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Fantasy Football advice: Week 30

Sports Mole takes a look at week 30 of the Premier League from a fantasy football point of view.

It was another mixed week from us as far as our Fantasy Football advice is concerned, but after scoring with two of our 'who to pick' selections, we have full faith that our magic touch is beginning to return ahead of the final weeks of the season.

We predicted that Laurent Koscielny would help Arsenal keep a clean sheet against West Ham United and that striker Wayne Rooney would net against Tottenham Hotspur. We slipped up with advising you to avoid Diego Costa and Robert Huth, but all in all, plenty of points would have been scored if you followed our selections last weekend.

Below, Sports Mole picks six more players who we think will stand out over the weekend for either the right or wrong reasons.

Who to pick

1. Wayne Rooney

Ever since he was restored to Manchester United's attack, Wayne Rooney has proven that he deserves to be regarded as the club's best striker. The United and England skipper has spent much of the season in midfield, but four goals in as many games has shown manager Louis van Gaal what he has been missing for the majority of the campaign.

Rooney will take a United side to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon who have been boosted by last week's 3-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, and with United needing to deliver results in order to return to the Champions League next season, it's hard to back against Rooney not adding to his recent tally at Anfield.

2. Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku of Everton celebrates as Matthew Upson of Leicester City scores an own goal for their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Leicester City at Goodison Park on February 22, 2015© Getty Images

Ever since signing for Everton in a £28m deal, Romelu Lukaku has struggled to justify the price that the Toffees paid Chelsea for his signature. However, over the past few weeks, with his club facing an important stage of the season, we have started to see the best of the Belgian.

Many of the 21-year-old's goals have come in the Europa League - he has scored six times in three matches ahead of the club's second leg in the Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev - but he has also begun to show positive signs in the Premier League. On Sunday, Everton travel to a Queens Park Rangers lacking belief after last week's loss at Crystal Palace, and we are backing Lukaku to inflict more misery on the club at Loftus Road.

3. Laurent Koscielny

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has proven to be a popular choice by us throughout the season and after the Frenchman contributed to clean sheets for his side against West Ham and Monaco respectively, we see no reason why we should lose faith in the centre-back.

Koscielny hasn't scored in his last eight games, but he has been part of a Gunners defence that has only conceded twice in five games in all competitions. On Saturday, Arsenal travel to a Newcastle side who are lacking goals and who will be without the suspended Papiss Cisse, so it's hard to back against Arsene Wenger's men recording a third clean sheet in the space of a week.

Who to avoid

1. Tim Krul

It's fair to say that Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul hasn't enjoyed the best few weeks. After conceding five goals at Manchester City, the Dutch stopper was part of a calamitous goal gifted to Manchester United winger Ashley Young, while last weekend his mistake allowed Everton to take the lead before they eased to victory at Goodison Park.

The errors are unlikely to see Krul lose his place in the starting lineup, but with the Magpies hosting Arsenal at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon, the 26-year-old finds himself under pressure to justify his inclusion.

2. Joleon Lescott

Joleon Lescott in action for West Brom on January 1, 2015© Getty Images

Since the arrival of Tony Pulis at The Hawthorns, Joleon Lescott has played a key role in West Bromwich Albion keeping several clean sheets in the Premier League, including against Everton, Swansea City and Southampton.

Recent results for the Baggies have ensured that they are almost certain to avoid a relegation battle in the final weeks of the season, but on Saturday, when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to play Manchester City, West Brom are facing a side who need to respond to their recent critics and who must register three points to remain competitive in the Premier League title race. Lescott will be eager to impress on his return to Manchester, but it could be a long 90 minutes for the 32-year-old.

3. John O'Shea

On and off the pitch, it hasn't been an enjoyable few weeks for Sunderland and their recent woe was compounded last weekend when they were thrashed 4-0 at home by Aston Villa. It was a result that saw Gus Poyet removed from his position as head coach and it's imperative that the Black Cats offer a response under new boss Dick Advocaat when they travel to West Ham on Saturday.

The Hammers are also in need of three points though, and if they can regain their touch in the final third, Sunderland could potentially wilt if Advocaat hasn't done what was required to restore some belief at the Stadium of Light.

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Wayne Rooney of Manchester United scores a goal to level the scores at 1-1 during the FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on March 9, 2015
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
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