Fantasy Premier League Tips: Vardy to keep his scoring run going in Gameweek 17

Holly Shand evaluates the best players to select for FPL Gameweek 17. Jamie Vardy has scored in eight successive Premier League games, can he make it nine this weekend?

The Headline Pick: Jamie Vardy - Norwich (H)

Jamie Vardy has been in sensational form this year, he's the main man for Brendan Rodgers as Leicester look to bridge the gap to league leaders Liverpool. In 26 Premier League games under the Foxes boss, Vardy has 26 goals, including scoring an impressive 11 goals in his last eight games. There's no denying his goalscoring run of 11 could be under threat from four years ago.

A home game against a struggling Norwich side has goals written all over it. It's The Canaries toughest away trip since Anfield in Gameweek 1, where they conceded four goals, and it could be a similar story again here. Leicester and Vardy are taking no prisoners right now, with ambition to score whatever the scoreline and stage of the game.

Vardy has one goal and one assist from two appearances against Norwich. Norwich have conceded a league high five penalties this season: it could be another source of fantasy points for Vardy who has a 100% record from the spot this season. Be warned though, Tim Krul has already saved a couple of spot kicks this season.

Jamie Vardy is now available to back at 9/4 to score two or more goals against Norwich this weekend.

The Budget Pick: Danny Ings - West Ham (H)

Another man on a goal scoring run is Southampton's Danny Ings. He has been pivotal to the Saints upturn in form, having scored in five consecutive games, making it nine for the season so far. Only four players have found the back of the net on more occasions than Ings this season, with Vardy the only one to better his four goals in four games.

West Ham have their own struggles: they've nearly dropped into the relegation places themselves, after winning just one of their last five games. In that spell, they've conceded eleven goals, despite a change of personnel between the sticks. They've conceded 34 shots over that spell too and a league high of twenty big chances.

The VAR Pick: Mohammed Salah - Watford (H)

Another team with an excellent fixture this weekend are Liverpool, who have a struggling Watford side arriving at Anfield. It's a busy time for Liverpool, with Champions League knockout qualification going down to their final game. They fly to Qatar for the Club World Cup immediately after this game and don't have a Premier League fixture in Gameweek 18.

Mo Salah could produce another double digit haul this weekend. He looked impressive against Bournemouth, predictably delivering a goal, assist and three bonus points. Watford is possibly his favourite opponent in the Premier League: he has six goals and two assists in four games against them, including a mammoth four goals in this fixture back in 2017/18.

Watford have conceded seven goals in their last four games, with just that one clean sheet last weekend against Crystal Palace. VAR decisions have tended not to favour them this season and they've conceded six penalties this season. Meanwhile, Liverpool have received three, with Salah converting both of his spot-kicks.

You can back VAR and bet on Liverpool to score a penalty against Watford at odds of 23/10.

The Sleeper Pick: James Maddison - Norwich (H)

James Maddison has been the key creator for Leicester in recent weeks, having a hand in half of their goals in the last two games. His performance against Aston Villa last weekend was particularly eye-catching: he created nine chances and was unlucky to walk away with just one assist.

Leicester are particularly strong from dead ball situations, with the likes of Jonny Evans and Çaglar Söyüncü as the target men in the box, giving Maddison plenty of opportunities to amass assists. He now has five goals and five assists for the season, and shows no sign of slowing down.

The Wildcard Pick: Marcus Rashford - Everton (H)

Marcus Rashford has delivered FPL points in five consecutive Premier League games, with five goals and two assists. United seem to be on an upwards trajectory, they are unbeaten in their last five games and have picked up crucial victories in big games against Spurs and Manchester City in the last few weeks.

Rashford is clearly playing with confidence and has also converted two spot kicks in his last two games. Manchester United have earned a league high eight penalties this season. He has 14 shots in his last four games, with six of them on target. Only Jamie Vardy has had more big chances than him (five) and it's pleasing to see he's converted most of them!

Everton managed to pull out a big performance against Chelsea on home turf, a much needed reaction following the departure of Marco Silva. This is likely to be a very different game for the Toffees, as they travel to a buoyant Old Trafford where the home fans will accept nothing less than a convincing win. Rashford looks set to be at the heart of it all.

Rashford to score is Evens against Everton.