Gameweek 3 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365

The early kick-off this weekend is at White Hart Lane, with Tottenham v Liverpool getting the weekend’s action underway. Liverpool haven’t conceded a goal on any of their last three visits to White Hart Lane and are undefeated in their last 7 meetings against Spurs so despite last week’s surprise defeat at Burnley they could well pick up something here. Daniel Sturridge (£10.0m) scored twice in the 5-0 EFL Cup victory at Burton Albion on Tuesday night, and he was joined on the scoresheet by Firmino (£8.4m). Both of these players have yet to ignite in the Premier League this season, but Sturridge averaged a goal or assist every 98 minutes in the league last season and Firmino every 110 minutes, so the likelihood is that at least one of them will pick up good points this weekend.

At 3pm Chelsea face Burnley in a game that looks nailed on for a home victory. The Blues have won all three games under new manager Antonio Conte, with a 100% start in the league followed up by a 3-2 victory in the EFL Cup against Bristol Rovers in midweek. They should be too strong for Burnley here, and Michy Batshuayi (£9.0m) looks to be a great pick this week. He scored twice in Tuesday night’s win on his first start for the club, and has contributed a goal and assist from just 2 substitute appearances (that’s 24 minutes of league action!) so far. Expect him to start in an attacking line up on Saturday, and to be amongst the scorers. Eden Hazard (£10.1m) will no doubt be on many Fantasy Football managers’ minds as a captain choice for this one. He starred in the Blues’ opening game of the season, scoring the first of the goals in their 2-1 win against West Ham, and claimed an assist last week in another 2-1 win against Watford. The early signs are that we could well see the 2014-15 Player of the Year version of Hazard this season rather than the less-than-stellar 2015-16 version, and if that’s the case he’ll be an essential pick as the weeks go on.

Another player who is looking essential for Fantasy Football teams this season is Zlatan Ibrahimović (£11.7m). The veteran Swede has made a bright start for Manchester United, scoring both goals in last week’s 2-0 win against Southampton to take his tally to 4 in 3 matches. This week United are away to Hull, a team who have 6 points from 6 in the bag but are still expected to be in the relegation zone at the end of the season (bet365 currently price Hull as joint-favourites with Burnley to be relegated from the Premier League this season at 10/11). He could well continue this run of form on Saturday evening, and is another strong contender for Fantasy Football captain duties this week. At the back, Luke Shaw (£5.6m) is a solid pick. You would expect a Mourinho-managed team to pick up plenty of clean sheets throughout the season, and United will be looking to secure their second successive one on Saturday. Shaw also loves to get forward and claimed an assist by winning a penalty last time out. With 13 points so far he’s one of the top-performing defenders in the game.

To finish the weekend’s action we have Man City against West Ham. Goals should be on the cards here, with both teams very strong in attack. City were the top scorers in the Premier League last season with 71 and West Ham were joint-fourth with 65. For the away side much will depend on the fitness of Dimitri Payet (£9.4m). He missed last week’s victory against Bournemouth through injury but if he’s fit for this one he’ll be a huge threat to a Man City backline who’ve conceded in each of their first 2 league matches under Pep Guardiola. City’s attacking talent is unrivalled though, and any combination of Nolito (£9.0m), Sterling (£8.0m), De Bruyne (£10.5m), Silva (£8.9m) and Agüero (£13.1m) will be sure to pick you up plenty of points over the course of the season.

To finish off, one Fantasy Football pick from each of the remaining fixtures:

Crystal Palace v Bournemouth – Christian Benteke (£7.4m)

Everton v Stoke – Ross Barkley (£7.7m)

Leicester v Swansea – Demarai Gray (£5.0m)

Southampton v Sunderland – Virgil van Dijk (£5.5m)

Watford v Arsenal – Mesut Özil (£9.5m)

West Brom v Middlessbrough – Cristhian Stuani (£4.9m)