Fantasy Football Tipster: Gameweek 26

Wondering who to choose for your dream team this week? Well we're back to give you the inside track on the players that may well score highly ahead of gameweek 26 in the Premier League.

Basing selections on stats, form and our unique match forecasts we aim to give you the upper hand in knowing the likely events this weekend.

Here we'll suggest an XI that could well benefit if our predictions come to fruition, as well as choosing those whose individual stats this season could cause their opponents real problems.

Goalkeeper

We start in goal and this week we've opted for Petr Cech, whose Chelsea side welcome Wigan to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Blues are admittedly out of sorts, particularly at the back, but they've only conceded twice in their last 6 encounters against Roberto Martinez's side, keeping 4 clean sheets in the process.

Defence

Bearing in mind Liverpool play twice in this gameweek it's certainly worth investing in at least one of Rodgers' recruits this time around. We've taken the bold move of opting for two of their defenders, the first being Glen Johnson. The Reds face West Brom and Swansea, both at home, and while the Baggies have failed to score on 5 of their 6 Premier League trips to Anfield, Swansea have scored just 1 goal in 6 matches in all competitions.

The right-back has had more shots (40) and made the fourth most key passes (34) of any defender in the league. We partner Johnson at the back with Daniel Agger, who we're backing to have an impact at both ends when the Swans visit next weekend. Liverpool are deemed likely to score from a set piece situation in the match forecast and no teammate has had more attempts from dead ball deliveries into the box than the Dane (3).

Joining Agger at the heart of our defence is Christopher Samba, whose QPR debut went a long way to dampening the disappointment of losing Ryan Nelsen. The January signing came with a heavy price tag on his huge shoulders and we're tipping him to deliver once again when Redknapp's side travel to the Liberty Stadium. With Swansea's troubles in front of goal already mentioned, the Hoops have kept clean sheets in 4 of their last 5 games and the giant centre-back’s stature will cause havoc from set pieces against a Swansea side that are weak in the air.

The final piece of the puzzle in our backline is another large one. Playing against a Reading side that are weak when it comes to aerial duels Ryan Shawcross shouldn't have too many problems in ensuring Stoke's defensive resolve is restored when McDermott's side make the trip to the Britannia. Having recently opened his account for the season in a home game against Wigan, the centre-back will be keen to dent the hopes of another relegation candidate this weekend.

Midfield

Although the Belgian travels with his Everton side to Old Trafford this weekend, Marouane Fellaini will be key to any success the Toffees have on Sunday. The midfielder was the best player on the pitch when the two sides met in the opening gameweek, proving to be the match winner in a narrow 1-0 victory. His goal was his second in successive matches against United and although they're clear at the top, only four sides have conceded more goals from corners this season than Ferguson's men (6).

A man in the news once again this week, Frank Lampard's goal in England's friendly against Brazil was a timely reminder of what he can do having now netted in each of his last 4 appearances for club and country. It may well stretch to 5 this weekend with the Blues midfielder scoring in 6 of his last 11 matches against Wigan, including a spot kick earlier in the season. The fact that the Latics have conceded the most penalties (7) and Chelsea have scored the most from the spot (8) this season is enough to convince us that Lampard should be among the goals.

Completing our midfield trio is another player bang in form in front of goal. Gareth Bale also netted in the midweek internationals having scored wonder goals in his last two Premier League outings against Norwich and West Brom. We've picked the Welshman to do the same in the early game against Newcastle on Saturday due to the aforementioned clash of Spurs' strength and Newcastle weakness when it comes to counter attacks. It should come as no surprise that Bale has had the most scoring attempts on the break in the league this season (9) and he will be key to halting Pardew's French renaissance.

Attack

Edin Dzeko's recent record should keep Carlos Tevez sidelined when City make the long trip down to Southampton this weekend. The Bosnian has 5 goals in his last 6 appearances for the champions and 3 goals from set pieces thus far. The fact that the Saints are weak at defending from such situations could see Dzeko's scoring streak continue.

No team have conceded more goals from corners than Aston Villa this season, and one man who is likely to be relishing the trip to the Midlands is Andy Carroll. The Hammers front man scored the decisive goal against Swansea upon his return to the starting XI last week. If there is a backline in the league likely to succumb to the England international's aerial prowess it is likely to be that of Villa, who have conceded more goals than any other team in the division (49).

Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski, who has quietly worked his way to a tally of 8 goals up and a league high of 9 assists this season, fills the last place in our suggested line-up. The Gunners make the trip to Sunderland this weekend and Martin O'Neill's side are weak when it comes to avoiding fouling in dangerous areas. If they were to give away any free-kicks on the edge of the box on Saturday the German may be first in the queue ahead of Cazrola having scored from 2 of just 6 direct attempts this season, including a deflected effort against Stoke last week.