Category Archives: Player Selection
Fantasy Football: Forward Buying Guide Part 2
Many thanks to @soccersaber for this great Guest Post. New on the twitter scene, take a second to follow @soccersaber and check out his #FPL site at www.soccersaber.wordpress.com well worth a visit!
If you would like to submit a guestpost contact Ryan at FantasyYIRMA@hotmail.com
GUEST POST: Fantasy Football: Forward Buying Guide PART 2
to read part 1 click here!
Rickie Lambert – I love Rickie Lambert. I have owned him longer than any forward besides Luis Suarez this year. I enjoy watching him play and am happy to finally see him at the highest level of English football. Lambert is a safe option, with solid but unspectacular shot numbers coupled with strong assist potential. He’s a great budget buy and a good fit for those who can’t stomach the risk of other options such as Lukaku and Giroud. Keep in mind though he is owned by a good amount of FPL teams and is most likely not a differential for those needing to gain. Rating: BUY for risk averse and those in solid league positions
Too much of this Olivier
Olivier Giroud – The potential here is through the roof based upon shot numbers. Giroud gets a ton of chances from close range and one would expect better goal numbers from the Frenchmen (check out that conversion percentage). Watching him play, it’s clear to see that he misses a bunch of clear-cut chances which must make owning him absolutely infuriating. Still though I’d much prefer the guy who gets chances versus the one who doesn’t, especially with such low ownership. Rating: SPECULATIVE BUY for those needing upside
Christian Benteke – That Belgian national team has some potential, eh? Benteke is an extremely gifted athlete and should be an exceptional player in time. However, he is very young and struggles with the nuances of the game from time-to-time (e.g., he is very prone to offsides). More importantly though are Benteke’s teammates. Aston Villa is not good. I have their attack rated above only Reading and Stoke. To put it bluntly, Villa do not generate chances and Benteke’s production is limited because of it. Rating: HOLD although I would much prefer Lukaku and Sturridge.
Arouna Kone – A bit surprising to some I suspect, but Kone is owned by no one and represents value and upside over the remaining options. He’s not as physically overpowering as Benteke, but he plays for a substantially more potent attack. You could make up substantial ground with Kone especially after GW29 when the fixture list improves. Rating: SPECULATIVE BUY if chasing
Steven Fletcher – Fletcher can score without a doubt and Sunderland’s attack has been much improved over the past ten weeks or so. However, they are still somewhat toothless and Fletcher’s relatively high ownership numbers limit his upside. Don’t see the logic in choosing Fletcher over Lambert as they are similar in scope but Lambert is better and cheaper. Rating: SELL
Papiss Cisse – I have included Cisse here as he has been a popular potential speculative buy on many message boards, especially since the transfers of Sissoko and Gouffran. As you can see, the table above should put that speculation to rest. Cisse simply doesn’t get on the end of enough attacks, even since the transfer window. While I think he has more upside than the numbers above suggest, his price and low assist potential make him a non-option for me. Rating: SELL
No wonder he is so lazy
Dmitiar Berbatov – I was infatuated with Berbatov early in the season. However, Fulham’s attack has been impotent since the holidays and shows little signs of reviving. The numbers above, while poor, tell only half the tale; Berbatov has just four shots on target in his last six matches. Rating: SELL
CONCLUSION
Get yourself a Liverpool man (or two). If you are chasing the leaders grab yourself Mr. Lukaku and Mr. Giroud, or, if desperate, Mr. Kone. Don’t expect RVP to lead the world in fantasy points the remainder of the year, but keep your eye out for alternatives elsewhere in Manchester. If you are leading you could do a lot worse than bringing in Rickie Lambert. Whatever you do, don’t purchase Berbatov, Cisse, or Fletcher.
Hope you enjoyed this. I plan on providing similar evaluations periodically, although I hope most are much more succinct! As always, comments and criticisms are very welcomed.
Fantasy Football: Forward Buying Guide Part 1
Many thanks to @soccersaber for this great Guest Post. New on the twitter scene, take a second to follow @soccersaber and check out his #FPL site at www.soccersaber.wordpress.com well worth a visit!
If you would like to submit a guestpost contact Ryan at FantasyYIRMA@hotmail.com
GUEST POST: Fantasy Football: Forward Buying Guide
Before we get started, let me lay some ground rules. First off, I am not in the business of guessing manager rotations. As a result, I have not evaluated or considered quality players who have major playing time issues (e.g., Tevez, Dzeko, Chicharito, Ba, Defoe due to injury). I have considered both Romelu Lukaku and Olivier Giroud, but my expectation is that both will receive somewhat regular time on the pitch the remainder of the season. As with all projections, nothing is guaranteed. Second, I have tried to account for major shifts from the Winter transfer window, specifically for Liverpool and Newcastle assets. Finally, I focus on core underlying statistics rather than accumulated goals and assists as core stats are generally better predictors of future success. Consequently, I put much greater weight on these components than I do on goals/assists only. If you disagree with this outlook then I am not sure you will be in sync with much analysis I offer. So with that out-of-the-way, let’s get to the insight, dammit!
DATA
Above, you will see a beautifully rendered screen cap of an Excel table containing several data points for my list of “ownable” forwards. As discussed above, this list does not include several popular options with playing time issues. I have also not included popular options such as Lukas Podolski, Pavel Pogrebnyak, and Peter Crouch as I do not consider these players ownable due to lack of goal threat. You can rest assured that options not listed fare much worse statistically than those you see in the table.
The data presented from left to right: player name, current price, current % ownership, fantasy points scored per 90 minutes, shots per 90 minutes, shots on target per 90 minutes, percentage of shots recorded in the box, percentage of shots on target that have resulted in goals, number of chances created per 90 minutes, and percentage of chances created that have resulted in assists. As you can see, I have captured data on a per 90 minute basis to eliminate playing time issues across multiple players and I rely on percentages to succinctly indicate the key concepts of conversion, shots close to goal, and ability of teammates to convert opportunities. This data set is sufficient and substantial, allowing a quick and easy comparison across multiple fantasy assets.
INSIGHT (PART ONE)
The first thing you should notice from this sheet is the numbers of shots on goal per 90 minutes. If I were to look at only one stat to determine my fantasy forward selections, it would be the number of shots a player gets on the goal. Simply put, players who get more shots on goal almost always score more often and players who score more goals almost always generate more fantasy points. Certainly there are exceptions to the rule, but it is a great principle on which to base your decisions.
The shot on target numbers here are interesting. Immediately one should recognize that Liverpool forwards generate a ton of chances. Before Daniel Sturridge arrived, Luis Suarez was leading the league in shots and second only behind Lukaku in shots on target (more on Romelu later). Since Sturridge has arrived, Suarez has become more of a creator while the former Chelsea man has filled the role as primary assassin. Suarez is still generating a ton of attempts, but Sturridge is clearly the primary focus of attack at Anfield. In fact, Sturridge’s output has been so impressive that his numbers indicate he should be your very first choice at forward the remainder of the season. That may be surprising, but there is no denying someone who produces a full shot on target per game more than all but one other player. We do have some sample size issues here, but I feel five games is enough to demonstrate his potential. In my opinion, he is a must own.
Suarez strives to remain number one
What then of his teammate? While he has certainly become more of a facilitator, he remains a major goal threat. In fact, Suarez with Sturridge still averages 1.6 shots on target per 90 as good as anyone but his teammate and aforementioned Belgian. Given his ridiculously high number of chances created and improved CC %, I see no reason why Suarez owners should be looking to sell unless they are moving to Sturridge and don’t want to double on Reds attackers (a logical argument). Do note though that Suarez is on eight yellow cards and needs to limit his cautions until mid-April or else be suspended for two matches.
You may wonder how can I be so high on Liverpool forwards when Van Persie has so clearly dominated the first two-thirds of the year? Besides his injury, I have four reasons why you may want to considering moving away from the erstwhile Gunner hero. First and most concerting is his potential rotation throughout the remainder of the year. United are well on their way to the league title and, more importantly, find themselves as a potential Champion’s Legaue quarterfinalist. Given the Red Devils’ significant depth up front, I don’t see any scenario in which United continues on in Europe and RVP plays regularly down the stretch with most of his potential rotations coming against weaker foes. This is a huge issue as these rotations could result in numerous short substitution appearances, destroying captaincy choices for thousands. Why take on the stress? The second reason that Wayne Rooney has produced nearly as well as Van Persie for much less money. While Rooney’s percentage of shots in the box are a bit concerning, the rest of his numbers are right in line with the Dutchman’s and comes with less threat of rotation. To me, Rooney seems like an equal if not better option than RVP. Thirdly, Van Persie is the most owned forward in FPL. While this is not an issue if you are leading your league, anyone trying to make up points via RVP will most likely be unsuccessful. Personally, I’d much rather take a chance with Rooney or another power forward than I would swapping a differential midfielder for Bale or even Mata. Finally there is the obvious cost issue. Robin Van Persie is currently £ 2.2 more expensive than any other forward. At that price, he must be virtually risk free and an obvious captain option week-in and week-out. In my opinion he is not and thus I cannot recommend him for the remainder of the season, at least if United progresses into the UCL quarters.
As for his teammate, I do like Rooney and owned him until his untimely pre-Boxing Day knee injury. I feel he will produce at a consistent level if 1) he plays and 2) he plays without Chicharito and RVP on the pitch. I presume the first caveat won’t be much of an issue as Rooney should feature in the majority of games for the remainder of the season; he’s not as key as RVP and he is fresher. However, I have no idea how often SAF will play the three forwards together. When he does, Rooney drops much deeper and basically plays central mid or shifts out wide, allowing RVP to service Hernandez up top. In either formation, Rooney’s potential is limited and he cannot justify his exorbitant price. Thus, while Rooney does have strong upside potential, he is costly and carries a fair amount of risk. As a result, I can see a tentative buy on Rooney, especially if you have a high team value.
A little something for the ladies
As hinted at above, Romelu Lukaku’s numbers are exceptional. He has been simply unstoppable, providing an ever-present force near the goal. He has recorded an incredible 87% of his shots in the box even while the second highest amount of total shots per 90 (excluding Suarez without Sturridge as that player no longer exists). While he has benefited somewhat as a late sub, his numbers as a starter are commensurate with his overall performance. Quite frankly, he’s been one of the three or four most productive forwards in the league whenever he has played. Yet, I should note that Romelu remains a risky purchase. He is on loan to West Bromwich and it seems Steve Clarke is somewhat reluctant to rely primarily on a player who won’t be around next season. This has left the Belgian starting only about half his appearances although he has started six of seven and eight of the last ten. Further, one should consider that West Brom has the second most difficult schedule in the league from here on out, playing the likes of Man City, Man United, Arsenal and at Stoke over the coming ten weeks (that doesn’t include Chelsea as Lukaku is prohibited from playing in that game). Still, even with his risks, I see no reason not to consider Lukaku at £ 6.5, especially if you are looking to gain points on league leaders.
The last player I want to discuss in-depth is Sergio Aguero. I have been and remain high on Sergio, maybe irrationally so. The Manchester City attack continues to produce chances on par with anyone in the league. This is evidenced by Aguero’s underlying statistics which show his shot numbers as good as anyone in the league not playing for Liverpool or named Lukaku. He is surrounded by an insane amount of skill and should have absolutely no rotation issues as City trying to track down the title. He seems to be on the precipice of a huge return as his numbers and overall skill is simply too much to hold down for an entire season. I mean, he has to get untracked at some point, right?
To be honest, I have no idea. I own Aguero and have no current plans on selling him, but watching him flounder has been frustrating. He just seems off, much like the entire City club. I do expect him to turn it around, but he could very well stay cold all season and fail to turn his underlying excellence into goals and fantasy points. Still though, I think you have to give him a shot as his downside risk seems minimal.
A quick summary then for part one. I have a STRONG BUY rating on Sturridge, with a BUY rating on his teammate Suarez. RVP gets a SELL with potential for buy back later depending upon UCL results and Rooney gets a SPECULATIVE BUY / HOLD. Lukaku gets a BUY with a STRONG BUY speculation for those needing to major upside. Aguero gets a BUY.
GUEST POST: GW28 Newcastle and their French contingent
This guest post was submitted by Adam @RotoZdroik from US Fantasy Sports site www.RotoExperts.com. RotoExperts feature award-winning experts and analysis across various major sports platforms.
Many thanks to Adam for his contribution and if you would like to guest post for Fantasy Yirma – Contact Ryan at fantasyyirma@hotmail.com
NEWCASTLE AND THE FRENCHMEN
Talk about a brutal Gameweek, and I’m not just saying that about my team either.
Mostly everyone was gutted by their captain choice last week. Robin van Persie was the most captained and vice-captained player of Gameweek 27. While he still tallied an assist, RVP picked up a fluke hip injury after running into the camera pit and only played 40 minutes. Talk about unlucky. He was seen walking around town the other day and he noted that he was doing fine. We’ll see what Sir Alex Ferguson thinks about that.
Lucky for you, Gareth Bale was above RVP in my captain rankings last week. Unlucky for myself and others that listened, I put Theo Walcott above Bale. Walcott put in a dud at home against Aston Villa while Bale once again beat a team by himself, securing Tottenham’s first and third goals of their match at West Ham.
However, there’s no need to worry as we all have bad weeks and this past weekend, most people had down weeks. Arouna Kone, the man from Wigan, was the top forward and he’s only on 0.8 percent of squads. Santi Cazorla, David Silva and Yaya Toure led the midfielders. While all of those guys are big names, not many were given the captain’s armband. Also of note was Moussa Sissoko whose price will continue to rise as he has found the score sheet in all four of his Premier League appearances.
Defensively, Maynor Figueroa secured a clean sheet, a goal and an assist. Keep in mind he plays for Wigan and did that on the road. Not many people took advantage of his output. In fact, prior to that match, Figueroa only had 35 Fantasy Points at premierleague.com. He got half of that at Reading this past weekend and he’s only missed one game this year.
Mark Scharzer and Joe Hart led the goalkeepers as each of them saved a Penalty Kick. My cover boy last week, David de Gea, also held a clean sheet. Don’t worry, I’m still backing the Spaniard to keep his success rolling.
WEEKLY FPL TIP
Look ahead. That’s your main focus when heading to the transfer wire. If you didn’t look ahead for the past gameweek, you were likely stuck with a lot of Swansea/Liverpool players, which in turn led to a very poor week. While every club plays in Gameweek 28, it’s the next one that you should fear. GW29 is set to have just six matches due to FA Cup fixtures.
Chelsea and Everton won both their matches in midweek action, which is the reason for so few matches in Gameweek 29.
Basically, the FA Cup is putting a really big conundrum on your Fantasy team, but this isn’t something out of the ordinary. It happens every year and everyone has to deal with it, so there aren’t huge advantages given out to anyone.
That said, here are some clubs to focus on for the following weeks. Keep in mind, these teams don’t have overwhelmingly easy fixtures, but they will be playing, that’s for certain.
Newcastle: at Swansea, vs. Stoke City, at Wigan
I mentioned a couple Newcastle players last week and they pulled through for me. Luck or smarts? I’ll go with the latter. Defenders Davide Santon and Mathieu Debuchy each had assists in their 4-2 win over Southampton. Both like to get up and down the field on the sides and more assists from them wouldn’t be a surprise.
Debuchy was just one of many Frenchman added to Newcastle in the transfer window.
Midfielder Moussa Sissoko continues to impress. You can usually find him around the net, which is why he has three goals and two assists in only four league matches played. Every year it seems like a January newcomer lives up to the hype and becomes Fantasy gold. That’s what Papiss Cisse did last year and why he still costs a boatload. I’m not spending 8.8m on Cisse, no matter who’s on his schedule.
Sunderland: vs. Fulham, at QPR, vs. Norwich
This is probably the first time all year I’ve recommended the Black Cats as a team. First off, you probably don’t want to add Craig Gardner or Jack Colback because they are normally midfielders, but have played defensively of late. On the back line, Titus Bramble is the best addition at 4.3m.
Between Stephane Sessegnon, Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher it’s really a tossup because of none of these guys have been consistent at all. Sessegnon got a goal last week, but it was only his fourth of the year. Johnson hasn’t done much in a while and is my pick to do something about that. I’d stay away from Fletcher up front since you don’t want to spend 7.2m on a forward that has scored in only one game out of his last nine.
Swansea: vs. Newcastle, at West Brom
The Swans don’t have great fixtures, but they will be at home in three of their next four. Coming off their Capital One Cup Championship, you have to think their spirits are high. Sure, they got killed in their last Premier League match, but I wouldn’t put too much thought into that game as they sat most of their studs.
Michu is starting to come around again as he has three goals and two assists in his last two matches in all competitions. While he is 8.3m, there is a better reason to buy him because unlike fellow Spaniards, Juan Mata and David Silva, Michu will not miss any upcoming gameweeks.
Pablo Hernandez is my other pick in the midfield. He’s a wizard with the ball and for 5.9m, his odds of getting a goal or assist are pretty solid over the next two matches. Defensively, Angel Rangel is the pick now that Ben Davies costs about the same amount.
WEEKLY RANKINGS
If you like living in the moment, these player ranks are done on a week-to-week basis and have nothing to do with Gameweek 29.
Goalkeepers
- David de Gea, Man United, 5.5m, vs. Norwich
- Joe Hart, Man City, 6.8m, at Aston Villa
- Asmir Begovic, Stoke City, 5.8m, vs. West Ham
- Tim Howard, Everton, 5.4m, vs. Reading
- Artur Boruc, Southampton, 4.4m, vs. QPR
Defenders
- Patrice Evra, Man United, 7.3m, vs. Norwich
- Leighton Baines, Everton, 7.6m, vs. Reading
- Rafael, Man United, 6.1m, vs. Norwich
- Gael Clichy, Man City, 5.6m, at Aston Villa
- Pablo Zabaleta, Man City, 6.2m, at Aston Villa
- Ryan Shawcross, Stoke City, 6.0m, vs. West Ham
- Nathaniel Clyne, Southampton, 4.1m, vs. QPR
- John O’Shea, Sunderland, 5.0m, vs. Fulham
- Nacho Monreal, Arsenal, 5.5m, at Tottenham
- Brede Hangeland, Fulham, 4.8m, at Sunderland
Midfielders
- Gareth Bale, Tottenham, 10.2m, vs. Arsenal
- Juan Mata, Chelsea, 10.1m, vs. West Brom
- Marouane Fellaini, Everton, 7.8m, vs. Reading
- David Silva, Man City, 9.3m, at Aston Villa
- Theo Walcott, Arsenal, 9.6m, at Tottenham
- Moussa Sissoko, Newcastle, 6.4m, at Swansea
- Frank Lampard, Chelsea, 8.6m, vs. West Brom
- Santi Cazorla, Arsenal, 9.3m, at Tottenham
- Michu, Swansea, 8.3m, vs. Newcastle
- Yaya Toure, Man City, 7.7m, at Aston Villa
Forwards
- Sergio Aguero, Man City, 10.9m, at Aston Villa
- Robin van Persie, Man United, 14.0m, vs. Norwich
- Wayne Rooney, Man United, 11.9m, vs. Norwich
- Demba Ba, Chelsea, 8.0m, vs. West Brom
- Rickie Lambert, Southampton, 6.9m, vs. QPR
- Olivier Giroud, Arsenal, 8.1m, at Tottenham
- Christian Benteke, Aston Villa, 7.0m, vs. Man City
- Steven Fletcher, Sunderland, 7.2m, vs. Fulham
- Peter Crouch, Stoke City, 6.0m, vs. West Ham
- Kevin Mirallas, Everton, 6.8m, vs. Reading
YOU’RE THE CAPTAIN
- Gareth Bale, Tottenham
- Sergio Aguero, Man City
- Juan Mata, Chelsea
- Marouane Fellaini, Everton
- Theo Walcott, Arsenal
You’ll notice I didn’t place any Manchester United forwards on this list even though they have a very friendly match. It’s too hard to trust one of these players right now, especially with a date with Real Madrid on the horizon. Van Persie picked up an injury last weekend and Rooney was dealing with an illness. All four forwards played at least 30 minutes, but none played more than 60 at QPR.
Gareth Bale is a little easier to trust and he’ll be at home against a susceptible Arsenal defense. Bale now has the second most Fantasy Points of all players, thanks to six goals in his last four league matches.
Aguero is slowly moving up my lists just because you know he’s going to start and play a lot. You can’t say the same about City’s other forwards. While they are on the road, it’s unlikely Villa will be able to stop Man City from finding the back of the net.
Juan Mata has been the forgotten midfielder as of late, but he’ll likely change that at Stamford Bridge against West Brom. I like him more than other options because you know Chelsea will score this week and Mata is always a threat to get a goal or assist.
You can’t forget about Walcott completely. Sure, he didn’t do much in a nice matchup last week, but he had scored or assisted in the five previous games. Tottenham’s defense isn’t rock solid by any means and we could maybe see some fireworks with Bale and Walcott on both sides of the field.
Everton has a very friendly fixture, but I’m not so sure how much you can trust Fellaini right now. He had a brace a few weeks ago, but other than that hasn’t score since Dec. 1. Hopefully, he’ll be able to break out of that slump and help out owners that risk captaining him.
*Stats up-to-date as of Feb. 26
About the author: Adam Zdroik, Staff Writer View all posts by Adam Zdroik, Staff Writer
FPL: Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla – Differential Potential?
Many thanks to Inside FPL for this great post which looks at why Santi Cazorla should be considered for your FPL team. Check out Inside FPL on twitter @insidefantasyPL . You can also sign up for their free FPL weekly newsletter delivered directly into your email address. Click their logo at the bottom of this article for more information.
Santi Cazorla – Differential Potential?
A lot has been made of midfielders through this season’s fantasy football campaign, with 5 players in particular dominating manager’s selection thoughts – Bale, Mata, Michu, Fellaini and Walcott. But there is a 6th player who, whilst not exactly under the radar, has not grabbed the imagination as much as the others, is actually the 3rd highest scoring midfielder in the game, and 5th overall. He’s also as nailed on as anyone in Arsenal’s starting lineup, In this article we take a look at the Arsene Wegner’s £16m summer signing from Malaga, Santiago “Santi” Cazorla González, review his fantasy form, and prospects for your team through to the end of the season.
Cazorla was immediately handed the advanced role in the midfield three, ahead of the double-pivot typical now in the modern 4-2-3-1. He made a big impact as soon as GW3, with 2 goals away at Liverpool and 13 FPL points. At the time Arsenal were receiving plaudits for a new found defensive resolve and his Anfield brace came on top of him topping the key pass and shooting charts. A real prospect then, and with a home clash against promoted Southampton ahead the transfers soon flowed in. Almost 100,000 managers brought in the Spaniard for GW4 but despite a 6-1 thrashing of Southampton Santi registered just a single assist. He bounced straight back though with an assist and 2 bonus points away against Man City and followed that up with 3 goals in his next 7 games, including goals in games against Man Utd and Tottenham.
Cazorla really garnered full-on fantasy attention though with a hat-trick and assist in a 5-2 away win at Reading, scoring a whopping 23 points, the second highest single GW score this season, behind Walcott’s 26. This did come in the middle of an a lean spell though, just the one, albeit a big one, goal-scoring performance in 10 games. With his hat-trick haul still fresh in the mind though and a double gameweek on the horizon Cazorla’s ownership peaked up at 21% but despite a fairly decent return during this time 5% of managers have since got rid, driven mainly due to some scintillating performances by team-mate Walcott, plus the form and opportunities of alternatives in Gerrard and Bale.
The infographic below shows Cazorla’s form, which we measure by comparing the number of shots he takes from inside the penalty box with how many shots in the box Arsenal have. We can see that Cazorla’s form basically tracks Arsenal’s. If his team do well, so does he, if the team are struggling, so does he. He doesn’t carry the team and dominate, like Bale does, or Ba did for Newcastle. He doesn’t produce something out of nothing a la Van Persie.. He’s had a real slump through January too, scoring just once and averaging only 3 pts/game in that time, but as can be seen he’s got himself back involved in Arsenal’s attack now, and the goals and points have returned.
So, what are the prospects for Santi from now through to the end of the season? Well, we imagine it’ll be business as usual, but without the winter slump, averaging about 6-7 points per game through to the end of the season. This places him behind Bale, and indeed behind Walcott, but level with the likes of Mata and Michu. He’s significantly less owned though than all these other players, who are all 25-30% except for Michu who is almost at a staggering 50% now. Arsenal also have a tempting set of fixtures to come after their GW29, playing Reading, Norwich and Wigan at home, and Fulham and QPR away, plus another double gameweek, making Cazorla a massive differential captain option through that stretch. Keep an eye on his price, he could be just the player to make the kind of difference that counts.
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Gameweek 28 preview: Rickie Lambert, acQuiring Points Regularly
As we enter the final 10 Gameweeks of the season, form is becoming more and more important.
That old cliché about form being temporary and class being permanent is of course a correct one, but in these closing weeks it will surely pay to trust in those players who are doing well week after week.
Rickie Lambert (£7.0m) is currently one of those players, and fantasy bosses have definitely noticed.
Almost a quarter of Fantasy Premier League teams now feature Southampton’s Scouse striker, a forward who has racked up eight, nine and 11 points respectively over the last three Gameweeks as he’s scored twice and picked up three assists.
Lambert and the Saints welcome rock bottom Queens Park Rangers to St Mary’s on Saturday, and the forward will be eyeing even more goals there.
It’s an important game for the hosts, who have impressed in patches under new boss Mauricio Pochettino before suffering a 4-2 loss after making the long trip to Newcastle last time out.
Lambert scored his 100th goal for the Saints and his 12th in the Premier League this season in that game, and with the arrival of ex-Saints boss Harry Redknapp and his struggling side on Saturday, Lambert will be confident of finding the net again.
He scored against Rangers in a 3-1 win at Loftus Road in November, and with talk of an England call-up swirling around him then the forward can deliver and help move Southampton away from the relegation zone by beating a team who are firmly stuck in it.
One of the teams currently desperate to stay out of the bottom three are Wigan, and they face a tough task on Saturday evening when they welcome Liverpool to the DW Stadium.
The impact of Daniel Sturridge (£7.5m) at the Reds has been easy to see, and with the forward currently having only 7.4% ownership he could prove a strong differential choice in the closing weeks.
Liverpool’s fixture list isn’t as demanding as the one faced by several of the teams around them, and after scoring in all but one of his five Premier League appearances for the Reds so far – picking up 31 Fantasy points in the process – Sturridge could shine in those games, starting with this trip to Wigan.
Elsewhere, Sunday sees Arsenal try to become the latest team to stop the juggernaut that is Gareth Bale (£10.3m).
The Tottenham man continues to rip through the Premier League, with his latest demolition job on West Ham on Monday night seeing his ownership increase even more.
Against Arsenal he’ll of course come face-to-face with his former Southampton team-mate Theo Walcott (£9.6m), and with the frequent madcap nature of these North London derbies meaning that clean sheets are unlikely to be on the agenda, both could find themselves in the points come the end of the afternoon.
Elsewhere, both Chelsea and Manchester United face winnable looking home matches against West Brom and Norwich respectively, but both sides go into the contest with forward issues. Rafael Benitez is again faced with the dilemma over whether to choose Demba Ba (£8.0) or Fernando Torres (£9.3m), whilst there is an injury doubt over Robin van Persie (£14.0m) for United. None of the trio can be trusted confidently.
Monday night sees Manchester City travel to Aston Villa, and whilst Yaya Toure (£7.7m) and Carlos Tevez (£8.7m) regained some lost friends with goals in the 2-0 win over Chelsea last time out, it is the fact that City kept a clean sheet in that game which should perhaps be of greater importance.
Defender Pablo Zabaleta (£6.2m) was a key element of that shutout, and given that he has now started City’s last 15 Premier League games the Argentinean is again likely to be an important part of the visiting back line.
Against a Villa side who have often struggled for goals this season, Zabaleta can keep things tight at the back whilst impressing further forward too.
Fantasy Premier League: GW27 Review
#FPL GW27 Review
Many thanks as always to @shots_on_target for his weekly wrap up of the Premier League games.
Check out his website at www.shotsontarget.com for some great #FPL insight!
What a performance by Gareth Bale in a very buoyant encounter at Upton Park. There’s not more much to say about Bale so I’ll move right on and mention Andy Carroll and Joe Cole. Nolan’s injury could prove a blow for the Hammers if it’s serious but this may afford Cole a more prominent role. He’s not £0.0m by the way, he’s £5.6m.
These two teams have both been great sources of fantasy players this season, and should continue to be so. With Ba gone, Sissoko and Cisse are providing the goals and Gouffran is one to watch too. Cabaye, on pens and free-kicks, will pick up points although Sissoko’s (rapidly rising) price tag and advanced role behind the striker make him this team’s highlight. In a FPL season dominated by midfielders Ritchie Lambert is this season’s third highest scoring forward, behind only RVP and Suarez. Not bad. Puncheon’s 2nd benching in the last 4 games throws a spanner in the works for a fair few managers; both were away games though so perhaps a tactical move and ,if so, maybe not too worrying ahead of 4 home games in the next 6 for. Maybe.
Berbatov was a dim glimmer of light in this match, Fulham unable to really threaten much against a Stoke side willing to let them try. Riise and Riether took advantage of the space to push up down the flanks and get involved in the attack, the latter getting the assist. Let’s move on.
A tight game without any real top draw attacking play to shout about – perhaps the highlight was Moyes’ fury at the final whistle. Norwich have been a legitimate threat from set-pieces all season which makes Snodgrass a very sound option for your FPL team, with Bassong and Holt the two players who tend to get on the end of things. Everton really didn’t get much going, too often failing to find players in the box. They need a good win against Oldham in the Cup and then Reading to keep up momentum into the run-in.
Top notch performance from Wigan, excelling not only in attack but defensively too, with the return of Boyce from injury and late introduction of season-long absentee Alcarez. Kone scored his 8th goal of the season in which he has missed about a fifth of. I would not be surprised to see him score another 5 or 6 before the end of the season with some nice fixtures over the horizon.
The early withdrawal of Van Persie will be a keen talking point for fantasy managers through this week ahead of a plum home game against Norwich which comes a few days before the Real Madrid game. In RVP’s absence it could well be Nani who fills the gap. Recently urged in the press by Sir Alex to show consistency this might be just the type of “media-message” Nani needs to prove his worth at a top club. QPR hardly troubled United at all but they will be pleased to get Remy back in action.
All hail Lukaku, right? Although Sunderland have earnt a tag as a defensive team over the last few seasons they don’t travel well at all so it’s no surprise that West Brom created plenty of chances, and even less of a surprise that these chances mostly fell and were put away by Lukaku, who just seems to be getting better through the season. Sessegnon had one of his best games yet this campaign and Sunderland’s attacking form has been gradually improving.
If United weren’t so far ahead in the league this dominant performance could have been regarded as City reaffirming their title challenge. Mancini has had a strange strategy this season of starting matches with a block of 5 in a deep midfield line, with the 2 fullbacks lining up with 3 center mids, this week in Milner, Rodwell and Garcia. Only when Tevez emerged did City have enough creative force to break Chelsea down, Silva and Toure showing their class. Check out Talk of the Crowd’s awesome tactical analysis of how the introduction of Tevez changed the game.
A lot was expected of Arsenal ahead of this one after their now almost customary March cup exits. Though they got the win and had a host of chances they left it late. Santi Cazorla has gone slightly under the radar but has now scored 11 goals this season, the same as Walcott although in significantly more minutes. Walcott and Giroud had their fair share of chances too. Villa, unsurprisingly, did not create much although N’Zogbia is ever so slightly blinking on the fantasy radar.
Fantasy Premier League: GW27 Nothing but Bonus Points
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Fulham 1-0 Stoke
| 23 Feb 12:45 | Fulham |  |
1 – 0 |  |
Stoke City |
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| 23 Feb 15:00 | Arsenal |  |
2 – 1 |  |
Aston Villa |
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| 23 Feb 15:00 | Norwich |  |
2 – 1 |  |
Everton |
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| 23 Feb 15:00 | QPR |  |
0 – 2 |  |
Man Utd |
| 23 Feb 15:00 | Reading |  |
0 – 3 |  |
Wigan |
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| 23 Feb 15:00 | West Brom |  |
2 – 1 |  |
Sunderland |
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| 24 Feb 13:30 | Man City |  |
2 – 0 |  |
Chelsea |
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| 24 Feb 13:30 | Newcastle |  |
4 – 2 |  |
Southampton |
| 25 Feb 20:00 | West Ham |  |
2 – 3 |  |
Tottenham |
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Preview- French Ligue 1: Troyes v Bastia
Big thanks to Leroy from Leroysbettingtips.co.uk for providing FantasyYirma with his own personal selection for this weekend’s Football. Delighted to have him on the site. You can follow Leroy on Twitter also at @LeroyFootyTips
This tip comes from the French Ligue 1 game between Troyes v Bastia taking place at the Stade de l’Aube at 19.00 this evening.
Another game from two sides involved in a relegation scrap in the French tip tier and I am expecting a pretty open game with both sides going for all 3 points.
Both sides have impressed me attacking wise of late although both sets of defence’s leave a lot to be desired.
Troyes currently occupy 19th position in the table and are 5 points adrift of safety as things stand. It was looking good last week as they led 0-2 at Toulouse only to concede two goals in the final 3 minutes of the game including a late own goal from Nivet, shaky defending at crucial times of the game has been something that has occurred too often this season.
Attacking wise though they have impressed and are growing in confidence especially at home.
Tonight is a game they really have to go out and try and win with their opponents Bastia 7 points above them in the table and I expect them to give it their all however I do not rate their chances of keeping Bastia out over 90 minutes.
Despite a 0-0 draw last time out, Troyes have managed just 1 other clean sheet at home all season long and have conceded 12 goals in their last 6 games here before that.
They did however mange to find the net equally 12 times themselves during that time and 5 of those 6 games all went over 2.5 goals with the other a 1-1 draw with Nice.
Bastia have conceded heavily during their travels for the most part of the season, in fact they they have the worst defensive record in the league conceding 51 times in just 25 games with 29 of those conceded on the road.
They themselves are just 3 points above the drop zone currently and this is the kind of game they will be aiming to win against a side in a poorer position.
With Bastia’s home record where they are generally finding the points to aid their survival they have nothing to lost tonight by going out and trying to win this game and that’s why I expect a pretty end to end game.
It’s true that Bastia have have struggled to find the net away from home this season but they have had their moments. They put 2 past Lyon, Nice and Reims as well as 3 against Sochaux all away from home.
Last away day they lost out to big guns PSG but still managed to score with the game ending 3-1.
All 4 of Bastia’s last 4 away games have all exceeded the Over 2.5 Goals mark.
This game should be seen as Bastia’s most important away fixture of the season so far and although I am not so confident they can take all 3 points, I am confident they can find the net and I will be expecting Troyes themselves to bag a couple of goals tonight.
Because of all the factors mentioned above I see the odds of 2.1 with Boylesports a great bet and is one of my favourites of the day.
Good luck to everyone betting today!
For more football tips & other sports betting tips from a variety of different sports, free competitions and bet giveaways please visit my website Leroysbettingtips.co.uk
The FantasyYIRMA Knockout CUP: Free to play! Great Prizes! NOW CLOSED!!
THE #FY CUP NOW HAS 256 PLAYERS AND IS CLOSED OFF FOR NEW ENTRIES!!
We are delighted to launch the FantasyYIRMA KO Cup!! We have a huge £200 prize pot to give away in the form of free bets from the generous folk over at StanJames .
The cup will run for 8 gameweeks starting from GW31. Be warned – places are limited to 256 players only so follow the link below if you want to join!
The league will take the form of a head to head knockout. Starting in GW31 with 256 players we will finish on the final day of the season with the grand final! 1 lucky winner will receive £100 in free bets from @StanJames with 2nd place taking home £50 in free bets.
To make it even more interesting we will also give away £50 to the best individual GW score from the teams registered at the start of the cup for the duration of the competition… meaning you can get knocked out in the first round but still be eligible to win a prize!
FREE CUP… GREAT PRIZES…SIGN UP BELOW!!
If you haven’t played Fantasy Football before with the fantasy.premierleague.com site you will have to register a team (Free) before entering the cup. Entry code is 44397-579605 alternatively – click the link below
We think this is a great way to finish off the season – so get involved – get talking about the cup – Tweet us once you are signed up at @FantasyYIRMA using hashtag #FYCUP and get ready for kick off in Gameweek 31!!
THE #FY CUP NOW HAS 256 PLAYERS AND IS CLOSED OFF FOR NEW ENTRIES!!
RULES:
- Fantasy Football scores based on the Fantasy.PremierLeague.com game.
- Players must be 18+ to Enter
- Players must be following @StanJames and @FantasyYIRMA on Twitter to be eligible for prizes
- *£200 Prize pot split in the form of free bet codes from Stan James – no alternatives.
- Winners must have an existing account or can open a new account with StanJames.com to receive prizes
- Standard Stan James T&C’s apply Terms & Conditions
- Fixtures drawn at random by an online fixture generator
- Weekly match-ups available on FantasyYIRMA.com
- For more information on Responsible Gaming please refer the Stan James Responsible Gaming Policy.
*In the event of a tie for the bonus prize the deciding factor will look at 1.number of goals scored, 2.number of goals conceded. In the event of a draw after this there will be a coin toss decision.
Gameweek 27 preview: Giroud to lift the Gunners’ gloom?
Liverpool eventually delivered for Fantasy bosses on their Double Gameweek, but the absences of Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge this time around will have those managers looking elsewhere.
Neither Liverpool nor Swansea are in action in Gameweek 27 following the Reds’ 5-0 win at Anfield last Sunday, and so without the Reds and the Swans to call upon then points will have to be picked up from other sources. It’s not the happiest of places right now, but maybe one of those sources will be the Emirates Stadium.
Defeats to Blackburn and Bayern Munich have left Arsenal in the grip of the usual ‘crisis’ they go through about seven times a season, but purely in Premier League terms they aren’t doing too badly.
Three wins and a draw from their last four matches have taken the Gunners to within four points of fourth-placed Tottenham, and with Spurs not playing until a tricky trip to West Ham on Monday night then Saturday’s visit of Aston Villa offers Arsene Wenger the chance to lighten both his own and the club’s mood.
Wenger should start with his compatriot Olivier Giroud (£8.0m) upfront, especially given that the French forward has scored five goals in his last five Premier League appearances at the Emirates.
The experiment of playing Theo Walcott (£9.5m) through the middle has produced good results, but Arsenal looked stronger when Giroud came on against Bayern in midweek and can make that strength tell against a notoriously weak Villa back line. If you’re a striker short given the non-appearances of Suarez and Sturridge, then he could be your man.
Elsewhere it’s top against bottom at Loftus Road, where it is simply impossible to ignore the claims of Robin van Persie (£14.0m) as your captaincy pick.
Manchester United’s mercurial Dutchman actually came down in price for the first time since October before United’s last league game against Everton, but he responded by registering a goal and an assist – a 19th and 10th of the campaign respectively – in his team’s 2-0 win. He was rested for his team’s FA Cup exertions on Monday night and so should be primed and ready to go for this visit to Queens Park Rangers.
As always with United it can be quite difficult to pick their midfield, but with an apparent injury to Phil Jones (£5.6m), then Sir Alex Ferguson could look to pair Michael Carrick (£5.8m) – who scored in this fixture last season and is United’s top points-scoring midfielder this time around – with Tom Cleverley (£5.6m, and the pair will be targeting points in what should be a routine victory.
There will be nothing routine about the big game of the weekend, as Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.
There is an intriguing battle going on to see who will finish as City’s top points-scoring forward, and although he is bottom of the list at the moment the smart money should perhaps be on Sergio Aguero (£10.9m), who has started the last three league games whilst Carlos Tevez hasn’t played a minute of the last two.
Clean sheets might be hard to come by in that clash, but they could be seen in the opening game of the weekend at Craven Cottage.
Stoke have only scored once in their previous five away games, and against a Fulham defence marshalled by Brede Hangeland (£4.8m) they could find that record tough to improve.
The Norwegian centre-back was once a Fantasy favourite but he has seen ownership dwindle due to not yet scoring a goal this season. That could all change here.
Another player who hasn’t scored as often as he’d like this season is Papiss Cisse (£8.8m), but it might be worth keeping an eye on Newcastle’s Senegalese forward ahead of what looks a huge game against Southampton at St James’s Park.
A goal there could kick off a much-needed run of form for both him and his team, and perhaps provide you with that all important edge in the coming weeks.
Check out our new Club article – This week Fulham
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