Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 32

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 32

So DGW31 turned out to be somewhat more interesting than most of us expected. On paper it looked like a DGW to be avoided, unfortunately those who chose to ignore Charlie Austin and Christian Benteke suffered the consequences. The moral of the story is that DGW’s are there to be chased!! This is obviously a slight exaggeration but it does go to show you how that in fantasy football you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. With just seven GW’s remaining the opportunities to make up ground are diminishing rapidly and this will lead to some of us having to gamble Vegas style. Therefore, with this in mind we have decided to focus solely on differentials this week. Obviously those of you who are having a successful season might look at some of these names and say “WTF?” But please take a moment to remember those poor misfortunates amongst us who need to throw caution to the wind. You know yourselves who I’m talking about!!!

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]As I’ve said a number of times this season you are unlikely to pick a keeper on the basis that he’s a differential but as this article is focusing on differentials let’s take a look at a number of keepers who have rather low ownership. First up is Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet! (Mito, you can insert your joke here). 2015 had been going so well for Liverpool and it looked like they had solved their defensive problems, they’d managed to keep seven clean sheets in nine games. Unfortunately they have conceded six in their past two. What happened? They played two good teams in United and Arsenal, and therefore it appears that Liverpool have become flat track bullies i.e. they can beat the weak teams but put a decent opponent in front of them and they crumble! The good news from a fantasy point of view is that six of their last seven games are against so called inferior opposition and assuming they can revert to type I suspect we’ll see them finish the season with a few clean sheets. If Liverpool can overcome Blackburn on Wednesday night they will have a blank GW in week 33 but this will in turn create a DGW in either week 34 or 37 and at just £5.3m and an ownership of just 6% the Belgian could prove an ideal end of season differential.

At the beginning of the season who would have thought that with just seven games remaining that Southampton would be the proud owners of the league’s best defensive record. Well that’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in and with Fraser Forster ruled out for the remainder of the season we are provided with a keeper from the league’s best defence for just £4.5m with an ownership of 0.9% i.e. Kelvin Davis. Unfortunately things didn’t quite go according to plan last weekend as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Everton although perhaps that wasn’t a great surprise as Everton would appear to have found some form. While a Champions League spot is now but a dream they will be eager to secure themselves a Europa League spot and therefore I expect them to finish the season strongly which should see them add to their current tally of 14 clean sheets. Their remaining fixtures see them face a number of those battling relegation but defensively the Saints are the type of team that will relish the battle and they even finish their season with a guaranteed three points away to Yaya and co!

Before we move onto the defenders we’ll finish up with a trio of keepers who’ll probably require something of a punt and they are West Ham’s Adrian, Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel and Crystal Palace’s Julian Speroni. We tipped Adrian last week and despite conceding two he did step up to the plate with a penalty save. The Hammers form of late has been shocking so bringing Adrian in would certainly be a gamble but their remaining fixtures are quite tempting. Only QPR have a worse defence than Leicester so Schmeichel’s inclusion may surprise some. However the Foxes have shown some fighting spirit of late and they’ve got an excellent run to the end of the season, while they also have a DGW on the horizon. Palace sit 4th in the current form table and with three excellent fixtures in the next three gameweek’s Speroni is certainly a great short term option and given their form there’s a case to be made for playing him in their more difficult games.

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]It would appear that last season was just a blip for Everton and they have reverted to type this season. What am I talking about? Their poor start to the season followed by a decent finish, it’s just unfortunate that their burst of form has come a little too late this season to have a significant impact on their league position. This form has however thrown up a couple of differentials and the standout defensive candidate is Seamus Coleman. Ok, so he’s £6.8m and that might cause most to ignore him, but given his recent form, Everton’s recent form as well as Everton’s remaining fixtures he really does deserve some serious consideration. In his last three games he’s picked up two clean sheets and has weighed in with a goal and an assist, and best of all he features in just 5.1% of teams.

Martin Skrtel is a long way from being the world’s best defender but there’s no doubting that Liverpool are a better defensive unit when he plays. If he hadn’t needlessly stamped on David de Gea he rather than Kolo Toure would’ve played against Arsenal and while Liverpool would still have lost I suspect they may not have conceded four! As I mentioned above, Liverpool have a relatively straightforward run to the seasons end and should you decide that they will bounce back from their recent poor performances and rediscover their defensive solidity then Skrtel is probably the best bet. Now obviously Skrtel is not someone you’re going to pick this week as due to his suspension and a possible blank for Liverpool in GW33 he may not feature again until GW34. However, it should be noted that in the nine game period during which Liverpool kept seven clean sheets that the Slovak picked up nine bonus points and he is certainly worth some consideration on his return to PL action.

Next up is a quintet of defenders all of whom are priced under £5.0m and feature in no more than 2% of teams and they are Leicester’s Jeffrey Schlupp (£4.5m & 0.9%), Southampton’s Toby Alderweireld (£4.8m & 2.0%), Burnley’s Kieran Trippier (£4.8m & 1.9%), Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann (£4.9m & 1.4%) and finally Swansea’s Angel Rangel (£4.9 & 0.5%). Just like Schmeichel above, Schlupp is included on the basis of Leicester’s remaining fixtures and the fact they’ve got a DGW in GW34. Leicester reverted to a back four last weekend meaning Schlupp moved to left back as opposed to wing back although I wouldn’t let that worry you and it should be noted that he has picked up three goals & an assist to date. At this stage of the season I imagine it’s quite unlikely that there are many managers without any Southampton defensive coverage, but if you are one of the few I’d suggest you consider young Toby who at just £4.8m is considerably cheaper than the more popular Bertrand & Clyne. With just four assists to his name Trippier hasn’t perhaps lived up to expectations that many had following his performances last season in the Championship. Having kept two clean sheets in their last three games Burnley are beginning to show some fighting spirit at the right time of the season. Following this weekend’s visit of free scoring Arsenal they have a number of fixtures from which clean sheets are a distinct possibility and there is always the chance that Trippier will weigh with an assist. It’s a pity we can’t actually pick Alan Pardew, after all he would do a great job with our teams! Instead we must make do with the players he manages and Dann is our defensive choice who following his assist against City on Monday night now has two goals & three assists for the season. With Kyle Naughton ruled out for the season the door is open for Angel Rangel to reclaim his spot and given Swansea’s next four fixtures he could prove an interesting differential.

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]If only Arsenal hadn’t had such a poor start to the season they’d now be serious title contenders. Ah who are we trying to fool, if they’d had a good start they’d have cocked things up somewhere else along the line. That’s all immaterial as this stage but with seven wins on the bounce they are the form team in the league, scoring 17 goals in the process. Aaron Ramsey currently features in 10.9% of teams but given the fact that he missed eight games between GW’s 16 & 27 I suspect that the true figure may actually be lower. Since his most recent return to the team he has picked up a goal and three assists in three games and has begun to look like the player who finished last season with 10 goals & nine assists. Should the Welshman be of interest to you this week I should mention that he left the Liverpool game after an hour with a knock to his ankle so check back with us on Friday when we will hopefully have an update. Mesut Ozil is one of those fantasy players we all love to hate. On his return to the side following an injury he scored twice and picked up five assists in five games, he then blanked twice and didn’t feature in the following game, before scoring an excellent free kick against Liverpool last weekend. The German has clearly got talent and if you can put up with feeling frustrated (not that kind of frustration!) you could very well reap the rewards as he currently features in just 4.4% of teams. Now obviously any decision to bring in an Arsenal player this week will be dictated by how your team is set up for GW33, but given Arsenal’s current form both Ramsey & Ozil deserve some consideration come GW34.

Sitting just behind Arsenal in the current form table are United with five wins on the bounce. At the beginning of the season if you were told that United would present us with a significant number of differentials come April you possibly wouldn’t have taken it seriously, but that’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in, particularly in midfield. They provide us with at least three differentials all of whom deserve some consideration, namely Juan Mata (8.1%), Ander Herrera (2.5%) & Marouane Fellaini (1.5%). At £8.4m Mata is the most expensive of the trio but given his Premier League experience he is probably the safest bet. With two goals and an assist in his last two games he is beginning to show some of the form which made him such as favourite at Stamford Bridge. For much of the season Herrera looked set to be the next Shinji Kagawa, however he has started each of the last six games and perhaps it isn’t simply a coincidence that this has seen an upturn in United’s performances, and just like Mata he also has two goals and an assist in the last two games. At £6.4m Fellaini is the cheapest of the trio, however his recent form can’t quite match the other two and therefore he is possibly the biggest gamble of the three. A quick look at the underlying stats of the three would suggest that Herrera is actually the one to go for.

Last week we tipped both Southampton’s Sadio Mane and Everton’s Aaron Lennon ahead of the two teams meeting at St Mary’s. Unfortunately Mane was inexplicably benched while Lennon drew a blank, although given the fact that Southampton have the league’s best defence this wasn’t a great surprise. Southampton have managed just four goals in their last six games so Mane might be seen as somewhat of a punt but they do have some great fixtures to end the season and he does feature in just 2.7% of teams. As we have already mentioned above, Everton have recently found some form and they also have some decent fixtures remaining. We don’t know where Lennon will be plying his trade next season although it’s unlikely to be back at White Hart Lane and he will therefore be eager to impress over the remaining games and he could yet turn into a great end of season differential.

For those of you searching for someone a little cheaper you could do a lot worse than Swansea’s Ki Sung-yeung, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha or Leicester City’s Esteban Cambiasso. It’s a mystery as to what happened to Ki while away on international duty at the Asia Cup. Prior to his departure he had scored three goals in 20 games, since his return he has managed four in eight. Unfortunately this form has seen his price rise to £5.2m while he also features in 7.8% of teams, however at this price you’re unlikely to find better value. In recent weeks Zaha has begun to resemble the player United thought they had signed! He has two goals and an assist in his last three and given Palace’s form and their next three fixtures he could be a great short-term punt. When Cambiasso signed for Leicester at the beginning of the season many wondered would he have the appetite for a relegation battle. They needn’t have worried as the Argentine has gotten stuck in and has weighed in with four goals including two in his last five. If you’re looking for a cheap differential he could be the one and he does have a DGW!

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]It’s not very often that the Champions in waiting provide us with a striker who has scored in each of his last two games, costs just £7.1m and features in just 2.3% of teams. But this is exactly what Chelsea currently provide us with in the form of Loic Remy. In fairness it will probably take a massive leap of faith for you to bring the French international into your side, however with Diego Costa injured and likely to miss a minimum of two games Remy should start the next two games, the caveat being that Jose has led us down the garden path previously in relation to Costa and his hamstrings! Remy as expected has played a minor role at Chelsea this season but he has delivered when called upon, particularly in the last two games where he has scored the winners against both Stoke & Hull. Given his current form he could very well reward those managers brave enough to pick him!

Before their defeats to Arsenal & United Liverpool had won five consecutive league games. Despite these results they hadn’t impressed in front of goal, while the return of Daniel Sturridge didn’t have the impact that many were hoping for. Brendan Rodgers will be desperate to get their season back on track and they certainly have the fixtures to do it, starting this weekend with the visit of Ibiza bound Newcastle. While Sturridge has looked like a shade of the player we saw last season he has somehow managed three goals and three assists since his return. Obviously if Liverpool can overcome Blackburn in the FA Cup tonight they will have a blank in GW33, although this should then lead to quite a tempting DGW. Like the majority of names mentioned here this week it will take a brave manager to pick Sturridge, but given Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures there is certainly a good chance he can deliver.

Having scored 108 goals in 178 games for Lyon Bafetimbi Gomis arrived in England with quite a reputation, yet like so many before him he didn’t settle in immediately. Some might say he still hasn’t settled. From the start it was clear that the Frenchman was brought to the club as cover for star striker Wilfried Bony and it wasn’t until GW20 that he played a full 90 minutes, and since then he has played 90 minutes in all but one game. With four wins in their last six Swansea are clearly a team in form while Gomis has begun to show some signs of form with three goals in the last two games. At a cost of just £6.5m and an ownership of just 0.6% Gomis could prove to be a very shrewd purchase should you choose to bring him in.

As always we’ll wrap things up with a couple of cheap options and this week we give you Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and Crystal Palace’s Glenn Murray. Only two players in the entire FPL have picked up more assists than Jamie Vardy who has ten and they are Cesc Fabregas and Angel Di Maria, so he’s in illustrious company. The 28 year old who was playing Conference football as recently in 2012 is clearly in form with a goal and two assists in his last two games and with a DGW looming he may interest someone! When Palace gained promotion to the Premier League back in 2013 it was Murray’s goals who got them up, he scored 30 in 42 games. Unfortunately he picked up a serious injury at the very end of the season meaning he only featured nine times last season and he was then loaned to Reading at the start of this season. He returned to Palace in January and of late he has begun to look like the player who secured them promotion two years ago, he has five goals and two assists in his last five appearances. At just £5.1m and an ownership of just 0.3% he could prove a great differential over the coming weeks.

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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 32. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

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