This article is part of our Mondogoal Fantasy Soccer series.
As Mondogoal rolls out their Perfect Million contest, it's time to zero-in on the best possible lineup to enter for the website's largest cash prize to date.
Although the participants in Saturday's early game of first-place Leicester City at second-place Manchester City are excluded from the contest, along with those featuring in Sunday's Arsenal at Bournemouth and heated Man United at Chelsea tie, there are still plenty of fantasy performers to put faith in this weekend.
With the remaining seven games to choose players from, here are some values that could lead toward Mondogoal's best lineup.
Goalkeeper:
Lukasz Fabianski (£5.6M)
At West Brom during midweek play, Fabianski and Swansea City built their unbeaten streak to three games thanks to a 1-1 draw. Over that span, the Polish stop-stopper has conceded just twice, and he also produced five saves at the Hawthrons, resulting in 7.80 points on Mondogoal. With a very cheap salary of only £5.6M, Fabianski is well worth the investment this weekend versus Crystal Palace, particularly at home. In addition to having lost five straight games, Palace has scored just two goals over their current seven-match winless steak.
Defenders:
Eric Dier (£9.5M)
A breakout fantasy star this season, only two players have come up with more than Dier's 158.37 overall points on Mondogoal thus far. The young Englishman is averaging over eight points per match across his past five appearances, including a pair of double-digit outings. Coming off a clean sheet, Tottenham returns to White Hart Lane this weekend to face Watford. Although the Hornets have pestered their fare share of sides so far, Tottenham still boasts the league's best defense, and Watford has failed to score in three of its past four matches.
Nathaniel Clyne (£7.8M)
Despite Clyne's seven clean sheets this season, Liverpool's defense has been nothing for him to write home about. In fact, the Reds have gone five matches without a clean sheet. That being said, Clyne and company play host to Sunderland this weekend, creating a good enough opportunity for Jurgen Klopp's backline to get back on track. As it stands, Sunderland sits in second-last place on the table, and they went scoreless at home in the midweek against Manchester City. Furthermore, the Black Cats haven't scored in three straight meetings with the Reds.
Virgil van Dijk (£7.7M)
With the help of goalkeeper Fraser Forster's heroics, van Dijk has clinched four consecutive clean sheets, bringing his season tally to eight already. In his 20 Premier League appearances since joining Southampton, the Dutchman has been reliable for 6.81 Mondogoal points per game, which is the sixth-best mark among defenders available in this week's million-dollar contest. After back-to-back blankings of Arsenal and Manchester United, van Dijk and Southampton's suddenly stunning defensive form is tasked with slowing down West Ham at home this weekend.
Midfielders:
Ross Barkley (£12.5M)
With top scorer Romelu Lukaku exiting Everton's midweek affair early with a back injury, Barkley picked up the slack by scoring twice to beat Newcastle. In doing so, Barkley brought his league goal figure to eight, setting a career-high. Moreover, the Englishman now totes 256.58 Mondogoal points, making him the highest scoring midfielder on Saturday's slate heading into the weekend. That's when the Toffees will travel to play Stoke City, whom they scored four goals against in their previous meeting this season. Whether or not Lukaku is available for that occasion, Barkley is certainly a top-tier player at his position in Week 25.
Dimitri Payet (£11.3M)
The only Perfect Million midfielder behind Barkley in average points (9.83), Payet racked up 12.35 on Tuesday against Aston Villa without even scoring or assisting. Such production exhibits the Frenchman's encompassing involvement in West Ham's setup. This weekend, Payet and the Hammers will take the show on the road to Southampton, whose defense has been stingy of late. Nonetheless, only the league's top three teams have scored more away from home than the Hammers, and Payet's six goals and four assists from just 17 appearances illustrate a consistency that could help end the Saints' recent overachieving.
Georginio Wijnaldum (£11.1M)
Whereas Barkley leads only Payet in average points, Wijnaldum is the only Perfect Million midfielder that trails him in total points, with 217.35 this season. Admittedly, the Dutchman has been a bit hit-or-miss through his first 24 Premiership outings, but if one thing's for sure, it's that Wijnaldum thrives at St. James' Park, where all nine of his goals have come this season. Considering his hefty point total is rooted in home outbursts, the fact that Newcastle welcomes bottom-half West Brom this weekend is certainly something that favors Wijnaldum, who has scored in both of his past two home games.
Dele Alli (£9.8M)
Don't look now, but England has another young Tottenham standout touted as a key to the country's future in international competition. At this time last year, Harry Kane was grabbing all the headlines. While his ascent has continued since then, Alli has been astounding in recent weeks, scoring five goals to go with four assists in Tottenham's last 10 league games. That includes back-to-back games with both a goal and an assist, even though Alli lasted only 45 minutes against Norwich City on Tuesday due to illness. No matter, he's expected to be fine for Saturday game versus Watford, when he'll aim to spark Spurs with another stellar showcase.
Forwards:
Harry Kane (£12.2M)
As mentioned, Kane has experienced no sophomore slump this season, registering 15 goals already after his breakthrough 21-goal campaign last term. While he certainly started a bit slow this time around, Kane has compensated lately by netting four goals in Tottenham's last three Premiership efforts, including two against Norwich on Tuesday. Kane also struck the woodwork twice in that contest, evidencing the substantial threat he poses in advance of Saturday's date with Watford. Although the Hornets beat Spurs in their prior meeting this season, Kane provided Tottenham's lone assist in that tie, and now gets to take on Watford at White Hart Lane.
Roberto Firmino (£7.6M)
To a much larger extreme, Firmino started this season incredibly slowly, scoring just once through his first 17 Premier League appearances for Liverpool. Since then, the Brazilian has enjoyed playing at the front of boss Jurgen Klopp's formation, resulting in a pair of braces in his past four outings. If that trend continues, Firmino is due to score this weekend at home versus Sunderland, whose defense has been horrendous this term. In fact, no team has surrendered more than Sunderland's 47 goals this season, making Firmino a bargain for his £7.7M pegging on Mondogoal.
Steven Naismith (£4.4M)
Speaking of bargains, since joining Norwich City from Everton during last month's transfer window, Naismith has looked rejuvenated. With a clearer route to first-team minutes, the Scotsman has totaled 19.26 Mondogoal points in two appearances for Norwich, including a goal against former rivals Liverpool in his debut. This weekend, Naismith has another great opportunity to find the scoresheet, as he and the Canaries are scheduled to take on last-place Aston Villa. Given his paltry £4.4M price tag, Naismith is well worth a punt, and opens room for more costly contributors in lineups to boot.
