As the Premier League season prepares to enter its sixth round of matches, it has started to become clearer to those that have a fantasy football team which footballers are in the plans of their respective managers, which in turn has made team selection slightly easier.
However, there will be those of you wondering if a certain striker has a good record against his club's upcoming opponents, or should you include that defender in your side.
Below, Sports Mole has picked out five players that we feel will score plenty of fantasy points this weekend, and five others that best be avoided.
Who to pick
1. Wayne Rooney: Having been the only Manchester United player to come out of Sunday's derby with any credit, it would be fair to say that Rooney has hit something close to his best form. Going into Saturday's meeting with West Bromwich Albion, the England frontman has scored four goals in his last three outings. What's more, he likes taking on the Baggies, having scored a quartet of goals in his last four appearances against them.
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2. Pablo Osvaldo: The Italian international will not have many better chances to break his goalscoring duck for Southampton than this weekend. The Saints play host to Crystal Palace, who have conceded 10 goals in all competitions this season.
3. Romelu Lukaku: Having made a goalscoring debut from the bench last time out against West Ham United, the Chelsea loanee is bound to be part of the Everton starting lineup against Newcastle United on Monday night. His pace and power are likely to cause problems for a Newcastle defence, that has already shipped five goals on the road this season.
4. Dejan Lovren: The Croatian international may have raked in the points last weekend with a goal against Liverpool, but that is not why he is included among this shortlist. More relevant is the fact that the 24-year-old has been part of a Southampton defence that this term that has conceded just two goals. With misfiring Palace visiting the St Mary's Stadium, you'd expect that stubborn trend to continue.
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5. Simon Mignolet: Having seen the turmoil unfold at Sunderland this week, goalkeeper Mignolet is likely to be relieved that he got out in the summer. He returns to the Stadium of Light with Liverpool this weekend, with three clean sheets from five matches. Add to that the fact that the Black Cats have scored just three Premier League goals this season (one at home) and you wouldn't expect the Belgian to be picking the ball out of his net too often. Scoring goals against Liverpool has also been a problem for Sunderland, having found the net just twice in their last five meetings.
Who to avoid
1. Samuel Eto'o: The Cameroon centre-forward was signed to ease Chelsea's problems in front of goal, but if anything he has made Fernando Torres look prolific. Saturday's opponents Tottenham Hotspur have been water-tight of late, so it would take a brave punter to bet on Eto'o scoring his first goal at White Hart Lane.
2. Ricky van Wolfswinkel: Statisticians Squawka have summed up the Norwich City striker's season so far perfectly: "Has just a 33% shot accuracy, 16.7% chance conversion rate & hasn't had a shot on target in 3 games." Then there is the fact that Stoke City is traditionally a difficult place to score goals.
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3. Boaz Myhill: Where to start? West Brom have not defeated Man United in a league fixture since 1984 and in their last eight meetings, they have shipped 24 goals against the champions. It's by no means a reflection on the West Brom goalkeeper's ability, but history doesn't bode well for the Baggies.
4. Ron Vlaar: Aston Villa go into Saturday's home clash with Manchester City on the back of a 4-0 thrashing from Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup. City find goals easy to come by against Villa, as 20 in the last eight clashes between the two highlights. With that in mind, avoiding Vlaar and his Villa teammates would probably be wise.
5. Lee Cattermole: Having been frozen out by Paolo Di Canio, Cattermole was reinstated to the Sunderland fold by interim manager Kevin Ball last night. Rather than being a midfielder that scores goals, the Englishman is more of a combative performer. That comes with risks, an opinion backed up by his 31 bookings in the last four seasons. With Sunderland up against Liverpool, who have the fleet-footed Victor Moses, Iago Aspas, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in their side, a yellow card or perhaps worse for Cattermole would not be a major surprise.
Liam Apicella
