Yahoo Daily Fantasy Gameweek 24 review: Lukaku, Gabriel Jesus star as Pogba and Sanchez struggle

There was another full round of Premier League fixtures this weekend which saw Chelsea end Arsenal’s title bid, Liverpool’s awful 2017 went from bad to worse and the relegation dogfight dragged two more teams – including defending champions Leicester City – into the battle.

[Gameweek 24 Dreamteam: How many of your players made the cut?]

But what did that mean for Daily Fantasy results? Well, quite a lot actually. There was a massive return from Romelu Lukaku and big returns from a couple of expected players – think Gabriel Jesus and Ross Barkley – and some not so expected players – like Joshua King and Harry Arter and Vito Mannone. However, popular selections like Paul Pogba, Kevin De Bruyne and Alexis Sanchez all failed to fire.

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Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1

We start with the opening match of Gameweek 24 as Antonio Conte left Arsene Wenger’s title bid in tatters, and that was largely reflected in Fantasy points. Defender Marcos Alonso had another strong performance, scoring 15.60 points, while Eden Hazard (15.25) had a welcome return to Fantasy form. The Belgian’s stunning individual goal helped him to 15.30 points and his good return in 2017. Cesc Fabregas (10.20), Pedro (9.90) and Thibault Courtois (8) also had good returns. However, popular selections Diego Costa and Gary Cahill had poor returns, only scoring 3.80 and 2.10 points respectively. For Arsenal, only 2 players broke double figures – Nacho Monreal (11.85) and Olivier Giroud (11.25) but popular selections Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez had poor matches, only scoring 8.40 and 3.20 respectively. But that was still better than poor old Petr Cech who had a nightmare on his return to Stamford Bridge, scoring -1.5 points.

Everton 6 Bournemouth 3

If you wanted strong Daily Fantasy returns, then Toffees or Cherries needed to be on your menu. Everton had three players break the 20-point barrier and one, Romelu Lukaku, scored a mammoth 45.70 – a huge boon for the 33% of punters who selected him. Ross Barkley‘s goal, assist and work around the park saw him score 22.45 points, while the surprise of the round was perhaps James McCarthy‘s return of 21.35 points – he only averages 3.70 per round! Popular selection Seamus Coleman scored a solid 9 points despite conceding 3 goals, but Joel Robles and Leighton Baines had disappointing returns with 3.50 and 1.90 each. But the turn up for the books was definitely some of the performances from the Cherries! Forward Joshua King scored a huge 27.45 points (on 0.5% selection) thanks to 2 goals and 3 corners won and midfielder Harry Arter (2.5%) scored 23.10 points on 1 goal and 8 shots. However, Artur Boruc had his fifth consecutive negative performance in row, scoring the few players who picked him -6.

Manchester City 2 Swansea City 1

Manchester City had Gabriel Jesus as their saviour on Sunday afternoon after the young Brazilian scored 2 goals in his full home debut. His 27.05 points made him the second-highest scorer of the round and his price has already jumped to £19! There were double-figure returns for midfielders Yaya Toure (11.10) and David Silva (10.30) despite no goals or assists for either, but Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, who were selected by 43% and 30% of Yahoo players could only 7.90 points between them. For Swansea, Gylfi Sigurdsson was once again a popular selection and the Iceland star repaid the faith by scoring 14.55 points. However, their second most selected player, Fernando Llorente returned a negative haul of -1.5 thanks to his minimal involvement and yellow card.

Leicester City 0 Manchester United 3

Leicester’s title defence continues to implode and their home tie saw many Fantasy players avoiding picking any Foxes players – and rightly so considering the 3-0 result. Riyad Mahrez was selected by 12% of players but only scored 4.35 points, as new signing Wilfred Ndidi top scored with 6.70. For Manchester United, 5 players scored more than 10 points and a sixth – David De Gea – wasn’t far off with 9.50. Henrikh Mkhitaryan top scored with 21.65 points, while Juan Mata, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Valencia and Chris Smalling all had strong games. However, Paul Pogba had an off day, only scoring 5.50 points – an annoyance to the 52% of players who picked him!

Hull City 2 Liverpool 0

Liverpool’s awful start to 2017 continued despite the return of Sadio Mane, as Hull’s resurgent form under Marco Silva continued. However, it appears Fantasy players are taking a little longer to warm to Tigers players – Harry Maguire was their most selected player, at 6%. Goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic (2%) backed up his 17 points in Gameweek 23 with 17.50 against Jurgen Klopp’s men, while forward Oumar Niasse scored 11.60 thanks to his goal. For the Reds, James Milner and Jordan Henderson top scored with 9.90 points each and Philippe Coutinho wasn’t far behind with 9.50. Neither player scored or assisted a goal, but they each got their points through shots, passes, corners won and interceptions. Lucas was selected by less than 1% of players but had another good performance, scoring 7.25. However, Roberto Firmino’s sticky run continued – his 5.20 points was the third time in a row he hasn’t scored more than 6 points and means he only has one score above 9.60 points in his last 8 matches in all competitions. Simon Mignolet struggled again, scoring -1, a blow for the 8.5% who picked him.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Middlesbrough 0

Tottenham kept the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the table thanks to Harry Kane‘s penalty, his goal saw a welcome return to Fantasy form with 14.30 points. Christian Eriksen continued his consistent form with 12.50, and Toby Alderweireld and Hugo Lloris put in a strong shift at the back as they scored 10.40 and 10 points, respectively. Victor Wanyama also had one of his strongest performances with 9.05 points. However, popular selections Dele Alli and Kyle Walker had disappointing returns, only scoring 5.85 and 5.50 each. Middlesbrough’s top scorer was Adama Traore with 4.50.

Crystal Palace 0 Sunderland 4

One of the biggest upsets of the round, if not for the result, but definitely for the score. Jermain Defoe was far and away the Black Cats’ most popular selection and he repaid the faith by scoring two goals and 24.50 Fantasy points. There were also strong returns for Vito Mannone (22), Lamine Kone (16.60) and Didier Ndong (13.60). Bryan Oviedo had a decent debut at leftback, scoring 7.70. It was a different story for Palace as only Christian Benteke reached double figures, scoring 10.40 points, as other popular selections Wilfried Zaha and Patrick van Aanholt misfired with 6.65 and 4.15 points each.

Southampton 1 West Ham United 3

Southampton’s poor run of form continued against the Hammers, with only midfielder James Ward-Prowse (15.30) reaching double figures, largely thanks to his 5 shots and 4 successful crosses. Ryan Bertrand was selected by almost 17% of players but he could muster 3.15, while Fraser Forster returned -4.5 points. For West Ham, Pedro Obiang was the surprising Fantasy hero, scoring a hefty 20 points. Mark Noble, Darren Randolph and Andy Carroll also chipped in with 10+ Fantasy scores. However, it may be time to steer clear of Robert Snodgrass (3.20) and Michail Antonio (2.50) for a while.

Watford 2 Burnley 1

Burnley lost on the road again, as Watford made it 2 wins in a row following their famous win at Arsenal in midweek. Troy Deeney was a popular selection and his goal saw him score 13.90 points, while Heurelho Gomes scored 9.50 and Etienne Capoue 5.50. Burnley’s Ashley Barnes was only selected by 0.15% of players but he could have been the difference for many as he scored 19.65, thanks to his goal, 3 shots and 5 fouls won. Defender Michael Keane scored 7 points and usually reliable goalkeeper Tom Heaton recorded 3.50. But it was a nightmare for Jeff Hendrick – the Ireland midfielder only last 6 minutes but in that time he only contributed 1 foul…and a red card to score -5.5.

West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 0

Matt Phillips and Chris Brunt were both popular selections for the visit of Stoke and both misfired. Brunt only managed 4.80 points, while Phillips could only must 2.70, a far cry from James Morrison’s 12.90. Ben Foster also had a strong game in goal, scoring 11 points. Stoke’s surprising top scorer was Phil Bardsley. The defender’s strong all round game and 3 shots on target saw him score 10.10 points. His defensive partner Erik Pieters was second best for the Potters with 7.40 points. It was a poor return to the Hawthorns for Saido Berahino though, he could only score 0.15 points in his substitute appearance.