Gameweek 26 saw all 20 Premier League sides in action with a handful of mouth-watering matchups. Of the 20 teams, however, just one managed more than two goals (Manchester City hit five past a hapless Newcastle) and only four managed clean sheets. Late goals allowed to Burnley and Crystal Palace cost fantasy premier league managers […]
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Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and the 5 #FPL Players You MUST Pick For GW26
Gameweek 26
DEFENDER: Alex Bruce – £3.9m (Home v QPR)
If you’re in need of a cheap addition to save money elsewhere then look no further than the apple of Steve Bruce’s eye, his son Alex.
The centre-back helped keep a clean sheet in Hull’s last game at home to Aston Villa, and you can back him to follow suit when the notoriously poorly travelling QPR head to the KC Stadium.
MIDFIELDER: Yaya Toure – £10.7m (Home v Newcastle)
He’s back, and he’ll be eager to make up for lost time.
Manchester City somewhat lost their way when Yaya Toure was away winning the African Cup of Nations, but the talismanic midfielder returns to a home clash with Newcastle which City will be determined to use as a springboard for success later in the season.
Given the fact that many will have got rid of him during his time away, an instant recall to your team could yield quick rewards.
FORWARD: Olivier Giroud – £8.4m (Away v Crystal Palace)
Chelsea don’t play a league game next week and so even though they are at home to Burnley, it might pay to hold off on bringing in Diego Costa following the forward’s return from a ban.
Instead, trust in Olivier Giroud to continue his FA Cup form and deliver both away to Crystal Palace and over what look to be a fairly kind set of fixtures for Arsenal over the next few weeks.
THE OUTSIDER: Christian Benteke – £7.4m (Home v Stoke)
Tim Sherwood has come through the doors at Villa Park, and in between the banter and the gilets he’s promised to get the best out of Christian Benteke, much in the same manner he did with Emmanuel Adebayor last season.
That is easier said than done, of course, but there is bound to be a fresh feel to the Villans home clash with Stoke, and with Benteke bound to get chances it could be worth taking a punt on him.
THE CAPTAIN: Eden Hazard – £10.9m (Home v Burnley)
Remembering that Chelsea are in League Cup final action next weekend, Eden Hazard still looks to be the standout captain choice at home to Burnley regardless.
The Belgian has been excelling in games such as this one all season, and if he gets on the ball and gets Chelsea ticking then the goals are likely to flow.
Harry Kane stars for Spurs, Villa Score and Hands up…who had West Ham’s Kouyaté?
Feb 9
With the midweek matches mere hours from kick-off, the weekend recap will be brief. Six of the ten Premier League GW24 matches ended in a draw, as the Merseyside Derby finished 0-0 in Steven Gerrard’s presumptive final appearance at Goodison. Gerrard’s performance barely registered on Fantasy Premier League manager’s radar, but he wasn’t one of […]
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil & The 5 #FPL Players You MUST Pick For GW25
Gameweek 25
DEFENDER: Phil Jones (£5.3m) – Home v Burnley
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There seem to be very few constants in Louis van Gaal’s constantly shuffled Manchester United pack, but defender Phil Jones has now started the last nine league games and played all but two minutes of them.
United are probably due a home clean sheet and should be backed to keep one at home to lowly Burnley, who whilst frequently potent at Turf Moor have often failed to find the net on their travels.
MIDFIELDER: Mesut Ozil (£8.9m) – Home v Leicester
Not always the most trustworthy of players during his time in English football, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil has nonetheless bounced back into form since his return to the Gunners starting lineup, scoring against Aston Villa and Tottenham.
He picked up 21 Fantasy points in those two games, and at home to a struggling Leicester City side he should be in a position to help the Gunners bounce back from their North London derby loss in style.
FORWARD: Olivier Giroud (£8.4m) – Home v Leicester
This is the sort of game in which Olivier Giroud usually shines for Arsenal, and the Frenchman should be front and centre as the Gunners go for goals against Leicester.
Giroud has scored three goals in his last four home league appearances at the Emirates Stadium, and if he starts here then he really should be increasing that number.
THE OUTSIDER: Jermain Defoe (£6.0m) – Home v QPR
Two goals in three games since his return to the Premier League indicates that Jermain Defoe hasn’t lost any of his razor-sharp instinct since he’s been away, and the former England forward will have QPR in his sights as the Premier League’s most miserable away record comes to the Stadium of Light.
Defoe has the quality to pull Sunderland away from the likes of their opponents here, and the home fans will expect him to do just that.
THE CAPTAIN: Eden Hazard (£10.8m) – Home v Everton
This is Chelsea’s last game of Diego Costa’s suspension, and whilst it is true to say that that has affected the team’s potency as a whole, they will still get plenty of chances to find the net at home to an Everton side which still fails to convince.
Jose Mourinho’s side are now seven points clear at the top of the table and they won’t be in a mood to let that lead shorten, and Eden Hazard will be crucial to that effort as they host their visitors from Merseyside.
Spurs vs Arsenal: Confirmed Lineups and Gooner Preview
Feb 7
Lineups from 11:45 Tottenham:Lloris (c), Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Eriksen, Dembele, Lamela; Kane Subs:Vorm, Davies, Fazio, Chadli, Paulinho, Stambouli, Soldado style=”color:#ff0000;”>Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Welbeck, Cazorla, Ozil, Giroud Subs: Szczesny, Gibbs, Gabriel, Flamini, Rosicky, Walcott, Akpom North London Derby Preview : The Gooner Perspective Written by @JamrockRover You […]
27 Signs That You’re Addicted To Fantasy Football
Feb 7
As we reach our landmark 100th Gameweek preview we’ve been left wondering just what it is that keeps us going. Why are we so devoted to Fantasy Football? After a beer or two, and then one or two more, we decided that the answer is simple. It’s an addiction! We then came up with 27 […]
Fantasy Football: Why Bother?
Feb 7
As FantasyYIRMA celebrates hitting 100 Gameweek Previews we wanted to look at why we bother doing this in the first place – Enjoy! #100YIRMA Fantasy Football – WHY?? Last week I was asked about the website FantasyYIRMA. “What the hell does it mean?” is typically the first question I get (About Us) and after […]
Happy anniversary to us!
Yes, FantasyYIRMA is 100 Gameweeks old this weekend. No, we can’t believe it either. We don’t look it at all.
Thanks to everyone who has kept reading and enjoyi… well, thanks to everyone who has kept reading these previews for two and two-thirds of the seasons we’ve been producing them. They’re sometimes right, they’re sometimes wrong, but one thing that you can never accuse them of being is dull. Well, you could, but we’d stick our fingers in our ears and ignore you.
Anyway, as a tribute to ourselves (such a modest bunch), this week’s preview is going to be written in the style of the very first one way back in 2012, when the world was a much different place, Vines were still things that grapes grew on and European champions Chelsea faced a double Gameweek against Wigan and Reading to kick off their season.
Enjoy!
FantasyYIRMA Gameweek 24 Preview
Last weekend’s 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Manchester City was a somewhat disappointing affair.
Missing the banned Diego Costa (£11.0m), Jose Mourinho’s side seemed happy to settle for their lot once Loic Remy (£7.2m) had given them the lead, safe in the knowledge that they were only ever going to concede one goal given their defensive prowess, and just conceding one goal was fine by them.
It could have been more as City pressed, though, and key reason for that was the threat of Sergio Aguero (£12.7m). As the Argentinean steps up his route back to full fitness, City’s fixture at home to Hull this weekend looks perfect for him.
With a full week of training behind him, Aguero is likely to spring into battle against Steve Bruce’s men and he looks to be the obvious captaincy choice for many this weekend, although the brave amongst you might be tempted to give the armband to David Silva (£9.4m) after a run of five goals in his last seven games.
Aguero would be the smart and popular choice though, especially seeing as there are selection issues affecting the other one of the Premier League’s front-runners as they go to struggling Aston Villa.
Cesc Fabregas (£9.6m) is still doubtful and Costa is still banned, so other than the knowledge that Eden Hazard (£10.8m) will probably have a stormer at Villa Park, it might pay to focus your attention on Chelsea’s defence against a side who have scored only 11 league goals all season.
The recent introduction of Kurt Zouma (£4.6m) back there might be one to keep an eye on, but at the other end of the expense scale it is still impossible to look past Branislav Ivanovic (£7.2m) as the daddy of all Fantasy Premier League defenders, and he looks a safe bet for the weekend.
Elsewhere, there are huge derbies taking place in North London and on Merseyside, but with such fixtures often close to call they don’t offer too much to the Fantasy manager.
Having said that, were Harry Kane (£6.1m) to continue his goalscoring record against the club he represented as a boy then he’d become even more of a hero to the Spurs fans, whilst any unlocking of the Everton defence by Liverpool is likely to be done by the quickly improving Philippe Coutinho (£7.6m), who has a goal and five assists in his last seven Premier League games, and got that brilliant winner in the FA Cup at Bolton on Wednesday.
Manchester United face a tricky trip to West Ham, with their selection issues only seeming to increase now that Louis van Gaal has got almost everyone back fit again, but Daley Blind (£5.1m) might be someone who is worth keeping an eye on after picking up two assists last weekend.
The suspended Ryan Bertrand (£5.8m) is a big miss for Southampton as they go to managerless (for now) QPR, but the Dutch winger Eljero Elia (£5.6m) has looked lively for the Saints in recent weeks and he could exploit any space left by the home defence.
However they do on Saturday, the R’s players are likely to have more than one eye on the big clash between Burnley and West Brom at Turf Moor on Sunday lunchtime, and given all the rumours linking him with a summer switch to Liverpool, Clarets forward Danny Ings (£5.7m) will be desperate to show that he’s still committed to the cause.
Ings has scored in his last two home matches, and you wouldn’t back against him adding to that tally.
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For the 100th time, thanks for reading.
#COMPETITION 100th Gameweek Preview and we’re giving away a @CampoRetro shirt! RT & follow both to enter #100YIRMA pic.twitter.com/3kGRni6M6e
— FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) February 4, 2015
Manchester City’s Aguero Has The Eye Of The Tiger
Happy anniversary to us!
Yes, FantasyYIRMA is 100 Gameweeks old this weekend. No, we can’t believe it either. We don’t look it at all.
Thanks to everyone who has kept reading and enjoyi… well, thanks to everyone who has kept reading these previews for two and two-thirds of the seasons we’ve been producing them. They’re sometimes right, they’re sometimes wrong, but one thing that you can never accuse them of being is dull. Well, you could, but we’d stick our fingers in our ears and ignore you.
Anyway, as a tribute to ourselves (such a modest bunch), this week’s preview is going to be written in the style of the very first one way back in 2012, when the world was a much different place, Vines were still things that grapes grew on and European champions Chelsea faced a double Gameweek against Wigan and Reading to kick off their season.
Enjoy!
FantasyYIRMA Gameweek 24 Preview
Last weekend’s 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Manchester City was a somewhat disappointing affair.
Missing the banned Diego Costa (£11.0m), Jose Mourinho’s side seemed happy to settle for their lot once Loic Remy (£7.2m) had given them the lead, safe in the knowledge that they were only ever going to concede one goal given their defensive prowess, and just conceding one goal was fine by them.
It could have been more as City pressed, though, and key reason for that was the threat of Sergio Aguero (£12.7m). As the Argentinean steps up his route back to full fitness, City’s fixture at home to Hull this weekend looks perfect for him.
With a full week of training behind him, Aguero is likely to spring into battle against Steve Bruce’s men and he looks to be the obvious captaincy choice for many this weekend, although the brave amongst you might be tempted to give the armband to David Silva (£9.4m) after a run of five goals in his last seven games.
Aguero would be the smart and popular choice though, especially seeing as there are selection issues affecting the other one of the Premier League’s front-runners as they go to struggling Aston Villa.
Cesc Fabregas (£9.6m) is still doubtful and Costa is still banned, so other than the knowledge that Eden Hazard (£10.8m) will probably have a stormer at Villa Park, it might pay to focus your attention on Chelsea’s defence against a side who have scored only 11 league goals all season.
The recent introduction of Kurt Zouma (£4.6m) back there might be one to keep an eye on, but at the other end of the expense scale it is still impossible to look past Branislav Ivanovic (£7.2m) as the daddy of all Fantasy Premier League defenders, and he looks a safe bet for the weekend.
Elsewhere, there are huge derbies taking place in North London and on Merseyside, but with such fixtures often close to call they don’t offer too much to the Fantasy manager.
Having said that, were Harry Kane (£6.1m) to continue his goalscoring record against the club he represented as a boy then he’d become even more of a hero to the Spurs fans, whilst any unlocking of the Everton defence by Liverpool is likely to be done by the quickly improving Philippe Coutinho (£7.6m), who has a goal and five assists in his last seven Premier League games, and got that brilliant winner in the FA Cup at Bolton on Wednesday.
Manchester United face a tricky trip to West Ham, with their selection issues only seeming to increase now that Louis van Gaal has got almost everyone back fit again, but Daley Blind (£5.1m) might be someone who is worth keeping an eye on after picking up two assists last weekend.
The suspended Ryan Bertrand (£5.8m) is a big miss for Southampton as they go to managerless (for now) QPR, but the Dutch winger Eljero Elia (£5.6m) has looked lively for the Saints in recent weeks and he could exploit any space left by the home defence.
However they do on Saturday, the R’s players are likely to have more than one eye on the big clash between Burnley and West Brom at Turf Moor on Sunday lunchtime, and given all the rumours linking him with a summer switch to Liverpool, Clarets forward Danny Ings (£5.7m) will be desperate to show that he’s still committed to the cause.
Ings has scored in his last two home matches, and you wouldn’t back against him adding to that tally.
–
For the 100th time, thanks for reading.
#COMPETITION 100th Gameweek Preview and we’re giving away a @CampoRetro shirt! RT & follow both to enter #100YIRMA pic.twitter.com/3kGRni6M6e
— FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) February 4, 2015
Arsenal hit Villa for 5, Walters is wonderful and Daniel Sturridge is back!
Feb 3
The Premier League is back, the Weekend Recap is back, Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Daniel Sturridge and Jermain Defoe – all back. It was a weekend of nostalgia capped with the slowest #DeadlineDay in recent memory, non-Ranger’s loan division, as Gouffran, Ameobi and Cabella netted for Newcastle, Lukaku scored a tap-in at Palace, van Persie […]
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