Fantasy Premier League Tips – Gameweek 26 FPL
Ours tears of joy or despair relating to GW25 are not yet dry and GW26 is already upon us and with it the trials and tribulations that a midweek game-week brings. Some will revel in the short time between game-weeks as they are forced to make quick decisions while other will struggle as they don’t have the necessary time required to analyse all of their options. Whichever category you fall into one thing is for sure and that is that GW26 is another chance for each and every one of us to move up the rankings. As a result of the short time period between game-weeks we have once again decided to take a slightly different approach to our weekly tips article and rather than tipping specific players we have instead decided to discuss a number of current issues.
The West Ham Defence
It’s hard to believe that West Ham have now kept more clean sheets in the Premier League than any other team but with 12 clean sheets from 25 games that is exactly what they have done. The great news for us fantasy managers is that four of these clean sheets have come in their last five games! With stats like these it’s hard to believe that none of their backline feature in more than 3% of teams so it’s clear that the entire Hammers defence represents a differential. So who do you choose? Goalkeeper Adrian is in great form and has picked up 37 points from his last five games, there are plenty of forwards who haven’t scored that well and at just £4.3m he represents a great bargain. Picking one of their defenders does present one or two difficulties as no one is 100% certain as to what their first choice back 4 is! However once again our tip is James Collins who has started the last four games and it’s worth noting that he has picked up bonus points in each of the last three and at just £4.1m, like Adrian, he is a bargain. If you have a little extra cash to spend you might want to consider Guy Demel who has spent considerably more time on the pitch than any of his defensive colleagues. Finally, not only are the Hammers in great form defensively they also a number of relatively straightforward fixtures coming up with three of the next five at Upton Park.
The Manchester City Attack
City have now gone two games without scoring!! While this might not be news for the majority of teams it should be remembered that City had scored 68 in their previous 23 games which is basically three goals per game. Granted Sergio Aguero is injured but you would have expected Negredo & Co to have too much for Norwich, perhaps they are more reliant on the Argentinian than we imagined. The loss of Fernandinho has also been felt as it curbs Yaya Toure’s ability to surge forward. So where does that leave us fantasy managers? Given the fact that they have back to back home games against Sunderland and Stoke before their blank in GW28 we fully expect them to be back amongst the goals. Against Norwich, Pellegrini started with Jovetic & Negredo, with Dzeko replacing Jovetic after 61 minutes and Negredo being replaced after 77 minutes and after the game he admitted that neither Negredo nor Dzeko were 100% fit. Should you have either Negredo or Dzeko in your side our advice to you would be to stick, however should you not have any of the three but want one of them for the next two games we would suggest Jovetic. The Montenegrin will be eager to prove he has a future at the Etihad and he signifies a superb differential featuring in just 0.4% of teams.
Problems at Arsenal?
Despite being hammered 5-1 by a rampant Liverpool side in Saturday’s early kick-off, Arsenal are 2nd in the table just one point behind Chelsea and they haven’t turned into a bad team overnight. However, how should they be viewed from a fantasy football perspective? If you were to look at their upcoming league fixtures in isolation you would probably think that there was nothing to be concerned about as three of their next four are at home. What the league fixtures don’t show is the fact that they have an FA Cup tie this coming weekend against Liverpool and next Wednesday they host Bayern Munich in the Champions League. So which if any of their players can still be considered a fantasy asset? Aside from their calamities against City and Liverpool the Gunners have been pretty sound defensively keeping 11 clean sheets and despite these two big defeats they still boast the 2nd best defence in the league. As a result the likes of Szczesny, Mertesacker & Koscielny have proved quite popular and many managers have doubled up on Arsenal at the back. Our advice to those of you who still have double Arsenal coverage at the back is that it might be time to drop one of them and if we had to tip an Arsenal defender for the coming game-weeks it would be Laurent Koscielny as we feel he represents the best value for money. Moving into midfield and Arsenal have been hit hard with injuries to both Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott, while Mesut Ozil has been a massive disappointment since GW15. Should you feel the need to have an Arsenal attacker in your side for the coming weeks our recommendation would be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin who impressed in the recent win over Crystal Palace and while his more senior colleagues wilted against Liverpool, the Ox at least attempted to take the fight to them. Up top Olivier Giroud has picked up three goals and an assist in his last six games which isn’t actually that bad, but when you take a look around there are a number of strikers who offer better value for money than the Frenchman who is currently priced at £8.8m.
Steven Gerrard
Liverpool’s captain fantastic has to a certain extent polarised opinion amongst fantasy managers since his return to the side from injury. An injury to Lucas coupled with Brendan Rodgers desire to field Coutinho, Sterling, Suarez & Sturridge in attack has led to Gerrard being fielded in a defensive midfield role. Prior to his injury he had scored three as well as assisting seven in just ten games and many felt that his points returns would be somewhat diminished due to his deeper role. However, this has not been the case and in the five games he has started he has scored three and assisted two. Admittedly two of the goals were penalties while the two assists were from dead balls, but we feel the fact that he has the majority of the set pieces in his locker is a massive plus. Granted we are unlikely to see Gerrard breaking forward in the manner in which he has done over the years meaning his goals from open play are likely to take a hit, however as he becomes more accustomed to his new role we feel his assists from open play will be unaffected as he sprays long passes forward for Suarez & Sturridge. Given his current form he represents a great differential as he features in just 8.1% of teams and is also great value for money at just £8.9m.
Is Triple Liverpool a Possibility?
Doubling up on players from the same team in the one position is often frowned upon by many fantasy managers but doubling up on Arsenal or Everton at the back has at times worked quite well this season, while those managers who currently have the SAS up top in their team are probably quite happy. The question now is whether or not to take it to the next level and go for triple Liverpool in attack. The initial response from most managers is likely to be one of derision but let’s take a quick look at this as a possibility. First and foremost is the fact that Liverpool have scored 21 goals in their last eight games with the likes of Gerrard & Sterling chipping in along with the likely lads up front, it should also be noted that Phillippe Coutinho has been in better form of late and has been unlucky not to pick up more fantasy points. Second of all is the fact that their upcoming fixtures suggest that the goals are unlikely to dry up, although four of their next six games are away from home and it is worth noting that 60% of their goals have come at Anfield. Finally and indeed quite significantly, is the fact that the Champions & Europa Leagues both kick off again next week meaning we are likely to see a certain amount of rotation at Chelsea, Arsenal, City, United and Spurs. Unfortunately for Liverpool and their fans, they are not involved in Europe, but this is great news for us fantasy managers as it means that Brendan Rodgers will continue to field his strongest team in each and every league game. So as you can see the notion of fielding three is perhaps not as crazy as it sounds, the only question is which three. We will assume that Suarez & Sturridge are likely to be two of the three meaning you will want to choose one of their midfields. Should you have cash to spare our advice would be to go for Gerrard, whom we have already discussed above. Conversely, should money be tight we would suggest you consider Raheem Sterling who is slowly but surely proving his doubters wrong by turning in consistent displays rather than a moment of magic here and there.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Premier League Tips, this article was written by Kop Warrior.
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Morning all…
jez the Fulham crowd would want to chill out now and send a couple of buses around tomorrow to pick up the grounds staff,……
I have 1FT an 0.2 in the bank
Boruc(Mannone)
Collins/Coleman/Azpi/(Bruce)(Parr)
Silva/Hazard/Lallana/Eriksen/(Coldback)
Suarez/Sturridge/Rooney
Im thinking of Rooney to Negredo…..but will wait to hear the City presser…..any other things I should look at
Daboyo
Is Parr back?
Maybe do something with Bruce?
Try work toward a full 15 playing squad since we all going to be getting screwed soon haha
But Im captaining Negredo, feel his due massive points and City will have a point to prove
not sure about Parr Shep but I heard someone say yesterday that Bruce has a good shout for a week or 2 due to injuries
I do need to look at them though to ensure im covered in GW28 & 29…..who you think would be worth a look
Daboyo
No idea honestly, just look at the cheap options, look at the teams and then see if they have been playing or not haha
Sunderland do have an excellent record against City, interestingly. City only won 2 of their past 6. Should we give this some weight?
I don’t think so Blue……I think Sunderland have improved alot at the back but this is make or break for City…..they drop more points and Chelsea win and suddenly the gap is there that someone like Jose knows how to hold….
Fair call daboyo. I’m seriously considering Jovetic in for Rooney for the next 2 GWs. I’d love Pellegrini to give him 90 mins in at least one of the games. Am I right in saying that teams will be announced before cut-off time (which will mean me getting up early Sydney time to do the transfers)?
no unfortunately we wont know the city team,.,,,,,life would be alot easier if we did as I also need to pick a city striker for Rooney…..
I think Negredo is first choice,……but hard to know for sure
Morning daboyo, yeah that would seem the logical thing with the buses! It’s not even scheduled to start until 9pm so they can get there fine they just need a bus to take them home. It’s not like they haven’t had plenty of notice.
Anyways assuming its on your team looks really strong and a City attacker would be a good replacement for Rooney depending on the team news.
cheers inittowinit……ya for their two home games I think there is a need for a city striker……
how you fixed yourself…..who you thinking for the armband…..lota momentum with Sturridge now at the moment with Suarez playing more wide
daboyo I think I’m looking in good shape for this week all things being well. You never know Kolarov might even get a game! I need to ship out AJ for either Gerrard or Nolan and that’s it I think. As for the armband well yeah….. toss a coin and avert your eyes on that choice I think.
Ya init Gerrard is an assist machine even with his new role
id look at Nolan/Mirallas though just coz of their price tags and the fact they play further up the field
Morning daboyo. Rooney to Negredo/Jovetic is what I’d do. Trying to figure out which City’s strikers will play or not is a real gamble but I think all three will end with more or less the same game time in the next 2 games. The safer one for sure is Negredo, still 1st choice while Aguero is out imo.
cheers Albertini…..ill listen to Pelligrini today to see if he gives an indication…I think he favours Negredo but fitness may be an issue
According to physioroom, Dzeko is still carrying a minor back injury and should be benched again. If they’re right, it’ll be Negro/Jojo upfront.
Cheers Albertini…….makes life a bit easier……next job now is to make a call between Sturridge and Suarez,,,,,,spose ill just captain Suarez to cover the masses
That is a issue I also will have to solve later in the afternoon but leaning to Suarez right now.
Still waiting also for all line ups so I can make my moves. Thinking of Oscar to Hazard and AJ to Mirallas (I’ve already lost a few with price risings but I prefer to play it safe).
Good shouts?
yes Albertini Mirallas is playing up top through the middle – the young fella Delfou (or however you spell it) may be available but Mirallas will still be close to the goals….Palace are good at the back – that is the only thing with them – Nolan is also an option
Hazard is flying – if Chelsea win the league it will be down to him as much as any other player…
Cheers daboyo, exactly my thoughts, the decision was between Mirallas and Nolan but Mirallas plays for a much better team and should be more consistent points wise than Nolan.
I already payed a high price for not having Hazard and I feel it’s better late than never and I’m going for it.
Hi Guys
With all the uncertainty over Liverpool-Fulham, and noting GW 28, am I better off saving my FT this week and having 2FTs up my sleeve over the coming weeks?
Speroni (Mannone)
Azpilicueta Turner Williamson (Ward Chambers)
Gerrard Hazard Silva(vc) Eriksen Mata
Suarez(c) Rooney (Berahino)
Is there a “must have” in the next 2 weeks?
Thanks Guys
morning Blue……
personally I think you should sell Rooney for a city striker….Negredo would be my pick of their 3…..
your a bit light weight at the back…..can you get Collins of WHU in…..
Thanks daboyo. Can get Collins in, but would take a hit. Probably need City cover up front, so will consider. Cheers.
I’m still amazed at how Fulham is the only club that is “in doubt” regarding this strike. No other London club.
I still believe Fulham are petrified.
they are fighting for their PL lives……I can see why they’d try and pull a fast one (and let there be no mistake about it – they are trying to pull a fast one given their ground is one of the smallest in the PL)…..
I can’t see myself how it can be called off when there is so much notice…but……
Exactly daboyo.
milk what you think of my squad for the week above in comment 37…..thinking Rooney out for Negredo…..
Milky, totally agree, as i said last night they are crap with a capital C, + are fighting for survival, they just want it rearranged for when they have a complete squad available. :cuss:
Maybe Fulham are also trying to play a mind-game, to distract LFC players who are in red-hot form?
gkw: Suarez is going to tear them to pieces if Fulham are man enough to play the game.
That’s also my bet, M&B, and I’m confident of 70+ pts if the game’s on. But I’ve got 15 active players so I reckon I can still field 11 even without my 3 LFC players.
You’re lucky gkw. I misclicked and transferred out Ward instead of Chester. I would have had 11 starting players. Gotta take a hit now for that. And the only hit I can see that will be cancelled out is for Azpi for a Chelsea CS
M & B
My understanding is that Fulham require ‘X’ amount of stewards to attend to satisfy their safety certificate. There is no public transport issues in these guys attending work. Some might not turn up because they can’t get home safely and that is the individual’s preference and is between them and there employer (whoever supplies Fulham their security). If they can’t supply this and have not notified Fulham accordingly, then I would fully expect Fulham to bring some form of redress to them for failing to meet their contract. If they don’t then it proves to me that Fulham just fancy a rest.
Let’s be honest, Fulham could afford to taxi each steward home individually if they so wished.
I guess an alternative may be for the Met to step in to provide the extra security, and then bill FFC for the overtime – isn’t that what used to be done?
gkw
I’m sure after the recent history at Leeds United (where Leeds won the court case about policing streets outside Elland Road not being their responsibility), the Met may unite and provide only the minimum necessary.
And stewards are less expensive of course.
Thanks GP, I didn’t know about the Leeds ruling. But if it’s a question of not enough stewards, that’s within the stadium so wouldn’t FFC be liable for the cost?
gkw
Fulham are liable for stewarding costs but if you are requesting extra policing inside the ground because of a lack of stewards, then you would be recharged by the Met (if they were willing).
My point being that I don’t think they are and I don’t think they would/could (possibly based on the Leeds ruling – may be a bit of a stand off with football clubs) and so I think it is Fulham solely who can get the game on by offering their stewards alternate transport home after the game (if the steward company are unable to provide the labour).
hello demsie, you really need a terry->coleman, and still wait for thar 3pm call
prata could you look at comment 37 above for me – i know your a man who doesn’t favour hits so with my 1ft id appreciate your thoughts
Yeah you’re right Prata mate.. I do.. It’s going to happen tonight after the teams are released but i’m also worried about the Fulham game..
if that doesn’t happen i’m pretty screwed ! haha.. it’ll be carnage at Demsie’s house !
Kolarov or Mertesacker this week?
Kolarov for me
not nailed on though is the prob but im gonna chance him, think they could have done with him on pitch for full game last week
Thanks. I gotta sleep so may as well try him on
hi all quick one, Ozil vs United or Johnson vs City?
Ozil – fixtures over form for selection (and form over fixtures for transfers)