This article is part of our FPL Best XI series.
Despite the Premier League going on a week-long hiatus, plenty of spectacular storylines still emerged from some of the top-flight's best clubs during last weekend's FA Cup fourth round.
That's because five of the Premiership's top-10 teams – Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton, Tottenham, and Swansea – fell victim to the competition's age-old magic and vanished in surprising fashion.
Those results contrasted from the more conventional outcomes that occurred during Gameweek 22 of Premier League play, as only one match (Arsenal at Manchester City) produced an upset in terms of the standings.
Along the way, some fireworks included Chelsea winning 5-0 at Swansea City, Christian Eriksen supplying a late winner for Tottenham, Crystal Palace scoring three unanswered goals to win at Burnley, and Arsenal's triumph at the Etihad.
However, instead of digging too far back in the memory bank, let's take aim on what's to come this weekend, when a full frame of fixtures awaits.
Opening the round is an increasingly important home match for Hull City, who welcome Newcastle with both teams having dropped four of their past six league games.
From there, a pair of dead-even duels – Sunderland v. Burnley (20 points each) and Crystal Palace v. Everton (23 points each) – should spark some Saturday standing shifting.
On that note, a team desperate to climb the table, last-place Leicester City heads to Old Trafford to face a Manchester United team focused on revenge following an embarrassing 5-3 loss to the Foxes back in September.
In similar obscurity, 19th-place Queens Park Rangers travel to Stoke City, while their more prolific London neighbors Tottenham leave the capital to take on Tony Pulis' built-up West Brom brigade.
Nonetheless, Saturday's main slate is headlined by seventh-place West Ham visiting an eighth-place Liverpool outfit that had lost just one of its last 16 competitions prior to Tuesday's League Cup semifinal defeat to Chelsea.
Speaking of the Blues, they cap off Saturday's schedule with a colossal contest versus reigning champions Manchester City.
Although Chelsea will be at home and currently carry a five-point advantage on City, they'll be without league-leading striker Diego Costa due to a three-match, stamp-induced suspension.
Once those matches are in the books, Sunday sees Arsenal await Aston Villa and Southampton square off with Swansea City, with both hosts looking to keep the good results coming.
Now without further ado, let's take a stab at some the potential fantasy stars to shine in Gameweek 23 of the Premier League campaign.
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper:
David de Gea
v. 
As previously documented in this space, de Gea has enjoyed a breakout season this term that surely has him positioned as Spain's No. 1 for years to come. For Manchester United, the gangly glove butler's current 0.95 goals-against average ranks third in the Premiership; however, de Gea's mark comes with nearly 20 more saves than both Joe Hart and Fraser Forster, who lead the goals-against-average category. Looking at this weekend's match versus Leicester City, de Gea's Man United team has kept five straight home clean sheets versus the Foxes, who have scored a paltry seven goals in 11 away matches this season.
Defenders:
Through 22 games this season, still no team has conceded fewer goals than Southampton's mere 16. In doing so, the Saints have secured a league-high 10 clean sheets – nine of which Clyne has been credited for. The right-back has also chipped in two goals and an assist to become one of fantasy's best defenders to date. This Sunday, Clyne is matched against a Swansea City side that hasn't scored versus Southampton for four straight games. The Swans also failed to score last weekend and will not only be without top-scorer Wilfried Bony, who has been sold to Manchester City, but they'll also be missing dynamic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson due to suspension. As a result, Clyne and Southampton's defense could well clinch their eighth home clean sheet this weekend.
While the Frenchman has treated a lingering Achilles issue throughout this season, Koscielny has still posted a respectable five clean sheets through 12 league appearances. Additionally, he's scored two goals already this season, which match his total from each of his previous four Premier League campaigns. On the heels of consecutive Premiership clean sheets, this weekend Koscielny faces an Aston Villa attack with eight fewer goals than any other team in England's top division. The Villains have also gone five straight matches without scoring, which makes Sunday's match at Arsenal a bright opportunity for Koscielny to add another clean sheet to his name.
A sort of forgotten-about fantasy commodity, Vertonghen leads Tottenham defenders with four clean sheets and 18 total appearances this season. While those numbers aren't great, he remains a steady presence in a Spurs' defense that goes against West Brom this weekend. Only two teams have scored fewer goals than the Baggies this season and new manager Tony Pulis is hardly noted for his offensive exploits. On that front, Pulis' teams often play "route-one" football, hoping to take advantage of long balls played into the box. However, with Vertonghen standing 6'2" and his defensive partner Federico Fazio 6'5", Spurs seem well equipped to stymie a score-shy West Brom this Saturday.
Midfielders:
Back when Man United lost to Leicester City in Gameweek 5, the encounter marked di Maria's first Premier League away match. Despite his team's misfortune, the Champions League winner came through with both a goal and an assist in his English first road test. Although the Argentine leads United in assists (six) and ranks second in shot attempts (44), di Maria's play has been sluggish since recently returning from injury. While plenty of tactical experiments from manager Louis van Gaal have impacted where di Maria has lined-up, this Saturday's matchup versus last-place Leicester City could be the perfect occasion for a resurgence. That's because lowly Leicester have conceded at least two goals in six of their past seven away matches, while only Chelsea and Southampton have scored more home goals than di Maria's Manchester United thus far this season.
Watching last round's Arsenal-Manchester City match, one couldn't help but be in awe of Cazorla's dazzling close control and decisive play in the final third. To be fair, Cazorla has routinely produced excellent performances since sliding back into his preferred No. 10 position in recent months. Since snapping his near year-long scoring drought, Cazorla has gone on to manufacture five goals and two assists in his past eight league efforts. While four of those goals have come from the penalty spot, Cazorla has still offered plenty of attacking punch, attempting 21 shots over the same span. No team has scored more than Arsenal over their last six home matches, so Sunday's tie versus Aston Villa definitely seems to fare well for Cazorla going forward.
Dusan Tadic
v. 
The catalyst of soaring Southampton's midfield attack, Tadic has manufactured seven assists through his first 20 Premier League efforts. That total puts the Serbian behind just three players in the category and six of his helpers have come at St. Mary's Stadium, where Southampton hosts Swansea City this Sunday. That home cooking should comfort Tadic, as should the fact that Swansea shipped five goals in their most recent Premiership performance. While he's been less than 100 percent healthy lately, Tadic has still come up with two goals and an assist from his four league games, which came against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Newcastle. Sunday's tie with Swansea seems less daunting and Tadic should be good to go against the Welsh outfit, who have plenty of problems at the moment.
Theo Walcott
v. 
Another player who may have been forgotten about by some, Walcott has slowly returned from last January's ACL tear and returned to the scoresheet with a goal in FA Cup play last weekend. That appearance, coupled with injuries to teammates Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain figures to allow Walcott to make his first Premiership start of the season this Sunday. Should he do so, Walcott could be joined by fellow returnee Mesut Ozil, who is also coming back from a knee issue. Since Ozil joined Arsenal last season, he and Walcott have started seven total matches together, with Walcott scoring six goals from those appearances. That intriguing trend, along with Walcott's 19 goals and 10 assists from his past 33 league starts, as well as Sunday's fantastic home matchup versus Aston Villa, makes Walcott one to watch this weekend.
Forwards:
Wayne Rooney (C) v.
As Manchester United's club captain, Rooney leads the Red Devils into Saturday's match against Leicester City with his side having scored at least two goals in eight of their past 10 meetings with the Foxes. Furthermore, Rooney's eight goals this season are tied for United's team lead and the Englishman has managed to do so from only 13 shots on target. His four assists also rank second on United, even though he hasn't scored or assisted since Boxing Day. That could very well change come Saturday, as Leicester are currently tied for the second-fewest away points this season. Meanwhile, Man United sit second in points at home, where seven of Rooney's goals have come this season. For that reason, Rooney claims this weekend's captain's armband ahead of a quite favorable matchup to boot.
Ahead of Sunday's match against Swansea City, Southampton boasts considerable belief from having gone unbeaten in their past six league matches. In fact, their only loss since mid-December came last weekend in the FA Cup, a game in which Pelle still found the back of the net. In doing so, Pelle notched his eleventh goal in a Southampton shirt. Eight of those goals have come in front of his home fans, while one of his two assists came earlier this season against Swansea. So now with a home date against Swansea, Pelle figures to be a threat for further damage, especially as the Swans were picked apart to the tune of five goals their last time out in the league, which preceded a crash out of the FA Cup last weekend.
Danny Ings
v. 
Sure, Burnley have averaged less than one goal per game this season, but that mark would be far worse if the Clarets didn't have Ings. To that point, the 22-year-old striker has hit for seven of his team's 21 goals on the campaign, including a goal in three straight Premier League outings. That already impressive sum could stand to improve further this weekend, when Ings takes on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. That's because no team has accrued fewer points at home than Sunderland this season. Better yet, no team has allowed more goals at home than Sunderland, making an in-form and in-demand Ings a threat to continue the Black Cats' unlucky home form.
de Gea
Clyne – Koscielny – Vertonghen
di Maria – Cazorla – Tadic – Walcott
Rooney (C) – Pelle – Ings
