The Premier League is well and truly back after a long international break. The international break like always, brought along with it bad news for managers, as Lukaku and Bellerin got minor injuries and may not be fit to start matches for Everton and Arsenal respectively. The big fixture this week is the North West derby and it’d be interesting to see if Jose Mourinho can come up with some magic to stop the Liverpool juggernaut. Adam Lallana is a doubt for the game and this could definitely hamper Liverpool’s chances as the Englishman has been in fine form. Meanwhile, Manchester City will be hoping for a convincing victory against Everton, after losing 2-0 to Spurs at White Hart Lane. 

Chelsea vs Leicester

Bournemouth vs Hull

Man City vs Everton

West Brom vs Spurs

Crystal Palace vs West Ham

Middlesbrough vs Watford

Southampton vs Burnley

Liverpool vs Man Utd

Picks for Gameweek 8 

1. Diego Costa(10.1): The Spaniard has been in glorious form and has delivered points in every game except the London derby against Arsenal. Costa’s ruthlessness in front of the goal has given Chelsea the edge in cagey games and he has arguably been their best performer. With 6 goals till now, Costa is the highest goal scorer in the league currently. 

2. Charlie Austin(6.3): Southampton’s Charlie Austin is priced at a moderate 6.3 and is a solid budget option for your strike force. The player was not a regular starter under Puel but his good run of form has compelled the manager to notice him, as he started the last two games. With 2 goals in the last three games, Austin against newcomers Burnley could be a good bet. 

Midfielders

4. Dimitri Payet(9.4): The Frenchman’s form has been the only plus for the Hammers in an otherwise horrendous start for the season. Payet’s creativity and set-piece ability are second to none in the league which is an added positive.  A brilliant effort by Payet against Middlesbrough was another fine display of skill and ability by him as he took on the entire defence to score a beautiful solo goal. 

6. Theo Walcott(7.7): The winger has been great for the Gunners this season after getting severely criticized by fans and critics alike earlier on. The player has found his form back on the right wing and has been involved in five of Arsenal goals this season in the league.

7. Sadio Mane(9.0): The new signing has been an instant hit at Liverpool and has become an instant favourite amongst the Kop faithful. Mane brings an enormous level of energy to the Liverpool team and has been one of their best players this season. The player will definitely want to score a goal in his first Northwest derby and prove the ‘big match player’ tag that he carries.

8. Kyle Walker(6.0): The fullback’s price continues to rise and can be found in over 35% of all teams. With four clean sheets and a couple of assists to his name, Walker has been very reliable in FPL terms this season. Tottenham has impressed as a defensive unit and should do the job again this week against West Brom. 

9. Jose Fonte(5.4): Southampton have kept two clean sheets in the last two matches and will look towards extending this run further as they face Burnley who will be missing their starting striker Andre Gray due to a suspension.

Goalkeeper

11. Petr Cech(5.5): The goalkeeper is the obvious and the easiest choice when it comes to picking up someone from the Arsenal defence. Cech is backed by a solid center-half pairing of Koscielny and Mustafi. Arsenal look comfortable at the back and this makes Cech the obvious pick for the goalkeeper position.

Robert Snodgrass(5.7): The Tigers are in bad form and will be hopeful of getting a win after three straight losses. The onus will be on Snodgrass to step up and deliver for them. The player can be found in only 8.3% of all teams. 

Steven Defour(6.0): In the absence of Andre Gray, Burnley will look to new summer signing Defour to deliver the goods against a solid Southampton team. Defour is a part of measly 0.6% of all teams and is the best player to have from Burnley at the moment. The player has assisted thrice and scored once this season. 

The Writers Team