Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 10

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 10

Great Scott!! It’s hard to believe that Back to the Future is 30 years old this year, makes you feel old, doesn’t it? With today being ‘Back to the Future’ day it got me thinking, wouldn’t it be great if we had an FPL DeLorean? We’d all have had Jamie Vardy from the start and we’d all have captained Georginio Wijnaldum last weekend, ok so we may not have captained Wijnaldum because even with the aid of time travel no one would have believed Newcastle would score six. However we don’t have the luxury of a DeLorean with a flux capacitor so we must do with the old reliables consisting of stats, form & fixtures, although depending on how you use them you may consider them to be unreliable. Luckily you guys have us and we’ve spent the last week studying the stats, form & fixtures to come up with a group of players whom we feel can deliver over the coming weeks. Enjoy…

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]It has been said in the past that Arsenal lost out on a significant number of points each season because they did not have a world class keeper, but that is no longer the case. Petr Cech was never going to stay at Chelsea and play 2nd fiddle to Courtois so it was inevitable he would leave Stamford Bridge last summer, although many were surprised when Jose allowed him to join Arsenal. Given Arsenal’s start to the season Jose may be somewhat regretting his decision as after the opening nine games as Arsenal have the joint best defence in the league with just seven conceded, while Cech has kept five clean sheets. With 10 fixtures remaining between now and 2016 Arsenal have maybe two or three tough fixtures meaning they could quite conceivably pick up five if not six clean sheets over the remainder of 2015. At £5.6m Cech is the cheapest guaranteed starter from the Arsenal rearguard and could prove great value over the coming weeks.

There’s obviously something in the water around North London as Arsenal share the joint best defence with near neighbours Spurs. When David de Gea appeared set to leave Old Trafford back in August there was plenty of speculation that United would make a move for Hugo Lloris, a move that would have significantly weakened Spurs. Spurs currently sit 7th in the table and this is thanks largely to their defence as they’ve managed just 11 goals to date, with four of those coming in the one game. Just like their North London rivals Spurs have a relatively kind fixture list until the end of the year and should they continue to struggle in front of the oppositions goal they will have to rely on a solid defence to keep them in the hunt for a top 4 spot.

At £4.7m Boaz Myhill obviously deserves some serious consideration from those of you in the market for a keeper. He’s the highest scoring keeper to date with 49pts thanks to five clean sheets and an impressive eight bonus points. Following this week’s relatively easy fixture against Norwich the Baggies have a number of difficult fixtures although as we’ve seen in the past Tony Pulis will have them set up to frustrate these teams and therefore we wouldn’t bet against Myhill picking up a couple of clean sheets.

Jack Butland had turned in a number of impressive displays over the opening seven game-weeks without being rewarded with a clean sheet. That however has changed in the past couple of weeks as he’s picked up back to back clean sheets. Stoke have been relatively solid this season conceding just 10 goals and with three of their next five games against Watford, Newcastle & Sunderland there’s every chance of Butland building on those two clean sheets.

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]For a number of weeks at the beginning of the season it seemed essential that we own a City defender. However they have now conceded in each of their last four games so they no longer appear quite so essential. Given Arsenal’s recent form perhaps it is time to ensure you own one of their defensive assets, after all they sit top of the form table and have conceded just five in their last eight games whilst they have kept five clean sheets in that period. Last week we tipped Hector Bellerin and the young Spaniard didn’t let us down as he claimed an assist to go with the goonies clean sheet. Looking at the stats from the Watford game, Nacho Monreal had the most impressive offensive stats of the four defenders while Laurent Koscielny led the way in terms of defensive stats. Over the course of the season there is little to separate the two Spaniards although Bellerin slightly shades it as he’s played one game less. Bellerin’s popularity continues to soar and he now features in over 15% of teams and rightly so but if it’s a differential you’re after then perhaps Monreal or even Koscielny could fill that Arsenal spot for you.

As we have noted above Spurs have the joint best defence with Arsenal and maybe it’s time we gave their defenders some consideration. Perhaps one of the reasons for their solidity is that Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have all started each of the nine games. Unsurprisingly Kyle Walker leads the way in nearly all categories of the attacking stats, while he also fares quite well in terms of the defensive stats. Obviously we shouldn’t forget Eric Dier who is playing out of position as a defensive midfielder and has grabbed two goals to date, but his stats don’t match up to Walker and it’s because of his impressive stats that our tip is Kyle Walker. Of course Ben Davies is considerably cheaper than the other options but Danny Rose impressed against Liverpool at the weekend and these two are likely to rotate over the coming weeks.

To date Southampton haven’t been quite as resolute as last season, they’ve conceded 12 goals from their opening nine games and kept just three clean sheets. However their fixtures are set to take a turn for the better and they face a number of teams over the coming weeks who have been a little shy in front of goal which suggests they stand a good chance of picking up a number of clean sheets. Virgil Van Dyke has enjoyed an impressive start at St. Marys with two goals in five games, whilst he has also claimed five bonus points. We shouldn’t be surprised at his goalscoring exploits as he scored seven goals in 66 appearances for Groningen and 15 in 115 appearances for Celtic. His ability in the opposition penalty area coupled with The Saints’ opposition over the coming weeks make him a great differential for the weeks ahead.

Liverpool haven’t exactly gotten off to a great start this season, but they did keep clean sheets in each of their first three games and it looked as though they’d ironed out last season’s defensive issues. However old habits die hard and they subsequently conceded 10 goals in their next five games resulting in Brendan Rodgers being handed his P45. Enter Jürgen Klopp and his pressing game which was clearly evident against Spurs in the first half hour, thereafter Spurs controlled the match, although the game did result in Liverpool’s 4th clean sheet of the season. The more time Klopp has to work with the team the more adept the players will become to his style and this will hopefully result in more clean sheets. Liverpool don’t exactly have the easiest of fixtures over the coming weeks but Klopp would appear to have had a positive effect on the club and this could very well translate into solid performances on the pitch. Our tip from the Liverpool defence is Alberto Moreno simply because he’s the cheapest and could represent decent value over the coming weeks. The Spaniard loves to get forward while it’s also worth noting that he’s had some decent stats at both ends in recent weeks.

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]There are few if any ‘must have’ players at present but on current form one player who you should be trying to work into your team if you don’t already own him is Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean had quite a slow start to the season with just one assist in his opening six games but has exploded into life over the last three game-weeks with six goals & eight bonus points resulting in three consecutive double digit scores. As I’ve mentioned above The Gunners have a great fixture list until the end of 2015 and it will take a brave manager to go without Sanchez. Last season he was expected to do it all by himself but this season others have stepped up to the plate, the defence is solid while the likes of Ozil & to a lesser extent Giroud & Walcott are also delivering, and this takes a certain amount of pressure away from Alexis. Should you not have the cash for Sanchez you could go for the cheaper option of Mesut Ozil. Granted the German is unlikely to deliver the volume of points which you would expect from Sanchez but he does appear to have added an element of consistency to his game this season and this has resulted in him claiming a goal & six assists from the opening nine games, and at £8.4m he shouldn’t be ignored.

With 24 goals scored from their opening nine games Manchester City are four goals clear in the scoring charts so it makes perfect sense to invest in their attacking talents. The sensible choice is undoubtedly Kevin De Bruyne with the Belgian having scored three and picked up three assists from just five appearances. He has produced when Aguero & Silva have been in the team while he’s also delivered returns when they’ve been absent so he’s clearly not reliant on others when it comes to accumulating fantasy points. For those of you who want to go against the grain you could opt for Raheem Sterling. Granted Bournemouth made it very easy for him and in fairness he should have scored more than three but it was his position up front which makes him an interesting option. In the absence of Aguero he was pushed up top with Wilfried Bony in a 4-4-2, a position in which he looked quite comfortable. With Aguero ruled out for another month we’re likely to see Sterling up there again and with games against Norwich & Villa to come I wouldn’t bet against him featuring on the score-sheet over the coming weeks.

Obviously Georginio Wijnaldum is not going to score four every week, but at the same time I believe it would be foolish to write him off as a one week wonder. The Dutch midfielder was a proven goalscorer long before his arrival in deepest darkest Newcastle. In 134 games for Feynoord he scored 25 times, while for PSV he scored 56 in 152 games, and he is now the highest scoring midfielder across Europe’s top six leagues since the start of the 2014-15 season. It’s also worth noting that even though Newcastle have had a poor start to the season Wijnaldum has stood out as a player of quality since day 1 and had claimed two goals and an assist prior to GW9. The Geordies will take a great deal of confidence from the victory over Norwich and with some great fixtures over the coming weeks Wijnaldum could prove excellent value at £6.8m.

Last week we tipped Eden Hazard to build upon the goal and two assists he picked up in game-weeks 6-8, and what happened? Jose benched him. Thanks Jose. Not to be deterred we once again return to the Chelsea midfield but this week our tip is Hazard’s teammate Willian. We’re a fickle bunch. Saturday’s game against Villa was the first time this season the Brazilian had played 90 minutes but this hasn’t stopped him being one of Chelsea’s better players this season, with Jose praising his work rate after the Villa game. With two goals and an assist in his last three games league games for Chelsea as well as two goals for Brazil against Venezuela he’s clearly in form. For those of you who like your differentials he currently features in just 2.7% of teams.

In previous seasons it has more often than not been possible to pick up a relatively decent midfielder for £5.0m or less, but not this season, not yet anyway. This year we’ve been forced to stretch the budget that little bit further in search of a decent 5th midfielder. One player who falls into this category yet has gone largely unnoticed is West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini. Having joined on a season long loan from Al Jazira Club back in July he has slowly been introduced to the Premier League but with a goal and two assists in his last two games he has clearly adjusted to life in the UK. Priced at £5.3m and featuring in just 0.2% of teams he deserves some consideration for that 5th midfield spot.

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]Let’s begin our forwards round up with the man of the moment Jamie Vardy. Is he this seasons Harry Kane? This has become quite a common question of late and while there are significant differences in reality, in FPL terms he could very well be… he started off relatively cheap and has significantly increased in price. This is hardly surprising given the fact that he’s scored nine goals in nine games and there has only been one game-week in which he failed to deliver any returns. Can this form continue? Well unfortunately we don’t have a DeLorean but given Leicester’s next four fixtures it should continue in the short term, after that who knows but given Leicester’s approach to their opening nine games you’d have to suspect that at the very least he’ll have chances. The great thing about Vardy at present is that his form and price allows you to play 3-5-2 with him as your 2nd striker, thus freeing up cash to invest in your midfield. Is it too late to get him? No!

We tipped Wilfried Bony last week but if we’re being honest it was more in hope than expectancy. We certainly didn’t expect him to score twice, assist another and pick up three bonus points, even if they were only playing Bournemouth. But he did and if you’re currently in the market for a forward you should certainly be considering the Ivorian. As we’ve alluded to above City are the league’s top scorers and Bony is, barring injury, going to lead the line for at least the next three games two of which are against Norwich & Villa. He proved last weekend that he still knows where the goal is and with David Silva to return alongside De Bruyne & Sterling, Bony will certainly get the service over the coming weeks.

For those managers who sold Sergio Aguero last week Graziano Pelle was certainly the most common player chosen as his replacement. Unfortunately the Italian was unable to sustain his great run of form and he promptly rewarded those managers with a miserable two points. However we’re prepared to blame this blank on the international break and we fully expect him to bounce back to form this week. After this weekend’s trip to Anfield The Saints have a couple of great fixtures which will allow Pelle to add to his already impressive haul of five goals & five assists.

For those of you who favour fixtures over form you will surely want to consider a Chelsea attacker over the coming weeks. With Hazard & Pedro both having been benched of late and Fabregas certainly deserving of, but not getting, a benching Diego Costa would appear to be the best route into The Blues attack, unless you fancy a bit of will.i.am? Costa returned to the side following his three game suspension and promptly delivered with a goal and an assist, although there was an element of fortune with both. That said, Jose clearly has no faith in either Remy or Falcao so Costa is all but guaranteed to start over the coming weeks and given Chelsea’s fixtures he is quite likely to score even if Chelsea continue to perform poorly.

Unsurprisingly Georginio Wijnaldum has grabbed all the headlines in Newcastle following his four goal demolition of Norwich. As a result Ayoze Perez has flown under the radar despite claiming two goals & two assists in his last three games. He is perfectly priced at £5.1m to be your 3rd forward in a 3-5-2 and given his form & Newcastle’s next four fixtures over the next four fixtures you could quite happily switch to 3-4-3.

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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 10. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

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