Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 4

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 4

These international breaks become more and more tedious, particularly as they are now spread out over four nights…good one Michel! Not only are these breaks tedious, but they can also prove detrimental to an FPL squad and at the time of writing, leading FPL players such as Ramsey, Hazard, Costa & Sturridge are all yellow flagged although only time will tell if these injuries are real or fictitious. In recent years this international break has become a popular time to make use of ones wildcard and with all the players who moved on transfer deadline day there will be significant changes to many FPL squads ahead of GW4. So whether you are currently on a wildcard or you are just trying to deal with these annoying ‘international’ injuries we have below outlined a number of players whom we feel can deliver over the coming weeks.

Goalkeepers

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Prior to the start of the season much was expected of the Stoke rear guard and it came as somewhat of a surprise when they failed to keep a clean sheet in either of their opening games against Villa and Hull, perhaps more surprising was the fact that they then kept a clean sheet at The Etihad in GW3! This certainly proves that Stoke are more than capable of shutting out any team and it’s for this very reason that I’m tipping Asmir Begovic to pick up a number of clean sheets over the coming weeks. The only slight concern is that against the lesser sides Stoke will try and play a more expansive brand of football, leaving them slightly more vulnerable at the back, although a quick glance at their upcoming fixtures suggests a number of clean sheets.

Having had a solid start to the season with wins against West Ham and QPR, Spurs were brought back down to earth as they lost 3-0 at home to Liverpool in GW3. They did however offer up enough in their opening two games to suggest that they will pick up their fair share of clean sheets this season, particularly against the lesser sides and therefore Hugo Lloris once more appears in this article. Pochettino has yet to have a full complement of defenders to pick from and as a result we are still unsure of his first choice back four and therefore I believe that Lloris is currently the safest route into the Spurs rear guard.

I don’t think anyone will disagree when I say that United have had a poor start to the season and that defensively they have looked anything but secure. So it might come as somewhat of a surprise to see David de Gea included here this week. However, since United played Burnley in GW3 they have signed Daly Blind & Marcos Rojo has received his work permit and with both expected to be included in the starting XI this weekend they will surely be a more solid unit at the back and with United in the midst of a great run of fixtures, these new additions could equal clean sheets. It’s unclear as to whether LvG will persist with three at the back and we are also unsure as to which of his defenders are assured of their starting spot, so for me de Gea is currently the best bet.

For those of you who are currently on a wild card and in the market for a cheap keeper who plays, my suggestion would be Burnley’s Tom Heaton. Paired with Chelsea & United in their opening three fixtures Burnley were hardly given the easiest of starts to the season, but they have certainly not disgraced themselves and picked up a credible scoreless draw against United in GW3. Back in the Premier League for the first time since 2010 you can hardly describe any of Burnley’s fixtures as easy, however a look at their next five fixtures would suggest that if they are to avoid relegation they will need to pick up points from these fixtures and therefore Heaton could be a good bet for a couple of clean sheets over the coming weeks.

[divider_1px]

Defenders

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Having scored twice and picked up an assist in Chelsea’s opening three fixtures it’s rather difficult to ignore Branislav Ivanovic. ‘It can’t or won’t continue’ will be words that are uttered in relation to the Serb but it’s worth remembering that these words have been voiced in FPL circles in the past in regards to the likes of Yaya & Aaron Ramsey. Now I’m not suggesting that Ivanovic is going to turn into this seasons Yaya, but ignore him at your peril! Chelsea may have scored six against Everton but I suspect it will be the three that they conceded against the Toffees that Jose will focus on and I fully expect Chelsea to pick up a number of clean sheets over the coming weeks. At £7.2m Ivanovic is now the FPL’s most expensive defender but with the prospect of a significant number of clean sheets coupled with such an attacking threat, it could prove to be a worthwhile investment.

Despite finishing second last season Liverpool managed to concede 50 goals! Against Southampton they were lucky to concede just the one and City could easily have scored more than three. However, against Spurs in GW3 they looked more solid as they picked up their first clean sheet of the season and this is possibly a sign that their recent defensive signings are starting to settle in. Alberto Moreno endured a difficult debut against City but against Spurs he gave us a glimpse of what we can expect this season as he broke forward at every opportunity and was eventually rewarded with a well taken goal and I envisage the Spaniard picking up a number of goals and assists as the season progresses. At £5.0m Javier Manquillo is £0.5 cheaper than his compatriot and is unlikely to pick up as many attacking points but he has looked solid since joining on loan from Atletico Madrid and I feel he warrants some consideration.

With so many departures from St Mary’s over the summer it was difficult to know what to expect from Southampton and while it’s still early days the initial signs are good for new manager Ronald Koeman. Defensively they have looked quite solid and with the addition of Toby Alderweireld I expect them to keep a number of clean sheets over the coming weeks. I wouldn’t be at all surprised should the Belgian international go straight into the starting XI at home to Newcastle this weekend. The Belgian who joined on loan from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day, scored seven times in 128 league appearances for Ajax so he clearly has goals in his locker and at £5.0m he could prove to be a shrewd investment.

With three wins from three, six goals scored and just one conceded it’s safe to say that Swansea are one of the early season surprise packages. Neil Taylor had a difficult season opener against United and lasted just 52 minutes, but the Welsh international has bounced back well turning in two solid displays against Burnley & Wet Brom and picked up two bonus points in the game against Burnley. The Swans travel to face Chelsea this weekend and while they are highly unlikely to pick up a clean sheet in this one they follow it up with a run of games from which they could quite easily claim a number of clean sheets and should you be currently playing your wildcard the Welshman is certainly worth some consideration.

As I have alluded to above, defensively Stoke haven’t lived up to expectations during the opening three game-weeks. However, they have only conceded twice in three games and they did keep a clean sheet against the reigning champions so it’s certainly not time to panic! Having scored against Hull Ryan Shawcross is clearly the most popular of their defenders, yet my tip from the Potters’ defence this week is Marc Wilson. The Irish international has started the season ahead of Robert Huth beside Shawcross and to date he would appear to have done enough to make the position his own for the foreseeable future and at just £4.5m he potentially offers great value for money.

Finally, for those of you in the market for a cheap defender I’d advise you to consider Burnley’s Michael Duff or Leicester’s Liam Moore. Burnley are set to embark on a relatively easy run of fixtures and the acquisition of Duff will leave you money to spend elsewhere. It’s worth noting that Burnley have signed Michael Keane on loan from United but I suspect Duff will maintain his position, at least in the short term. Leicester were given a number of torrid opening fixtures, but have certainly not disgraced themselves as they secured draws against both Everton & Arsenal. Their fixtures are beginning to ease somewhat and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pick up a number of clean sheets in the coming weeks.

[divider_1px]

Midfielders

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]At just 19, Raheem Sterling is fast becoming a cornerstone for both Liverpool and the English international side. With only Aaron Ramsey & Diego Costa featuring in more teams Sterling is far from being a differential, but with two goals & an assist in his opening three games and costing just £8.7m he is close to being essential. Liverpool failed to sparkle in GW1 against Southampton and struggled against City in GW2 but against Spurs they showed glimpses of the attacking verve we witnessed so often last season and Sterling was at the centre of this as Rodgers played him at the point of a diamond midfield. While he’s unlikely to feature in this position in every game he is developing into the type of player who can influence a game from any position on the field.

Manchester United fans will be hoping that Angel Di Maria can bring his international form to Old Trafford this weekend. The Argentine was in scintillating form in the recent friendly international against Germany as he grabbed a goal & three assists and while this is no guarantee he will be a success at Old Trafford it certainly highlights his talents. Last season the Argentine had more assists (17) than any other player in La Liga and with the likes of Rooney, Van Persie & Falcao playing ahead of him, he could very well pick up a significant amount of assists this season. United haven’t had the greatest of starts to the season but as the new signings begin to settle in I suspect United will settle into a winning groove and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Di Maria is central to this.

Cesc Fabregas and Gylfi Sigurdsson have both been leading lights of the FPL in previous seasons so it hardly comes as a surprise to see them shining this season. Last season it was Eden Hazard who made Chelsea tick and while Fabregas is a completely different type of player to the Belgian it is he who is making Chelsea tick in the early part of this season, picking up four assists in the opening three games. Despite starting each of the three games beside Matic in the double-pivot role Fabregas has been given licence to get forward and it’s unlikely to be long before he starts adding goals to the assists. At just £6.5m and with a goal and four assists to his name after just three game-weeks I’m a little surprised that Siggy still only features in just under 37% of teams. The Icelandic international has enjoyed a dream return to The Liberty stadium and has made the number 10 position his own, meaning that Gary Monk is forced to choose between Bony and new signing Gomis as the lone frontman. After Chelsea this weekend the Swans have a number of winnable games and if you fancy gambling on them you could double up with Siggy and Nathan Dyer. Dyer has picked up three goals over the first three games and is benefitting from Siggy’s vision and is currently great value at £5.6m.

A couple of mid-priced midfielders who are worth some consideration are Crystal Palace’s Jason Puncheon and Everton’s Aidan McGeady. Many felt that Puncheon’s days may be over with the return of Neil Warnock to Selhurst Park, but Warnock is pragmatic enough to realise that Puncheon is one of Palace’s better players and he had no hesitation in starting him in is his first game back and Puncheon duly delivered with a goal. Palace have a number of relatively easy fixtures on the horizon and I fancy Puncheon to be amongst the goals in the coming weeks. There’s no denying that McGeady would be a gamble as he is not guaranteed to start every game for Everton. The Irish international has always flattered to deceive but Martinez is possibly the manager to get the most out of him and he has already chipped in with a goal and an assist this season. He scored twice on international duty last weekend and this is likely to have given his confidence a further boost.

[divider_1px]

Forwards

Sergio Aguero has certainly been eased into the new season starting the first two games from the bench before finally playing the full 90 minutes against Stoke in GW3, this however hasn’t stopped him scoring twice. Having also played 90 minutes for Argentina against Germany, a game in which he scored the opener, he is clearly fully fit and therefore I expect Aguero to start more often than not over the coming weeks. City travel to Arsenal this week before hosting Chelsea the following week but we have seen in the past that Aguero is a big game player, so I wouldn’t let these games stop you from bringing the Argentine into your squad.

Just like every other United player Wayne Rooney has struggled this season and has managed just a solitary goal from the opening three games, this has seen him transferred out by a significant number of FPL managers since the last deadline. Despite his struggles I’m tipping Rooney to be back amongst the goals sooner rather than later, particularly once United’s new arrivals settle in. There has been some talk of late to suggest that Rooney could be forced to play deeper so that RvP & Falcao can be played up top together and should this happen we may need to re-evaluate his FPL potential. Radamel Falcao already features in some 4.5% of teams and given his goal scoring record these 4.5% of teams look set to reap the rewards. Since arriving in Europe the Colombian has scored 41 in 51 for Porto, 52 in 68 for Atletico Madrid and 11 in 20 for Monaco. Many will point to the fact that Falcao has only just returned from a serious knee injury and therefore you should adopt a wait and see approach, but he has already scored twice in three games for Monaco this season and therefore I’m tipping him to be an immediate hit.

[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]

[/three_fourth]Despite it being obvious to the dog in the street that Arsenal were in dire need of a striker following the injury to Olivier Giroud, Arsene Wenger seemed destined to once more frustrate the Arsenal faithful as he spent deadline day refereeing a charity match in Rome. However at the 11th hour Arsenal swooped to bring Danny Welbeck to The Emirates from Old Trafford. Welbeck has never been what you could call prolific scoring 20 goals in 90 appearances for United but he has rarely been given the opportunity to play in his favoured position through the middle. However with Giroud ruled out until January the English international will surely be afforded the opportunity to play down the middle for his new club. Playing in his favoured position with the likes Sanchez, Cazorla, Ozil etc… creating chances for him I fully expect Welbeck to comfortably reach double figures this season and he could prove excellent value at just £6.9m.

At the time of writing there was no news as to the extent of Daniel Sturridge’s injury. If there are any doubts surrounding his fitness I fully expect him to sit out the Villa game, as Liverpool begin their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night. With these doubts surrounding Sturridge I’m tipping his strike partner Mario Balotelli. Perhaps he should have scored on his debut against Spurs but he fitted in quite well and his link up play with the likes of Sturridge & Sterling was encouraging. It’s unlikely that the Italian will ever be a prolific scorer but playing in this Liverpool team he will score goals due to the amount of chances they create and given their next six or seven games I suspect they will soon begin to rack up the goals.

Finally, a trio of cheaper strikers who warrant some consideration this week are Everton’s Steven Naismith, Hull’s Nikica Jelavic and Leonardo Ulloa of Leicester. Having scored in each of Everton’s first three games Naismith is currently proving naysayers wrong and at just £5.4m he is proving difficult to ignore. Jelavic has already scored twice and with the arrival of club record signing Abel Hernandez the Croat will be keen to prove that he is the clubs number one striker. Not many will have heard of Ulloa prior to this season but with goals against Everton & Arsenal he has certainly announced himself in the Premiership. Leicester’s fixtures are set to become somewhat easier over the coming weeks and Ulloa could possibly turn into an excellent differential.

Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 4. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79