Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 6 – Differentials
We probably say this every season, but it really does feel as though it’s taking a long time for things to settle down in this season’s FPL. Take a look at the defences and you’ll see that Southampton, Villa & Burnley have all kept three clean sheets but in all honesty you’re unlikely to have fielded Villa & Burnley defenders in all of the games in which they kept clean sheets. The midfield has proved a little more straightforward but picking forwards has proved a nightmare with Diego Costa the only big hitter to consistently deliver. All this combined is making it difficult for fantasy managers to build a side they are happy with for more than a week! And we’re going to complicate things for you even further as this week we have decided to take a brief look at a number of differentials whom we feel could deliver over the coming game-weeks.
Goalkeepers
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[/three_fourth]In all honesty we rarely if ever look towards a goalkeeper in terms of picking up a differential but two goalkeepers with surprisingly low ownership rates are Southampton’s Fraiser Forster (3.8%) and Burnley’s Tom Heaton (1.8%). This is even more surprising when you take a look at some basic stats. Southampton have conceded just three goals in their opening five games, keeping three clean sheets in the process while Burnley have also kept three clean sheets and have conceded only four times in their opening five games. So basically, both Forster and Heaton boast the best defensive records after the first five games of the season. If you already think it sounds too good to be true, it gets better! Forster will only set you back £5.0m making him the cheapest route into the Saints defence, while Heaton is priced at just £4.5m. Finally, both clubs but particularly Southampton have some excellent fixtures coming up and therefore I suspect both Forster & Heaton will add to the three clean sheets they have picked up so far.
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Defenders
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[/three_fourth]Similarly to goalkeepers it’s not often we pick a defender on the basis that he’s a differential. Some fantasy managers might consider investing in a big hitter such as Ivanovic or Baines as being a differential, but when such players feature in 25% & 16% of teams there is no way they can be considered differentials. I have however identified a number of defenders whose ownerships rates I consider to be a little on the low side.
The first of these is Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand who features in just 4.4% of teams. Southampton sold Luke Shaw to Man United for £27m in the summer and have replaced him with Bertrand who has joined on a season long loan from Chelsea… did United sign the wrong full-back? Bertrand has settled in extremely well at St. Marys, starting the first five games and picking up an assist in the process. All the attention has been focused on Nathaniel Clyne who has picked up a goal, an assist and four bonus points, but this has seen his price rise to £5.3m and he currently features in 19% of teams so if you’re on the hunt for a differential from the best defence in the league then Bertrand could be your man.
Three other defenders who could also be viewed as potential differentials are Swansea’s Neil Taylor (3.9%) Leicester’s Liam Moore (1.9%) and Stoke’s Marc Wilson (1.8%). Swansea have conceded just six goals in the first five games, keeping two clean sheets and with Taylor having claimed an assist against Chelsea I feel he represents decent value for money at just £4.6m, particularly when you take a look at Swansea’s next four fixtures. Leicester’s defensive record to date hasn’t been great, but they have faced the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal & United. Their fixtures are set to become far more favourable over the coming weeks and at just £4.0 Moore is worth some serious consideration if you’re on the hunt for a budget defender. The Stoke defence has thus far proved to be an extremely frustrating proposition for fantasy managers, they’ve conceded only five goals to date but have only kept the one clean sheet in the process. However their fixtures remain quite favourable over the next few weeks and they will hopefully pick up a couple of clean sheets!
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Midfielders
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[/three_fourth]Moving onto the midfield and the potential differentials become somewhat more interesting. Unsurprisingly Angel di Maria is grabbing all the midfield headlines at Old Trafford, he has after all picked up two goals, two assists and four bonus points in his last two games. However if the Argentine is a little expensive for you or you are after a differential you could consider his midfield colleague, Ander Herrera. The Spaniard ‘eventually’ arrived in Manchester this summer and he is now beginning to settle in after missing game-weeks 2 & 3 through injury. Since then he has scored twice, claimed an assist and two bonus points in the last two games. With United’s defence no more resilient than a tea-bag, they will be forced to score plenty of goals if they are to win games meaning Herrera will be required to push forward and he is currently available for just £7.3m and features in just 4.4% of teams.
It’s hard to believe that this is the same Liverpool side who very nearly won the league last season, well it’s not really, they no longer have the mercurial Luis Suarez in their ranks! Without the Uruguayan their football has been slow and it looks as though they’re passing for the sake of passing, but hopefully the imminent return of Daniel Sturridge will spark them back to life. If they can find that spark Steven Gerrard is likely to come more to the fore as he attempts to dictate the pace of the game from a deep lying position. There’s no denying that it would take a giant leap of faith to bring Gerrard into your side but more often than not a differential is also a punt! It shouldn’t be forgotten that Gerrard is still on the vast majority of set pieces including penalties and if Liverpool do find that spark he could be decent value at £8.9m and he currently features in just 5.2% of teams.
Before you read on you should probably sit down and I want you to know that I’m deadly serious, I don’t joke about football!! Ok, so now that I’ve given you due warning I can now unveil the one & only Stewart Downing! Downing has never reached the heights of…well actually he’s never reached any heights, although he has had a couple of respectable FPL seasons in the distant past. He has however showed some promise over the opening five games of the season, scoring one and he has also claimed an assist in each of his last two games and has picked up six bonus points to date. If you’re on the hunt for a cheapish midfielder Downing actually warrants some consideration at just £5.5m and featuring in only 2.4% of teams.
Our final midfield tips this week are two deep lying midfielders, both of whom who have already found the back of the net this season and they are Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Hull’s Mohamed Diame. Matic does all the donkey work while Fabregas plays all the sexy football but this didn’t stop the Serb picking up a goal and an assist against Everton. He is likely to pick up either two or three points more often than not, but at just £5.5m he is the cheapest route into the most potent attack in the league and he currently features in just 4.7% of teams. Diame would be the ultimate gamble having scored in each of his last two games there is a small chance that you’ve missed the boat with Diame, but he has impressed in these games and he currently features in just 0.4% of teams.
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Forwards
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[/three_fourth]Last season Liverpool were the darlings of FPL as they scored goals for fun and this led to Suarez being a must have while Sturridge also proved extremely popular. Anyone who has seen Man United play of late will have seen remarkable similarities between Liverpool of last season and United of this, they’ve scored goals at will but as soon as they come under any pressure they crumble like the French! If this trend continues and I see no reason as to why it won’t, it means that United attacking coverage will be essential. Robin van Persie scored his first goal of the season on Sunday against Leicester to give us all a timely reminder of his capabilities, not that we’d actually forgotten. Should van Persie remain injury free for the season he should manage 20 goals and in all honesty he should break through that barrier with United playing such free flowing football. Currently featuring in just 2.1% of teams he represents the ultimate differential, the only problem is that he’s an expensive differential as he costs £12.4m!!
As I’ve already mentioned above when transferring a differential into your team you are more often than not taking a punt and my next differential is most certainly a punt, it’s Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse. The Senegalese international missed the first four games of the season and played just 22 minutes against Hull last weekend but he’s already the clubs leading scorer having scored two off the bench against Hull. The Geordies currently sit bottom of the table with just three draws from their opening five games, but they will be hoping that their fight back against Hull will have been the spark to ignite their season and luckily their forthcoming fixtures are not the toughest. Cisse was a revelation when he joined Newcastle back in January 2012, scoring 13 goals in just 14 appearances. Unfortunately for Newcastle he has subsequently failed to reach those heights but should he manage to recapture that form and he could prove to be the ultimate differential as he features in just 0.1% of teams and at just £5.9m his price tag is most certainly budget friendly.
Next up is Southampton’s Graziano Pelle who currently features in just 7.4% of teams. The Saints are offering up value for money all over the park and at just £7.7m I feel that Pelle currently offers excellent value for money. The Italian had a slow start to the season, that is if you consider not scoring in the opening two games a slow start, but he has certainly come to the party in recent weeks with three goals, an assist and four bonus points in his subsequent three games. Ronald Koeman appears to have spent well over the summer and with Southampton having some great fixtures over the next six or seven game-weeks I suspect that Pelle will continue to impress.
Before the season kicked off much was made of Stoke’s new signing Bojan Krkic as he scored a few goals in preseason and everyone got excited by the fact that he had played for Barcelona and was only £5.5m. Unfortunately for those who invested in the Spanish international he turned out to be a flop! However, Stoke’s forward line still offers up a couple of differentials, namely Mame Diouf and Peter Crouch. Diouf (0.8%) has scored twice while Crouch (1.7%) picked up a goal and an assist last time out against QPR. Neither are likely to be prolific but at just £6.4 and £5.7 they won’t break the bank and Stoke do have some decent fixtures over the coming game-weeks.
Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 6. This article was written by Kop Warrior
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Hey y’all ..
My Banterbury league H2H rival & me have similar teams going into this Gwk, however these are the players that are different.
Which team looks home & dry..?
* assuming we both captain Costa & no transfers made.
1, Taylor, Terry, Mata, Ramsey, Rooney
Or
2, Clyne, Moreno, Di Maria, Fab, Balotelli
Lol, it’s a cointoss. Doubts for me are Mata/Ramsey and Moreno/Balo.
Hard to say but i would guess 2 has the edge.
Raz / NIN.
Fat lot a help you are.
😛
Ok my team being option 2
With 1 FT & 0.9itb what would you do with Balo / Moreno
Popz – Bit of an ‘outside the box’ suggestion here, i really think that Mangala is going to be a hit. He’s only played one game so far though so that may be a problem. I have him penciled in for the near future.
NIN,
Mangala, good shout.
I noticed he looked solid for City v Chelsea… Plus Demisnails hasn’t got the legs for the prem.
Him & Kompany could be the new Terry & Cahill of cleanies..
What about his potential goal threat….don’t know to much about him tbh ..?
Popz – He’s really dangerous from set pieces. 18 goals in 196 club appearances so far. Not bad at all.
NIN..
Mangala…
Really Impressive goal return for a defender,
1 goal in 11
Over a season = to 3 or 4 goals in the prem, plus cleanies / assists / Bp.
Mmmm sounds tasty…
He just needs to be nailed, then he’s in my team..!
Yeah Biggy, that’s all i’m waiting on mate. He took his time getting into the team but once he’s in full flow, he’s mine 😉 That might even be next week
1 would get the win for me, easily.. By a long shot !
Aha, so you’re 1? 😛
Lol
Can someone give me any ideas on what to do with my last remaining FT please guys?
– I already did 1 FT this week as I had 2 which was Mata > Di Maria
– My remaining concerns are De Gea, Collicini and not having Sterling.
– Possible ideas are Ramsey > Sterling / De Gea > Forster or Collicini to Clyne.
Please can someone give me some ideas? Cheers really appreciate your help!
mega – hmm, even more so than United, i think Newcastle defence has to go. Clyne is a great shout or if feel like going a bit mad, Baines.
I would trade Coloccini for Baines or Clyne depending on how tight you want your budget to be. Baines and Clyne are both great picks.
Your team GW6:
De Gea
Wisdom – Clyne/Baines – Taylor
Fabregas – Di Maria – Ramsey – Sigurdsson
Costa – Naismith – Rooney
Thank you all for your help! This will be my team for gameweek 6.
I’ve already used a sub to move Debuchy for Clyne. Based on upcoming schedules and form I’d like to Swap Rooney -> Ulloa and Wared-Prowse -> Sterling due to injury. Does this make sense to incur the -8? If I use a wildcard I’d likely also move Lloris for Forster and then still have extra money elsewhere. thoughts?
mrollinsiv – Nah, not worth a -8, for me. Wildcard activation is possibly the way to go here unless you would rather take a few -4’s in a row to get it sorted. I’m looking at Lloris, Given, Fonte, Williams, Lovren, Puncheon, Campbell and JWP for the chop. There are some great 4m/4.1m defenders like Duff/Wisdom who could save you quite a bit, to help with the midfield and front line. Even N.Taylor over Williams saves a little something. Yeah, i think i would wildcard here.
i think you’ve got way too much money tied up in defense and you should address this area in the coming weeks.
I wouldn’t advise on taking a 8 point hit when rooney is at home to west ham and will play so no harm leaving him for a week and sterling is playing in a derby after 120 mins of cup action last night.
sit tight and try to juggle what you have and then address the defense next week
Is it just me or has that dog got a massive head?!
Personally I’m seeing about 6 or 7 players there I’d swap which may warrant a WC but I think you can muddle through to a decent squad without over a few weeks. Leave Rooney this week. Can you do Ulloa straight for Campbell and play a 3-4-3 this week?
I can indeed go 1-1 on Ulloa and take the -4 pts.
I’d maybe do that for now then and give Rooney a last chance. I still reckon he will be in amongst the points.
what 3 would you suggest on back line? I was going to do Cahill / Clyne / Fonte
Yep those 3 sound good. Bit eggs in one basket on Southampton but it could work out well. It’s QPR after all.
We really need to talk about this dog.
You’re not going to talk to me about this dog are you?!
Team is linked. Thinking of doing Quinn and Pelle in for Lamela and Zamora, and shifting to a 3-4-3. Defence could muddle through this week, but I’m also considering getting Duff in for Coloccini. It’d be a 4pt hit but I think it might be worthwhile.
Quinn isn’t a great option but he’s cheap, and I’ll likely use this money plus Terry > Chambers/Moore to look at Aguero next week, in for Rooney perhaps. Thoughts?
Pippin I’d do those moves but leave the extra one for a hit. Your defence can get through. Difficult to justify a hit on an away defender for me.
Thanks init. I tend to agree re hits at the back. Coloccini might get a CS sometime haha… Will only earn me 0.3m anyway, which may not matter. I could do Terry > Duff next week
Why does everyone panic about having Aguero in there team?. Everyone acts like he’s excellent every season and is worth £12m. Over the past 2 seasons he’s gathered 277 points, which in my opinion doesn’t warrant that price tag. You could spread that money over your squad and get players that actually out point him anyway.
Past 2 seasons.
Lukaku: 327 points
Baines: 346 points
Rooney: 333 points
Hazard: 392 points
Ivanovich: 302 points
Silva: 298 points
Sturridge: 296 points
Gerrard: 390 points
All of the above are cheaper and have racked up more points. You could build a much better team without Aguero if your smart.
Ant, did you look at how many minutes he played as well? He was injured for a significant part of last season, yet he was still able to rack up the points. So the thinking is if he can stay healthy long enough and can play 60+ minutes consistently, he would have the most points.
Example 1 from last season:
Aguero – 156 points; 1528 minutes played
Baines – 169 points; 2838 minutes played
Lukaku – 168 points; 2598 minutes
Hazard – 202 points; 2890 minutes (almost twice as many minutes as Aguero, but did he get twice as many points?)
So it’s all about the points per 90 minutes ratio or whatever you want to call it.
I understand that. But your not going to keep taking him in and out leaving £5m un-spent every time he’s injured. He’s lit up orange more times than a traffic light.
High risk/high reward. You don’t fancy him for your team, we get it. Yaaaawn