Premier League stars have returned to their clubs after international duty and now we enter perhaps the most intense stretch of the season.
Will your fantasy league players last the distance or are some showing signs of flagging already? Perhaps the World Cup qualifiers gave you an idea of which stars could deliver for their clubs in the race for those top-four places.
Can Timo Werner rally after his awful miss in Germany's defeat to North Macedonia, or should you look elsewhere for Chelsea players after the Blues' stunning start under Thomas Tuchel.
Our Opta-powered fantasy picks should provide some food for thought ahead of the 30th round of games this weekend.
EDOUARD MENDY
Chelsea, who play West Brom, have shipped just two goals in 10 Premier League games since former Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel arrived, with the German boss making the London side come good on the potential they showed fleetingly during Frank Lampard's reign.
Goalkeeper Mendy had already looked a shrewd addition and he owns the best save percentage (77.4 per cent) among Premier League goalkeepers in 2021. Only Manchester City's Ederson has conceded fewer goals per game this year among keepers with a minimum of 300 minutes of action. Mendy has conceded seven in 12 games at an average of 0.58, while Ederson has been beaten eight times in 15 matches for a 0.53 average since the turn of the year.
LUKE SHAW
Impressed by Luke Shaw's return to England favour? Wait until you hear what he's been achieving at club level. Shaw's Manchester United form has been a sensational second coming for the player who first caught the eye as a teenager with club and country, and he will look to impress against Brighton on Sunday.
The former Southampton left-back has been directly involved in more goals (one goal, four assists) in 2021 than any other Premier League defender, with his 36 chances created making Shaw a clear leader in that field too. Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (24 chances created) sits a distant second on the list.
CESAR AZPILICUETA
Already emerging as a favourite of Tuchel, Azpilicueta has played his part in nine clean sheets with Chelsea in 12 Premier League appearances since the start of the year. That is more than any other defender has managed in the competition across that period of time.
The 31-year-old club captain is leading by example and West Brom's attackers will have their work cut out against the former Marseille defender this weekend. Team-mate Antonio Rudiger, who has played 11 league games in 2021, is one of four players in the top flight to have played a part in eight clean sheets this year.
RIYAD MAHREZ
Leicester City know all about Mahrez and his wily ways on the wing, but whether they can stop the Manchester City star on Saturday is perhaps another matter.
The Algerian, who was a Premier League winner with the Foxes, has been involved in 11 goals in his last 13 Premier League starts (eight goals, three assists). Across his last three league games against Leicester, he has managed two goals and two assists.
SADIO MANE
Could the international break prove to be just the interruption that last year's flagging champions Liverpool needed? Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and co will hope to resume on a positive note when Jurgen Klopp's men tackle Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Five of Mane's seven Premier League goals for Liverpool this season have come away from home, with four of those coming in London – this is his only Premier League campaign so far where he has scored more goals away than at home. The Senegalese has also scored seven Premier League goals against Arsenal, only netting more against Crystal Palace (10). Two of those have come away at Arsenal, including one in a 2-1 defeat last July.
HARRY KANE
In need of a fix of guaranteed points? Tough, they don't exist. But Kane would be close to the top of any all-time list of the Premier League's most reliable scorers, and he already has 17 goals and 13 assists for Tottenham in the competition this season.
Across all competitions, Kane has been involved in 43 goals in 40 games this term (27 goals, 16 assists), and in terms of involvements that haul is just two short of his best ever season in his senior career (41 goals and four assists in 2017-18). Tottenham go to Newcastle on Sunday, with Kane looking to add to the three league goals he has previously bagged at St James' Park.
Randle to be evaluated after exiting Knicks win with ankle sprain
Julius Randle will undergo evaluation on Thursday after exiting the New York Knicks' 101-92 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday with a left ankle sprain.
Randle was hurt after his left leg landed on Heat center Bam Adebayo's left foot as he pulled down a rebound with 2:40 remaining in the second quarter.
The Knicks forward was helped up and initially stayed in the game but was visibly incapable of playing on and ruled out at half-time.
"It'll be evaluated tomorrow," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "It's a sprain, that's about the extent of it. We'll see where he is tomorrow."
Thibodeau was unable to clarify the extent of the injury when asked if trainers thought it was a high ankle sprain.
Randle will be a key part of the Knicks' upcoming playoffs campaign, averaging 25.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season. The All-Star produced a career-best 57 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.
The Knicks are in the five seed slot in the Eastern Conference with a 44-33 record, with the playoffs due to starton April 15.
"It's all part of it, injuries happen," Thibodeau said. "When you have a guy who's averaging 24/10/4, we're not going to replace him with one player.
"What we can do is work hard as a unit to come together and work to replace him."
Randle is a two-time All-Star, who won the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2021.
Sinner advances to maintain excellent Miami Open form, evening session cancelled due to rain
Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner downed Emil Ruusuvuori to secure his berth in the Miami Open semi-finals along with bringing up his 20th win of the season on Wednesday.
Sinner, who dropped only one point on first serve, won 6-3 6-1 over the Finn in one hour and 16 minutes.
The 21-year-old Italian will face either top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or 2022 Indian Wells winner Taylor Fritz in the last four. Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-finals a fortnight ago.
Alcaraz and Fritz's Miami quarter-final was postponed to Thursday with persistent rain forcing the evening session in Miami to be cancelled.
The other quarter-finals between 14th seed Karen Khachanov and 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo along with fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and qualifier Christophr Eubanks were also re-scheduled for Thursday.
The Sinner-Ruusuvuori clash was also impacted by a two-hour rain delay, but the Italian prevailed to maintain his perfect record in Miami, having not dropped a set.
"We both played well today but I won the important points," Sinner said. "It's never easy when you are up and you get interrupted, but I came back and played well."
Sinner's run to the Miami semi-finals has seen him drop the fewest games (23) since Rafael Nadal (21) and Novak Djokovic (23) in 2014.
The Italian became the seventh male to reach the semi-finals at both Indian Wells and Miami in a single year before turning 22, joining an elite list in Andre Agassi (1990), Jim Courier (1991), Djokovic (2007), Andy Murray (2007 and 2009), Nadal (2008) and Alcaraz (2022).
Sinner's 2023 record is now 20-4, bettered only by Medvedev (26-3) and Cameron Norrie (21-5).
'Nobody is perfect' – Pioli insists Napoli not 'unbeatable' ahead of Champions League showdown
Stefano Pioli insisted "nobody is perfect or unbeatable" as Milan prepare to overthrow Napoli in the all-Italian Champions League quarter-final clash.
Milan and Napoli will meet for the first time in European competition on April 12 in the first leg at San Siro, with Luciano Spalletti's side flying high in Serie A and UEFA's top club competition.
The Partenopei are 19 points clear at the Italian top-flight summit and suggested by many as a potential challenger for the European crown.
But Milan have only lost one of their nine all-Italian showdowns in Europe (W4 D4) and Pioli sees no reason why the Rossoneri cannot dream of progressing past Spalletti's in-form side.
The Milan coach said: "Honestly, I'd rather not meet an Italian side. In the Champions League it's better to face a foreign club. Napoli are very strong but we want to play for it.
"They have shown great consistency, strength and quality, they have all the characteristics of a great team, but nobody is perfect or unbeatable."
Pioli's side have not reached the last eight in the Champions League since the 2011-12 term when they were eliminated by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.
Milan last went beyond that stage in the 2006-07 season en route to lifting the trophy but overcoming Napoli will prove an incredibly difficult challenge.
Napoli have won each of their past three away matches against the Rossoneri, their best such run against them, although they have not triumphed in any of their past five trips to Milan in cup competitions.
Pioli wants to build on Milan's Champions League history but says the Rossoneri cannot take their eyes off the Serie A top-four battle, leading fifth-placed Roma by just a point.
"It's part of the history of this club and the path it has always followed," he added. "We are beginning to write our history, that of Milan in the Champions League is a different path from ours.
"When you go to San Siro to play the Champions League it is something exciting and spectacular that involves everyone.
"We are very busy but we are also focusing on the league. To make this season a positive one, we have to play in the Champions League next year. We have to be careful."
Before the mouthwatering European meeting, Milan visit Napoli in Serie A on Sunday with the Rossoneri's Scudetto soon seemingly heading for Naples.
Pioli's side have been unable to replicate their exploits from last season's title-winning campaign, though the Italian suggested Milan's young side would always struggle to defend their title.
"I don't think there are many teams in Europe that immediately win the second league," he continued. "We won with a very young team, thanks to a project and a club path we are proud of.
"We are one of the few clubs with a sustainable project; only a few teams manage to win and be competitive in Europe.
"That is a leap that we have not yet been able to make but this year too gives us the opportunity to understand great things, to improve and be the strongest club."
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