How did you spend your weekend without the Premier League? Did you watch other leagues? Other sports? Or stay dialed in by absorbing all the FA Cup action?
In case you missed it, six Premier League teams have advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals, courtesy of wins this past weekend, and here are five players who impressed:
The biggest game of the Round of 16 was Manchester United's 2-0 victory at Chelsea on Monday. Pogba scored one goal and provided the assist on the other (scored by Ander Herrera), continuing his outstanding form under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In nine league games under Solskjaer, Pogba has eight goals and five assists -- so good that you have to consider him a Tier 1 midfielder this weekend, even up against the team with the best defensive record in the league: Liverpool. And next up after that are games against Crystal Palace and Southampton.
Speaking of Tier 1 midfielders, Eden Hazard was very quiet on Monday -- he did take three shots, but none of them were on target, and he had no chances created. This defeat, following the 6-0 humiliation at the hands of Manchester City, means Chelsea are reeling right now. Manager Maurizio Sarri's job status is in jeopardy, and you probably don't want to stack your fantasy team with Chelsea players right now.
Crystal Palace advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating third-division Doncaster Rovers 2-0 on Sunday. The goals were scored by Jeffrey Schlupp and Max Meyer, with assists from Luka Milivojevic and Andros Townsend, but the Palace player I'm most intrigued by right now is Batshuayi.
Making his first start since arriving at Palace on loan from Chelsea in the January transfer window, Batshuayi took three shots before being replaced in the 75th minute -- including one decent chance to score, when he let himself down with a heavy touch.
But Batshuayi's first couple of league appearances have also been promising, despite coming off the bench. In a 1-1 draw with West Ham on Feb. 9, he took five shots despite only coming on in the 60th minute. And in a 2-0 win over Fulham on Feb. 2, he took two shots (both on target) despite only coming on in the 82nd minute.
Batshuayi is available as a Tier 2 forward, and Palace play at Leicester City this weekend. If he starts, I would consider him, for sure.
Matt Doherty
Wolves are also through to the quarterfinals, thanks to a 1-0 win at Bristol City, who are currently sixth in the Championship. Ivan Cavaleiro scored the goal, but Doherty notched the assist, continuing his fine attacking form this season.
A few words of caution here, though. Doherty has three goals and two assists in four FA Cup appearances, which is pretty incredible for a fullback/wing-back. But he only has three goals and four assists in 26 league appearances. His most recent assist came against Spurs on Dec. 29, and his most recent goal came against Newcastle on Dec. 9.
Doherty has finished in single digits in fantasy points in his past five league games, including just 3.0 points against Everton and 2.3 points against Leicester City. He's a big gamble at Tier 1 defender, even with Wolves playing at Bournemouth this weekend.
Manchester City defeated fourth-division Newport County 4-1 on Saturday, but it wasn't nearly as easy as that scoreline indicates. Man City were held scoreless in the first half, and the game was still in the balance until the 89th minute, when Phil Foden scored his second goal to make it 3-1. Riyad Mahrez added another goal in stoppage time, but in terms of xG (expected goals) Man City were only a goal better (1.00-2.04) on the day.
Sane scored Man City's first goal of the game and provided the assist on Foden's second. Sane also took a team-high seven shots in the game, which is encouraging.
However, this was largely a "B" team that Pep Guardiola sent out against Newport County. Don't forget that Sane has been an unused substitute in two of Man City's past three league games and was hauled off after an unproductive 59 minutes in the other one. We'll see what happens in the Champions League against Schalke on Wednesday, but it appears Sane is not in Guardiola's best XI right now, which makes him a no-go fantasy-wise.
Brighton is winless in their past six league games (four losses, two draws) and have won just one of their past 11 league games. But they are through to the FA Cup quarterfinals, courtesy of a 2-1 win over Derby County, who currently sit seventh place in the Championship. Anthony Knockaert and Jurgen Locadia scored the goals for Brighton.
However, Bissouma is the Brighton player who caught my eye. He provided the assist on Knockaert's goal and deserved an assist for Locadia's -- his shot hit the post and fell very kindly for Locadia, who finished the job.
Bissouma took a team-high six shots in that game. He's only made nine league starts so far this season after coming over from Lille in Ligue 1. But Bissouma took three shots in his most recent league start, against Watford, and took five shots apiece in starts against Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town in December. He's still looking for his first goal or assist in the Premier League, but this is a 22-year-old prospect worth watching.