Liverpool, Leicester and Burnley Make the Preview

Sep 27

Fantasy Football – Gameweek 7 Preview – Written by @NiallHawthorne

Unpredictable….

I think that word sums up the state of our existence right now. You have a President being impeached, a Prime Minister found guilty of lying to the Queen, and Man City scoring eight without Aguero getting a hat-trick.

All this means that those of us who specialise in FPL are well equipped to deal with the turmoil. We’re used to it. Onto GW7!

Defender: Ricardo Domingos Barbosa Pereira, Leicester City

Weirdly for a team managed by Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City appear to be an oasis of tranquillity in this maelstrom of madness. Six games played, eight goals scored, five goals conceded. This means that their defence is due a clean sheet, and with the visit of Newcastle United this weekend I reckon now is the time. Of course, we’re a greedy lot, so an attacking full back fresh off the back of a goal and a nine-point haul in GW6 looks very tempting.

Midfielder: Andriy Yarmolenko, West Ham United

Another player promoted from the ‘Outsider’ category (in GW4 with 8 points I’ll have you know!) to a bona fide pick on this column in GW7. Hammers fans have had to wait to see last season’s big Ukrainian purchase in full flight, but it now appears that their time has come. 22 points from GW’s 4 – 6 is too good to ignore, as is a fixture away to Bournemouth. If ever I’ve seen a ‘Both Teams To Score’ game, this is the one, even if West Ham are off the back of three consecutive clean sheets.

So, repeat after me: Insane in the membrane, Ukraine on the brain!

Forward: Roberto Firmino, Liverpool

It may sound crazy to non-Liverpool fans, but Bobby Firmino only had an ‘average’ season last year. Yes, he was integral to a team that racked up 97 league points and pocketed a Champions League winners medal, but those of us that know Bobby could see that he wasn’t quite ‘on it’.

Oh boy is he on it now.

Roberto Firmino plays 3D football, the likes of which most of us can only dream about. Sheffield United have had a respectable return to Premier League action, with clean sheets against Crystal Palace and Everton to show for it. However, they’ve not come up against anything like this guy in full flight. Bobby will add to his three goals and four assists so far, this season. And there’s nothing Sean Bean or The Full Monty can do about it.

Captain: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City

Twenty-Four Goals Scored In Six League Games.

TWENTY-FOUR GOALS!!!

Keep that up and they’ll have 152 league goals this season, and I’m not even half-joking when I make that mathematical extrapolation. If they do, then Aguero will score 50 league goals this season. With eight goals in six games (not forgetting the two assists) he’s on track to do just that.

It’s only GW7 but already Kun looks to be the lock/load/forget captain for the season.

The FPL website ranks this weekend’s game away to Everton as a ‘4’ on the difficulty scale. Heh.

Outsider: Dwight McNeill, Burnley

Some players fly under the radar, and Dwight McNeill perfectly fits this category. How else can you explain an ownership of 0.5% after three assists in six league games?

Ashley Barnes may have stolen the limelight in the opening weeks, and Chris Wood notched a double in GW6, but one man has been consistently loading the bullets. Villa are next and his fixtures are kind.

Draft: Aaron Connolly, Brighton & Hove Albion

This underage Irish international really caught my eye when he came on against Newcastle United in GW6, and if it weren’t for an outrageous bicycle kick clearance from under his own crossbar by Fabian Scar, he would have his first Premier League goal.

New Seagulls gaffer Harry Potter is shaking things up on the South Coast and jettisoning quite a few of the old guard, and seems to have a lot of faith in young Connolly. Could be worth a slot on your draft squad.

Fantasy Football – Gameweek 7 Preview – Written by @NiallHawthorne