Manchester United are emerging as the most serious threat to their local rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

The two sides meet at the weekend and Jose Mourinho’s men have to win if they are going to seriously challenge for the league title.

After the derby, United have a kind run of fixtures over the Christmas period and their players will have huge Draft Fantasy value as a result.

The one player to make a real name for himself recently has been Jesse Lingard and he could be a great pick-up for your team if he is on the waiver wire in your game.

The team’s victory over Arsenal was one of the best games of the season to date and the Gunners will be scratching their heads at how they didn’t take the three points.

They created the better chances, but United were clinical at the weekend and Lingard was the star of their attack.

It was a great all-around performance from the England international as he worked hard off the ball and that will have pleased his manager as much as the two goals.

He was used in the number ten role in a 3-5-2 formation and the freedom that it gave him made it difficult for the Arsenal defence to contain the attacking midfielder.

During the match, he only attempted 18 passes, but it was his intelligent movement in the final third that allowed him to stand out.

The first goal showed his endeavour to continue his run in behind the opposition back four and cool head in front of goal.

Meanwhile, his second displayed good anticipation to peel away to the back post, giving himself an easy task of slotting into an empty net.

The greater goal threat posed by the midfield, the better and Lingard is a huge danger when he is on the pitch. During the last two matches, he has contributed three goals and an assist.

His season goal involvement is one every 65.5 minutes. This is only a small sample and he won’t maintain that rate, but it underlines how impressive he has been when he has been given a chance.

Mourinho will surely continue to start him as long as he contributes.

The Manchester United attack is difficult to predict on a week-to-week basis as Mourinho likes to rotate his squad. The next month will see lots of rotation, but Lingard has done enough to secure a healthy share of the minutes on offer.

His energy and work rate mean that he is perfect for the Christmas period, as a lot of the other teams are suffering with fatigue.

His total of 393 Premier League minutes means that he is relatively fresh and that will be an advantage over the next month.

At the time of writing, Lingard is a great player to have in Draft Fantasy. He is in great form and playing in one of the best teams in the league.

United have to face Bournemouth, West Brom, Leicester City, Burnley and Southampton after their clash with Manchester City this weekend.

They will be looking to take maximum points and there is a great opportunity for their attackers to rack up the points in Draft Fantasy. He may not be a guaranteed starter, but Lingard is worth picking up heading into the festive season.