Premier League Project Restart: Eleven players to consider backing, including Billy Gilmour and Bruno Fernandes

Using season stats and patterns in their performances, George Pitts picks out his 11 players to watch and how to get on the right side of them in the betting...

11. Billy Gilmour (Chelsea)

Although there was never going to be a good time for this break, one player who will have been particularly disappointed to stop playing is Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour.

The Scottish midfielder had only just broken into Frank Lampard's team and already had begun to thrive within it.

His last appearance came as the Blues impressively beat Everton 4-0 at Stamford Bridge less than a week after the 18-year-old's star performance in the FA Cup win over Liverpool.

A fairly timid character off the pitch, Gilmour has been cool, composed and confident on it. Hopefully the break does not affect his form and he can continue where he left off. Who better to learn from in his development than Lampard?

The long wait for his next outing will surely have only made him hungrier.

What markets should I consider backing him in?

It might be worth just waiting a few games to see how he settles again. but the lack of a crowd will arguably make little difference to him having played a lot of youth and reserve games in recent years.

He sits a little deeper and kept Chelsea flowing against Everton, with 73 successful passes out of 80. But with confidence growing and the Blues on their way to victory, he did try his luck. It would be good to see his performances rewarded with a first goal for the senior team.

He is no stranger to contributing, after all, with seven goals and 10 assists in 37 appearances for the U23s, eight goals and three assists in 26 for the U18s and four goals and an assist in 13 UEFA U19 appearances, so a goal may come sooner than you think.

10. Pablo Mari (Arsenal)

The season obviously has not gone to plan for anyone, and it's affected Pablo Mari as much as any player in the top flight given that he needs to impress Mikel Arteta.

The 26-year-old centre-back, who became the first Spaniard to win the Copa Libertadores in 2019, joined the Gunners on loan for an initial £4.2m from Brazilian giants Flamengo, with a view to making his switch permanent in the summer for £13.5m.

A left-footed defender who looks assured on the ball, Mari could be a decent addition going on his early displays, but clearly will need to waste no time in justifying the fee already forked out, in turn boosting his chances of being in the squad for next season.

What markets should I consider backing him in?

He has only made two appearances so it is difficult to say just yet, but he is definitely one to watch in terms of his performances and how he adapts to the English game.

Arsenal have a tricky run-in, with City, Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool still to play as well as a couple of sides scrapping at the bottom, and Mari may have to show various aspects of his game.

He made 84 passes on his league debut and the passing market may be one to watch, with Arteta's style keen to build up play from the back. Small passes between Mari and the central midfielders could see his pass count rise.

But it will be tempting to look at him in the cards market against more superior opposition, as he is not particularly fast and has to rely on his reading of the game, which seems pretty good but will nevertheless be tested.

Arsenal can be error-prone and it's normal for their defenders to be exposed. As he gets to grips with the pace of the Premier League, Mari will do well to avoid picking up cautions along the way.

It will certainly be interesting to see how he does, having already stated his desire to make a permanent move to the English capital.

9. Dwight McNeil (Burnley)

Dwight McNeil is a talent who seems to go under the radar a little in terms of crediting the division's young British stars.

Because he is playing for little old, unfashionable Burnley? Maybe. That may be unfair to say but that is the brush Sean Dyche's side often get tarred with.

But in McNeil they have a left midfielder whose crossing is pinpoint, in-play and from a dead ball, he can hold onto the ball well in tricky situations and is also willing to do the dirty work by tracking back. A good, traditional left-midfielder who is a solid and a consistent 7/10 every week and who also plays for England's U21s.

A side note, and nothing to do with his ability, but it was interesting to see he still lives at home with his parents, sharing a room with his teenage brother. Not your average Premier League footballer. Grounded, quiet and unassuming, but a menace on the pitch.

What markets should I consider backing him in?

As a box-to-box left midfielder, there are multiple options in which you could consider siding with McNeil.

The tackling market is always a tough one to unravel but Burnley often allow their opponents more possession. He averages nearly 1.5 tackles per game, but he has been pretty consistent, more so since the end of November, completing a total of 28 tackles in his last 16 appearances - five of them coming away at Man United and three at Chelsea, so he does not shirk a big-name opponent and that is one reason he is attracting interest from the top-six hopefuls.

Alternatively, there are the shots and goals markets. With two goals and five assists in 29 appearances, you could say he needs to contribute more himself - but that is one to hold off for now in the betting.

He does average just over a shot per game, though, but it's more an accuracy concern: of his 35 efforts in total this term, just 11 have been on target, albeit 24 have been from outside the area.

You could be best backing him to have 2+ shots, he has done that plenty this season - against Arsenal (home and away), Liverpool, Villa, Leicester, Chelsea (home and away), Palace, Man City, Bournemouth and Tottenham. Just don't rely on these shots going where he intends them to for the time being.

8. Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle)

Newcastle are not quite out of the woods yet, despite an eight-point advantage over the bottom three going into the postponement.

As well as tough fixtures against Man City (a), Sheff United (h), Liverpool (h) and Spurs (h), they still have a big say in the relegation picture with games against bottom-half opposition Bournemouth (a), Brighton (a), Villa (h), West Ham (h) and Watford (a).

Newcastle's standout player this season who you know is capable of bringing some excitement to what can be, in truth, quite a bland team is Allan Saint-Maximin.

The summer signing initially cost a reported £16m from Nice and what a deal that could prove to be. Saint-Maximin is a tricky player with quick feet and at 23 he is still improving. The fact he averaged more dribbles than Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard last season shows how good and direct his play is.

As thrilling as he has been to watch in this campaign, in a team lacking in goals, the one criticism could be that he has not contributed enough himself. The Frenchman has three goals and four assists in 21 appearances in all competitions, all goals coming from December onwards, but the first half of his campaign was interrupted by two injuries which saw him miss a total of 10 games.

We are not his only admirers either, with Sporting Life columnist Laura Woods praising him earlier in the year - read that here.

What markets should I consider backing him in?