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Yahoo Daily Fantasy - Who’s Hot and Who’s Not for Gameweek 26?

The General profiles two players – Sadio Mane and Christian Benteke – who are at the opposite end of the Fantasy spectrum at the moment. He has a look at why and if there is any potential change in the near future.

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HOT – Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – £27

Position: Midfielder

Form: 2 goals in his last match

Fixture: Leicester City (Away)

Liverpool struggled without Mane while he was on International duty with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations but his recent return has boosted the Reds in their hunt for a Champions League spot. He’s been a key member of Klopp’s starting XI this season and he’s used his pace to score 11 league goals so far – the same tally he finished the last campaign with for previous employers Southampton.

READ MORE: Saturday’s Daily Fantasy Gameweek 26 must-haves and must-nots

READ MORE: Sunday’s Daily Fantasy Gameweek 26 must-haves and must-nots

Klopp convinced the Liverpool hierarchy to fork out £34m for Mane and he’s already paid some of that back with some match-winning performances – most recently against Spurs where he scored both goals and terrorised Spurs left back Ben Davies. He’s well on course to hit 20 league goals in what has been a superb first season at Anfield. In addition to his goal scoring exploits, he has also registered 6 assists in the league.

Liverpool make the trip to the home of the champions Leicester City on Monday evening. The Foxes are in disarray and sit just one point above the relegation zone. The prospect of relegation is very real for Claudio Ranieri and his team of legends. The Foxes have conceded 12 goals in their last 5 league matches so the last person Wes Morgan and co. want to face right now is an in-form Mane. Liverpool could run up a cricket score at the King Power Stadium and if Mane can score a brace against an excellent Spurs rearguard, how many will he score against leaky Leicester?

NOT – Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) – £19

Position: Forward

Form: 1 goal in his last 10 league matches

Fixture: Middlesbrough (Home)

Relegation survival expert Sam Allardyce faces a huge challenge to keep Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The Eagles are marooned at the bottom of the table alongside Sunderland with just 19 points from 25 matches – Big Sam must have felt ill watching his former club demolish his Palace side 4-0 at Selhurst Park a few weeks ago. They also lost the following fixture against Stoke 1-0, so there’s a good chance confidence levels are at an all-time low.

Palace assets have been frustrating fantasy managers all season, none more so than Christian Benteke. The Belgian is on a major scoring drought – he has hit the back of the net just once in his last 10 league matches and desperately needs to add to the 9 goals he already has this season because his form will be key to Palace’s survival hopes. Big Sam needs to find a way to get him firing again.

Palace will hope to kick-start their fight for survival this weekend as they welcome Middlesbrough to Selhurst Park. Aitor Karanka’s side have been very impressive as a defensive unit this season having conceded just 27 goals – Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have all conceded more. Boro are not the ideal opponents for a misfiring Benteke, and it’s probably best to avoid him and his Palace teammates in fantasy for the foreseeable future.