After our last two selections, it appears as though we are turning into the Crystal Palace of the Fantasy Football world. Our form has been improving all the time and last week, we came up trumps with five of our six picks for week 33.
Ironically, it was Glenn Murray's lack of goals for Palace that cost us a clean sweep, but after Manchester City won and kept a clean sheet, and Didier Drogba, Jose Fonte and Fabricio Coloccini all failed to earn points for their respective sides, it's fair to say that we were pretty pleased with our efforts last weekend.
Below, Sports Mole has made six more picks to try to assist you in the 34th week of the Premier League campaign.
Who to pick
1. Charlie Austin
Queens Park Rangers may not be faring too well in the Premier League but from a personal perspective, Charlie Austin has enjoyed an excellent first season in the top flight. The 25-year-old has scored 17 goals in 31 games in all competitions, and although only five of those strikes have come since the turn of the year, he has the ability to score all types of goals and that makes him a considerable threat to West Ham United this weekend. The Hammers have been in free-fall in recent weeks, and although there was no shame in only conceding twice at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, they will be facing a motivated Loftus Road outfit who know that only three points will do in their battle to remain in the Premier League.
2. Coutinho
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While the critics have been out in force after Liverpool's FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, one man who can't be blamed for their performances is South American maestro Coutinho. The 22-year-old hasn't always offered the best return in front of goal - he's netted just 15 goals in 97 appearances in all competitions - but he has four in his last 10, some of which have been match-winning efforts. The former Inter Milan midfielder also offers plenty of creativity in the final third, and at a time when some of his teammates appear to be floundering, the Brazilian could continue to end the season in positive fashion against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns this weekend.
3. Mame Biram Diouf
Mame Biram Diouf has found himself in and out of the Stoke City team in recent weeks, but this weekend, it's hard to see the Senegalese forward being left out of the starting lineup by manager Mark Hughes. Not only have seven of his last eight Stoke goals come at the Britannia Stadium, the former Manchester United forward's physical game will strike fear in a Sunderland defence who had no answer to Glenn Murray at the Stadium of Light a couple of weeks ago. Hughes may even partner Diouf with Peter Crouch if he decides to really take the direct approach against the Black Cats, but whichever route the Potters boss opts for, it's likely to result in chances on goal for Diouf.
Who to avoid
1. Jack Grealish
After helping Aston Villa to an FA Cup triumph over Liverpool, winger Jack Grealish has been the talk of Birmingham over the last few days, but that doesn't mean that you should be throwing him into your fantasy football teams without a second thought. There's no doubt that the 19-year-old is blossoming into one of the top young players in the Premier League, but he hasn't netted in 19 appearances for Villa and he's not a certainty to start against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Despite his display at Wembley, boss Tim Sherwood will be considering whether to take his player out of the spotlight and there is enough doubt there to leave him out of your fantasy side for this round of fixtures.
2. Phil Jagielka
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After a disappointing campaign that has seen the club occupy a mid-table position since August, it's gone unnoticed that Everton are one of the form sides in the Premier League over the past five games. During that period, the Toffees have recorded 13 points and ahead of their Goodison Park encounter with Manchester United, they are likely to be confident of adding more points to their recent tally. However, Louis van Gaal's men showed at Chelsea last week that they are a different team to the one who spent the opening six months of the campaign struggling for consistency, and if they get a bit more luck than they did at Stamford Bridge, they will have enough to score two or three past the Merseyside club.
3. Tom Heaton
We doubt that there are too many occasions where you might be thinking about including a Burnley goalkeeper in your side, but we think that could be the case this week. After his penalty save from Ross Barkley, Clarets stopper Tom Heaton went on to concede just the one goal against Everton, and his recent run is equally impressive. The former Manchester United trainee has conceded just eight goals in as many games, including clean sheets against both Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, but as outrageous as it sounds, we believe that Leicester City will have more success at Turf Moor. The Foxes have been rampant in recent games, scoring seven goals in three successive victories, and with the majority of Burnley's points over the past two months coming against the higher-placed sides, we are backing Leicester to pick up the win in the North-West.
Darren Plant
