This article is part of our Starting Eleven series.
MATCHES (EDT)
7:30 a.m: Wolverhampton v. Manchester City
10:00 a.m: Bournemouth v. Everton
10:00 a.m: Arsenal v. West Ham
10:00 a.m: Huddersfield v. Cardiff City
10:00 a.m: Southampton v. Leicester City
12:30 p.m: Liverpool v. Brighton
FORWARDS
Richarlison and Sadio Mane are the current Golden Boot leaders and both have favorable matchups against Bournemouth and Brighton, respectively. Richarlison has had no trouble fitting in with the Toffees over the past two weeks, while Mane has been the beneficiary of matches against West Ham and Crystal Palace. Of the two, Mane has higher goal-scoring odds and will face a Brighton side who will likely be missing Lewis Dunk (ankle) at center-back.
Mohamd Salah has the best goal scoring odds of any forward heading into the slate and would be a safe play considering he has one goal and one assist to go along with 10 shots (four on goal) and 13 duels won. In what was considered a disappointing performance in Monday's win over Crystal Palace, he still managed to draw the penalty that James Milner converted to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead, and then set up Mane late in the match to double the lead. Against a side like Brighton, Salah should be one of the first names on the team sheet for your fantasy lineup. Roberto Firmino hasn't scored a goal yet, but he is always a consideration when Liverpool have a favorable matchup.
City's 6-1 demolition of Huddersfield last weekend saw Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus partner for the first time this season after injuries to both players limited their ability to feature together during last season's title-winning campaign. They collectively put City up 3-0 within the first 35 minutes, and there's good reason to believe that they could repeat that Saturday. It's also possible Pep Guardiola's rotation could see one of the two dropped to the bench in favor of any of City's other bountiful attacking options.
Speaking of strike partnerships, Callum Wilson and Joshua King have helped Bournemouth make it two wins in a row to start the season, with Wilson scoring two goals and adding an assist, while King has won 16 duels. The two will attempt to give the Cherries a dream start to their season in Saturday's home game against Everton, with Wilson the preferred option if I'm not filling my forwards with Liverpool or Manchester City players.
Finally, in the All-Disappointment department, we have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who hasn't done a whole lot of anything in his first two appearances. He was slightly better in Sunday's loss to Chelsea, but still managed to miss a sitter in the first half. I'd like to attribute this more to the matchups with Manchester City and Chelsea than anything, which still keeps Aubameyang in consideration, especially against the West Ham defense.
MIDFIELDERS
No player has more interceptions (nine) than Matteo Guendouzi through the first two gameweeks. Couple that with 16 duels won and five tackles won and you have one of the safer plays heading into Saturday's matches. Arsenal should see a large amount of the ball against West Ham, giving Guendouzi a decent fantasy floor. He's not a sexy pick by any means, but is likely to produce in his third start for the Gunners.
Wilfried Ndidi comes into Leicester's matchup with Southampton on the heels of performances worth 19.0 and 14.7 points, respectively. After signing a contract extension with Leicester earlier this week, it already feels like the 21-year-old has been a mainstay in the Premier League for a half decade. His role as a holding midfielder allows him to make a high amount of passes (111) and rack up interceptions (four), tackles (four) and duels won (13). He failed to score a goal last season, but that's never been his game anyways. If you're trotting out the Nigerian, you're depending on his ability to control the midfield defensively for Leicester.
When constructing my lineup, I plan on putting together an assortment of Liverpool and Manchester City midfielders. David Silva returned to the lineup last weekend with a beautiful free kick goal and will likely keep his place with Kevin De Bruyne (knee) out for the next three months, while the other Silva, Bernardo, is the main man on set-pieces when Riyad Mahrez isn't in the starting XI. My selection depends on who Pep Guardiola trots out in his starting XI, with David Silva the most likely option.
Besides the aforementioned Wilson and King, Ryan Fraser has been another bright spot for Bournemouth after following up a goal in the opener with an assist in last weekend's win over West Ham. He's taken seven of Bournemouth's 11 corners and should continue to be the Cherries' primary set-piece taker.
DEFENDERS AND GOALKEEPERS
There are three different angles to take with three highly favored sides in Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool set to face Wolverhampton, West Ham and Brighton (fresh off an upset win over Manchester United), respectively. Liverpool have yet to concede a goal and have by far the highest clean sheet odds on the slate.
Benjamin Mendy has been the best outside-back in the league through two games, providing three assists and five shots (two on target). If I'm targeting anyone from the City defense, it's Mendy. Ederson is certainly in play at goalkeeper, but Mendy has been a fantasy stud to start the season and should be selected.
Since joining Liverpool last January, no defender has more clean sheets than Virgil van Dijk (nine), and his ability to usher the back line along with Alisson's commanding presence give Liverpool a good chance for another clean sheet against Brighton at Anfield. Any of Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez are in play as manager Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to change his backline after consecutive clean sheets. Alexander-Arnold and Robertson are expected to get forward more so than van Dijk and Gomez, which is something to keep in mind during construction.
Arsenal will host West Ham in a matchup of two teams who have yet register a point in the table. The Gunners are coming off back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Chelsea and will have the second-best clean sheet odds. If you prefer to go with a non-Liverpool defender, Hector Bellerin has the second-most interceptions (seven) among all players through two weeks.
