Fantasy Premier League Tips Gameweek 22

Fantasy Premier League Tips Gameweek 22

Welcome to Fantasy Premier League Tips Gameweek 22.

Firstly, looking back at last week’s Tips I would like to pay tribute to Mr Inittowinit who brought us his ‘Transfers In’ led article which was rather annoyingly, an entirely original and simple idea delivered expertly. Pity Diego Costa was in it but we can hardly blame Init for that much as we may like to.

So I decided to focus on a few differentials in this week’s Tips and I imposed a ‘sub-10% ownership’ model and my selections, which I’ve listed in no other order than playing position and then descending ownership percentage, can all (except two) be considered differentials which might help you pull yourself away from the quagmire of your congested mini-leagues.

Mito’s excellent intro or ‘pre-ramble’ to his ramble actually works as a pre-pre-ramble to this ramble. If you follow me? Sorry. Am I rambling?

Goalkeepers
Hugo Lloris (£5.5, 7.3%)
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[/three_fifth]Given the way that Tottenham can look so solid in defence it was of great surprise to me to see that their goalkeeper was owned by such a small amount of us, just 7.3%. In comparison, David de Gea is the most popular at 34.4% which is nearly five times as many. The side with the best defence in the league with only 14 goals conceded, have just lost Jan Vertonghen for a spell with ligament damage but as long as Ben Davies comes in to play at centre back as he has done with Wales, Eric Dier drops back or Toby Alderweireld can defend against both the opposition AND Kevin Wimmer (he of the NLD OG), then Monsieur Lloris should well add to the eight clean sheets he has earned so far this season. He is the cheapest, most reliable access to the (first choice) Whites’ defence and at just 7.3% ownership, offers a fantastic alternative to de Gea, Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech.

Victor Valdes (£4.6M, 5.7%)
The Spaniard appears in my Tips article yet again but I can claim to be offering him up as a differential this time. Rather unsurprisingly the Smoggies last match out finished goalless at Watford but at least meant that Valdes returned to the team with another clean sheet having missed the previous match (also a goalless draw against Leicester) through injury. So if a team with Brad Guzan in goal can TWICE this season keep a clean sheet then it must at least say something for its defence. Seven clean sheets in total is pretty darn tootin’ impressive given their position of sixteenth in the table and only four points from the relegation places. Three of their next four matches are on Teesside against hardly prolific West Brom, West Ham and Everton (yeah well they were until last weekend!) so you would be forgiven for bringing the Catalonian stopper in at a very fair price. The fact he is owned by just over 5% of managers must appeal to.

Fraser Forster (£5.1M, 4.8%)
I understand that Maya Yoshida attracts interest with his bargain basement £4.2M price just now but that comes with slight risk with the transfer window open. I would expect Fonte to leave or at least a replacement for him to be signed. This leaves some uncertainty there and therefore the value in the Saints’ backline could be in the England goalkeeper. Southampton have a very appeasing fixture set across the next six with only Arsenal visiting the south coast in Gameweek 26 the real concern. Matches against Leicester, Swansea, West Ham, Sunderland and Watford afford Claude Puel’s men the chance for some clean sheet action. I will point out that Forster hasn’t had a clean sheet in five matches but does boast seven clean sheets over the rest of the season including three in a row at one stage. These fixtures could herald the chance for that to be matched if Yoshida can bed in nicely alongside Virgil van Dijk (assuming he also sees out the transfer window in-situ).

Darren Randolph (£4.4M, 1.7%)
This guy makes it in here because of one reason. A guy in my local mini-league brought him in on his wildcard so I had to investigate. I realised he has been playing but admittedly I hadn’t realised he had been in since Gameweek 12 in the league meaning poor old Adrian got the cup match and was right in the firing line of Manchester City scoring five. You remember that one time City looked good? Back to the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper anyway. He has three clean sheets but in two of these matches he supplemented his six points with bonus points (two and one) and a save point in to the bargain to register back-to-back eight-point returns. Keeping Crystal Palace at bay this past weekend might just instil some confidence in a team that has no Dmitri Payet and no proper home (harsh but fair surely you’ll agree). The fixtures ahead are a bit bumpy but there are some good ones in there. The guy is only £4.4M and providing you can cover off a couple of difficult games, he could be one for the manager who likes to have two playing goalkeepers.

Defenders
Leighton Baines (£5.5M, 10.4%)
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[/three_fifth]It was mentioned by one of our Blues Inittowinit earlier this week that this is not the Leighton Baines of old. Well not in the respect of attacking relentlessly on the left hand side of Everton’s attack. Certainly his penalty against Southampton a couple of weeks back was a leaf out of the Baines Book of Old as he swept away the kick assuredly. He is still on penalties so that instantly peaks interest and the fact you might get him for £5.5M is a little costly for some but they have clean sheets in three of the past four and even in the one he didn’t he assisted. When I began writing this he did just scrape in at 9.9% but he has clearly been flying in to some of your squads. Away to Tottenham in five gameweeks time is their toughest looking assignment until April when they will look to return the favour of a derby loss to Liverpool.

Danny Rose (£6.0M, 9.5%)
England man Danny Rose is another who is pushing the 10% criteria for this article but even if he crashes through by the weekend, I’m still happy to back him here. I realise his yellow card count so you may have to take a slight risk with this one but when you compare his attacking play and overall play against right back Kyle Walker (Walker is just 15 points better in overall score having played 300-odd minutes more) then look at the ownership stats it is remarkable. Walker is owned by a sizeable 32.5% so Rose is unquestionably the longer shot for your squads. I like both players but as mentioned, Rose has a better PPM ratio and has two goals this season to Walker’s none. He is also £0.1M cheaper and we’ve already covered the Spurs and their defensive record.

George Friend (£4.4M, 3.1%)
The Devon defender only missed one match in Boro’s opening eleven and seemed assured of his status as bargain entry in to the backline of one of the tightest (and cheapest) defences in this season’s FPL. Unluckily an injury curtailed his run of form and appearances but in the past five matches Friend is reaffirming his importance to his team. Again rather unfortunately, Friend was only three minutes short of a clean sheet in the away match to Leicester in Gameweek 20, coming on as substitute at 34 minutes to replace Antonio Barragan. In that match he almost scored with a shot over the bar after a driving run and then when beginning the latest match, played his part in a clean sheet draw with Watford. He is cheap, plays in a defensively-sound side, has two assists already and looks like he will be back in for another long run in the team. What’s not to like?

Ben Mee (£4.6M, 2.4%)
Burnley use a 4-4-2 formation. Tom Heaton is the goalkeeper. Ben Mee and Michael Keane are the central defenders. Night follows day. Manchester City trainee (we’ll start the bidding at £55M Mr Guardiola) Mee has six goals in his Burnley career which is very respectable and his last one was scored against, yup, City! That goal was his first of the season. He also has two assists and dabbles in the odd bonus point here and there. As inferred in the opening gambit, Mee hasn’t missed one minute of action so far and can be added to your squad for a reasonable £4.6M and is a bit of a secret at 2.4% ownership. Sshhh!

Maya Yoshida (£4.2M, 0.7%)
As touched on in the look at Fraser Forster, the potential bargain in all of FPL just now COULD be the Japanese international. Yoshida is playing in place of contract-rebel club captain Jose Fonte and may continue to do so throughout the decent run of games Southampton are due to embark upon. The central defender, who has played the complete match in the last three, could be a nice sideways move from those who have had enough of Nathan Ake, maybe those looking to save a few quid on a downgrade or those looking to get rid of cheap Swansea. You still have cheap Swansea? It’s cool. I do too.

Midfielders
Michail Antonio (£6.8M, 10.5%)
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[/three_fifth]Three West Ham goals against Crystal Palace and three assists for the jack-of-all-positions means I include him here because he is one of these guys you stick in and stick with. Offering great value at £6.8M when he can often put up points like 11, 13 and 15 as he has done at points this season. Creeping in at just under the cut-off (at the original time of writing) I would certainly be happy backing the England Cap if I was shopping in the £7m market. Will the Londoners unite once Payet inevitable goes and will Antonio and Andy Carroll shoulder responsibility to find the goals required? We will see in games against Middlesbrough, Man City, Southampton, West Brom and Watford.

Pedro (£7.0M, 4.8%)
It is the 4.8% that is eye-catching here. That is a very small number for a man who is playing more often than not in the league leading team. He has struck double figures on four occasions this season and also honed his skills by scoring to send Chelsea through in the F.A. Cup against Peterborough. If you can accept the occasional rotating, it has happened a couple of times, then you could be rewarded with double figures yet again with Hull, Swansea, Watford and Crystal Palace due at The Bridge in the coming weeks. Added to this is the ongoing Costanundrum (tried to amalgamate Costa and Conundrum = fail) which might mean that Antonio Conte is looking for someone who can play in an advanced role at times. Pedro most certainly can as evidenced by his time at Barcelona. Sometimes it is still amazing to think that he is at Chelsea let alone that you can have him for £7.0M and be one of a select few.

Henrik Mkhitaryan (£9.0M, 2.5%)

The Armenian is a favourite of mine and I now believe after a period of finding his way is showing how much of a classy footballer he is. I think that at 2.5% you could be a step ahead of the pack by investing in him soon. He hasn’t yet had outstanding numbers but his performances are getting up to a consistent level and the opposition ahead for United is primed for assists and maybe another goal or two to add to his brace already. Stoke, Hull, Leicester and Watford could all feel the force of the man who registered thirteen goals and TWENTY assists last season. When he is in the team, the numbers will come.

Kevin Mirallas (£6.0M, 2.2%)
The man who doesn’t assist when he should assist and usually doesn’t score when he should score so why am I mentioning him? He has a tendency to be greedy and cost you assist points when a teammate is in a more favourable position but he did score and assist in his last match despite playing just 64 minutes. This contribution made it 2 goals and 2 assists in his last four matches and four bonus points in to the bargain. This is the one pick I deliberated on the most but for £6.0M it has the potential to be brilliant value short term. So if you don’t have Romelu Lukaku and fancy a bit of Everton’s forthcoming matches – Crystal Palace, Stoke, Bournemouth, Middlesbrough and Sunderland – then get Kev and be prepared to have plenty of loose change for your swear box.

Charlie Adam (£4.7M, 0.8%)
This one is for you if have just £4.7M to spend or if you are Gordon Strachan. Just pick him! Seriously, if you are looking for a midfielder with that kind of money to spend then Charlie Messi (as he was affectionately coined in his Rangers days due to his exuding self-confidence far outweighing his actual ability) could be worth a go after assisting twice in his last three. Due to AFCON, Stoke are a little thin on the ground at the present time so the fact that Adam is a free-kick taker, corner taker, potential penalty taker and can shoot from his own half might be worth some consideration.

[/three_fifth]I think Andre Gray would in all honesty be as low as I would comfortably go. That reads wrong. He’s the cheapest I would accept. No wait, what am I trying to say? Basically I would offer that the most reliable player and third striker in the game just now is Mr Gray. He has served his punishment for past misdemeanours and is now focussed to score the goals to keep Burnley in the Premier League. Actually after I read that, I realised that the Lancashire side are tenth in the table and a cool ten points clear of the stragglers in the relegation pit. Well done Dychey, well done Gray, well done Barton (ugh, no I can’t!) Andre Gray has a career average of a goal every 2.18 games and is a competent penalty taker. In his next seven he faces Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool (bear in mind he has already scored AND assisted against the Reds earlier in the season) but also within this run come Leicester, Watford, Hull, Swansea and Sunderland. Have him as third or rotate with a strong fifth midfielder but there is nothing to say the England ‘C’ cap can’t muscle one in against anyone on his day. If you pick him up and he does, he offers a beautiful little differential to Negredo, Rondon, and Benteke for the ‘third’. Note: As this is being penned, Gray has just scored Burnley’s second against Sunderland to ensure progression in to the Fourth Round of the F.A. Cup.

Peter Crouch (£4.8M, 2.9%)
Yeah Crouchy is having a little bit of an Indian Summer as mentioned earlier this week by Mito (thanks for the tip Mito) with three goals in his last three matches – two assists and three bonus points across the same period. Look at that price! £4.8M for that. Signing of the season… if you had ‘that feeling’ three gameweeks ago that is, and believe me, I’ve seen some stories on twitter of some who did sign him – they must be clairvoyant. The fixtures aren’t really tantalising to be honest although with Wilfried Bony and Mame Biram Diouf both in Gabon on international duty and other guy, Julien Ngoy, playing only 7 minutes so far this whole season, Crouch should be guaranteed 90 minutes more often than not for the rest of this month at least. If you have plans elsewhere and are looking for an enabler, then the big robo-popping lighthouse could well be your port in the storm.

Loic Remy (£6.3M, 0.2%)
This is a bit of a punt to be fair. Since Big Sam returned to the gravy train (pun very much intended) of the Premier League, we expected him to get Palace defending properly and get the goals out of Christian Benteke. Neither has so far happened in the Premier League. The Belgian powerhouse has not scored in six matches which included a dreadful penalty miss at Watford. Although Sam has already said that getting him playing and more importantly those playing around him will be key, it caught my eye in the last match that on-loan Chelsea striker and former FPL centurion (135 points in 2013/14 whilst at QPR and Newcastle) Loic Remy appeared for the final 21 minutes. He is returning to fitness and might just be the very dark horse that Allardyce and you might need.  Surely soon enough he’ll either he playing alongside Benteke or will replace him if the ex-Liverpool striker continues to struggle. Note: Christian Benteke has just scored two goals in Crystal Palace’s win over Bolton to ensure they progress in to the Fourth Round of the F.A. Cup.

Remy may be one of those transfers perhaps where you could steal a huge march (0.2%!) on others. This is of course if you have any faith left in Palace or Allardyce himself – the ‘go-to’ man for relegation-avoidance. Fixtures are very evenly-handed too.

And Finally…
I understand that due to the potential absence of Olivier Giroud, Diego Costa or both, that there will be some of you looking for replacements for these and moving away from the differential type for a moment, I would advise IN MY ORDER OF PREFERENCE Harry Kane and then Romelu Lukaku.

Once upon a time we would see Manchester City on the fixtures list and that would be to be feared. Not now. Even Everton are cleaning their clocks these days so Harry Kane, who could/should have had a ‘double’ hat-trick against West Brom will be relishing a set-to with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi. I’d fancy my chances in truth. You should refer to Guy Sanchez’ Fixtures article this week to see how he too fancies Spurs’ chances at City this weekend.

Lukaku, who tried to pinch Tom Davies’ goal on Sunday has a fine run of matches ahead and to be honest, either he or Kane would be great picks. I go with Kane based simply on the reliability of what is playing behind him just now, but it is close.

That’s it for this week people. I enjoyed pulling together this collection of less popular players and I hope that maybe one or two of you on the look-out for a lesser light or differential, found what you were after.

If not, then just get de Gea, Walker, Sanchez and Ibrahimovic!

Good luck this weekend guys.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Premier League Tips Gameweek 22. This article was written by The Gallant Pioneer

Follow @MitchellC_FF247