Gameweek 8 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365

The Premier League weekend kicks off at 12:30pm this Saturday, as the champions from the last 2 seasons square up at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea hosting Leicester. Chelsea have already beaten the Foxes this season, triumphing 4-2 after extra time in the EFL Cup Third Round. That was one of three fixtures already this season in which Leicester have conceded four goals, and they’ve conceded at least one in each of the last 12 meetings with Saturday’s opponents. For these reasons it’s hard to see Chelsea not scoring in this one, and the man to look to for goals is Diego Costa (£10.1m). He’s started this season in superb form, bagging 6 goals from the opening 7 league games, and he also scored Spain’s opener in Albania during the international break. Willian is expected to miss the match due to personal reasons.

At 3pm new Swansea manager Bob Bradley has a tough assignment in his first fixture, with his team away at Arsenal. The contrast in form could hardly be bigger – Swansea have picked up a solitary point from their last 6 in the league and sit 2 points off the bottom in 17th, while Arsenal have won 5 consecutive league games to move up to third and within 2 points of top spot. The Gunners have actually won their last 4 games in all competitions without conceding a goal, and with Swansea’s attack hardly firing on all cylinders a clean sheet could be on the cards for the home side. Laurent Koscielny (£6.2m) and Héctor Bellerín (£6.5m) are a threat in the attacking third too, so either of these would be excellent choices this week. A rejuvenated Theo Walcott (£7.7m) could also be a good addition to your side. He has 2 goals and 2 assists from his last 3 league games, and also scored a brace in Arsenal’s Champions League victory against Basel.

Man City will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat under Pep Guardiola’s leadership when they face Everton at the Etihad Stadium. That defeat to Tottenham is City’s only loss from their 7 league games so far, while Everton have also only tasted defeat once in the league this season, at Bournemouth in their last away fixture. Both teams should find the back of the net in this one – City have conceded in 6 of their 7 league matches so far and Everton have conceded in 5 of their 7, while both sides have only failed to score once. Take your pick from City’s attacking midfielders, with Sterling (£8.6m), Nolito (£8.8m) and De Bruyne (£10.6m) picking up 8 goals and 11 assists between them in the league already this season. De Bruyne isn’t however expected back from his hamstring injury until the middle of next week and be mindful of other injury news, leaving your transfers until the last minute if you’re also looking at Sterling or Nolito as both are doubts. For Everton the man to look to is star striker Romelu Lukaku (£9.4m) if fully fit, who has 5 goals and an assist from his last 4 league fixtures.

The final game of the weekend is an absolute must-watch, with Liverpool and Manchester United, the two most successful sides in English football history, renewing their rivalry on Monday night. Liverpool have the better form going into this one, having won their last 4 league games while United have won just 1 of their last 4. However it’s United who have the upper hand in recent battles between the 2 sides, winning 5 league meetings in a row. This encounter should be close, with neither side wanting to lose early ground in the race for a top 4 finish. A cagey affair could therefore be on the cards, but there’s too much firepower in both teams to expect clean sheets. Roberto Firmino (£8.4m) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.5m) could be the main goal threats for each team, and there are also potential bargains in the shape of James Milner (£6.6m), Ander Herrera (£6.3m) and Marcus Rashford (£6.9m).

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

Bournemouth v Hull – Adam Smith (£4.6m)
Stoke v Sunderland – Joe Allen (£4.8m)
West Brom v Spurs – Kyle Walker (£6.0m)
Crystal Palace v West Ham – Christian Benteke (£7.6m)
Middlesbrough v Watford – Cristhian Stuani (£5.1m)
Southampton v Burnley – Virgil Van Dijk (£5.4m)

Best of luck for this weekend, and we’ll bring you another update next week.