Fantasy review

Rooney: 16 points

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The battle for top spot in the Premier League is beginning to look like a two-horse race after Chelsea proved far too strong for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and Manchester United swept aside Portsmouth in Avram Grant's first match in charge at Fratton Park.

While fading rivals Liverpool and Arsenal have laboured in the absence of key strikers Fernando Torres and Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba has been in imperious form for Chelsea and Manchester United's Wayne Rooney has shown a similarly ruthless streak in front of goal.

Any manager in the world would love to have the opportunity to pair Rooney with Drogba in attack and it was certainly a dream partnership for Fantasy Football devotees over the weekend as they came up with 27 points between them.

Rooney was the top scorer with 16 and his performance reinforced the importance of having as many penalty takers as possible in your Fantasy XI, as the England international netted twice from the spot and tucked away a goal from open play for perhaps the simplest hat-trick he will ever get.

He was recognised as the Man of the Match in United's 4-1 victory at Portsmouth, while there could be no doubts about the star of the show in Sunday's London derby following another exceptional display from Drogba.

The Ivorian's supporters were probably cursing their luck when he dropped a point for an early yellow card but he more than made amends by volleying home an Ashley Cole cross before half-time and then firing in an unstoppable free-kick late on.

Creativity

Of course, Rooney and Drogba can only do so much themselves and the creativity of their team-mates must also be highlighted as assists are almost as valuable as goals in the land of Fantasy Football.

Ryan Giggs reached a century of Premier League goals with a delightful free-kick and twice set up Rooney to finish with 11 points for his afternoon's work, while Cole was similarly instrumental for Chelsea.

As well as providing the delivery for Drogba's opener, the Blues left-back also forced Thomas Vermaelen to turn the ball into his own net, although he was substituted in the 72nd minute and was therefore not quite on the pitch long enough to earn the three extra points that would have come with a clean sheet.

There were points to be had for goalkeepers and defenders elsewhere, with Thomas Sorensen of Stoke, Liverpool's Pepe Reina and Scott Dann of Birmingham all picking up eight for a clean sheet and Man of the Match award.

Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wigan forward Hugo Rodallega also prospered with eight points apiece after taking Man of the Match honours and scoring crucial goals.

Winners and losers

There were both winners and losers in the West Ham versus Burnley clash at Upton Park, which saw the home side prevail 5-3 in an absolute thriller.

Clarets midfielder Chris Eagles collected 11 points after finding the target himself and setting up two goals for Steven Fletcher, who came away with nine points.

Guillermo Franco and Junior Stanislas both accumulated eight, but it was a miserable day for Burnley defender Steven Caldwell after he was sent off just before the final whistle to walk away with minus five points.

Another player in action at Upton Park was striker Carlton Cole, who skysports.com had recommended as one to watch in last week's Fantasy Preview.

He performed well and scored West Ham's third from the penalty spot but it does not look as though bringing him in will prove to be a good long-term investment as a knee injury forced Gianfranco Zola into a half-time change and could lead to a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Cole did at least make a contribution in terms of Fantasy Football, which is more than can be said for our other two picks, Patrice Evra and Ashley Young.

Manchester United full-back Evra could not keep a clean sheet against Portsmouth and failed to grab an assist despite getting forward well, while most of Young's best work was done in defence as Tottenham had the better of their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

The Premier League returns with a full round of fixtures next weekend and the start of each new month brings a clean slate and the possibility of prizes, so make sure you check out skysports.com on Thursday to see our latest trio of top tips.