Daily Fantasy Football: Ultimate MondoGoal Week 26 Lineup
What could you do with $100 million? MondoGoal's Daily Fantasy Football is handing you an opportunity to find out, and Bleacher Report's here to provide counsel on which Premier League stars could bolster your matchday XI.
Setting the Table
Who would've thought in August that Matchday 26 was going to have massive title implications?
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Arsenal hosting Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur visiting Manchester City are momentous fixtures in the Premier League title race.
All members of England's top four are facing each other, and while Leicester City are guaranteed to be atop the league come Monday, the title race could have a completely different tenor.
Before Sunday's crucial couple of games, seven games of slightly lesser importance take place on Saturday. Our mission is not necessarily to look for star names but locating value from Saturday's slate.
Here's a prospective XI, using the 3-4-3 formation.
Goalkeeper and Defenders
In the first match of Week 26, Manchester United travel to Sunderland. The Black Cats rallied to earn a point vs. Liverpool last week, but one wonders what the ticket protest did to the Reds' staying power. After the 77th-minute walkout, Sam Allardyce's men were revitalised and scored two goals to earn a 2-2 draw.
Manchester United, meanwhile, had victory snatched from them at the death vs. Chelsea, drawing 1-1.
Entering the weekend's first game, one can only expect normal order to return. David De Gea ($8.0 million) and Chris Smalling ($8.0 million) are key in Louis van Gaal's defensive structure, and they warrant places in a fantasy team at that price.
The final two members of the defence are Watford's preferred full-back paring of Allan Nyom ($6.8 million) and Nathan Ake ($7.8 million). Quique Sanchez Flores' outfit have conceded two goals in their last 420 minutes of action in all competitions. Both full-backs, both enjoying a steady run of Premier League football, provide key contributions at both end of the pitch.
Midfielders
Should Sunderland struggle to cope with Manchester United seeking to close the top-four gap, one of the primary beneficiaries of that struggle will be Juan Mata ($8.9 million). His game is predicated on space, so any moment he is allowed to survey the Stadium of Light pitch, Black Cats defenders are in trouble.
Dimitri Payet ($11.4 million) signed a new contract with West Ham United until the 2020/21 season, as noted by BBC Sport, and his first order of business in justifying his raise/extension is punishing Norwich City in East Anglia. Blessed with sublime skill and an ability to raise the level of his team-mates, there is still work to be done before moving into the Olympic Stadium.
Concluding the midfield is Chelsea duo Eden Hazard ($11.2 million) and Willian ($10.4 million). The Blues' reigning Player of the Season and his likely successor should both start vs. Newcastle United if Guus Hiddink has any intention of turning draws into wins. The Belgian has entered from the bench for the better part of two weeks, but the time has come to give Hazard his proper EPL return.
Willian has cooled since Jose Mourinho's dismissal, but that was to be expected. As one of the few Blues who performed throughout the season, if any Chelsea player was entitled to a slight recess in form, it was the Brazilian. Having scored vs. Newcastle in the reverse fixture, though, the 27-year-old should be on the prowl again.
Forwards
Taking over from Willian in Chelsea's ranks has been Diego Costa ($8.6 million). His form, possibly not coincidentally, has spiked since Mourinho's dismissal. The Brazilian-born Spaniard has six goals in seven EPL appearances under Hiddink, and a home fixture vs. Newcastle seems an ideal opportunity to continue his run.
Former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku ($10.1 million) was on pace for the Golden Boot at one point this season. The 22-year-old Belgian has returned to earth, but he is still a gigantic handful for any defence. Tony Pulis' stout West Bromwich Albion will attempt to choke his service at Goodison Park, but he probably has more power to annoy them.
Our last member is more a security blanket than anything.
Jermain Defoe ($8.5 million) will hardly be mentioned as it, but the 33-year-old is one of the best pure goalscorers in Premier League history (137 not out). Despite Manchester United's obvious superiority in the weekend's fixture, Defoe is an ever-present danger—his six goals in Sunderland's last six league games are evidence.
A skillful poacher with an eye for the spectacular, there mightn't be a more savvy operator in England at the moment than Defoe.
Recap
As shown, this squad used $99.7 million.
Check out MondoGoal to construct your own XI.
*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.
