Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 28

Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 28

Welcome to Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 28. So, here we are then, the storm as a result of the FA Cup fifth round is upon us and we’re already seeing games taken out in Gameweek 31, with another postponement possible once Spurs undertake the replay against Rochdale. On the basis that the north London team makes it past the League 1 side – like Man City didn’t on Monday night – to Round 6, their game against Newcastle becomes the sixth fixture out of a possible 10 that will be a big fat blank for that week.

Looking at that week in March, you may want to use your free hit chip, however do bear in mind Gameweek 35 then carries with it blank gameweek possibilities as well. It clashes with Round 7 of the same tournament with Man City v Swansea, Brighton v Tottenham, Leicester v Southampton, Chelsea v Huddersfield and Bournemouth v Man United potentially being rescheduled.

Of course the reward for the blank gameweeks will be doubles, which will become clear once the new dates for the postponed fixtures are announced. That’ll be the ideal time for bench boost and triple captain chips, with some wildcard usage just beforehand – just remember you can only use one chip per gameweek.

So, whilst some of the selections below, may be a good – well, theoretically – pick this week, they may not be playing in a few weeks’ time and so transfer wisely in what is a crucial time of the season!

Goalkeepers

First up is a goalkeeper who has done an excellent job for Burnley since standing in for the injured Tom Heaton back in Gameweek 4 and is currently leading the way in terms of form with 6.3. I, of course, mean Nick Pope, who may, admittedly, not have kept a clean sheet since the Clarets’ trip to Huddersfield in Gameweek 21, but has still managed to amass 25 points since then with a highlight being 11 points after a stopping a penalty and making numerous saves. In fact, it’s these saves and his hard work that also contribute towards the great tally of points, preventing six goals in the 1-1 draw with Man City alone – something that has helped to attract the interest of Newcastle who, allegedly, want to sign him in the summer.

This week, Burnley welcome Southampton to Turf Moor, a team who have scored just eight goals in the league since the turn of the year, over six games – an average of 1.3 per game – of which three were in the fixture against West Brom alone. Following that, the £4.9m player and his defence will be looking to keep out goals scored by Everton and West Ham.

Next on the list of goalkeeper suggestions is Brighton’s Mathew Ryan who, just like Pope, hasn’t kept a clean sheet since Gameweek 21 – but has collected 18 points since – leading to a form of 4.0. Eight points were collected the last time he played in the league as the Seagulls made the trip to Stoke, which saw his first penalty save of the season.

Like Burnley, Brighton will want to return to the habit of keeping clean sheets, having made eight so far this campaign. This week, they welcome Swansea who, despite a great run of form since Carlos Carvalhal took charge, still have the lowest amount of goals scored in the league with 20 put in the back of the net over 27 fixtures.

Kasper Schmeichel is the next selection, which may come as a surprise as he has scored a total of four points over the last three games. Well, it’s fair to say there’s been a bit of turbulence at Leicester recently thanks to the transfer speculation surrounding a certain player – which the Danish shot stopper has said is understandable, according to Sky Sports. Hopefully, the FA Cup break in the league has started to patch up some of the differences in the squad, allowing Kasper to return to the type of form that saw him pick up 26 points in the three games before all the drama. This week, the Foxes face Stoke City at home – a team that has scored only four goals in six league games – and so it’s fair to say there is clean sheet potential if wounds have been healed. After the Potters, Leicester face Bournemouth at home, followed by West Brom away.

Finally, if you are looking for a goalkeeper who has a decent fixture this gameweek – and will be playing in Gameweek 31 – perhaps consider fantasy football fan Asmir Begovic. Whilst he may have been part of the Cherries team that conceded four against Huddersfield, he’s also part of the same one that kept a clean sheet in the 3-0 win away at Chelsea! Newcastle come to town in this gameweek, whilst West Brom make the visit to the Vitality Stadium in one of the few fixtures being played three weeks later.

Defenders

My first selection is the most transferred-in defender this gameweek, as over 155,000 people have decided to bring in Ben Davies. The £5.6m Spurs defender hit the ground running in the first seven gameweeks, however that great form came to a very abrupt end and – bar a few flashes of brilliance – it’s only been the last four weeks he has returned to the kind of form that catches the interest of thousands of managers. That period, however, has seen 27 points amassed, with the clean sheet and assist to Harry Kane’s goal – his sixth of the season – in the victory over Arsenal contributing to 12 points alone.

Looking ahead, Spurs travel to Crystal Palace in a fixture that has been moved to Sunday from Monday evening, thanks to their draw against Rochdale on Sunday afternoon. Of the most recent nine times the sides have met, the team from the north side of the Thames have kept a clean sheet in seven, with a 2-1 loss and 3-1 win the only stand out results.

If you don’t have Fabianski as one of your goalkeepers, perhaps take a look at Federico Fernández. The Swansea defender is in just 4.1 per cent of teams and so offers a great differential with some good fixtures ahead, as the Swans look to ensure Premier League survival. Having enjoyed 29 points over the last four games, with an assist against Liverpool and goal away at Leicester particularly big moments, the player has only missed six games in the league and still managed to register 69 points in the 21 he has started.
Whilst Swansea may have the lowest amount of goals to their name, their opponents this weekend, Brighton, also have great trouble finding the back of the net, having only managed 22 goals all season-long in the league. After that, West Ham come to the Liberty Stadium, with a trip to Huddersfield on the cards afterwards. Let’s just hope Federico doesn’t injure his nose in any goal celebrations like in the match against Liverpool.

Talking of whom, the Reds have had mixed fortunes at the back over the season, having kept 11 clean sheets in 27 games. Joe Gomez, however, has been there for seven of them, helping towards a points haul of 71. He’s missed the last two Liverpool games through injury, however the player is now available for Klopp’s selection as West Ham come to Anfield – a fixture that the Reds have lost in only three of the last 11 ties. After that, Newcastle come to town who may have beaten Man United 1-0 in the last league game, but have scored just six goals in six fixtures since the turn of 2018. What’s more, Gomez and his Liverpool team have a fixture in Gameweek 31 as both they and Watford have bowed out of the FA Cup.

Following my suggestion of Nick Pope, it’s probably not a great shock we have the Burnley pairing of Ben Mee and Matthew Lowton up next, who are £4.9m and £4.3m respectively. In the case of the latter, the right back hailing from Chesterfield has played 135 minutes after a dozen games out – a period that saw his price drop £0.4m. Considering the fact he played 90 minutes in all 13 games beforehand, his cheap price tag could bring you great value.

Looking ahead to Gameweek 31, my final pick may come as a bit of a surprise on account of West Brom’s perilous position and Pardew’s apparent ultimatum to turn things around, even though he has been at the club for such a short time. Bear with me. Ahmed El-Sayed Hegazi, however, gets the nod as – like Ben Davies – he has found a bit of the goalscoring form he started the season with – when he’s not conceding goals, admittedly. This week, Huddersfield come to the Hawthorns in a big match for both sides that could just see the Egyptian getting forward and helping out with any goals. After this, it’s games against Watford, Leicester and Bournemouth.

Midfielders

He just can’t stop scoring and will be a great favourite for the captain’s armband this weekend, as West Ham make the trip to Anfield. Plus he now has two songs about him from the Liverpool faithful, with the second even promising a change of religion. Mo Salah, owned by 59 per cent of managers and sitting pretty with 217 points and 22 league goals, needs no more introduction and, well, if he’s not in your team, you really have to hope that the rest of your squad performs at top notch week in, week out to make up for the points he picks up. What’s more, as mentioned with Gomez, Liverpool getting knocked out of the FA Cup by West Brom gives them the pass to play in Gameweek 31, making the Egyptian even more dependable. Between this week and then, Newcastle visit, before the big match away at Old Trafford that Liverpool fans hope Mo will be at his best for.

Marco Arnautovic is very much back on the scene after scoring in the 2-0 win over Watford and, whilst West Ham don’t exactly have an easy fixture to take on this weekend, you could do a lot worse than have him (back) in your team after his two-week absence. The Austrian, the most brought in midfielder of this gameweek so far, now has seven goals to his name this season, all of which have been since a certain Mr Moyes took the helm at the club. Another tempting prospect presented by having him in your team is the fact he faces Swansea and then Burnley in his next two games. With West Ham’s defence suffering from a load of injuries, the rest of the squad and fan base will certainly be looking to him to score the goals to make up for the ones conceded.

With the quadruple now just a pipedream, Man City will be hoping Kevin de Bruyne will be keeping up his excellent form to win them the three other titles. The second-most transferred-in midfielder of the week has been scintillating once again this season, even if he couldn’t help get the goal against League 1 side Wigan. Looking at the league, the Belgian – who has reportedly attracted interest from Real Madrid with a £177m valuation from the Spanish side – has scored seven and assisted 16 over the course of 27 games, very much contributing towards the 79 the CitIzens have registered over the campaign. This week, the boys in blue play Arsenal in both the League Cup and the Premier League though, in the case of the latter, recent meetings have been a mixed bag for them. Don’t be put off, however, when you read that goals have not been in short supply, with a total of 18 goals in the two teams’ last five meetings. After the Gunners fixtures, Man City face Chelsea at home, before travelling to Stoke once they have played FC Basel in the Champions League.

It may seem a bit early as he has only played three games in the Premier League this time around, however Gerard Deulofeu is worth a look at. He’s scored 18 points so far, of which 13 were in the 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea – a game that saw the Spaniard score and notch up an assist. The measly five points from the other two games were away and so you may be interested to read that the 23-year-old faces Everton at home this week, with West Brom making the trip to Vicarage Road the week afterwards – two fixtures that could be good points potential.

The final selection is Xherdan Shaqiri, who has found a bit of form of late. The £6.2m player has scored two and assisted one over the last four games, including the equaliser to grab a point against Brighton, taking his total to six and six respectively. If this week’s trip to Leicester does not prove to be lucrative for the Swiss midfielder, there’s an away day at Southampton and, crucially, a fixture in Gameweek 31 as Everton pay a visit to the bet365 Stadium.

Forwards

Jamie Vardy is on great form at the moment, having scored in the win over Sheffield United last Friday night and registering a goal in each of his last four league matches. Leicester’s opponents this week, Stoke, have the most goals put past them in the league, with an eye-watering 53 conceded over just 27 games to give an embarrassing goal difference of -26 – also the worst out of the 20 Premier League teams. It would not be a shock to see a Vardy party this weekend as he adds at least one more consecutive goal to his current tally. After that, games against Bournemouth, West Brom, Brighton and Newcastle beckon with – yep, you guessed it – a Gameweek 31 blank in the middle.

Does he dive? Doesn’t he? Well, in all honesty, so long as he gets you the fantasy football points, Harry Kane should be in your team. As the race to secure a spot in the top four intensifies, games like the one against Crystal Palace this weekend become more crucial for Spurs. As a result, the player, who has scored a whopping 23 goals this season, will be looking to improve on his record against the Eagles, where two goals and two assists have been registered in the seven times he has played them. After the trip to the south side of the Thames, Harry’s team welcome Huddersfield to Wembley in a game that many will captain him for, followed by a trip to Bournemouth.

Just like on the pitch, the selection of Mo Salah means that Roberto Firmino needs to be included too. The pairing were a fantasy football manager’s dream in Gameweek 27 as they each set up and scored each other’s goals against Southampton, with all three bonus points going to the forward to contribute towards 32 points in the last five games. This run of form also follows on from Gameweeks 18 to 20 where four goals and two assists saw him rack up 36 points over the three weeks. With West Ham coming to Anfield this weekend, who have only kept one clean sheet since 16 December, Firmino could, once again, be teaming up with his Reds colleagues to get on the scoreboard once again.

The final pick is quite a bit cheaper than the rest of the forward contingent, but don’t let that put you off Callum Wilson – especially if you’re looking for money to bring Kane or someone else with a big price tag into your team. Whilst he admittedly didn’t score in Bournemouth’s last two games, the forward is capable of explosive returns, having registered 12 points from a goal and assist in both the Arsenal and Chelsea games. The Vitality’s latest guests, Newcastle, may have kept a clean sheet in their 1-0 victory over Man United, however that was their first in the four games since the 1-0 win away at Stoke on New Year’s Day and so this gameweek could be the one Wilson returns to his winning ways that have seen him score seven in 1,236 minutes of play.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 28

This article was written by Swirly

@theswirly

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