Week 11 Spotlight

Welcome back as we look to a potentially large goal-scoring weekend! This time around, my article will be spotlighting those players who have a chance this week to join the ranks of the hat-trick elite.

Hat-tricks, who’s next?

Last time out, Kane highlighted an otherwise fairly miserly fantasy week 10 last night, as he joined the ranks of the hat-trick heroes for the season. Believe it or not, it's only been 10 weeks, yet we have had SEVEN hat-trick heroes already (NINE if you include Lewandowski and Ronaldo). Let's look at them:

1. Callum Wilson (now injured)

2. Naismith (now out of favour)

3. Sanchez (going strong)

4. Aguero (now injured)

5. Sterling (can he do it again?)

6. Wijnaldum  (playing in a relegation zone team)

7. Kane (is he back?)

Will another hero rise this week?

Let's look at the contenders:

1. Kevin De Bruyne - Facing a defensively inept Norwich who have yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League. To put it into perspective, Norwich let 6 goals in against Newcastle. NEWCASTLE, who were at the time (and still is) in the relegation zone. Kevin De Bruyne is becoming a key player for City, and although he only had one assist against Bournemouth in a 5-1 win, you would suspect his time is soon.

2. Raheem Sterling - Can he do it again? Let's face it, he was poor against Manchester United, but then, you wouldn't call that a game of much quality, with both teams looking not to lose instead of trying to win. It's hard to imagine Norwich keeping him at bay, with the constant rotation in defense as Alex Neill tries to find a more stable combination.

3. Sadio Mane - Bournemouth's troubles are not over, and the speedy Mane is set to possibly push Bournemouth into the relegation zone. Mane was also not involved midweek, so he should be fresh for the weekend.

4. Wijnaldum (can't spell his first name) - The lifting of Coloccini's suspension will boost Newcastle, and they'll be determined to show their win against Norwich was no fluke. Stoke are very much an unknown quantity right now, and their Capital Cup One exertions (120 minutes plus penalties) could very well make them pay the price against a team that was not involved.

5. Romelu Lukaku - It's hard to see Big Sam letting Sunderland concede that many goals, but let's face it, he doesn't exactly have a quality defense to work with, and at Merseyside those flaws will show. Romelu Lukaku is the perfect person to exploit this as he looks to bully the defense into submission.

6. Harry Kane – There’s enough evidence to indicate that this is a player that thrives on confidence, and his hat-trick against Bournemouth can only mean better times are ahead. Managerless Aston Villa are an unknown quantity though, as the departing of Sherwood might precipitate a more defensive strategy as caretaker manager Kevin McDonald may try to play for a draw in an away match, and as such Kane comes last in the list.

Dark horse: Yaya Toure. He took the penalty in the midweek match against Crystal Palace, and if Norwich concede penalties, he looks set to take them in the absence of Aguero. He won’t likely have much defensive duties and his runs forward could be fruitful.

It's funny not to see fantasy stalwarts Mahrez, Vardy and Sanchez on my list, but their matchups look tough. (Leicester against West Brom away, and Arsenal against Swansea away).  I haven't listed Pelle and Bony either, as I feel that they will be more involved with the build up or assisting the goals. They also started in the Carling Cup midweek matches so may get tired faster than the other candidates.

So, how does your team look right now, here’s mine at the moment:

Obviously, the most critical problem concerns Costa. Costa has claimed he is ready to play through the pain barrier against Liverpool, although as a Liverpool fan, I hope he doesn’t score. Gomis is still on bad  form, and I don’t see him getting much against Arsenal.

The other problem concerns Fabianski, and although I think Swansea will make it hard for Arsenal, I can see him conceding two goals, which makes me considering benching him instead.

I will most likely do the following during the weekend:

Coutinho to Kevin De Bruyne, Costa to Lukaku, Gomis to Kane.

By doing so, I will end up playing 5 out of the 6 hat-trick candidates I listed. It’s a real case of putting my money where my mouth is!

All the best!