Now that we've past the quarter-mark of the Premier League season, more definitive conclusions can be drawn regarding certain teams and players.
While some seem to be on the rise, others inevitably appear to be on the decline. With that in mind, let's highlight a trio of players moving in each direction as MondoGoal's Week 11 contests approach.
Rising
MID: Sadio Mane (£13.1M)
Mane is MondoGoal's most expensive player among those slated to play Sunday, and his recent production backs up that pegging. Not only has he scored in three of Southampton's last four games, but he's also registered five assists in their past seven league matches. One of Mane's goals came last weekend at Liverpool, and although he was ultimately sent off due to a pair of yellow cards, he will be back available for this weekend's game against Bournemouth. No team has conceded more goals than the Cherries thus far, which could allow Mane to improve his already impressive 9.20-point-per-game average.
GK: Jack Butland (£8.4M)
Fresh off leading Stoke to a League Cup victory over Chelsea on penalty kicks, a performance that earned him 10.80 points on MondoGoal, Butland more than compensated for his negative showing last weekend against Watford. Besides that game, Butland has recorded at least 8.30 points in five of his past six appearances across all competitions for club and country, exhibiting his emergence into a top goalkeeper this season. This weekend, the Englishman has a great opportunity to further his stock, as Stoke heads to a Newcastle side that they've blanked in two of their past three meetings.
FWD: Raheem Sterling (£10.2M)
After a slow start to the season following his big money move to Manchester City, Sterling has found some confidence lately, scoring four goals in his past four matches for club and country. That obviously includes his hat-trick against Bournemouth in Week 9, which resulted in a whopping 29.22 MondoGoal points. With the help of that hefty sum, Sterling is now averaging nearly nine points per game, and with injuries elsewhere in Manchester City's accomplished attack, he could have a field day this weekend against Norwich City, who shipped seven goals in their most recent visit to the Etihad Stadium.
Falling
MID: Eden Hazard (£14.0M)
Amid seemingly a new controversy surrounding his club each and every week, Hazard has floundered mightily so far this season. Such struggles were highlighted in Chelsea's midweek League Cup defeat, when Hazard was the only Blues player to miss a penalty kick. Unbelievably, the reigning Player of the Season has still not scored a single goal in the Premier League this term, leaving with a MondoGoal average of just 7.28 points per game. Such production hardly justifies Hazard's £14.0M price, and this weekend's matchup against Liverpool makes it seem unlikely that he'll bust his slump come Saturday.
GK: Boaz Myhill (£8.0M)
Make no mistake, Myhill has been a surprise fantasy stud to this point in the season, as his six clean sheets are currently tied for the best in the league. Furthermore, he's put together back-to-back clean sheets, helping him become MondoGoal's second-ranked goalkeeper heading into Week 11. However, this is where the sledding gets far tougher for Myhill, which could see his stock slide in the coming weeks. To that point, West Brom's next six Premier League games come against Leicester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham, Tottenham and Liverpool. Such quality oppositions should give Myhill plenty of save opportunities, but his clean sheet consistency could take a considerable hit.
FWD: Memphis Depay (£10.3M)
Touted as the next big thing at Manchester United after arriving at the club this summer, Memphis has been relegated to the reserves in recent weeks. Like Angel di Maria before him, Memphis has struggled to please enigmatic manager Louis van Gaal, who has kept his fellow Dutchman out entirely of Man Utd's past two league outings, including last weekend's Manchester derby. All in all, Memphis is averaging only 5.18 points per game on MondoGoal and has scored just once in the Premier League. With reported attitude problems as well, Memphis is someone to steer clear of as Manchester United visit Crystal Palace this weekend.
