Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle Make the Christmas Preview

Dec 24

FPL Gameweek 19 Preview from @NiallHawthorne

Gary Neville is on Sky Sports speaking like a Prime Minister over the issue of racism in modern society.

The Prime Minister is shouting insults at people on the street.

Frank Lampard is delivering tactical masterclasses as Chelsea boss against Jose Mourinho.

Jose Mourinho is getting outsmarted and outclassed by a young up and coming manager.

We live in strange times. Nothing is how it used to be. I’m half expecting to hear Sky News telling me that Santa has ditched the reindeer and is now being transported by a flock of pigeons. You may not care as long as be brings you presents, but have you thought about it enough? A flock of pigeons pulling Santa’s sleigh all night? It’ll be a White Christmas alright, in every part of the globe. Grim.

(You can see the GW18 Review HERE)

GW19 Defender: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham United

I may or may not have had Baileys on my cornflakes this morning, and that’s my business and not yours. However I will qualify this pick by saying that Crystal Palace have run dry in an attacking sense recently, with five blanks in their last ten league games.

West Ham are your ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team, so this is a punt on Dr Jekyll winning the internal battle and delivering a clean sheet and a goal for Cresswell. Of course he may lose the internal battle and Palace will win 5-0.

GW19 Midfield: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City

If KDB worked in your office, he’d arrive at your Christmas party wearing the best clobber you’ve ever seen, would be the centre of attention at the dinner table spinning wildly entertaining yarns that has everybody captivated well past coffee, would then do a decent impression of Anton Du Beke on the dancefloor, would sing twelve songs during karaoke that would rival Sinatra in his pomp, and finally would walk out of the party with the two best looking women, one on each arm, and give you a cheeky wink as he passed.

Thank God he’s a footballer, and in this form you have to have him in your side.

GW19 Forward: Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur

While Kane isn’t in great form (four blanks with a 16 point haul at home to Burnley in his last five), it’s the opposition that he’s facing that has attracted my attention.

While Graham Potter has rightly received plenty of praise for his transformation of the playing style of Brighton (and Hove Albion too), his goalkeeper has been busier than a last minute shopper on Christmas Eve, particularly when playing away from home. Here’s the number of saves Matt Ryan has made in recent away games:

Chelsea (A): 8 Saves

Villa (A): 6 Saves

Man U (A): 9 Saves

Liverpool (A): 5 Saves

Now this could also be a tip for you to pick Matt Ryan, but his performance last weekend against Sheffield United was dodgier than a Conservative manifesto promise.

Put two and two together and you hopefully have Harry Kane smacking plenty of shots at a dodgy Matt Ryan = double digit haul for Sir Harold of Kane.

GW19 Captain: Sadio Mane or Mo Salah, World Champions Liverpool

At the start of this season I decided that I was going to invest in Mane instead of Salah, as I felt he wouldn’t be outscored that much by the Egyptian and I could use the saved money well elsewhere.

Now both are the same price (albeit Mane has 11 more points for the season). On Thursday they face Leicester City who are starting to toil a little, with just one point from their last two. Liverpool know they can virtually extinguish any Foxes title challenge with a win, and I have a sneaky suspicion that the Liverpool players may well be feeling pretty buoyant right now. They will have plenty of rest since their Qatar exploits, so I expect Klopp to go full strength and full throttle.

Who to Captain? Your call. Hell, if you could get both in your team, I wouldn’t talk you out of it.

GW19 Outsider: Paul Pogba, Manchester United

Guess who’s back, back again

Pogba’s back, tell a friend

The last time Pogba was questioned and doubted was about a year ago, and he decided to show the world just what he was capable of as he went on a stellar run of form with goals and assists flying everywhere.

Now he’s fit again and his cameo against Watford showed just how good he can be. He shone like a beacon of light in a slurry tank, such was the ‘quality’ of those around him. There’s a transfer window about to swing open, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Pogba fancied being part of the January sales himself. Now would be a good time to push himself front and centre of the shop window.

Oh, and he’s owned by 3.2%. Heh.

GW19 Draft: Miguel Almiron, Newcastle United

I was delighted when I saw Miggy finally get on the scoresheet after so long trying. I’m backing him here based on the ‘London Buses’ model. The dam has been breached, and hopefully for him the goals and assists will flow. 0.4% of FPL players are hoping so anyway. Want to join them?