Chelsea to ramp up top-four pressure on Tottenham this weekend

There are as few as three Premier League games remaining this season for some teams and worst fears are starting to become reality.

West Brom will be relegated to the Championship if they fail to beat Newcastle on Saturday, while even three points may not be good enough for Darren Moore’s side.

At the top of the table, the league title has already been decided, but Chelsea still have an outside shot of making the top four.

Antonio Conte’s side can pull to within two points of Tottenham before their London rivals play Watford on Monday night.

With everything in mind on Saturday, the WhoScored Expert has trawled through the matches and come up with an XI for Yahoo! Fantasy Football.

Goalkeeper – JAMES MCCARTHY (SOUTHAMPTON)

Mark Hughes’ appointment has not given Southampton the boost they need, but this weekend’s derby with Bournemouth needs no fuel for motivation.

Southampton are unlikely to finish above their south coast rivals this season, but desperately need three points against the Cherries this weekend.

Hughes’ side are in the bottom three and four points adrift of safety with four games remaining.

However, Southampton have kept clean sheets in each of their last four home meetings with Bournemouth, so Alex McCarthy should eye a clean sheet here.

Defender – JAMES TARKOWSKI (BURNLEY)

Burnley’s challenge to leapfrog Arsenal into sixth has taken a hit in recent games, but they can get back on track this weekend.

With Arsenal set to field a much-changed team away to Manchester United on Sunday, the Clarets have a real opportunity to pull to within one point of the Gunners.

Burnley host a Brighton side that are without a win in six matches in all competitions, having also failed to score in two of their last three in the road.

James Tarkowski has endured a stellar campaign for Burnley this season and is on course to finish in the WhoScored Premier League Team of the Season (7.27 rating).

Defender – JAMES TOMKINS (CRYSTAL PALACE)

Crystal Palace are six points clear of the bottom three and will hope to take another massive step towards securing their top-flight status for another season this weekend.

The Eagles host a Leicester outfit that have nothing to play for and winless in their last three outings. With that in mind, this is a very manageable game for Roy Hodgson’s side.

Key to their recent resurgence under the former England manager has been James Tomkins. The 29-year-old will probably look back on his form over the last few months at the end of the season and feel unfortunate not to get an England call-up for the 2018 World Cup.

Tomkins is performing as well as any English centre-back at the moment, if not better. In fact, the former West Ham defender has scored two goals in his last four appearances and picked up the WhoScored Man of the Match award three times in his last seven outings.

Defender – TERENCE KONGOLO (HUDDERSFIELD)

Huddersfield pulled off a shock loan deal for Monaco defender Terence Kongolo in January and they will try hard to make the switch permanent at the end of the season.

The 24-year-old was made to be patient for a spot in the team, but has now started each of Huddersfield’s last three Premier League matches.

Kongolo is a Yahoo! Top-20 form player at the moment and is also Huddersfield second highest WhoScored rated player in the Premier League (7.08).

Midfielder – JOHANN BERG GUDMUNDSSON (BURNLEY)

A lot has been made of Sean Dyche’s achievements for Burnley this season without a great deal of praise being thrown the players’ way.

Tarkowski and Nick Pope have rightly been credited with fine campaigns, but there are also other players that have quietly put together impressive seasons.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson is one of those that has been integral to Burnley’s season, playing a direct hand in 10 goals for the Clarets (two goals, eight assists).

The 27-year-old failed to make any significant impression during his first year of Premier League football, but has really kicked on this time around.

In fact, Gudmundsson is the top assisting player in the Premier League this season outside of the ‘big six’ clubs (eight).

Midfielder – EDEN HAZARD (CHELSEA)

The Belgium international returned to top form in last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton and now Antonio Conte will hope Eden Hazard can inspire Chelsea’s dramatic fight back into the top four.

It appears unlikely that Chelsea will have enough time to catch Tottenham, especially as they face Liverpool after a trip to Swansea on Saturday, but Conte will hope some good form will put them in good stead for the FA Cup final next month.

Hazard is the fourth highest WhoScored rated player in the Premier League this season (7.75), while only Harry Kane (9) has won the WhoScored Man of the Match award more times than the 27-year-old (8).

The Chelsea star hasn’t always enjoyed a happy trip to the Liberty Stadium, but is well placed to do so this weekend.

Midfielder – CESC FABREGAS (CHELSEA)

After working so hard to win Antonio Conte over at Chelsea last season, Cesc Fabregas has struggled to turn in the same type of performances this time around.

The 30-year-old is on course to finish with his lowest tally for assists in a single league campaign in any of the last nine campaigns, but that could change on Saturday.

Chelsea now have two strikers near top form and that should help with Fabregas’ vision and ability to execute a pass many would only dream of completing.

Midfielder – THEO WALCOTT (EVERTON)

Theo Walcott hoped a move to Everton in January would kickstart a late rally for Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the 2018 World Cup, but that has failed to happen.

While Walcott has done well for the Toffees, he is not even close to forcing his way into the reckoning on the international scene.

Nevertheless, he can be pleased with the way his Everton career has started and things should only get better next season when the club appoint a more ambitious manager.

The 29-year-old scored his third Everton goal on Monday night and will hope to build on that against Huddersfield on Saturday.

Utility – WILFRIED ZAHA (CRYSTAL PALACE)

We have already included Crystal Palace’s highest WhoScored rated player in the Premier League this season in our Yahoo! Fantasy XI and now have picked their second.

Wilfried Zaha has been instrumental to Palace this season and it’s just a shame the Ivory Coast international has missed nine league games for the Eagles this season.

They are six points clear of the bottom three, but things would have been much easier for Roy Hodgson’s side had Zaha been available more often.

In fact, Palace have lost all 10 of the Premier League matches Zaha has not started this season, compared to a win ratio of 32% when he has featured from the off.

Forward – AYOZE PEREZ (NEWCASTLE)

A run of four wins from their last five matches has ensured Newcastle’s top-flight status for next season and now they can enjoy their remaining four league games.

Ayoze Perez has been key to their recent purple patch, contributing five goals in his last four appearances (three goals, two assists).

The Magpies entertain a West Brom side rock bottom of the Premier League and Perez should look to build on his tally of five goals and five assists for the campaign here.

Forward – ALVARO MORATA (CHELSEA)

This season has been a struggle for Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata, but the 25-year-old has at least shown in recent matches that he is rediscovering his goalscoring touch.

Morata’s future is unclear beyond the end of this season, but he will want to finish his first campaign with Antonio Conte’s side on a high, particularly as it could be the difference between starting or not in the FA Cup final next month.

The 25-year-old has played a direct hand in 17 goals in 28 Premier League appearances this season (11 goals, six assists), while netting three times in his last six outings.