Gameweek 4 DEFENCE: Jonny Evans, Manchester United – £5.4m (Home v QPR) We’ve all seen how Manchester United have struggled at the back so far this season, but you’d have to think that those issues are soon going to become a thing of the past as Louis van Gaal gets more and more comfortable […]
Category Archives: GW previews
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku And The 5 #FPL Players You MUST Pick This Week
Gameweek 5
DEFENCE: John Stones, Everton – £5.4m (Home v Crystal Palace)
After conceding eight goals at home to both Arsenal and Chelsea, Everton boss Roberto Martinez appears to have discovered the secret to keeping things tight at the back, and it’s John Stones.
The young defender returned to the side at West Brom last weekend, and subsequently helped his side register a clean sheet for which he was also awarded two bonus points. Everton face a couple of tough fixtures after Palace at home, but Sunday should guarantee points.
MIDFIELD: Christian Eriksen, Tottenham – £7.9m (Home v West Brom)
Tottenham’s Great Dane grabbed his first goal of the season and three bonus points in the draw at Sunderland, and providing he comes through the Europa League trip to Belgrade unharmed (and perhaps unused) then he should sparkle against a poor West Brom side.
On his day Eriksen can be a devastating attacking talent, and you’d have thought that he’ll get the chance to demonstrate his abilities against one of the weaker outfits in the division.
FORWARD: Graziano Pelle, Southampton – £7.6 (Away v Swansea)
Last week’s tip-off that the Italian forward would shine didn’t turn out to be such a bad one, and after his two goals against Newcastle the frontman will have Swansea in his sights.
Pelle looks to be a forward who’ll go on little goalscoring runs rather than be a prolific hitman, and so back him to shine just as Swansea’s good start to the season gets a little trickier.
THE OUTSIDER: Ander Herrera, Manchester United – £7.3m (Away v Leicester)
Goals from the centre of midfield are something that Manchester United haven’t had for a while now, and although Ander Herrera’s strike in the win over QPR won’t be the beginning of a prolific run for the Spaniard, it will at least give him confidence.
Herrera is one of the less celebrated of United’s new arrivals, but creativity from midfield could be crucial in a tricky looking contest at Leicester.
THE CAPTAIN: Romelu Lukaku, Everton – £9.0m (Home v Crystal Palace)
With Manchester City facing Chelsea and Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all being given tough away games, it could pay to put your trust is Everton’s Belgian battering ram for their clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Wait and see what happens in the Blues’ Europa League clash with Wolfsburg first (and then pick one of the usual suspects if the worst occurs), but after his goal at West Brom last weekend Lukaku is up and running for the season, and when’s he’s on form there are few better in the division.
Manchester City’s Aguero And The 5 #FPL Players You MUST Pick This Week
Gameweek 3
DEFENCE: Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle – £4.5m (Home v Crystal Palace)
A huge haul of nine Fantasy points from Newcastle’s goalless draw at Aston Villa made Fabricio Coloccini the only winner of that game, certainly amongst all of us who had to endure watching it.
The Argentinean isn’t always the soundest Fantasy pick, but on a tough weekend to call he should marshal a United defence which stands a good chance of keeping out a Crystal Palace side now under the stewardship of Neil Warnock, whilst the Geordies have got some decent fixtures coming up too.
MIDFIELD: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea – £6.3m (Home v West Brom)
The Iceman Gylfi Sigurdsson continues to see his price rise as his second spell at Swansea begins with a bang.
It’s West Brom at home for the Swans this week, and although that is then followed by a trip to Chelsea, the next five fixtures look pretty kind.
FORWARD: Stevan Jovetic, Manchester City – £8.0m (Home v Stoke)
After shooting down Liverpool by scoring a brace against them for third time in his career (once in this pre-season and once for Fiorentina five years ago) Stevan Jovetic is suddenly a man in form.
With Edin Dzeko not quite firing just yet it will be interesting to see what would happen if Manuel Pellegrini opted to field Jovetic upfront with Sergio Aguero. Interesting, and undoubtedly tough for Stoke City.
THE OUTSIDER (a player with less than 5% ownership): Cheikhou Kouyate – £5.0m (Home v Southampton)
Not so much an outsider as a way outsider, combative midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate has completed 90 minutes in both of West Ham’s game’s so far, registering an assist against Crystal Palace.
He’s not going to win you masses and masses of points, but sometimes you just want a player who you know you’ll get an honest stint out of, and the Senegalese could be your man.
THE CAPTAIN: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City – £12.0m (Home v Stoke)
After his brief and remarkable cameo appearance against Liverpool, surely Sergio Aguero is now ready to make his first Premier League start of the season as City host Stoke at the Etihad.
Granted, the champions face two tricky looking fixtures in the immediate aftermath of this one, but even if he’s on the bench the Argentinean has proven to be a huge goal threat when he comes on.
Can you afford to keep ignoring him?
Chelsea’s Fabregas And The 5 #FPL Players You MUST Pick This Week
Gameweek 2
DEFENCE: Eric Dier, Tottenham – £5.1m (Home v QPR)
If you picked Tottenham’s Eric Dier and Hull defender James Chester as the two players who’d top score in Gameweek 1 then you really should be doing this job instead of us, and although it might look a little like we’re jumping on the bandwagon we’re backing Dier to impress again in Spurs’ first home game of the season.
The young defender will be guaranteed a start as QPR come calling to White Hart Lane, and whilst he’s already shown his prowess in front of goal, it’s his clean sheet potential which should excite here.
MIDFIELD: Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea – £9.1m (Home v Leicester)
Ah, that pass. That pass. That pass. That pass.
It was almost as if Cesc Fabregas carved his assist for Andre Schurrle at Burnley on Monday night out of stone, meticulously constructing it to look so slick and polished as it pretty much invited the German to put his side 2-1 up at Turf Moor.
He should have chances to do the same at home to Leicester.
FORWARD: Wilfried Bony, Swansea – £8.5m (Home v Burnley)
After playing a supporting role in last weekend’s victory over a miserable Manchester United, Wilfried Bony should be back to his goal-getting best when Swansea host Burnley at the Liberty Stadium.
On his day the Ivorian forward can be one of the best forwards in the Premier League, and against a defence which might not have recovered from coming up against Chelsea he should have some chances.
THE OUTSIDER (a player with less than 5% ownership): Dusan Tadic, Southampton – £7.5m (Home v West Brom)
Serbian midfielder Dusan Tadic showed enough impressive touches on his Southampton debut against Liverpool at Anfield to suggest that he’s going to be a player to look out for this season.
At £7.5m he might be a touch on the expensive side, but after topping the assists chart in the Dutch Eredivisie as well as coming fourth in the top goalscorers list (16 assists, 14 goals), and setting up Nathaniel Clyne’s goal at the Kop end, he could stand out at home to West Brom.
THE CAPTAIN: Diego Costa, Chelsea – £10.5m (Home v Leicester)
After bounding into English football with his goal at Burnley, Chelsea’s Diego Costa will now have another promoted team in his sights at Stamford Bridge.
Leicester conceded twice to Everton and everything is pointing towards another set of Blues managing even more than that on Saturday afternoon, and if they do that they you can imagine that Costa will be at the forefront of the action.
Liverpool’s Lovren And The 5 #FPL Players You MUST Pick This Week
Aug 14
Gameweek 1 And we’re back! As a new Fantasy Premier League campaign kicks off, we launch our new-look previews aimed at giving you the best insight into #FPL over what will be another gripping season. Each week we’ll bring you the best picks for the defensive, midfield and forward positions, as well as an outsider […]
GW38 Preview: Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko can fire to seal last day glory
And so it’s come to this. The final day of the Premier League season, and with it the Fantasy one as well.
But before we all start looking up Algeria’s left-backs and start considering our teams for the World Cup editions of the game in the summer, there are still some precious points to play for in the final week of the campaign.
Manchester City know that they’ll be able to seal the title as they host West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, and whilst the likes of Yaya Toure (£10.4m) and Sergio Aguero (£12.8m) have been the main attractions for plenty of teams all season, it is forward Edin Dzeko (£7.3m) who can round things off with a bang.
The Bosnian has been in fine form in the closing weeks of the season, and although the time of writing is before City play host to Aston Villa in their penultimate game of the campaign on Wednesday, with Aguero confirmed as missing out on that one then Manuel Pellegrini is sure to be relying on his No. 10.
Dzeko scored twice in the win at Everton last weekend, and with his relatively cheap price and his status as City’s new No. 1 forward to take into consideration, he could be the player to make the difference in your final week.
A forward with almost half the ownership percentage of Dzeko but exactly the same price is Swansea’s Wilfried Bony (£7.3m), and as the Swans round off their season at Sunderland then his is another name you need to consider. If it comes down to a straight fight between him and Dzeko though, go for the Bosnian as he has something left to play for.
And that is the key to this final week. Finding players who have a task in hand is crucial, as the rest of the matches will just be too unpredictable. Remember the 5-5 draw between West Brom and Manchester United this time last year?
Unlike Manchester United, Liverpool have been heavily involved in the title race this season, with their sheer amount of goals being the key reason why.
Luis Suarez (£13.1m) has of course taken the headlines, but it could well be that Daniel Sturridge (£9.8m) comes up trumps as the Reds round off their season at home to Newcastle. Recommending Magpies players hasn’t been a feature of this column this season, but Loic Remy (£7.9m) could find the net against the Reds’ famously suspect defence. Expect goals at both ends in that one.
Elsewhere, Arsenal will be looking to play themselves into form ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup final, and although that isn’t strictly a good reason to choose their players it is a decent enough one this week.
Mesut Ozil (£9.5m) perhaps hasn’t wowed fans in the way that many expected him to this season, but the German has shown flashes of inspiration in recent weeks and could be worth a punt if you’ve got imaginary money to burn. Olivier Giroud (£8.5m) and Lukas Podolski (£7.8m) will also be dangerous.
The Gunners will face Hull City in that final at Wembley, and no doubt they’ll be delighted that they won’t be coming up against the Tigers’ front two of Shane Long (£5.5m) and Nikica Jelavic (£6.5m), who are both cup-tied.
Of the pair, it’ll be the Croatian who will be more eager to sign off from the season in style as his side host side former club Everton on Saturday, with the law of the ex-player suggesting that he could bury any chance which comes his way and bite the hand which used to feed him.
Thanks for reading all season, and have a great summer.
GW37 Preview: Manchester United and City play twice!
UPDATE Friday 2nd May: Wayne Rooney is now a potential injury doubt for Manchester United’s game against Sunderland.
In his Press conference at 10am this morning, manager Ryan Giggs has said Rooney will be assessed over the next 24 hours before a final decision is made.
Whether or not Ryan Giggs’ tenure in charge of Manchester United stretches beyond these few weeks remains to be seen, but the Welshman could hardly have wished for a better start to his managerial career than the one he got last weekend.
All thoughts of David Moyes were banished at Old Trafford as United strolled to a 4-0 victory over a troubled Norwich City, with smiles returning to faces which has only seen scowls for the vast majority of this season.
Key to those smiles was Wayne Rooney (£11.7m), who returned to form with two goals as his side blew their relegation-threatened visitors away.
Both Rooney and United will have the chance to keep the goals flowing when they entertain both Sunderland and Hull City in the next week, with all three clubs making up half of the sides who face Double Gameweeks in this penultimate week of the Fantasy Premier League season.
Of the six, United have surely been dealt the best hand with two home matches against a side struggling near the bottom of the table then a mid-table Hull outfit who are now just hanging around for the FA Cup final.
Either one or both of those matches seem certain to feature goals for Rooney, whilst some of United’s other attacking talents should also be eyed. Juan Mata (£9.7m) may have only come off the bench last weekend but he scored twice, whilst despite being in and out of the team for the vast majority of his career in England, Shinji Kagawa (£7.1m) has now started five of the last six matches, and all of the last four.
Further back in the team, there is the potential for some more points from Giggs’ men too.
Selecting United defenders has never been a task for the faint-hearted, but the one man you can usually rely on in the side is Patrice Evra (£6.5m), with the Frenchman no doubt keen to put in some good performances at the end of what could be his final season at Old Trafford.
The left-back is ageing and might not be the player he once was, but as United double up this week he could provide valuable points.
Elsewhere, the other side of in Manchester also face two matches this week, with theirs of course being far more important.
With Liverpool’s loss at home to Chelsea opening up the title race once more, City know that only perfection will be needed from here.
They face a huge clash at Everton on Saturday before the slightly gentler task of hosting Aston Villa, and you can be sure that Yaya Toure (£10.3m) will be fit and firing for both of them.
Any concerns over Toure’s potential injury were dispelled with that wonderful lung-bursting run and finish in the win at Crystal Palace, and his influence will be crucial as City go into two matches in which they simply cannot drop points.
Sergio Aguero (£12.7m) will also be key of course, but it has been Edin Dzeko (£7.1m) who has been in the greater form recently and he’ll also be a threat.
Of the other sides facing two matches this week, some interesting options leap out.
Having drawn at City and won at Chelsea, Sunderland surely won’t feel too overawed heading to Manchester United, and if you don’t believe that Rooney, Evra and co are the men to back there then either Fabio Borini (£6.2m) and Connor Wickham (£4.6m) could be useful, whilst Hull’s front two of Shane Long (£5.5m) and Nikica Jelavic (£6.5m) are another pair who need to be respected.
Back in the land of those that only play once this week, Swansea’s Wilfried Bony (£7.3m) has been in inspired form of late and will look to be so again as the Swans host Southampton, whilst Eden Hazard (£10.3m) could return to Premier League action for Chelsea against Norwich.
GW36 Preview: Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski could offer valuable points in closing weeks
Now removed of the pressure associated with a title race, Arsenal seem to have gone back to playing attractive, attacking football, at least if the second half against West Ham and the Hull game which followed are anything to go by.
Also key to those Gunners victories has been the presence of Lukas Podolski (£7.8m) in the starting lineup, with the German managing to double his tally of Premier League goals output for the season in the space of six days last week.
Owned by just 2.3% of Fantasy bosses at the time of writing, the key problem with selecting Podolski for your team has always been the fact that he tends not to last the full 90 minutes for Arsenal, but he did just that against West Ham and was withdrawn with just seven minutes left against Hull.
Arsene Wenger appears to have noted that his side play better with another attacking threat playing off Olivier Giroud (£8.5m), and although both Mesut Ozil (£9.5m) and Aaron Ramsey (£7.2m) have returned from their injuries in recent weeks and both are worth considering for selection, Wenger surely has to keep Podolski in his team based on recent form.
The Gunners are now widely expected to sew up their usual spot in the top four in the coming weeks, as they host Newcastle on Monday, then face a home game with West Brom before going to Norwich on the final day.
Podolski will be key to that effort as they bid to go into the FA Cup final in the greatest possible mood, and having more than made his point to his manager in recent weeks, he could make your team a few more before the end of the campaign.
https://twitter.com/ZOO/statuses/459632656754290688
Elsewhere, another potentially decisive Premier League weekend will see Liverpool host Chelsea knowing that a win would place them within touching distance of the Premier League title.
Of course this will be a hugely difficult game for the Reds, but the form of Raheem Sterling (£5.8m) is proving impossible to ignore, and he could again be turned to in another clash which is sure to have Anfield rocking.
The fact that six clubs face double Gameweeks next week should be uppermost in your thinking though, especially given that Manchester City are one of them and are refusing to give up on their title challenge.
Sergio Aguero (£12.5m) has bounced back from injury and scored in the win over West Brom on Monday, and although City face a tough trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday and Aguero perhaps isn’t quite 100% fit yet, he is still one of the top performers in the division even when he’s not in full working order.
David Silva (£9.8m) got injured in that game and things don’t look good for him, but Samir Nasri (£8.6m) remains in fine fettle and he’ll be crucial if City are going to continue to have a say in the destination of the title.
Another side who double up in Gameweek 37 are Sunderland, and following their stunning win at Chelsea they’ll be bouncing into this weekend’s crucial game at home to Cardiff full of confidence.
Fabio Borini (£6.2m) proved his worth to the club with the winning penalty at Stamford Bridge, but perhaps it will pay to back winger Adam Johnson (£6.4m) to rediscover some of the form that he found earlier in the season and impress in a match which is bound to go a long way towards deciding who’ll stay in the Premier League for next season.
GW35 Preview: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez is facing Norwich. You know what to do.
After the drama of last weekend, Liverpool’s title challenge rolls on to Norfolk this time around, and there’ll be at least one man who’ll be pleased it does.
Luis Suarez (£13.3m) has scored a staggering 11 goals in his last four matches against the Canaries, including hat-tricks on his only previous two visits to Carrow Road and four goals against the same opposition at Anfield in December.
The Uruguayan’s often jaw-dropping goalscoring rate might not be at the same level it has often been at the moment, with just one strike in his last four games, but as the Reds chase what would be a remarkable title success he is certain to be determined to fire them there.
You could argue that Suarez is fortunate to be facing Norwich at all after narrowly escaping a red card against Manchester City, but he could be coming up against them without his strike partner Daniel Sturridge (£10.4m) in tow after the forward limped off in the same game.
At the time of writing the extent of Sturridge’s injury isn’t known, but if he doesn’t play then that will only add extra attacking responsibility to the shoulders of Philippe Coutinho (£8.5m) and Raheem Sterling (£5.7m), but as both have shown in recent weeks they are more than capable of handling the pressure.
One man who definitely won’t be playing for Liverpool is the suspended Jordan Henderson (£6.5m), with his three-game ban for the red card picked up against City now ruling him out for until the final game of the season.
Speaking of City, they can’t be counted out of the title race at all just yet, especially now they’ve got Sergio Aguero (£12.2m) back from injury, a return which has soften the blow of losing the injured Yaya Toure (£10.5m) for a couple of games.
As they showed at Anfield though, the inspiration behind all of their good work at the moment is the brilliant David Silva (£9.9m), a player who has really found his form in the closing weeks of the season and one who should really have a higher Fantasy ownership percentage than 14%.
He’ll be vital as City host West Brom on Monday night in a match they simply have to win to stay in the title race, whilst Chelsea also face a similar must-win (and probably will win) match at home to Sunderland on Saturday.
As usual, the attention is on Chelsea’s forwards ahead of the contest, with that baton now passed to Demba Ba (£7.4m) following his crucial goals against Paris-Saint Germain and Swansea.
Elsewhere, perhaps the game of the weekend sees David Moyes return to Goodison Park with Manchester United, a match which Everton will fancy their chances in as they continue to chase the Champions League.
Young defender John Stones (£4.2m) has kept his place in the team despite the return to fitness of Phil Jagielka, whilst Steven Naismith (£4.7m) continues to make his presence felt upfront. United remain largely friendless in the Fantasy game, although at least Juan Mata (£9.1m) has started to shine.
Cardiff’s latest attempt at climbing out of trouble sees them host Stoke in what is simply a must-win game, and whilst Peter Odemwingie (£5.5m) will fancy getting one over the club he started the season at, the hosts will be looking to Jordon Mutch (£5.0m) to inspire them to a much-needed three points.
Fulham, another club in relegation trouble, may have picked up important points lately through the goals of Hugo Rodallega (£5.0m), but they face a tough visit to a Tottenham side who will be inspired by the recent performances of Christian Eriksen (£6.8m).
GW34 Preview: Everton pair can make your Double Gameweek a breeze
It’s a bit of a stealth Double Gameweek, this.
Because of the FA Cup semi-finals, two teams don’t play at all, whilst of the four who play twice, one are away to the current league leaders and two of the others have spent all of their season in the lower reaches of the table. One of them is currently rock bottom.
All of which leads you to one team this week, and luckily they are a team bang in form.
Everton know that over the next week they can cement their claims for a top four finish and Champions League football next season.
Following their sixth win in a row against Arsenal last weekend, Roberto Martinez’s Blues now go to a slumping Sunderland before following that up with a home game against a carefree Crystal Palace who are pretty much assured of their Premier League status for next season.
Because of the opportunity for Everton goals, the eyes are immediately drawn to forward Romelu Lukaku (£9.0m), who is sure to see his ownership rate rise over the coming days.
The Belgian recorded a double figure points score for the fourth time this season and the second time in three games in the demolition of the Gunners, and wherever he ends up playing next season the on-loan Chelsea man appears determined to shoot Everton into the top four during this one.
Lukaku has received strong attacking support from the likes of Steven Naismith (£4.6m) and Kevin Mirallas (£7.6m) in recent weeks, but the Blues’ defence also deserves some attention given that they are facing two of the lowest scorers in the division.
Everyone knows about how well Seamus Coleman (£6.9m) has done this season, but his young teammate John Stones (£4.1m) has come into the team in the last six matches, and it’s no coincidence that Everton have won all of those games.
Stones has been excellent since coming in for the injured Phil Jagielka, and this week it could pay to partner him with Coleman in your defence as the Blues look to keep things tight at the back.
Of the other teams facing Double Gameweeks, Manchester City head into what is surely the match of the season against Liverpool on Sunday and then follow that up with the much more winnable contest at home to Sunderland.
The Anfield meeting will of course be on a knife edge, and whilst you really can’t confidently predict which way it will go, the opportunity of some extra points for City players before they go into the Sunderland game means that they really can’t be ignored.
David Silva (£9.5m) has been excellent since moving into the No. 10 position behind the main striker, usually Edin Dzeko (£7.2m), but after his goal against Southampton it is perhaps Samir Nasri (£8.2m) who warrants the most attention.
The Frenchman will be a key goal threat at Anfield, and will also fancy his chances of impressing against Sunderland, a match which – like Everton v Crystal Palace – takes place now after it was postponed due to high winds in February.
Elsewhere, the big relegation battle between Fulham and Norwich at Craven Cottage could see Steve Sidwell (£5.3m) impress for the home side, whilst Stoke City look like being the latest team to profit from the fact that Newcastle United appear to have packed up for the season. Marko Arnautovic (£5.1m) and Peter Odemwingie (£5.4m) could impress at the Britannia Stadium.
West Brom’s Morgan Amalfitano (£4.2m) has rediscovered some of his early season form in the past few weeks and he could be worth a gamble as the Baggies host Tottenham, whilst after he returned from the bench in dismal circumstances at Goodison Park last Sunday, Arsenal could give Aaron Ramsey (£6.9m) a start in their match against West Ham.
FantasyYIRMA - Fantasy Football FPL 