With Sergio Aguero suffering an early injury and Christian Benteke being denied by an in-form Kasper Schmeichel, last week's offering of Fantasy Football advice wouldn't have resulted in you acquiring too many points.

However, advising you to avoid Sylvain Distin, Florin Gardos and Saido Berahino proved to be a shrewd move so hopefully you will retain enough faith in us to continue taking our selections into consideration as we move ever closer to entering the hectic Christmas period.

Below, Sports Mole has made six selections that we think will benefit your team over the weekend's action.

Who to pick

1. Robin van Persie

After starting the season with just two goals from his opening seven fixtures in the Premier League, Robin van Persie would have been soon cast aside as a potential inclusion in your side but after returning to form in Manchester United's last three games, the Dutchman should now be considered as one of the first names on the team sheet ahead of his side's showdown with rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. Van Persie followed up his powerful strike against Hull City with a double against Southampton in a display that ultimately proved pivotal as United struggled to the three points at St Mary's. Liverpool have shown more resilience in recent weeks but with United having generated some momentum from five wins in a row, Van Persie looks primed to add to his tally at the weekend.

2. Eden Hazard

Ever since he moved to Chelsea in 2012, Eden Hazard has lit up West London with his pace and trickery on the left wing, and he has continued to blossom at Stamford Bridge during the club's excellent start to this campaign. During that time, Hazard has netted seven goals and provided numerous assists for the likes of Diego Costa and Didier Drogba and after being rested in midweek, he will return to the starting lineup against Hull City on Saturday keen to help his team respond from their setback at Newcastle United. Despite keeping a clean sheet against West Bromwich Albion in their last game, it seems the worst possible time for the Tigers to be travelling to the capital to face Jose Mourinho's outfit with their current winless run stretching to eight matches.

3. Phil Jagielka

Surprisingly, Everton possess the worst defensive home record in the Premier League having conceded 13 goals at Goodison Park this season. However, that statistic isn't a true reflection of their form on Merseyside, with almost half of those goals coming against Chelsea at the end of August. Their last four fixtures at Goodison have seen the Toffees ship just two goals, which is impressive by anyone's standards, and against a Queens Park Rangers side who have lost each of the seven away games this season and who are missing the suspended Charlie Austin, it's hard to back against Everton securing a clean sheet against the Londoners on Monday night.

Who to avoid

1. Fabricio Coloccini

Over the last two months, Newcastle United have undergone a resurgence under manager Alan Pardew, who seemed to be on the brink of the sack after the Magpies lost at Stoke City at the end of September. However, seven wins and just one defeat in 11 games in all competitions, including last weekend's 2-1 victory over previously-unbeaten Chelsea, has cemented Pardew's position at St James' Park and success over Arsenal on Saturday evening will take them close to a top-four place. The North-East outfit will be facing a Gunners side, though, eager to return to winning ways after under-performing at Stoke and despite their struggles at the back, Arsene Wenger's team have failed to score just once - away at Chelsea - in 17 games. If you combine that statistic with Newcastle being without the suspended Steven Taylor and potentially Fabricio Coloccini, who is a doubt through injury, Newcastle could soon be brought back down to earth at the Emirates Stadium.

2. Rickie Lambert

After a difficult start to life at Liverpool, striker Rickie Lambert appeared to be finding his feet after netting goals against Crystal Palace and Ludogorets Razgrad in successive games. However, the last four fixtures has seen the former Southampton forward struggle to continue that run and he was hauled off at the break against Basel on Tuesday night, despite his team trailing in a must-win game. The move by Brendan Rodgers is unlikely to boost Lambert's confidence ahead of what is an important fixture for the club against rivals Manchester United on Sunday afternoon and Fabio Borini or a returning Mario Balotelli could get the nod over the England international.

3. Eric Dier

After signing from Sporting Lisbon during the summer, Eric Dier began life at Tottenham Hotspur as a first-team regular with head coach Mauricio Pochettino struggling for numbers in defence. The England Under-21 international has continued to feature on a consistent basis, making 16 appearances in all competitions, but last week's 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace was only the second clean sheet that he had been a part of in 13 games. Spurs travel to the Liberty Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face an in-form Wilfried Bony, and if selected by Pochettino, Dier could be part of a backline that find themselves up against it to keep the Swans out in South Wales.