This article is part of our FPL Best XI series.
Gameweek 16 of the Premier League featured a slew of clean sheets, as half of last weekend's matches ended with a scoreless team.
Four such outings came Saturday, as West Brom defeated Aston Villa, Manchester City topped Leicester City, and Burnley surprised a skidding Southampton, all by the score of 1-0. Meanwhile, league-leaders Chelsea beat Hull City 2-0 for another Saturday clean sheet.
Elsewhere, both Sunderland versus West Ham and Crystal Palace against Stoke City finished in 1-1 draws, while Arsenal dismantled Newcastle 4-1 at home.
On Sunday, Manchester United secured the weekend's final clean sheet with a 3-0 victory over rivals Liverpool and Tottenham received a late-winner to leave Swansea City with a 2-1 result.
Finally, the ball bounced the right way for Everton in Monday's 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers.
From those outcomes, the Gameweek 16 Best XI contributed four goals, three assists, three clean sheets, and unfortunately, four yellow cards as well.
Goalkeeper Fraser Forster produced a pair of saves in Southampton's loss to Burnley.
In defense, Pablo Zabaleta fell victim to Manchester City's squad rotation, consequently missing out on the Citizens' clean sheet effort, but despite a yellow card, Leighton Baines, whose clean sheet hopes were dashed in the 80th minute versus Queens Park Rangers.
Further up the pitch, the Best XI midfield was headlined by captain Eden Hazard, who continued his Stamford Bridge brilliance with a goal, assist, and clean sheet versus Hull.
Everton's Kevin Mirallas also found the scoresheet, but an ankle injury ended his performance a bit prematurely, as did a hip ailment to Stoke City midfielder Bojan.
Rounding out the group, Manchester City's Samir Nasri doled out an assist and kept a clean sheet against Leicester City, although he too picked up a yellow card.
Up front, Christian Benteke failed to lift a 10-man Aston Villa side and even though Diego Costa received yet another yellow card, the Spaniard scored Chelsea's second goal against Hull.
Finally, Robin van Persie put together a man of the match display versus Liverpool, supplying a goal and an assist along the way.
Overall, it was a highly productive Gameweek 16 output, even if some yellow cards rained on the parade.
Moving on, the Premier League's hectic holiday programme really kicks off this weekend, as all 20 teams play between Saturday through Monday.
After this round, the traditional Boxing Day fixtures are slated for next Friday, before Gameweek 19 begins just two days later on Sunday. Beyond that, there's even more schedule congestion for managers to consider, but as the saying goes: first things first.
Gameweek 17 gets the ball rolling with title-holders Manchester City hosting Crystal Palace in the early game Saturday, which could allow the Citizens to draw level with Chelsea on points until the Blues play Stoke City on Monday.
However, between those ties, Saturday's main slate features a scalding hot Manchester United team at Aston Villa, as the Red Devils try for their seventh straight win.
Conversely, Hull City hasn't won in nine league games and welcome Swansea City in desperation mode Saturday.
To a lesser degree, Southampton will hope to stop the bleeding from their current five-game winless streak, including four consecutive losses, at home against Everton.
Just ahead of Southampton, fourth-place West Ham hosts last-place Leicester City, while Tottenham versus Burnley and Queens Park Rangers against West Brom are two other London dates set for Saturday.
Come Sunday, two heated affairs will be reignited. First off, the latest edition of the Tyne-Wear derby pits Sunderland at Newcastle and later on, Arsenal seeks redemption against Liverpool following last season's embarrassment at Anfield.
With those matchups in mind, here's the Best XI for Gameweek 17.
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper:
Joe Hart
v. 
Although Hart and Manchester City's defense will be without the luxury of having captain Vincent Kompany (hamstring) available, Saturday's match against Crystal Palace still heavily favors Manuel Pellegrini's men. That's because City have beaten Palace on six straight occasions, with Hart producing a clean sheet in both meetings against the Eagles last season. Furthermore, Hart currently sports a three-game clean sheet streak, while Crystal Palace has scored just once over their past three league games, and only Chelsea have allowed fewer goals at home than Manchester City thus far.
Defenders:
With last weekend's 2-0 win, Chelsea pulled even with Southampton for the Premiership's high-count for clean sheets with seven. Ivanovic has started every game at right back for the Blues and also totes a pair of goals as well. This weekend, Chelsea takes on Stoke City, who they've incredibly kept a clean sheet against in five of six tries. The only time they failed to do so came at Stoke last season, when the Potters exploded for three goals. That result should be fresh in manager Jose Mourinho's mind, which could tighten Ivanovic and Chelsea's defense come Monday.
Sitting in fourth-place, West Ham's success to this point in the season can certainly be credited in part to the Hammers' home form. From eight games at Upton Park, West Ham has clinched five wins and allowed only seven goals. All the while, offseason addition Cresswell has started every game at left-back, offering one goal and two assists to boot. With that offensive potential, Cresswell also holds favorable clean sheet prospects this weekend considering he'll go against last-place Leicester City. The Foxes have gone a pain-staking 11 games without a win and have only scored four goals in eight away games this season.
Ben Davies
v. 
Recently installed in Mauricio Pochettino's starting lineup, the 21-year-old Davies has proven why Tottenham paid for his services this summer. In his last home match, Davies recorded his first Premier League clean sheet for Spurs. Last weekend, the Welshman set up a goal against his former club, Swansea City. Although Davies was rested for Tottenham's midweek league cup clean sheet victory, he figures to reclaim his starting left-back position versus Burnley on Saturday. Only two teams have scored fewer away goals this season than Burnley, who have been blanked in five of seven road trips on the campaign.
Midfielders:
Yaya Toure v.
As Manchester City brings a five-game Premiership winning streak into Saturday's match against Crystal Palace, the magnificent Toure has scored three goals from his midfield post over the same span. In doing so, the Ivorian has enjoyed a fine surge that includes four goals and one assist spanning his last seven total appearances for City. Looking at City's roster, Toure's 3.2 shot attempts per game rank only behind top striker Sergio Aguero, who is expected to miss the next month or so due to a knee injury. Fellow striker Edin Dzeko (calf) will also be sidelined Saturday, which should put more emphasis on Toure delivering in front of goal. Matchup-wise, Toure notched both a goal and an assist in his only appearance against Crystal Palace last season.
Coupled with picking up his first assist of the campaign, Eriksen also scored his sixth league goal last weekend at Swansea City, where he was the best player on the pitch. The 22-year-old has now found the net in three of his last five Premiership outings, showing the strides he's made into new manager Mauricio Pochettino's setup. With Spurs having scored four goals in their midweek league cup win over Newcastle, Tottenham should be brimming with confidence ahead of Saturday's match against 17th-place Burnley. Only two teams have allowed more goals than Burnley this season, while they're also the league's second-lowest scoring side. Those factors figure to allow Eriksen plenty of possession this weekend at White Hart Lane.
While West Ham's triple threat of Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll has combined to lead the line quite admirably for West Ham this season, the Hammers' creativity has been cultivated by Downing, whose six assists are tied for third league-wide. What's more, the journeyman Downing carries three goals of his own, making him one of fantasy's best midfielders to date. From those totals, Downing scored last weekend and dished an assist in both of his preceding matches, evidencing his outstanding form. Given that track record, look for Downing to take advantage of a Leicester City defense that ranks second-worst overall this weekend.
Alexis Sanchez (C)
v. 
Rested in Champions League play last week, Alexis returned to produce two assists versus Newcastle on Saturday, building his season tally to five assists through 14 Premier League games. The Chilean has also scored nine league goals, which makes him a must-own commodity in fantasy leagues that designate him as a midfielder. Those sensational sums could stand to improve this weekend, as another week of rest should have Alexis fresh for Sunday's match at Liverpool. While the Reds' defense has fared far better at home this season, they're still reeling from conceding three last weekend and could field a banged-up, patchwork, possible three-man unit in front of a reserve goalkeeper Sunday. That outlook makes Alexis the Best XI captain for Gameweek 17.
Forwards:
Wayne Rooney
v. 
Along with his team flying high on form, Rooney has been stellar when available lately. To that point, Rooney boasts five goals and three assists over his past nine Premier League outings, including a goal in three of his last four. This weekend, the Englishman faces an Aston Villa outfit that he bagged a brace against in his most recent encounter and contributed an assist in the other meeting versus the Villains last season. With Man United having won seven consecutive matches versus the Birmingham-based team, the Red Devils' current streak of five straight performances with at least two goals could be extended with the help of Rooney this weekend.
Another front man in fabulous form, Bony has tallied four goals and one assist in his past five efforts. Those goal-scoring exploits have brought Bony's season total to eight goals through 14 matches, which follows his special 16-goal debut season in England last term. The Premier League's top scorer during the 2014 calendar year thus far, Bony awaits a great matchup at Hull City this weekend. Not only have the Tigers not won since early October, but their woes at the KC Stadium have largely contributed toward their demise. No Premiership team has gained fewer points at home than Hull this season, which plays well into Bony's hands for another shining display.
With a significant sideline spell impacting his involvement, Giroud presently sits on a total of four goals through three Premiership starts and seven total appearances. More specifically, since Giroud has only played 325 minutes in league play, he's averaging one goal every 80 minutes or so. Despite a small sample size, that encouraging record, along with an awesome brace last weekend, should earn Giroud a third consecutive start this Sunday at Anfield. As previously noted, Liverpool's defense has proven to be vulnerable – a development that could be exposed by Arsenal's interchangeable three-man front of Giroud, Alexis, and Danny Welbeck. Only the top-three has scored more goals than this season than Arsenal, who have also scored at least two goals in five of their past six games against Liverpool across all competitions.
Hart
Ivanovic – Cresswell – Davies
Toure – Eriksen – Downing – Alexis (C)
Rooney – Bony - Giroud
