Fantasy Football: Cazorla, Dzeko & more – This weekend’s best picks

Goalkeeper

Simon Mignolet (£5.5m) The Liverpool goalkeeper was an automatic choice in the opening Premier League games of his Reds career. However, Liverpool have been regularly leaking goals since September. The Belgian has still managed to rack up an impressive 90 points – only Wojciech Szczesny, John Ruddy and Tim Howard have outperformed him! Liverpool have kept back-to-back cleansheets in their last two outings and have a kind run of fixtures on the horizon except for Arsenal’s trip to Anfield.

Defenders

Jon Flanagan (£4.3m) The Reds youngster has impressed at full-back this season, with only injury preventing the 21-year-old from collecting more fantasy points. With Jose Enrique, Daniel Agger and Mamadou Sakho all nursing injuries, Brendan Rodgers will be forced to rely on the Reds youth graduate. He does proving an offensive threat too, scoring in a 5-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in December.

Fabio (£4.1m) The Brazilian completed a permanent switch to Cardiff City from Manchester United on transfer deadline day. The Red Devils full-back is likely to be drafted straight into the first-team with his experience to prove useful. Fabio can provide a threat getting forward, too. Cardiff have a relatively kind run of fixtures against Norwich, Swansea, Aston Villa and Hull.

Midfielders

Santi Cazorla (£9.6m) With Aaron Ramsey injured and Mesut Ozil struggling to hit top gear, Santi Cazorla has proven Arsenal’s saviour in recent weeks. The Spain international has scored three goals and made one assist in his last six Premier League games. Cazorla does command a hefty transfer fee but the 29-year-old is in good goal-scoring form and faces Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Wilfried Zaha (£5.2m*) The United winger followed in the footsteps of his Red Devils team-mate Fabio and sealed a loan move to the Bluebirds after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer raided his old club. Wilfried Zaha will certainly feel that he has a point to prove after spending the entire season on the bench or out of the matchday squad under David Moyes. With Cardiff lacking a spark, the Bluebirds boss could throw Zaha straight into his starting line-up with some attractive fixtures over the next four weeks.

Strikers

Edin Dzeko (£6.8m) Jose Mourinho praised Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko in his pre-match media conference on Friday. The Bosnian should get an extended run in the first-team with Sergio Aguero set to be sidelined for up to a month. The 27-year-old has scored three goals in his last three Premier League games – and at £6.8m, he’s a steal! With so much firepower in midfield, Dzeko could be a cheap alternative to other big-name strikers.

Daniel Sturridge (£9.4m) For those Fantasy Footballers desperately trying to balance the books, Daniel Sturridge represents a much cheaper option than Luis Suarez (a saving of £4m!!). The England international made an immediate return to goal-scoring form when he came off the bench to score against Stoke City – and he’s scored a further four goals since The Britannia win. Let’s not forget that Sturridge was very much the main man for the Reds before his injury – racking up 77 points!

Captain’s pick

For those of you who had Sergio Aguero as captain, it’s time to strip the Argentine of the armband following his injury. Suarez remains the sensible choice if he’s in your side after he scored in the Merseyside derby. Otherwise, Juan Mata or Robin van Persie represent sensible choices.