Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 3

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 3

As John McEnroe said time & time again, ‘you cannot be serious’! In GW1 the average score was 34pts which they said was an aberration. They said things would return to normality in GW2 and all would be right in the world again. Well they were wrong! While the average score increased to 44pts, predicting where the points are going to come from remains more of a lottery than ever. If fantasy football mirrored real life we would be living in a world where Donald Trump could be the next leader of the free world. Don’t believe me? Well if Arouna Kone can pick up 16pts in two game-weeks well then who’s to say Trump can’t do it, after all this is the US we’re talking about. Ok, so I’ve clearly left the intro until the last minute and I’m waffling, it’s not even good waffle! That should be enough. Despite the current unpredictability of FPL we have below endeavoured to bring you a number of options whom we feel can deliver over the coming weeks. Enjoy!

Goalkeepers
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[/three_fourth]After the opening two game-weeks just three keepers are yet to be beaten so we’ll kick off proceedings this week with a quick look at each of the three. Ahead of GW1 we chose not to tip Joe Hart as I was concerned that City are not always that convincing at the back. While they are yet to be really tested at the back the early signs are good and as such Hart warrants serious consideration. Hart is undeniably a top class keeper and with those in front of him growing in confidence as a unit you can comfortably bank on him to pick up a significant number of clean sheets over the course of the season. In the short-term they have a number of relatively easy fixtures and given their current form I expect Hart to be the highest scoring keeper over the next 4-6 game-weeks. At £5.6m he is the cheapest member of the City rearguard who is guaranteed to start every week.

We didn’t tip David de Gea ahead of GW1 either because of the uncertainty surrounding his future, however we certainly didn’t foresee Sergio Romero being the top scoring keeper after the opening two game-weeks. On current form it would appear as though LvG is going to try and ‘bore’ his way to the title and while this has led to the likes of Rooney & Depay quickly losing their appeal it has certainly made Romero a much more appealing option. The issue with Romero is that it is beginning to appear as though de Gea will remain at United for one more season and if this is the case you would expect him to regain the gloves once the transfer window has closed. If like many you plan on wildcarding over the international break and you’re the proud owner of Adrian you could take Romero on a short-term deal.

Despite keeping two clean sheets Simon Mignolet and the Liverpool defence just do not fill you with confidence. However, last season was no different and they still finished with 14 clean sheets. They’ve got a number of difficult away fixtures as well some easier home fixtures over the coming weeks so I wouldn’t totally rule Mignolet out. Of the three Hart is definitely head & shoulders above the others!

A couple of cheaper keepers who deserve a mention this week are Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan and Bournemouth’s Artur Boruc. If the first two games are anything to go by it’s unlikely that Villa will be able to replace the goals of Christian Benteke. Therefore this means that if they are to avoid being dragged into a season long relegation battle they will need to keep things tight at the back, something which they have managed to do in their opening two games, conceding just once. Obviously it’s a small sample size but a look at their next six fixtures suggests they could very well pick up a couple of clean sheets. Bournemouth have conceded once in each of their opening fixtures and encouragingly they were not overrun in either game. In fact if the officials had been doing their jobs correctly at Anfield on Monday night Bournemouth would have had a clean sheet. They’ll have taken great encouragement from their performance against Liverpool and they’ve shown enough in their two games to date to suggest that they’ll pick up their first clean sheet sooner rather than later.

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Defenders
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[/three_fourth]Just like Manchester City, Vincent Kompany probably felt like he had something to prove this season. Over recent seasons injuries have curtailed his minutes on the pitch, last season he started just 25 games and whenever he was on the pitch he was prone to making the odd mistake. He’s enjoyed a great start to the 2015/16 season and while he’s not going to score every week it would appear as though City will keep their fair share of clean sheets this season. Should you be reluctant to spend £5.6m on Hart then Kompany is the one you should be considering because as long as he can keep himself fit he will start more often than not. While Kompany is the safe option he’s also the popular option as he already features in over 22% of teams. If you’re looking for an early season differential you could consider a gamble on Aleksandar Kolarov. The Serb has enjoyed a superb start to the season and while he’s yet to register a goal or an assist his underlying stats are exceptional, this is best demonstrated by the fact that he picked up maximum bonus in the 3-0 will over Chelsea and to put this into context Kompany scored and yet didn’t pick up any bonuses. Despite his great start to the season the shadow of rotation is never very far away and this is why he must be considered a gamble, but given his current form at £5.5m he’s possibly a gamble worth taking.

Against Watford on the opening day of the season it appeared as though the 2014/15 season had morphed into the 2015/16 season as Everton looked poor at the back and devoid of ideas up the field. Fast forward a week and we had the Everton of 2013/14 back, a season in which Everton finished 5th in the table and had the league’s 3rd best defence. One of their star players back in 2013/14 was Seamus Coleman who finished with six goals & two assists, and against Southampton we saw glimpses of that form as he bagged an assist and two bonus points. Now there’s no getting away from the fact that The Toffees have an extremely difficult fixture list over the coming weeks but if they can build upon the Southampton result and rediscover the form of two seasons ago they will fear no one, and due to the attacking nature of their football Coleman will inevitably pick up his share of goals and assists.

We’ve tipped Matteo Darmian in each of the last two weeks and while he continues to be an excellent pick our tip from the United defence is Luke Shaw. Injuries restricted him to just 16 starts last season and that meant he was unable to make the left back position his own. Obviously it’s too early to say that he has now made the position his own but he’s turned in two impressive displays and the position appears to be his to lose. While the Italian has grabbed bonus points in each game, Shaw has gone without, however his underlying stats particularly in the opponents half are quite impressive and these should hopefully bear fruit in the coming weeks. It’s also worth noting that thanks to the Darmian bandwagon Shaw is also £0.2m cheaper than the Italian.

A number of budget friendly defenders who are worth a shout are Bournemouth’s Simon Francis, Stoke’s Marc Muniesa and Norwich’s Russell Martin. As we’ve seen against both Villa & Liverpool, Eddie Howe is not going to change his philosophy now that Bournemouth are in the top flight. They will play the ball out from the back while the full backs will be encouraged to get forward which should mean that Francis will pick a number of assists over the course of the season. One point from their first two games isn’t a great return for Stoke, but they were undone by a Coutinho thunderbolt in GW1 while they showed great resolve in GW2 to come from two goals down to secure a draw against Spurs. As their style of play has evolved in recent seasons they are perhaps not as defensively resolute as they once were. However aside from a trip to The Emirates in GW5 they have a relatively easy fixture list over the coming weeks and I would expect them to pick up a couple of clean sheets. When Norwich were last in the top flight Martin claimed five goals & four assists across three seasons. Against Sunderland last weekend he scored a rather lucky goal, but he was in the right place at the right time! Norwich were unlucky not to pick up a clean sheet against Sunderland but given their upcoming fixtures I suspect they’ll pick up a few over the coming weeks.

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Midfielders
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[/three_fourth]Along with Kun Aguero David Silva was Manchester City’s star player last season and based on what we’ve seen over the opening two game-weeks he will again one of their most important players. His average touches both in the opponents half & the final third of the pitch are up on last season, while his minutes per chance created are also well above last season’s average. Raheem Sterling may not have had an impact in fantasy terms but he’s certainly had an impact on City’s play in that he’s created space for the likes of Silva to play in. The Spaniard plays the games in an aesthetically pleasing manner, but more importantly he brings intelligence to City’s attacking play. His ability to play between the lines makes him extremely difficult to pick up and his ability to play that killer pass at just the right will ensure that the assists continue to flow over the coming weeks, while we also expect to see his name on the scoresheet.

Memphis Depay arrived in Manchester having scored 22 league goals for PSV last season and as a result much was expected of him. As a team United have struggled for ideas in their opening two games and that has meant we haven’t seen much of the Dutchman. However he lit up Old Trafford on Tuesday night as United dispatched Club Brugge 3-1 with two exquisitely taken goals and his performance was somewhat reminiscent of Wayne Rooney’s United debut when he scored a CL hat-trick against Fenerbahce. United have struggled to fill their iconic #7 jersey since the departure of Ronaldo but on the basis of this performance they may have a new star on their hands. LvG will be hoping that this performance will kick start United’s season and they couldn’t have asked for a better opponent this weekend as they welcome Newcastle!

Despite playing just 24 minutes off the bench against West Ham and being substituted after 74 minutes against Crystal Palace Alexis Sanchez has already had more touches in the opposition penalty are than any other player in the league. Against Palace he was clearly Arsenal’s biggest threat and was unlucky not to grab a goal. Presently he features in just 10.6% of teams which must be considered a differential, however he won’t remain a differential for long so we’d suggest you invest in the Chilean before the masses do. Arsenal’s fixtures are somewhat of a mixed bag over the coming weeks but as we witnessed last season, Alexis is fixture proof.

While Silva, Depay & Sanchez are all in excess of £8.5m there is excellent value to be found in the mid-priced midfielders. The standout player from the first two game-weeks is undoubtedly Riyad Mahrez. No one could have predicted that the Algerian would be the first player to rise by £0.2m this season but thanks to three goals in his opening two games this has been the case. You’ll hear people say that his form can’t continue, but they probably said the same about Michu back in 2012/13 and Aaron Ramsey back in 2013/14! The truth is nobody knows if Mahrez’s form will continue but at just £5.7m can you afford to ignore him! Leicester’s fixtures would suggest you can’t.

Having arrived in the UK with a great reputation and then claiming a goal and an assist in West Ham’s opening fixtures you would perhaps have expected Dimitri Payet to have become an extremely popular pick but he still features in just over 8% of teams. Much was expected of Diafra Sakho this term but he has failed to shine in the opening games and it has been left to Payet who has been handed a central role in quite an attack minded midfield to already become their key player. With their next three home games against Bournemouth, Newcastle & Norwich there is every chance the Frenchman will remain amongst the points.

As of yet this season’s George Boyd has yet to emerge but should you be willing to spend £5.0m on your 5th midfielder you might want to consider Norwich’s Wes Hoolahan who has grabbed three assists from the first two games. At 33 he’s not the fastest player in the league, although he was never blessed with much pace, however he’s technically superb and has great ball control. If Norwich are to survive this season I suspect Hoolahan will play a key part.

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Forwards
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[/three_fourth]Is Sergio Aguero 100% fit? Probably not. Does it matter? No. Had he been 100% fit against Chelsea he would have taken a number of the early chances which came his way and he could easily have finished with three or four goals. What excuses Jose would have had made had that happened would have made interesting reading. City have scored six times in their opening two games despite playing a Tony Pulis managed West Brom and a Chelsea side who had the best defence in the league last season. City clearly mean business and with Aguero not far from being 100% there is every chance they will rack up a couple of cricket scores over the coming weeks and if this happens you know that Kun will be heavily involved. So can you afford to be without Aguero? We don’t believe you can. Currently he is owned by over 22% of managers, a figure that is only going in one direction. Of course there are cheaper alternatives, but why take the risk?

Despite a rather turgid performance against West Ham Olivier Giroud, to some surprise, started against Crystal Palace. Many expected the Frenchman to be on the bench with Theo Walcott deployed up top, but not for the first time Arsene stuck by his compatriot and Giroud didn’t let him down as he opened the scoring with a superb volley. What this proves is that unless Arsenal sign a new striker Giroud will start the vast majority of games and as we said numerous times last season, with the likes of Sanchez, Ozil & Cazorla in the team he will be presented with plenty of chances.

Three relatively cheap strikers who warrant some consideration are Swansea’s Bafetimbi Gomis, Leicester’s Shinji Okazaki and Stoke’s Mame Biram Diouf. Early indications suggest that Swansea may turn out to be this seasons Southampton and if this is the case Gomis could prove to be quite a popular acquisition. With a goal in each game to date he has enjoyed a great start and with the likes of Montero & Ayew creating chances for him I expect him to come close to the 20 goal mark for the season. While I don’t expect Okazaki & Diouf to hit such heights they are certainly players to keep an eye on. Both opened their accounts for the season last weekend and with both Leicester’s and Stoke’s upcoming fixtures being relatively easy, Okazaki & Diouf could prove to be a worthwhile short-term investment.

After the opening two game-weeks of the season the Everton duo of Romelu Lukaku and Arouna Kone are the highest scoring forwards. With 42 goals in his last three seasons it’s of no real surprise that Lukaku has gotten off to a good start. Kone on the other hand is quite a surprise. Having signed for The Toffees back in July 2013 he made just 17 league appearances for them over the last two seasons. As we have mentioned above Everton have a number of difficult fixtures over the coming weeks and as such both must be considered something of a risk, Lukaku because he’s £8.1m and Kone because we can’t be sure he will maintain his early season form. However, Everton have no European football to concern themselves with this season and if they can build some momentum they will make life difficult for even the best of teams.

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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 3. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

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