Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 8

Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 8

Welcome to Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 8. I’m sure you’ll all agree that the Tips article written by GP ahead of GW7 was nothing short of excellent, after all he included the legend that is Oumar Niasse. However, I must admit that I was a little jealous having read said article. Why? Well GP is in the process of moving house which is always exciting. He was off on his jollies to the principality of Monaco where he was to be wined & dined by royalty! Surely you were also jealous? Well I’m not jealous anymore. You mean you haven’t heard? Scottish people are genetically inferior to the rest of us. In other words, they’re short. So Gordon Strachan says so and who am I to question Gordon?

So Scotland won’t be going to Russia and neither will the Dutch but many others will be. A Lionel Messi hat-trick inspired Argentina to victory although the win is apparently subject to some controversy. Wednesday was declared a national holiday in Panama as they qualified for the first time and in the process eliminated the US. Iceland became the country with the smallest population to ever qualify. England bored their way to Russia and are favourites to win it! Oh, and don’t forget that Ireland sleighed the Welsh dragon and enter a play-off.

That’s enough about the World Cup… back to the world of fantasy football. I’ve taken a slightly different slant on things this week. Hopefully you enjoy it!!

The City Defence

Having conceded 39 goals last season Pep Guardiola went out and spent somewhere in the region of £120mln on three defenders this past summer. It’s still early days but it appears to have done the trick as City have conceded just two goals from their opening seven games and this has resulted in five clean sheets. Looking at their fixtures between now and the beginning of December those five clean sheets could easily become nine or ten. It’s therefore a little surprising to see that not one of their defenders features in more than 15% of teams. With that in mind let’s look at their options and attempt to identify where to invest our cash.

Looking at their minutes played over the opening seven game-weeks I would suggest we have three options: Kyle Walker, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi. With Benjamin Mendy side-lined until next April many expect Danilo to feature more often than not but he appeared for just a solitary minute against Chelsea. There’s also Vincent Kompany but he’s quickly becoming the modern day Darren Anderton. And they’re doing ok without him. Therefore I’m happy to stick with Messrs Walker, Stones & Otamendi

The threat of rotation is always going to be an issue with whichever City asset you may own. To date however this hasn’t been an issue for Otamendi owners as the Argentine has started each of the seven games and only once has he failed to play the full 90 minutes. Stones has started six of the seven but annoyingly for his owners came on for a one minute cameo against Bournemouth. Walker has started all but one of the games and was actually suspended for the game he missed. Clearly the three of them will start more often than not.

Let’s now have a quick look at some stats. City have averaged 66% possession across their seven games so it’s hardly surprising they’ve only given up two goals. They’ve only conceded 26 goal attempts from inside their area (11 less than anyone other team) and their opposition have only managed 13 attempts on target.

In terms of attacking returns Otamendi has chipped in with a goal and Walker with two assists. Otamendi has had nine attempts three of which have been on target, Stones has had five attempts two of which have been on target, while Walker has had just the solitary attempt although he has created four chances, neither Otamendi nor Stones have created any chances. Otamendi also leads the way when it comes to touches in the opposition penalty area with seven while Stones & Walker have six each. Otamendi is clearly the City defender to own if basing your decision on attacking returns & stats. Obviously Otamendi has seen more game time but even when you look at the averages he leads the way.
When it comes to the defensive side of things it’s no different, Otamendi is out on his own. He’s tied with Walker in terms of balls recovered, and comfortably leads the other two on blocked shots, clearances, interceptions & tackles.

At £5.7m Otamendi on current form is unquestionably the City defender to own and those currently on a wildcard will do well to include the Argentine in their squads.

The Arsenal defence

When Arsenal took just three points from their opening three games and conceded eight goals in the process we all just tutted and muttered, ‘same ol’ Arsenal’. They have however picked themselves up following their poor start and have taken 10 points from a possible 12. This has seen them keep four clean sheets on the bounce. They travel to City in GW11 and welcome Spurs & United in game-weeks 12&15 but aside from these games they’ve got a relatively decent run up to Christmas. So perhaps it’s time to consider investing in their defence.

With Wenger setting them up with a back three and two wing-backs we have five to choose from! It’s pretty safe to assume that as long as everyone is fit the five will be Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac. To date Bellerin & Monreal have started all seven games, Kolasinac has started six, Mustafi five and Koscielny four.

If we look at their respective attacking returns from the first seven games we’ll see that Monreal has a goal, Kolasinac has two assists, Bellerin has an assist while Mustafi & Koscielny have failed to pick up any attacking returns. In terms of bonus points accumulated to date Monreal leads the way with eight, Bellerin has four, Kolasinac three and Koscielny one.

Let’s see if their underlying stats support the way in which the bonus points have been distributed. As Bellerin & Kolasinac are playing as wingbacks it’s not surprising to see that they have been the most creative with Kolasinac creating a chance every 74mins and Bellerin every 90mins. Monreal has created a chance every 157.5mins while the other two have created little to date. Looking at touches in the opposition penalty area Bellerin clearly leads the way with 29 while Kolasinac has 15. Bellerin again leads the way in terms of attempts with five, two of which were on target, Kolasinac has four with two on target, Mustafi four with one on target, Monreal two with one on target and Koscielny also has had two attempts.

Moving onto their defensive stats and it’s the three centre backs who are out in front. In terms of blocked shots it’s Koscielny who leads the way with an average of 1.3 per game while the Frenchman also leads the way with 3.5 interceptions on average per game. Mustafi leads the way with an average 6.2 clearances per game while Monreal leads with an average of 6.4 ball recoveries per game. Quickly looking at the two full backs Kolasinac has better averages than Bellerin in the four mentioned categories.

Looking at their attacking & defensive stats I’m going with Kolasinac as my pick from the Arsenal rear-guard, with Monreal just about edging out Bellerin for 2nd spot. I realise Kolasinac is the most expensive of the three at £6.0m but his underlying stats coupled with his heat map suggest he’ll be amongst the attacking points over the coming weeks. Should money be an issue Monreal is a great option at £5.4m.

All of the above was clearly written prior to a number of the recent qualifiers. On Wednesday night Kolasinac was replaced at half-time during Bosnia’s game and at the time of writing it has yet to be confirmed if that was for tactical reasons or whether he was injured. Reports suggest he picked up a calf strain. Mustafi will almost certainly miss this weekend due to a thigh injury while Laurent Koscielny remains a doubt. Should the three of these be ruled out I’d avoid the Arsenal defence and reading this piece has been a terrible waste of your time. Sorry! (Ed. and mine.)

And what of Alonso?

Much like Chelsea, Alonso has yet to scale the heights he reached last season. After the first seven games Chelsea lie 4th in the table six points behind both Manchester clubs having lost two and drawn one.

The Spaniard’s underlying stats are pretty impressive. He’s had 15 touches in the opposition penalty area which leaves him 3rd behind Bellerin and Shane Duffy. He’s had more (11) attempts on goal than any other defender. Four of these attempts have hit the target, a figure matched by Ben Davies and Jamaal Lascelles. As I’ve said, these basic attacking stats are pretty impressive but given the fact that he’s £7.0m and knowing how well he performed last season we expect more from him. And while 32pts from seven games might sound like a decent return it’s worth noting that 17 defenders have scored more points than him thus far.

Turning our attentions to Chelsea’s fixtures for a moment and we see that between GW8 and the end of 2017 Chelsea only have two tough fixtures, on paper that is. In GW11 they host United and GW13 they visit Anfield. Aside from these two games their fixtures scream three points and clean sheets. So perhaps there’s hope for Alonso yet? But are there better options in the Chelsea rear-guard? Victor Moses’ attacking stats are quite good but nobody in their right mind is going to shell out £6.5m for a Moses who can’t part the waters! In terms of attempts on goal David Luiz isn’t far behind him with the Brazilian having a chance every 63.9mins as compared to Alonso’s 54.5mins. Alonso has created six chances as has Azpilicueta but five of Azpi’s chances have been turned into ‘big chances’ and these have led to four assists whereas Alonso is yet to register an assist.

Unsurprisingly it’s David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger who lead the way when it comes to the defensive stats. There’s little to separate Alonso & Azpi on the defensive side of things.

For now it does appear to be a straight choice between Alonso and Azpi. There’s no denying that Alonso is the more attacking of the two and this is backed up by their respective heat maps, while his underlying stats just about shade it over Azpi. However, I’m not sure that there’s enough to warrant spending the extra £0.4m on Alonso and therefore my pick is Azpilicueta. It is worth noting that Azpi’s four assists led to goals for Morata and with the striker potentially side-lined for a number of games there is a fear that the assists might dry up but that’s a gamble I’m willing to take. Finally, just like Monreal at Arsenal, Luiz is a decent option for those of you short of cash.

Budget Defenders

Whether on a wildcard or just trying to free up some cash we’re always on the hunt for a cheap and cheerful defender. Get it right and you’re quids in, get it wrong and you end up paying for it in the long run. Those who got on board with Huddersfield at the beginning of the season have done well but anyone who gambled on Bournemouth hasn’t been quite as lucky.

So where’s the value coming from over the next 5/6 weeks? My first tip is Brighton’s Shane Duffy. Two clean sheets from their opening seven games isn’t anything to write home about but at the same time they haven’t taken any batterings and have only given up 50 goal attempts from inside their area which compares rather well against the league. They will certainly hope to pick up a couple of clean sheets over the next few weeks as their next five opponents have an average of five goals scored over the opening seven games. Why Duffy? He’s had significantly more touches (16) in the opposition area than any other defender priced at £4.5m and this has resulted in seven attempts on goal. I should point out that both Lewis Dunk and Markus Suttner are both £0.1m cheaper than Duffy and Dunk’s defensive stats slightly outshine those of Duffy. However Duffy’s touches in the opposition area suggest a goal isn’t far away. Finally, while Dunk may have better defensive stats it was Duffy who took maximum bonus points when Brighton held Watford scoreless in GW3.

With just one defeat from their opening seven games Burnley currently sit in 6th position. This is largely thanks to a defence that has conceded just five goals and this has resulted in three clean sheets. Ben Mee was clearly the defender of choice at the beginning of the season but there has been a swing towards Stephen Ward and he is now the most popular with an ownership of 7.7%. It’s hard to argue against this swing as Ward has picked up a goal and an assist with Mee failing to register any attacking returns. Mee remains a threat from set pieces, he’s had 10 touches in the opposition penalty area leading to seven goal attempts three of which have been on target. However, Ward hasn’t fared badly here with seven touches in the opposition area and three goal attempts one of which was on target. Ward’s forays down the left have also seen him create seven chances. His performances have seen him pick up seven bonus points to date a figure only bettered by Nacho Monreal.

If I was to pick a budget defender based solely on fixtures over the next 5/6 weeks I’d probably look towards either Swansea or Stoke. However, neither team nor their respective players have impressed over the opening seven games and instead we turn our attentions to Newcastle. Without having checked the record books I suspect it’s a long time since Newcastle conceded just six times in their opening seven games. It’s also a long time since they’ve had a manager of Rafa’s quality. You can say what you like about him but he knows how to organise a team. Because of this organisation they have conceded just six goals and have kept two clean sheets. Jamaal Lascelles is currently the highest scoring Geordie defender but I’m going with Ciaran Clark simply because he’s £0.2m cheaper. However, there’s little to separate them apart from Lascelles scoring two goals compared to Clark’s one. Both have had nine touches in the opposition area with Lascelles slightly ahead in terms of attempts on goal. They’ve got some decent fixtures over the coming weeks and this should see them add to their clean sheets.

The City Midfield

Having already cast our eye over the City defence it’s now time to turn our attentions to the minefield that is their midfield. I call it a minefield but it’s not actually that bad. Realistically they provide us with four options, two of whom appear relatively nailed on and two who are more at risk of rotation. Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva fall into the first category while Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane sit precariously in the 2nd category. Both Silva (602mins) & De Bruyne (605mins) have started every game with Silva being subbed off three times and De Bruyne two. Sterling (387mins) has started four and has made two appearances from the bench while Sane (316mins) has started three and made three appearances from the bench. It should however be highlighted that Sterling missed one game through suspension.

Looking at how the points have been shared out we see that David Silva leads the way with 44pts (six assists and eight bonus points), followed by De Bruyne with 37pts (one goal, three assists and four bonus points), Sane also has 37pts (three goals, two assists and five bonus points), while Sterling has 35pts (five goals and one bonus point). So while De Bruyne and Silva appear more certain to start this hasn’t stopped Sane & Sterling picking up some decent points.

Given their extra pitch time I’d expect the stats to favour Silva & De Bruyne but let’s take a quick look. Knowing how City set up it’s hardly surprising to see De Bruyne & Silva out in front when it comes to creating chances, De Bruyne has 24 (3 big chances) and Silva 23 (6 big chances). Sane has nine (4 big chances) and Sterling has seven (2 big chances). Despite his lack of minutes Sterling is out on his own when it comes to touches in the opposition penalty area with 46, Silva has 34, Sane 26 and De Bruyne just 14. Sterling again leads the way when it comes to attempts with 19 (7 on target), De Bruyne has 14 (6 on target), Silva 12 (2 on target) and Sane has 10 (4 on target). That’s rather interesting, the underlying stats paint Sterling in quite a positive picture.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly Pep has opted to start both Jesus and Aguero up top together more often than not this season. As a partnership they’ve started four of the seven games to date and this is likely to have had an effect on the game time of Sterling & Sane. At the time of writing of writing City have yet to confirm how many games Aguero is likely to miss due to his rib injury but reports out of Argentina suggest it could be at least four weeks although such reports now appear to be somewhat inaccurate. Surely this will benefit both Sterling & Sane? But how have S&S performed in previous games this season when either Aguero or Jesus didn’t feature? Against Bournemouth in GW3 Jesus started up top on his own with Aguero on the bench. Sterling started on the left but Sane was left on the bench, not coming on until the 82nd minute. Sterling scored a late winner and was then sent off. Against Palace in GW5 Aguero started up top with Jesus benched. Both Sane & Sterling started with Sterling scoring twice and Sane contributing with a goal and an assist. With Aguero injured ahead of the Chelsea game in GW7 Jesus once again started up top on his own with both Sterling and Sane starting once again. Now obviously this is quite a small sample size but it does show that on two occasions in the three games in which one of Aguero or Jesus have missed out, both Sterling and Sane started. Should Aguero miss the next few games due to his rib injury I feel it’s safe to assume that both Sterling and Sane will be heavily involved.

It’s worth nothing that City face back to back games against Napoli between game-weeks 8&9 and game-weeks 10&11. Should Aguero still be out around either of these games we might see Jesus being rested with any one of these four midfielders playing a false 9 role, my money would be on either Silva or Sterling. With Benjamin Mendy side-lined until next April there’s also a chance we’ll see Sane deployed at left wing-back

So where does all of this leave us? It’s plain to see that if you’re after someone who’s likely to start every week then you want De Bruyne or Silva. I’d rule the Belgian out as I don’t believe he’s currently worth his £10.0m price tag. For the gamblers out there, I’d suggest opting for Sterling who for me slightly edges out Sane. At £7.9m Sterling is the cheapest of the four and with an ownership of just 6.3% he represents a great differential.

The Liverpool Midfield

After finishing 4th and qualifying for the Champions League last season Liverpool were expected to kick on this season. But for a number of reasons this hasn’t quite materialised. They finished with a total of 78 goals last season with 37 of these goals coming from key midfielders Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, while the likes of Lallana, Wijnaldum & Can also chipped in with their fair share. This season Liverpool haven’t been quite as free scoring as the two Manchester clubs but they have managed 13 from seven games with 10 of the goals coming from midfield. So, let’s take a look at the chief protagonists Salah, Mane & Coutinho.

Due to Coutinho’s desire to leave during the summer he didn’t make his first appearance of the season until GW5. He has however started each of the last three and has a total of 246mins under his belt. Having been sent off against City in GW4 Mane subsequently missed two league games and has played a total of 362mins. By contrast Salah has featured in every game starting six of them and as a result has a total of 512mins. It’s therefore no surprise to see Salah lead the way with 41pts thanks to four goals, an assist and four bonus points. Coutinho has 25pts thanks to two goals, an assist and six bonus points. Mane has 22pts thanks to a goal in each of his first three games.

Some of the underlying stats are quite surprising. Salah has had 24 goals attempts 21 of which have been from inside the area and of these 24, 14 have been on target. In fact only Choupo-Moting can match the Egyptian for goal attempts. However, it’s Coutinho’s attempts that stand out. In just three appearances he’s had 17 attempts of which 14 have actually come from outside the area. Obviously he’s not going to hit the target every time and of the 17 attempts only three have been on target but if you don’t buy a ticket you can’t win the lottery. Since his return he’s had an effort every 14.5mins. Not to be outdone Mane has managed 12 attempts all coming from inside the area with seven of them on target. We’ve always known that Coutinho is Liverpool’s creator in chief but his stats are exceptional. In his three games he has created a total of 14 chances. In comparison Salah has managed just eight from his seven appearances and Mane just four from his five appearances.

His returns from his three games coupled with his underlying stats clearly indicate that Coutinho is currently the Liverpool midfielder to own and if I was currently on a wildcard I’d have no hesitation in picking the Brazilian. Would I switch from Salah to Mane? Given the news that Mane could miss up to six weeks due to a hamstring injury sustained while on international duty a switch to Coutinho makes a lot of sense. The absence of Mane is however likely to have a serious effect on Liverpool. Since joining the club Liverpool have averaged 2.2 goals per league game with Mane in the side but just 1.6 without him.

Bargain Mids

In previous seasons we’ve been treated to a number of memorable performances from August to May from midfielders available in the bargain basement. I’m referring to the likes of Alli and Mahrez, and to a lesser extent Etienne Capoue. Unfortunately, such displays have spoiled us to the extent that we expect such options to present themselves every season. To date such an option is yet to appear this season. Everyone got excited by Xhaka’s pair of assists in GW1. Then there was Aaron Mooy registering an assist in GW1 and a goal in GW2. Both have done diddly squat since. And don’t get me started on Tom Carroll!
Looking at the form and fixtures which budget options could be amongst the points over the next 5/6 weeks? Due to the limited options I’ll consider anyone with a price tag of up to £6.5m. The problem we’re faced with here is that very few of the teams who provide us with the sub £6.5m options are creating significant chances let alone scoring goals.

If we look at the fixtures we’re immediately drawn towards Stoke who after this week’s visit to City have a great run of fixtures. Their form to date has been patchy and they’ve managed just seven goals. However, over the last four game-weeks they’ve created a chance every 7.2mins and have hit the target with 17% of their shots, with both stats measuring up quite well against the league. The obvious choice is perhaps Choupo-Moting but don’t ignore Xherdan Shaqiri. Choupo (30pts) leads the way thanks to two goals, an assist and three bonus points with Shaqiri (25pts) not far behind thanks to a goal, two assists and two bonus points. Choupo has had 39 touches in the opposition penalty area a figure only bettered by Watford’s Richarlison in the sub £6.5 bracket. He’s had more shots (24) than anyone else but unfortunately only six of these have been on target. Shaqiri has only had seven touches in the opposition area but has managed 14 attempts with eight of these on target which is more than anyone else. Shaqiri has however created more chances than anyone else in this bracket with 19. By comparison Choupo has created just six chances.

Brighton’s Pascal Groß has proven to be quite popular this season and currently features in 13.6% of teams. He set pulses racing in GW4 when he registered two goals and an assist, and followed that up with another assist in GW5. Unfortunately they’ve been his only returns to date. They’re unlikely to score a huge amount of goals this season but from what we’ve seen to date there’s a good chance that Groß will be involved in a considerable proportion of them. He’s only managed six touches in the opposition area but given his style of play I wouldn’t expect this to be any higher. I wouldn’t bank on him scoring many more goals as he’s only managed five attempts over the first seven games. He has however created 15 chances a tally only bettered by Shaqiri. It’s just a pity Brighton don’t have a decent striker.

I’ll finish with Watford. I appreciate that their next two games are at home to Arsenal and away to Chelsea but they’re scoring goals, 11 in total. They’re not creating as many chances as other teams but scoring is what really counts. As I’ve alluded to above Richarlison has had more touches in the opposition area than anyone else, with 44. He’s had 23 goal attempts but just like Choupo accuracy isn’t his friend as only five of these have hit the target. He’s also created 10 chances. His team mate Abdoulaye Doucoure has all but matched his returns to date and is £0.8m cheaper but it’s worth noting that he plays a lot deeper. As a result his stats aren’t nearly as impressive so you do wonder if he his current rate of returns can continue.

Forwards

It was only a matter of weeks ago when we were spoiled for choice when choosing three forwards. Although some might say it was causing them problems as it was the big hitters who were firing i.e. Aguero, Kane, Lukaku & Morata. But then Aguero went to Amsterdam and broke a rib while Morata pulled his hamstring. These incidents were not linked! You sicko! But where does that leave us? Let’s quickly assess the merits of the top 5 transferred in strikers this week.

It will come as no surprise to see Harry Kane out in front with a total of 318k transfers in. He’s scored six goals and picked up nine bonus points in his last four games. Over the course of the season he’s had more touches in the opposition area than any other forward, he’s had more goal attempts than any other forward and he’s also had more attempts on target. He’s had a chance every 14.1mins which is extremely impressive. The only fly in the ointment is that all of his goals have come away from home which is slightly concerning no matter how you dress it up. Spurs have taken just two points from their three home games to date while Kane’s stats away from Wembley completely outshine his Wembley stats. Three of their next four are at Wembley while their one game on the road is against United. It’s not all bad news though, their three home games are against Bournemouth, Liverpool and Palace, all of whom have rather shoddy defensive records away from home. Liverpool do however have a decent record against Spurs in recent seasons. Despite all my negativity it will take a brave or stupid manager to go without Kane in their team.

Next up is City’s Jesus with 253k. The Brazilian is the 6th highest scoring forward to date thanks to four goals, an assist and six bonus points but has been somewhat overshadowed by Sergio Aguero in recent weeks. Given that Aguero is currently side-lined with that rib injury the race to pick up Jesus is understandable. He’s now expected to be the focal point of the City attack, an attack which has scored 22 goals in seven games. It’s difficult to assess how Aguero’s absence will affect Jesus as the Brazilian has played just one game in the league this season in which Kun didn’t feature and that was last time out against Chelsea. In that game he had nine penalty area touches which led to two goal attempts neither of which hit the target. He did however pick up the assist for the only goal of the game from one of his three chances created. City have a relatively easy fixture list over the coming weeks and this will surely see the goals continue to flow. A word of caution though. Jesus has played the full 90mins twice while away on international duty with Brazil and following Saturday’s clash with Stoke City host Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday night. I’d expect Jesus to start against Stoke but I wouldn’t expect him to play the full 90. There’s also the news that Aguero is back in light training so if you’re yet to transfer Jesus into your side but have plans to do it might be worth waiting to see if Pep gives an Aguero update on Friday.

Leicester’s Jamie Vardy is next with 136k transfers in. It’s quite easy to understand Vardy’s appeal. He’s the 5th highest scoring forward thanks to five goals with three of those coming in his last four games. The fact that Leicester have no European football to contend with is simply an added bonus and as Vardy was not in the recent include squad he’ll be well rested. His stats aren’t nearly as impressive as the other forwards mentioned in this article but when it comes to forwards the most important stat is the ability to put the ball in the net. Leicester have a reasonable run of fixtures over the coming weeks and at £8.6m Vardy offers excellent value for money.

Marcus Rashford is next with 72k. When I first looked at the list of transfers in and saw Rashford in 4th spot I was quite surprised but on reflection he might be a decent shout. He’s started all but one game to date and came off the bench in the other. Obviously Lukaku has been flagged during the week and this may have led some to invest in the youngster. With United playing Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea in three of their next four there is an expectation that Mourinho will revert to type and keep things tight. Lukaku ties up a whack of cash but Rashford is priced at just £7.6m and offers a viable route into the United attack. His stats aren’t as impressive as those of Lukaku but you could do a lot with the price difference of £4.2m.

Finally, it’s the league’s top scorer Romelu Lukaku. I’m going to be honest (possibly stupid) here and state that I don’t understand why Lukaku has been transferred in by close to 68k managers. I appreciate that he’s scored seven goals to date and his stats are only bettered by Kane but if you don’t already own him I’m unsure as to why you’d buy him now given United’s upcoming fixtures. In fact, I’d take Rashford over him as cover for the United attack if you insist on having cover.

Finally, I realise I’ve included some budget defenders and midfielders but I just can’t bring myself to include any budget forwards. To be honest I’m not sure I’d include a budget forward in my squad unless I was considering playing just two up top. Earlier in the week myself and Cookie were discussing cheap options to replace JRod. When I suggested that there were no viable candidates, Cookie replied “I know. When Joselu is believed to be the best, my goodness me”. And on that note, I’ll bid you farewell.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 8

Follow @KenLyons79

Gameweek Tracker GW8-11