Some leagues are not playing yet, but the Prem.League is in full swing as usual at this time. After Boxing Day and Matchday 17, play resumes immediately this Friday, which is then immediately followed by another English week. This fixture takes place over the New Year and both clubs and players will want to end this year with a win or start the New Year with one straight away.

Goal:

Dean Henderson (45₵, Nottingham): Could not feature in the last game as he was loaned out by Man. United to Nottingham and is therefore not allowed to play against his own club. Tricky Trees number two Wayne Hennessey did not play a good game, so the 25-year-old should start again. His performances have been a little mixed in recent games, but he usually puts in outstanding performances against the big clubs. Against Chelsea, that could be the case again.

Defence:

Clement Lenglet (85₵, Spurs): The Tottenham board will be very inclined to sign him fully from FC Barcelona at the end of this season after his last few games, because he is playing really strongly. He is averaging 311 points in his last five games and could shine again against Villa with his strong duel rate of 75%.

Luke Shaw (68₵, Man. United): Against Nottingham, the trained full-back played in central defence and did his job excellently, which then led him to 295 points. Now, however, all of the Red Devils’ centre-backs appear to be fit again and Shaw is expected to start at left-back once more. Against the league’s worst offence, he could easily score a lot of points through tackling and passing.

Andrew Robertson (92₵, Liverpool): The Scot is also playing very strong games and comes up with four assists in the last four games. His points also look similar, as he never scored less than 200 points in these games and once even scored over 400 points.

Joao Cancelo (135₵, Man. City): After Pep Guardiola didn’t substitute him until the 68th minute in the last game, he should start from the beginning again against the Toffees and could find his old strength again.

Midfield:

Mason Mount (92₵, Chelsea): Before and also during the World Cup, Mount did not perform well and struggled a lot under Graham Potter, but in the first game after that he could find his old form again and score straight away. Now it’s against Nottingham Forrest, who are in second last place with the worst goal difference, and we’ll be curious to see if he can build on his last game.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (120₵, Spurs): He just needs to keep playing the way he has been playing all season. In 16 games he only scored less than 200 points three times and managed to score directly in the first game after the World Cup, scoring a strong 561 points.

Bruno Guimaraes (86₵, Newcastle): The Magpies’ Brazilian midfielder is also showing how important he is to the team in his last few games and is one of the main reasons why they are in 3rd place in the table. Against Leeds he will once again give his all to help his team and could pick up some points again.

Attack:

Aleksandar Mitrovic (120₵, Fulham): At the start of this season many assumed he would flop after his outstanding season in the Championship, but quite the opposite is the case. The Serbian already has 10 goals in the Prem. League and also showed strong performances at the World Cup. Most of the time he also scores in the green and is one of the players with the greatest scoring potential this Gameweek against the last-place team.

Marcus Rashford (106₵, Man. United): This season the 25-year-old is getting better and better and also manages to bring his performances more consistently, also in the last game he convinced all along the line with a goal and an assist. Man. United are favourites again against a weak Wolverhampton and Rashford could score again and put in a strong SPITCH performance.

Wilfried Zaha (104₵, Palace): Palace suffered a 3-0 defeat to Fulham in their last game and they also lost to Nottingham Forrest before the World Cup. Zaha’s performances in those games were accordingly, but we know he has a lot in him and is always good for a strong game. This week they face Bournemouth, who are not too bad in the table but have conceded the most goals this season. Zaha could take advantage of that to pick up some points.

Other alternatives:

Other players to keep an eye on are Marc Cucurella (73₵, Chelsea) who could show a strong game, Kai Havertz (79₵, Chelsa) who could score again and Wilian (71₵, Fulham) who is really flourishing again at Fulham.

About me: I have been assisting SPITCH in its various divisions for over a year now. With my experience on the free pitches, I want to help you find interesting players that maybe not everyone has on their radar.