or proves to be a flash in the pan remains to be seen, but his astounding 23.9-point average makes him the hottest prospect heading into a third straight home game Wednesday, as Man United hosts Watford.