GUEST POST by @GarryIrwin
Now that the excitement of transfer deadline day has passed, we can once again concentrate on the second half of the league season. The IEFSA Fantasy League is no different, with managers scrambling around to find players that will improve their squads in an effort to climb up that table. Whether it’s the creativity of a Wahbi Khazri their side lacks, or the….. aaah….ummmm… presence of a Lewis Grabbon, this time of year is every fantasy managers chance to shake up their roster. But from here on out there are no excuses, and with that in mind, let me preview Week 22 of the IEFSA Fantasy league.
The sides are managed by Fantasy Sports writers from all over the globe. This has led to it being a very tight league, with most teams only a win or two away from the sides directly above or below them. IEFSA conducts its cup games during midweek fixtures, preferring to keep the bread and butter of the league games for proper football time, the weekend.
Please permit me to give you a quick preview of this weekend’s fixtures,
Heurelho Gomes is proving to be a standout player for @RotoZdroik this year. He has put in some miraculous performances and kept nine clean sheets. He may get unstuck against his old Spurs side this weekend though. If this does happen, @RotoZdroik should still have too much firepower for @BenDinnery though. His quartet of Sigurdsson, Long, Defoe and Lukaku have 35 goals between them. In comparison, Ben’s squad only has 31 goals and the majority of them are from Diego Costa, who faces a stiff Manchester United rear-guard this Sunday.
Second placed and highest scorers, @Smokey_Loogy will look to reach the summit this weekend with a big win over @DanRiccio590. His Forward pairing of Ighalo and Deeney travel to White Hart Lane on Saturday to face a Vertonghen-less Spurs. I would expect form to win out in this matchup, as all of @DanRiccio’s ‘star’ players (Hazard, Pelle, Shaqiri) are severely lacking any form at the moment.
@FantasyYIRMA V @RotoWireAndrew
@FantasyYIRMA is on the longest winning streak in the league and has also steamrolled his way into the final of the Fantasy Cup. He sits only six points off the top now and will be expecting to continue this good run in this matchup. @FantasyYIRMA has added Crystal Palace signing Emmanuel Adebayor to his team, and whatever you think of the Togolese, he usually scores goals wherever he goes. @RotoWireAndrew on the other hand has only added Watford signing Mario Suarez. The midfielder has only averaged one goal in eighteen games over his career in Spain; I don’t expect that to improve in the Premier League.
@SportsByGotti V @FuzzyWarbles
@SportsByGotti’s star man Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out for nearly two months with injury. The Belgian had comfortably the most points and the most goals in @SportsByGotti’s squad. His midfield is solid enough overall to pick up the slack, but lack of goals could cost him. The acquisition of Hammers loanee Emmanuel Emenike isn’t going to fill that gap. @FuzzyWarbles though seems to have made the shrewd signing in Bournmouth’s Benik Afobe (three goals in four games). Expect his side to pick up the victory this weekend.
The fixtures computer once again randomly tries to screw @GarryIrwin with a game against leader @wrigavin. (Ed.. Can anyone else hear the violins playing here – or is it just me?? 😉 FY ) Not many new signings to speak of in this clash, though @GarryIrwin did pick up Francis Coquelin, who is just back from injury. And really, doesn’t that just ‘feel’ like a new signing? Coquelin is hardly a goalscorer though and @wrigavin should have an easy enough time keeping ahead of the pack with Kane and Firmino in his side.
@TomSunderland_ V @nealjthurman
An intriguing matchup here between two teams determined to play themselves into some sort of form. The big question to be answered will be, if @TomSunderland’s signing of Nordin Amrabat trumps @nealjthurman’s signing of Leroy Fer? I know what you’re thinking! That’s an incredibly close one to call. But let’s go with the player who comes from the ninth best team in La Liga (Amrabat, Malaga) over the player from the 15th best team in the Championship (Fer, QPR).
Poor @GalinDragiew has lost six games on the trot, with Riyad Mahrez’s dip in form and Alexis Sanchez out with injury having a huge impact. @nikarg on the other hand is right in the mix for the title and has players coming back into form at the right time. Wayne Rooney and Christian Erikson should help him eke out a win this weekend.
@DFS_hambazaza has seen a bit of resurgence of late with the return from injury of Sergio Aguero. To aid the oft injured argentine in attack he has brought in Charlie Austin, who scored on his debut for Southampton, before then getting injured. Next down his striking depth chart is Norwich signing Steven Naismith. Who, if he can rekindle the form he had ten years ago for Kilmarnock in the ‘Just for Laughs’ Scottish Premier League, could turn out to be a very good signing indeed. All these striking riches pale in comparison to @cjradune’s star man Jamie Vardy though. Expect @cjradune to be enjoying another Vardy Party this Saturday lunchtime.
Written by @GaryIrwin
Fantasy Football (Manager), Writer (Historian), Politics (Contrarian), Gamer (Retro), Internet (Common Sensablist), Bass Player (Hawkwind), Twitter (Fibber)
The International Expert Fantasy Soccer Association (IEFSA) is a professional fantasy soccer organization. IEFSA strives to provide league members with all the experiences and emotions of a professional club owner or manager to create a fun and challenging atmosphere. Unlike the standard FPL game, each player can only be owned by one team. Experts bid on the players pre-season and in-season with the highest bid winning the player. With a set amount of funds, fantasy managers have to be smart with how they spend their money as they apply their own value to a player rather than it being determined for them. In addition, teams are able to sell/trade during the in-season transfer windows to either improve their squad or increase their bankroll for this season and beyond.
The Expert League consists of 16 of the best and most popular fantasy experts in the industry competing head-to-head for a specific charity or youth organization. Follow along as they test their skills against the world’s best in order to support 16 worthy causes.
FantasyYIRMA - Fantasy Football FPL 
Leave a comment
Comments 0