Love London: Watford, Spurs and West Ham mentions

Jan 11

#FPL Gameweek 21 Preview

You can also listen to Craig, Tom and Ash on their Fantasy Football Podcast – The Gaffer Tapes

DEFENDER: RYAN BENNETT, NORWICH

Much like Gabby Agbonlahor, the game weeks are thick and fast right now and it’s a constant struggle of whether to take risks or whether to go to your tried and tested as you try to make a final assault on you leagues. I’m going to continue my theme of using the ‘defender’ section to alert your attention to some teams and players who might otherwise not appear on your radar. Norwich is about as popular holiday destination as it is an FPL haven but they have dug out 2 clean sheets in the last 2 weeks and have a real chance at another in the next 2 with matches against Stoke and Bournemouth. Ryan Bennett is the best value in there at only 3.9m. He’s a regular 90 minute man and although won’t chip in much going forward, will be in the reckoning for a bonus if they keep that clean sheet. At under 4m he might be just the man you need to fund a big money move elsewhere.

MIDFIELDER: DIMITRI PAYET, WEST HAM

Keeping up with the injuries might not be as entertaining as the Kardashians but it’s just as bloody time consuming. Those of you who took in West Ham’s demolition of Liverpool though, will have noticed the 27 minute cameo of a certain Dimitri Payet. He is quite frankly a maverick and I see no reason he won’t play the full 90 now he is back in the fold. West Ham’s drop in form is no coincidence and Payet is central to anything they do. He is 8.5% picked, up 1% already since last week but only 7.7m which is a snip considering his points tally so far this season. Get him now before he becomes an overpriced Tottenham player next year.

FORWARD: HARRY KANE, SPURS

Speaking of Tottenham, it is almost impossible to ignore them right now. Despite almost heading out of the FA Cup, they are still a team on form in the league. Their next 5 games read Leicester, Sunderland, Palace, Norwich, Watford and although there’s some tricky ties in there, I just don’t see where they will lose. Kane is currently sitting on 99 points as the 4th best striker in FPL this season. My prediction is he will finish top 3 and will finish this season like he did the last one, starting with a goal or two against Leicester.

CAPTAIN:ODION IGHALO, WATFORD

This week I’m going to be captaining Odion Ighalo. Southampton have been erratic at best and Ighalo is relentless in his pursuit for goals this season He has 7 goals in his last 7 games and if he was playing for a top 4 club, he would be on cereal boxes, if cereals still did that. Perhaps his biggest achievement is making us all forget that Troy Deeney is the 5th best FPL striker currently, which is in itself impressive when playing for Watford.

OUTSIDER: JUAN ITURBE, BOURNEMOUTH

This might be my biggest punt yet but it’s the transfer window and new signings are exciting. Juan Iturbe at Bournemouth is going right into my squad after his loan signing from Roma. He was signed for a massive 17m only a year and half ago and plays out wide or up front. Given Bournemouth’s striking woes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing high up the pitch but he is listed by the FPL as a 5.7m midfielder, picked by……0.0%. Come one, come all and join me!! If he was a kickstarter campaign I would be throwing my money at him and you should too.

by @CraigHazell

Craig Hazell is a television professional, writer and Heart of Midlothian fan who makes up one third of the popular FPL podcast The Gaffer Tapes. As a student, Craig won the BBC Sports Broadcaster and Comedy Broadcaster of the year, before going onto to be a regular on the London open mic comedy circuit. He now writes about anything from TV & Movies, to food and of course football, providing he can shoehorn a 90s pop culture reference into just about anything.