Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 35

Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 35 – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16

As I sit here writing another bleedin’ intro, DGW34 has yet to come to a conclusion. Unfortunately. It was the double game-week that promised so much but for many of us but it has been something of a disappointment, for some. We saved our wildcards, our Bench Boost & Triple Captain chips so we could attack the double with all guns blazing. Unfortunately many of the PL managers had not read the script and decided that this was the week to rotate with my mate Jurgen being the biggest culprit. If we’re honest with ourselves most of us expected a certain amount of rotation as Liverpool & City have progressed to European semis while the FA Cup semi-finals are this coming weekend. However the biggest kick in the teeth for many managers came on Monday night when Kane & Alli who had been ditched by many each scored twice as Spurs trounced Stoke. Should we be surprised by any of this? Not really, this season has confounded us time and time again, so why should GW34 have been any different. So things will be easier this week? Hell no. Thanks to the FA Cup semi-finals we’ve only got seven games so fielding XI will be a struggle, particularly if as expected City & Liverpool rotate. All of this makes tipping players something of a lottery, but we’ll give it a go anyway.

Goalkeepers

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]For those managers who chose to double up on the Arsenal defence for DGW34 everything was going swimmingly at The Emirates on Sunday last until nine minutes from time when Petr Cech allowed Yannick Bolasie to beat him at his near post. Thanks Petr! However according to Cech he’s not to blame, “He [Bolasie] fired it along the floor, the ball skidded very fast”. Ok, we believe you! Who knows, he might redeem himself on Thursday night. But GW34 is dead to us and we must look forward, and Arsenal do have some decent fixtures over the remaining game-weeks. Their next two games are against Sunderland & Norwich, and while many will argue that both teams are fighting for survival it’s worth remembering why they’re in their current predicament. They’re rubbish. They then play City before entertaining the mighty Villa on the final day of the season. So in fairness they really should pick up a minimum of two clean sheets. No pressure Petr!

I’ll refrain from using the London bus analogy but Casper Schmeichel did keep five clean sheets in a row before conceding two in just two minutes against West Ham on Sunday. Despite this we are once again tipping the Dane and here’s why. With Jamie Vardy likely to miss their next two games through suspension I suspect Ranieri will try and keep things even tighter than he has done in recent weeks. They play a Swansea side this weekend who have absolutely nothing to play for, they even lost to Newcastle. Their final three games are against United, Everton & Chelsea, and are supposed to be tough. While United at Old Trafford will likely cause them problems both Everton & Chelsea appear to sat in the departure lounge, so just like Cech I can see Schmeichel picking up at least two clean sheets from his last four.

Our final two keepers this week are embroiled in a fight to the death and they are Sunderland’s Vito Mannone and Newcastle’s Karl Darlow. Sunderland have kept the joint fewest clean sheets in the league to date, they’ve managed just five to date but the good news is that two of those have come in the last three games. In fact they’ve conceded just eight in their last eight games, a figure only bettered by three teams. Granted they host Arsenal this week but they do have a tasty double in GW37 with home games against Everton & Chelsea, while they also face Stoke & Watford before the season ends. If you’ve still got your wildcard he’s certainly one to consider, particularly if you’ve still got your Bench Boost.

Darlow proved quite popular ahead of DGW34 but it still came as something of a surprise when he actually kept a clean sheet. So what’s he doing here this week when he’s got a trip to Anfield on Saturday? The main reason is his £3.9m price tag. There’s also the fact that Klopp is likely to once again play his 2nd string side and then there’s the fact that Newcastle face Palace & Villa in game-weeks 36&37. We’ll ignore Spurs in GW38.

[divider_1px]

Defenders

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]While I may have made light of Leicester’s remaining fixtures, the league is far from over, and as Spurs demonstrated on Monday night they won’t give up without a fight. Obviously Kane and Alli will grab the headlines but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Spurs have the best defence in the league by a margin of eight goals, conceding just 25 in 34 games. They have struggled at times to turn such stats into clean sheets but they have picked up four in their last five games to bring their tally for the season to 13. You really could make a case for any of their back four, plus Dier, but our tip this week is Toby Alderweireld. The Belgian is the highest scoring defender in FPL but this is hardly a surprise as aside from the 13 clean sheets he’s also weighed in with four goals and three assists. Take a look at their remaining four fixtures and not only do I expect them to pick up maximum points from these games but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them pick up three clean sheets.

Ahead of GW34 Arsenal defenders proved extremely popular with Bellerin / Koscielny the safe options and Gabriel the riskier but cheaper option but thanks to a certain Czech international it wasn’t to be. As we’ve highlighted briefly above three of their last four games are against clubs in the bottom four. So surely there are FPL points to be had? Bellerin remains the obvious choice but as he now features in nearly 30% of teams he’s unlikely to set you apart from the crowd over the remaining games. Instead we’re going with Gabriel. There was much panic last Friday when Wenger appeared to suggest that Mertesacker would return but it turned out Arsene was just being his usual enigmatic self as Gabriel started and even managed to pick up a bap. I realise many you will want to chase DGW37 and Arsenal do face City in GW37 but do yourself a favour take a look at his ownership, his price and Arsenal’s other three fixtures.

We’ll throw an old favourite at you now in the shape of Aleksandar Kolarov. Now I realise he’s one of FPL’s most frustrating players but with Gael Clichy currently side-lined with a back injury Kolarov will start and should he turn in a couple of impressive performances the position could be his until the end of the season. Even if Clichy does return I wouldn’t be surprised should he start the games against Madrid with Kola starting the league games. He’s picked up a goal and two assists in the last four games and with Stoke visiting The Etihad this weekend I wouldn’t bet against some attacking returns and a clean sheet.

A number of other defenders who are currently worth some consideration are Leicester’s Christian Fuchs, Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta and Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt. As I’ve alluded to above I expect Leicester to keep things tight over the coming games and as we’ve seen in recent weeks Fuchs is a baps magnet in tight games, while he’s also a good bet to pick up an assist. Chelsea’s season has long been over and ordinarily I’d suggest avoiding their players but they do have that double in GW37 and many of you love to chase that double. Granted they do have Spurs in GW36 but you could always bench him that week. Anyway if you do intend on picking up a Chelsea defender ahead of GW37 I reckon Azpi is your best bet. As we’ve already noted Sunderland have picked up two clean sheets in their last three games and following this week’s visit of Arsenal they’ve got a relatively straightforward run to the finish line and a couple of clean sheets are a distinct possibility. PvA is undoubtedly the Sunderland defender to own as he proved earlier in the season when he scored in four straight games.

[divider_1px]

Midfielders

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Much hope was heaped onto the shoulders of Alexis Sanchez ahead of DGW34 and while he still has another 90 minutes to go he has been something of a let-down. Ordinarily a 9pt return would be deemed to be quite good but with Sergio Aguero picking up 26pts many managers are currently regretting captaining the Chilean. Although that could all change. For those of you still without Sanchez you may well want to consider him as he has now provided returns in each of his last six games with four goals and three assists, and it is surely only a matter of time before he hits one of those really big scores which were commonplace last season. With games to come against Sunderland, Norwich & Villa he is bound to get the opportunity. The Gunners currently sit in the position they love best but unfortunately they have yet to secure 4th spot and this is something they will be keen do over the coming weeks so they certainly have something to play for.

DGW34 bit many fantasy managers on the arse especially those who sold Dele Alli. If you were one of those managers you can console yourself by the fact that you were not alone as his combined net transfers ahead of game-weeks 33&34 were minus 99,352! Across those two game-weeks he picked up 22pts. Stoke were poor on Monday night but at the same time Spurs were excellent and it could easily have finished 5 or 6 nil. Spurs have the bit between their teeth and will be eager to keep the pressure on Leicester until the very end. Alli now has 10 goals and 12 assists to his name for the season although both of these figures are likely to increase over the remaining games. At £6.1m he’s possibly the best value for money player in the game.

Will the real Manchester City please stand up? Having put in a professional and at times impressive performance in beating Chelsea 3-0 they then turned in a rather lacklustre performance as they were held 1-1 by Newcastle on Wednesday night. It could however be said that the big difference between the two games was that Newcastle had something to play for whereas Chelsea didn’t. From an FPL point of view the dropping of points to Newcastle could be seen as a positive as it means that Pellegrini will be less likely to rotate despite their upcoming games against Madrid. Kevin de Bruyne would have been a prime candidate for rotation but with the likes of Silva & Nasri carrying knocks there is every chance the Belgian will start against Stoke this weekend and we all saw how Stoke performed on Monday night. Since his return to the side following injury he has picked up a goal & assist with many arguing City would still be in the title race had he not picked up the injury. Three of their remaining four games are against clubs with nothing to play for, so I expect goals.

If you’re on the hunt for a relatively cheap player who’s in good form and is playing for a team with something to play for look no further than Newcastle’s Andros Townsend. Many wondered if Rafa Benitez was the right man for the Newcastle job when he was appointed back in March but he has managed to instil both confidence and belief in the players and they have picked up four points from their last two games. Townsend has certainly benefited from the presence of Rafa and has picked up two goals & two assists in his last four games. The Geordies have four cup finals ahead and given their recent form you wouldn’t bet against them performing their very own great escape and should they manage this Townsend is likely to play a key role.

Remember Sadio Mane? Yeah we’d forgotten about him as well. He was extremely popular earlier in the season when he picked up three goals and five assists between game-weeks 4&10. He then did something of a disappearing act as his form nosedived, resulting in him failing to play 90 minutes on many occasions, while he also sat out a number of games. His form has picked up of late and this has seen him score three and pick up five bonus points in his last four games. The Saints have a mixed bag of fixtures over the remainder of the season but the fact that they play Villa this weekend just cannot be ignored. If by some chance you’ve still got your wildcard intact and plan on activating it ahead of GW36 you might want to take a one week punt on Mane.

Looking ahead to DGW37 a couple of extremely cheap differentials who are worth keeping an eye on are Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Liverpool’s Jordan Ibe. They have high hopes for young Loftus-Cheek down at the Bridge and Guus is certainly giving him every opportunity to prove himself as the season draws to a close. He’s started the last three games and has a goal and an assist in the last four, he’s playing in the #10 position and is available for just £4.6m. If you thought Loftus-Cheek was a punt then Ibe is an even bigger gamble. The youngster was something of a regular when Klopp first arrived but has spent most of his time in recent weeks warming the bench. However with the German ringing the changes against Bournemouth Ibe took his chance last weekend and grabbed an assist and a bonus point. With a top 4 spot all but gone Liverpool look set to concentrate on their Europa league semi-final and this could see Ibe feature regularly over the coming games.

Forwards

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Dele Alli wasn’t alone in ruining many a double game-week as his Spurs colleague Harry Kane did likewise. Kane’s net transfers for game-weeks 33&34 stood at a staggering minus 208,247! This was despite the fact that he had scored 11 goals between game-weeks 22&32. Will we never learn? He promptly scored two and picked up maximum bonus points against Stoke on Monday night. He now has 24 goals for the season and with Jamie Vardy set to miss the next couple of matches it looks like he’ll win the golden boot. Given Spurs’ current form and their opposition over their last four games it wouldn’t surprise should Kane manage to reach the 30 mark. With Leicester dropping points last weekend the title is unlikely to be decided until GW37 at the earliest and that is good news for owners of Kane as it means Spurs will have something to play for right until the end. To be honest, even if they don’t, then Kane is the type of player who I would still expect to score goals. So basically if you’ve sold him recently you need to swallow your pride and get him back.

Apparently there were some misguided fantasy managers who dared to enter DGW34 without Sergio Aguero. Imagine! Even if you only owned the Argentine he bagged you 26pts, I’ll let you do the maths to work out how many points those who captained & triple captained him got. His goal on Tuesday night was his 100th in the Premier League with only Alan Shearer reaching the milestone in less games. Pellegrini is not in a position to rest Kun anytime over the coming games, primarily because the alternatives are not fit to clean his boots. Even if he only gets an hour against Stoke on Saturday he really could go goal crazy. With just four games remaining it’s difficult to describe anyone as a ‘must have’ but given his form and City’s remaining fixtures Kun isn’t far off it.

We’ve already included Sadio Mane on the basis that he faces Aston Villa this weekend and for that very same reason we’re including Graziano Pelle. Not only does he face Villa but just like Mane he’s also rediscovered his form with four goals and three assists in his last five games. I’ve no stats to back this up but Villa have struggled to deal with crosses in recent weeks, in fact they’ve struggled to do anything positive over the course of the season. For those of you who need to make up some points in a mini league you could do a lot worse than throwing the armband on the Italian this weekend.

Turning our attentions towards DGW37 and two strikers worth some consideration are Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge and Chelsea’s Diego Costa. Jurgen Klopp has clearly prioritised the Europa League and we will continue to rotate in the league but with Divock Origi having started both games against Dortmund and the derby on Wednesday night when Klopp fielded his strongest team we should see Sturridge start the remaining league games. The good news is he’s bang in form having scored three and created another two in his last four games. The really good news is that he currently features in just 3.5% of teams and therefore represents a superb differential. Although tonight’s injury to Origi might change some of his. Costa on the other hand isn’t bang in form! However this is mainly due to the fact that he was absent for four games before returning for the City game last weekend. It should be noted that prior to his absence he had scored eight and picked up four assists in ten games. Should he manage to recapture this form he could also prove to be an interesting differential for the double game-week.

Our final tips this week are the Sunderland pair Jermain Defoe and Fabio Borini. The Black Cats have only scored 39 times this season but Defoe accounts for 13 of them. Borini has only scored four this season but he is on penalties and we all knows he comes to life as the season draws to a close. With a double game-week to come both could provide great value for money.

[divider_1px]

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 35. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

[divider_1px_dashed]

[divider_1px_dashed]

[row][span6]

Vote on our Captain Poll Now

[/span6][span6]




[/span6][/row]

[divider_1px_dashed]