Will Chelsea’s defenders deliver at both ends of the pitch again?

With over half of the 2017/18 English Premier League season now completed, it is quite remarkable to see that only 3 players have registered more assists than César Azpilicueta, while Marcos Alonso has scored the same number of goals as team-mate Eden Hazard.

The Chelsea duo, who were key components in Antonio Conte’s title winning squad last season, haven’t rested on their laurels and continue to put in impressive performances week in, week out. The Blues already have 10 clean sheets to their credit in the current campaign and our latest goal projections suggest that another one could well be on the cards when they host Stoke City at Stamford Bridge in GW21.

With some set-piece responsibility and an advanced left wing-back role, Alonso’s stats don’t come as such a surprise, however, by comparison, Azpilicueta has been used predominantly in a back 3, making his efforts all the more commendable.

Manchester City will be looking to record their 19th consecutive Premier League victory when they travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday. It is an incredible sequence but don’t expect the Eagles to surrender as easily as Newcastle United did on Wednesday. Despite losing 3-2 to Arsenal on Thursday, Palace showed plenty of fight and will surely fancy their chances of upsetting the apple cart.

The Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United clash has been rescheduled for safety reasons so there are just the 9 fixtures taking place over the weekend.

It promises to be another fascinating gameweek – don’t bet against Azpilicueta and Alonso recording more attacking returns!