Fantasy Premier League Tips – Gameweek 27 FPL

Fantasy Premier League Tips – Gameweek 27 FPL

Believe it or not there are only 12 game-weeks left this season and over these 12 game-weeks plenty of teams will have blank game-weeks which of course result in double game-weeks, in other words, it’s silly season! This will result in many managers panicking and making mistakes which are detrimental to their season, so if you can keep your head and make sound logical decisions over the coming game-weeks you should reap your rewards. We’ll be with you all the way offering tips & advice on players, captains and fixtures. Below we discuss a number of players whom we feel can deliver over the coming game-weeks. You will notice that some of the players below may have a blank in the future, however next week we will focus solely on players without a blank!

Goalkeepers

If Norwich are relegated this season they certainly can’t blame their fixtures between now and GW34. Granted they play Spurs this week, but aside from that they don’t face another team in the top 7. Their form and league position isn’t great but they have tightened things up at the back, conceding only eight goals in their last eight games with John Ruddy keeping three clean sheets in his last five games, one of which was against free scoring Manchester City. As we have already alluded to, following this week’s game against Spurs they have a run of relatively straightforward fixtures and it’s because of these fixtures coupled with their recent defensive form that we feel Ruddy could prove to be an excellent investment at £5.0m.

Tottenham found goals hard to come by in the early part of the season so it was lucky for them that Hugo Lloris was in great form at the other end of the pitch, the Frenchman kept seven clean sheets in the first ten games. The French international then took a kick to the head and has only kept four clean sheets since then, however it is worth noting that two of these clean sheets have come in Spurs last two games, while he also picked up two bonus points against Everton. Admittedly Spurs have a number of tough fixtures coming up, however aside from an injury to Vlad Chiriches they have a full complement of defenders to choose from which has not happened very often this season! Spurs have two relatively easy games in the next two weeks and of course they feature in GW29 and as a result we feel that at £5.8m Lloris is worth considering.

Last time out against West Brom, Petr Cech was three minutes away from keeping his fourth clean sheet on the trot, however he has still managed to claim an impressive seven clean sheets from his last ten starts. The Pensioner’s defensive stats are becoming more impressive as the weeks pass and they have now conceded just 21 goals in 26 games, with just three conceded in their last eight. Chelsea have a mixed bunch of fixtures over the coming game-weeks but due to the fact that they will feature in GW29 coupled with their excellent defensive record we believe that Cech is certainly worth consideration. Cech is now £6.2m making him more expensive than the likes of Cahill, Azpi & Luiz, however with the Champions League back Jose could possibly rotate his defence making Cech a safer bet.

A couple of other keepers who we feel warrant a mention are Southampton’s Artur Boruc and Cardiff’s David Marshall. Southampton & Boruc are not as consistent as they were in the early part of the season, however the Pole has still managed to pick up three clean sheets in six games since his return from injury. The Saints have a mixed bag of fixtures over the coming weeks but they are a solid enough outfit for Boruc to continue picking up the clean sheets which means he could prove decent value at £4.7m. Little has changed at Cardiff since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over and they have only won once since his arrival, however Marshall continues to impress as was evident in his recent display against Villa and while clean sheets are hard to come by Marshall is forever picking up save bonus points.

Defenders

Given their current defensive form we feel that it would be extremely prudent for you to have some Chelsea coverage in your backline. As we have indicated above we do believe that Petr Cech is the safest option given the fact that Jose may rotate in the weeks ahead as Chelsea return to European action. However, we realise that many of you might be unwilling to shell out £6.2m for a keeper and therefore you will need to look to the back four for coverage. Obviously we don’t know what Jose has planned for the coming weeks but we feel that Branislav Ivanovic is the least likely to be rotated and given his attacking returns over recent weeks he is an extremely tempting option, even at £6.4m. For those of you who don’t have a spare £6.4m you could consider Cesar Azpilicueta who has turned in a number of consistent displays in recent weeks, albeit without the offensive returns of his colleagues. Of course Ashley Cole could very well come in in place of the Spaniard but at £5.4m we firmly believe he offers excellent value for money.

As we have highlighted above, Norwich have a number of ideal fixtures following the visit of Spurs this weekend. The mere fact that they are guaranteed a game in game-weeks 28&29 is reason enough to consider bringing in one of their defenders, the fact they have the joint 3^rd best defence over the last eight games further strengthens this. Should you be happy with your keepers or at the very least have keepers to cover you for game-weeks 28&29 then Ruddy who we have already tipped is probably not for you, in that case we would suggest you consider Martin Olsson. The Swede has made the left back spot his own, starting every game since GW6 picking up eight clean sheets in the process. At just £4.3m he has the potential to be great value for money over the coming weeks and represents an excellent differential, featuring in just 1.8% of teams.

For those of you who are in the market for a short-term option and don’t have money to burn we would advise you to consider Southampton’s Japanese international Maya Yoshida. Yoshida has deputised admirably for Dejan Lovren at centre back since Lovren picked up an ankle injury against Sunderland and has picked up two clean sheets in his four starts since. With the Croat likely to miss another game or two a punt on Yoshida may pay dividends and he certainly denotes a differential featuring in just 0.4% of teams. For those of you unwilling to gamble on Yoshida but desire some Saints representation at the back our tip would be Jose Fonte. The centre back who has featured up front for Crystal Palace in the past has been in great form recently, scoring twice as well as picking up five bonus points in his last four games.

A couple of other defenders who we feel deserve a mention are West Ham’s James Collins and Crystal Palace’s Joel Ward. West Ham have been in great form of late winning their last three and keeping four clean sheets on the spin. As well as these clean sheets Collins has chipped in with a goal and has picked up seven bonus points meaning he has amassed an impressive 36 points over the last four game-weeks and is a bargain at just £4.2m. Palace’s great form under Tony Pulis shows no sign of abating as they have won three of their last four and have only conceded seven in their last eight games. Palace face the once mighty United this weekend followed by a number of ‘easier’ games and we see no reason as to why Ward will not pick up another couple of clean sheets. Before we move on we would just like to highlight that James Chester was an unused substitute in the cup on Monday night which would suggest he’s nearing a return to the starting XI and interestingly his price has dropped to £3.8m!

Midfielders

Liverpool have been in great form of late and it has been their Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard who has been pulling the strings and in his last six games he has picked up four goals and three assists. Some folk will point to the fact that three of the goals were penalties but at the end of the day a goal is a goal. Gerrard now has an impressive total of ten assists, a figure only bettered by his colleague Luis Suarez & Wayne Rooney and with those playing ahead of him in such great form we see no reason why the assists will not continue to flow. Liverpool don’t feature in GW29 and admittedly they have a couple of tricky fixtures but on current form Gerrard cannot be ignored.

Chelsea currently lead the way in the Premier League by a solitary point and this is thanks in no small part to Eden Hazard. With 12 goals to date he has scored twice as many as any of his colleagues, while with 8 assists he has also created twice as many, so clearly he is the teams talisman. Chelsea have a rather topsy turvy run of fixtures over the coming weeks and they will need the Belgian to be on top of his game if they are to remain at the summit. The fact the Chelsea feature in GW29 is also in his favour and despite the fact that they play Spurs in GW29 he will be a leading contender for the armband once you consider all of your options. Granted he is now £10.9m but as we’ve said time and time again, you get what you pay for.

To a certain extent we can judge the impact a player has had on this seasons FPL by looking at how much their value has risen. Unsurprisingly Luis Suarez has seen the biggest price rise but you might be surprised to see that Adam Lallana is 2^nd on the list with his price rising from £6.0m to £8.0m, however maybe it’s not so surprising when you consider that he’s currently the 5^th highest scorer in this seasons FPL. The English international is in great form with four goals & five assists in his last five games and even at £8.0m we believe that he represents value for money. Southampton’s fixture list over the coming weeks is somewhat mixed but given Lallana’s current form we’d certainly advise form over fixtures on this one.

With just one win and three draws in their last eight games Stoke sit 4^th from bottom in the current form table, so it might come as somewhat of a surprise that our next tip is Charlie Adam. The Scot has had somewhat of a mixed season and it’s really only over the last ten game-weeks that he has nailed down a position. He has to his credit picked up seven goals and three assists and at times he has looked like the player who took the FPL by storm with Blackpool back in the 2010/11 season. Stoke play City & Arsenal over the next two game-weeks but having scored against Liverpool & United in recent weeks don’t be put off by these fixtures and following these fixtures Stoke have a number of easier games and Adam could prove great value at £5.8m.

A couple of cheap options who we feel warrant a mention are Aston Villa’s Leandro Bacuna and Nabil Bentaleb of Spurs. Bacuna arrived in the midlands from Holland last summer and quickly established himself as a first team regular and with four goals to his name he is now the clubs joint 2^nd highest scorer. Let’s be honest, none of us had heard of Bentaleb before Tim Sherwood took over the reins at White Hart Lane but the youngster has now started each of the clubs last six games, picking up two assists & two bonus points last time out against Newcastle. At £4.6m & £4.5m respectively both are ideally priced to be your 5^th midfielder and Bentaleb offers an excellent differential featuring in just 0.3% of teams.

Forwards

Daniel Sturridge joined Liverpool back in January 2013 and enjoyed a great start to his Liverpool career scoring ten (11 according to FPL) league goals for his new club before the season ended, although many wondered if he could deliver over the course of an entire season. However, they needn’t have worried as Sturridge has 16 goals from just 18 league appearances this season and is an integral part of the Liverpool side. Since his return from injury in GW21 he has outscored Luis Suarez by seven goals to four which has led many to question whether Suarez can still be considered a ‘must have’. Given his current form Sturridge offers sensational value at £10.1m and with Liverpool struggling to keep clean sheets at the back they will be hoping that Sturridge remains among the goals over the remainder of the season. Suarez has now gone three games without scoring but you just know that he’s likely to turn on the style sooner rather than later and it’s for this reason we are once more tipping the Uruguayan.

With six wins and a draw in their last eight games Spurs sit 3^rd in the current form table. They have scored 17 times in those eight games, a figure only bettered by Liverpool. Six of these goals have come courtesy of Emmanuel Adebayor while he has also chipped in with four assists in this period. Adebayor’s attitude and desire epitomises everything that is good about Spurs ever since Sherwood has replaced AVB and at £8.2m he is currently exceptional value for money. Spurs have two relatively straightforward fixtures in the next two game-weeks before they embark on quite a tough run of fixtures but as Adebayor has demonstrated in the past, when he’s in the mood he’s capable of putting anyone to the sword.

Southampton duo Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez are certainly worth some serious consideration as we move into the latter stages of the season. Lambert has been in great form of late with two goals, two assists and five bonus points in his last three games and with free-kicks & penalties in his locker he could prove to be an astute purchase at just £7.2m. Rodriguez has been consistent rather than spectacular this season with ten goals spread pretty evenly across the season but the chances are you’ll use him as your 3^rd striker and consistency is what you want. As a result of this consistency his price has now risen to £6.7m but we feel as though this still represents value for money.

Finally, should any of you be on the hunt for a cheap 3^rd striker we would suggest you consider Marouane Chamakh of Crystal Palace, Peter Crouch of Stoke or Hull’s Shane Long. Ok, so Chamakh is far from prolific but for just £4.8m you can hardly expect prolific, however it would appear he is on spot kick duty following Puncheon’s howler against Spurs as he took and scored a penalty against West Brom. Peter Crouch has started every game since GW9 and that is exactly what you want from a cheap 3^rd striker, the fact that he has six goals & four assists since then is the icing on the cake. Stoke’s next two fixtures are tough, but they then have a run of much easier games and it is worth noting that they do play in GW29. Long has enjoyed a great start to his career at the KC stadium scoring twice in his first four games. Aside from the visit of City in GW30 Hull have a great run of fixtures over the coming weeks and we expect Long to remain among the goals and could prove great value at £5.7m.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Premier League Tips, this article was written by Kop Warrior.

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