Fantasy Premier League 2016-17: Players to pick for gameweek 16

Both Manchester City and Liverpool fell behind in the Championship race after dropping points over the weekend. Guardiola's men were outplayed by strugglers Leicester as the defending champions suddenly hit form with a 4-2 win thanks to Jamie Vardy's hat-trick at the King Power stadium. Liverpool were held at home by West Ham, while Manchester United won a home game in the premier league for the first time in over 2 months.

Everton vs Arsenal

Sunderland vs Chelsea

West Ham United vs Burnley

Manchester City vs Watford

Stoke City vs Southampton

West Bromwich Albion vs Swansea City

Picks for Gameweek 16

Zlatan Ibrahimovic(11.2): The Manchester United forward has been in good goal-scoring touch lately with four games in his last 4 Premier League appearances. With the absence of Sergio Aguero, suspended after his horror tackle on David Luis, the Swede could be a good replacement for managers. After the win over Tottenham on Sunday, United look ready to finally kick off their season with five winnable games coming up before Liverpool pay them a visit.

Diego Costa(10.9): This guy is on fire. When he is not scoring goals, he is setting up chances for others. His goal against West Brom was one he would not have been expected to score last season. He has already earned his managers 107 points which is just 22 short of his total last season. Chelsea, too, have an easier set of fixtures against the likes of Sunderland, Palace, Bournemouth, and Stoke, with the latter two at home. Costa is a must-have if you don't want your friends to establish a lead over you.

Midfielders

Gylfi Sigurdsson(7.5): The only Swansea player who has been exceptional this season is the Icelandic international. The former Tottenham star has already accumulated 5 goals and 5 assists this season and everything that Swansea will do right will go through the No. 23. He is Swansea's main set piece taker, and over the last two seasons, he has consistently clocked over 150 points and looks on course to do it again.

Kevin De Bruyne(10.8): In the last match against Leicester, KDB had one of his off days, as everything he tried failed. But with the absence of Aguero, the Belgian is the first-choice set-piece taker and he is City's main threat until the Argentine can make his way back. The playmaker has played his best games for City against the "big teams" and with Arsenal and Liverpool in the next four fixtures, KDB might just be the X-factor that the Citizens need to get their title challenge back on track.

Dimitri Payet(9.1): The Frenchman looked like a shadow of the player who terrorised league defences last season in the earlier part of the season. But in the last three weeks, he has been instrumental in West Ham's revival. To cap it off, he scored a brilliant free kick against Liverpool at Anfield to bring the Hammers level on the night. The return of Andy Carroll is another reason why the enigmatic Frenchman could provide a boost to West Ham's rise in the table.

David Luiz(6.1): Buying a defender from a team that has kept 8 clean sheets in the season so far is a no-brainer. Chelsea's next four fixtures don't provide any substantial threat to the Blues' clean sheet record. It was a difficult choice for me to decide whether to pick Marcus Alonso or the Brazilian, but the latter got the nod as he will be the first one up for corners.

Jan Vertonghen(5.7): Spurs were excellent defensively last season and started the season well with three clean sheets in the first five matches. However, an injury to Toby Alderweireld meant that Spurs' first choice defensive partnership was disrupted. The return of Alderweireld and the next two fixtures at home means that the 5.7 you pay for Vertonghen could turn out to be a good deal.

Goalkeeper

David de Gea(5.4): The Manchester United shot-stopper has been able to keep teams out just 5 times so far, but a run of four easy fixtures could turn him into the star of your team. Mourinho very rarely rests his keepers and de Gea will start at Palace, West Brom, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, which could amount to around 20 points. 

Aleksandar Kolarov(5.8): While City have been leaking goals right left and centre and some of them have been due to Kolarov's inability to defend, you should select him for his offensive capabilities. He scored a cracker of a free-kick against Leicester over the weekend and his constant runs down the left wing make him one of the outlets for City's midfield. With the ball on his left foot, Kolarov is as good as anyone else in the league.

Wilfried Zaha (5.6): Crystal Palace have been dreadful for most parts of the season. Since the departure of Yannick Bolasie to Everton, Zaha has been left with huge boots to fill and the former Manchester United player has not disappointed with 3 goals and 8 assists this season. He is joint-second in assists in the league so far and at the price of 5.6 - an absolute steal.