Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 13

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 13

So here we are at GW13, it will be lucky for some and unlucky for others. GW12 proved rather unlucky for many as the likes of Baines, Chadli and Downing, all of whom have relatively high ownership levels, were all forced to miss their respective games through injury, meaning some fantasy managers really did need to utilise their bench to extract every last point from a rather lifeless game-week. This once more just goes to prove how important our benches are, particularly with the games set to come at us thick and fast over the coming four or five weeks. This is likely to lead to players missing out with niggles while managers choose to rotate in an attempt to keep their players fresh. This week we haven’t just gone with the obvious choices, we have instead decided to bring a number of potential differentials to your attention, some obvious some not so obvious.

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]As I’ve mentioned on these pages in the past, it’s unlikely that any of us will ever pick a keeper just because he’s a differential, in fact with such a small pool to choose from it’s unlikely that there are any keeper differentials. So this week I’ve simply decided to look at a number of keepers whom I feel have surprisingly low ownership levels and first up is Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski (6.2%). It appears to have gone somewhat unnoticed that after the opening 12 games the Swans have the joint 3rd best defence in the league with just 13 goals conceded, while Fabianski has kept five clean sheets, a figure only bettered by Southampton’s Fraser Forster. I’m sure you’ll agree that these are pretty impressive stats? Now take a look at their fixtures between now and the time when the January wildcard is available. They have a run of eight fixtures which are pretty straightforward and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Pole build upon his tally of clean sheets between now and January. If you have decided that now is the time to part company with the aforementioned Forster I strongly believe that Fabianski at £5.1m deserves some serious consideration.

Next up is Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois (10.5%). Now I can already hear you mumbling that with an ownership of 10.5% the Belgian stopper is quite popular and you’re correct but bear with me for a moment. Chelsea currently have the 2nd best defence in the league having conceded just 11 in their opening 12 games, unfortunately, as I have mentioned a number of times in recent weeks this has only translated into four clean sheets. However I suspect that this will change over the coming weeks and we will see them turn in clean sheets on a regular basis, take a look at their next nine or ten games if you don’t believe me. Over the opening 12 game-weeks many fantasy managers have successfully doubled up with Southampton at the back and this is why I have included Courtois this week…maybe it’s time to double up on Chelsea at the back? Ok, so it will be a little more expensive than double Southampton but I reckon it has the possibility to turn into an excellent differential as few will be brave enough to take the leap! Should you choose to take the gamble I feel you need to include Courtois who at £6.0m is cheaper than a number of the other candidates.

Finally, given recent form and future fixtures, two other keepers whom I feel warrant a mention this week are West Ham’s Adrian (0.8%) and QPR’s Rob Green (1.7%). Defensively West Ham are one of the form teams in the league having conceded just six in their last six games, keeping two clean sheets in that period. Six of their eight games ahead of the January wildcard are on paper quite straightforward and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Adrian pick up a minimum of three clean sheets. QPR have turned in a number of improved displays of late, unfortunately for the R’s fans they have failed to turn these performances into points, although they have faced both Chelsea and City. They have a mixed bag of fixtures between now and the January wildcard, but it is worth noting that Green rotates quite well with Swansea’s Fabianski until January and beyond.

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]I’m pretty sure that the majority of managers will agree with me when I say that I expect Chelsea to have the best defence in the league come May and therefore I feel that Cesar Azpilicueta at £6.0m and currently featuring in just 7.4% is a superb fantasy prospect, not just over the coming weeks but for the remainder of the season. The Spaniards defensive colleague Branislav Ivanovic currently features in just under 24% of teams and is priced at £7.2m, however over recent game-weeks Azpi’s stats are quite favourable when compared with those of Ivan and therefore I see no reason to go with the Serb over the Spaniard (cue at least a goal for Ivan this weekend!). As I mentioned above when discussing Thibaut Courtois, now might be the time to double up on the Chelsea defence and if this is a path you decide to follow I would suggest pairing Azpi with Courtois.

As I have already outlined above, Swansea have kept five clean sheet to date, so to some extent it comes as a surprise to see that their defence has to date not proved more popular, particularly Neil Taylor (7.2%) who is currently priced at just £4.7m. Swansea’s recent form has been somewhat patchy with two wins & two draws in their last six, conceding seven in the period, although in their last three games they’ve faced Everton, Arsenal & City. Having come through these tougher fixtures they are now set to embark on a great run of fixtures and I suspect that at £4.7m Taylor could prove excellent value for money over the coming weeks.

In winning the league last season Manchester City had the league’s 2nd best defence, conceding 37 and keeping 16 clean sheets in the process. With this in mind you have to expect that they will get their act together at the back sooner rather than later. In saying that it’s not like they’re that bad at the back, after all they’ve got the 3rd best defence in the league, they just haven’t turned this into clean sheets. Following this week’s trip down to the south coast where they face Southampton they have on paper a run of fixtures from which they could quite conceivably pick up a number of clean sheets and at £5.3m Gael Clichy (4.9%) warrants some consideration, particularly with Aleksandar Kolarov currently on the sidelines.

For those of you who are shopping on a budget a trio of defenders currently worth considering are QPR’s Yun Suk-Young (1.3%), Aston Villa’s Aly Cissokho (3.0%) and United’s Patrick McNair (0.4%). We’ve included Yun a number of times of late and while he has picked up just the one clean sheet from five starts, he is playing consistently and for £3.9m you don’t really expect much more! Villa sit bottom of the current form table with just two draws from their last six games during which time they’ve conceded 10 goals, not a ringing endorsement for their defence. However they have a decent run of fixtures between now and January and there is a decent chance they will return to their early season solidity. McNair has started four games this season and United have won all four! Despite their injuries at the back they have conceded just six in their last six games and aside from a trip to Southampton they have a decent run of games until January, meaning McNair could prove excellent value for money at £4.4m. Granted, a number of defenders could return but they’re just as likely to pick up yet another injury…and people say Arsenal have issues with injuries!!

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]Chelsea are currently flying high with a six point lead at the top of the table, winning five & drawing one of their last six games, scoring 11 times in the process. With the Pensioners displaying such excellent form it’s perhaps rather surprising to see that one of their key players currently features in just 5.7% of teams, of course I’m referring to their Brazilian international, Oscar. The Brazilian is fast becoming an integral cog in Jose’s machine and has started each of the last seven games during which time he has scored three and claimed two assists. Obviously Cesc Fabregas remains Mr. Consistent while Eden Hazard is always capable of turning in some big scores, but at just £8.5m Oscar is excellently priced and for the those of you who are looking to ship out Dusan Tadic, the Brazilian at the very least warrants some consideration, particularly if you don’t own either Cesc or Hazard.

Last season Yaya Toure was a one man wrecking ball, this season he has just been a man without a birthday cake! He finished last season with a staggering 20 goals and nine assists, after the opening 12 game-weeks of this season he has just two goals and an assist to his name, but encouragingly one of the goals and the assist have come in his last two games. The continued absence of David Silva has seen Toure pushed slightly further forward of late and this has seen him become a little more influential, although you would have to assume that once the Spaniard returns that Toure will once again drop a little deeper. However even if that does occur Toure has given us a reminder that there is life in the old dog yet! At £10.7m he would be a massive gamble, but then again the majority of differentials are gambles and should he kick on from here he represents an excellent one as he features in just 6.5% of teams.

With six goals to his credit Nacer Chadli has proven to be the key man for Spurs this season, but as a result he now features in over 18% of teams meaning he can certainly not be considered a differential. Christian Eriksen was afforded just 45 minutes in each of game-weeks 10 & 11 meaning he picked up the grand total of one point from those two games, so perhaps it is unsurprising that he currently features in just 7.9% of teams. There’s no denying his talent and he gave us a timely reminder last time out against Hull with a goal and assist, it’s just a pity he can go MIA for entire games from time to time. Tottenham have a mixed bag of fixtures between now and January but if you’re willing to take a punt the Dane could quite easily return it!

Everton duo Ross Barkley (4.4%) and Kevin Mirallas (1.9%) both clearly represent an excellent differential, the problem is that Roberto Martinez continues to rotate the three he plays behind Romelu Lukaku. However these two are possibly his most consistent and creative midfielders so I suspect that both will start more often than not over the coming weeks, Barkley has started four of the last five while Mirallas returned to the side last weekend having missed the previous five games through injury. The Toffees have a mixed bag of fixtures between now and the new year but they have shown some signs of form in recent weeks and they are more than capable of picking up points against any team and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see both Barkley & Mirallas amongst the fantasy points over the coming weeks.

My final two midfield tips this week really are a couple of punts, they are United’s Ashley Young (0.8%) and West Ham’s Morgan Amalfitano (0.3%). With Luke Shaw set for a spell on the sidelines Ashley Young is likely to deputise at left wing back for the next three or four games. Having impressed in preseason much was expected of Young this season but he has failed to deliver and a combination of poor form and injury has seen his price drop from £5.5m to £4.9m. West Ham currently have a number of midfielders carrying knocks which could see Amalfitano get a run in the side. The Frenchman has failed to nail down a place since joining from Marseille on deadline day but he has still managed to weigh in with a couple of goals and an assist.

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]There’s no denying that Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa are the two best forwards in the premier league this season. However given the fact that their combined price tag is £23.8m some fantasy managers will be reluctant to have both in their squad. Graziano Pelle has proved a great alternative this season, but with Southampton’s fixtures set to go a little ‘Pete Tong’ coupled with the fact that the Italian has failed to score in four games, managers are starting to look elsewhere for goals. With Wayne Rooney currently the 6th most popular forward with an ownership of 14.3%, it is on first glance difficult to consider him a differential. However, given the fact that he has recently missed three games through suspension and his goal against Arsenal was his first since GW6 I suspect that he features in a significant number of ghost teams. It appears that LvG will use his captain from deep but as we’ve seen in the past Rooney has the ability to influence a game from anywhere on the pitch and with his performances on the international scene having boosted his confidence I’ve a sneaky suspicion that Rooney will remain amongst the goals over the coming weeks.

Oh how Arsenal have missed Olivier Giroud…now there’s something I never thought I’d say! The Gunners haven’t exactly struggled for goals this season, in fact they’re the leagues 5th highest scorers with 20 goals. However the majority of these goals have come from midfield and Danny Welbeck has only scored twice, a figure that is matched by Giroud despite the Frenchman only making three substitute appearances this season. We all know that Arsene and a mule have a lot in common but surely he will he will choose to start his compatriot over the coming gameweeks now that he has returned from injury and as he currently features in just 3% of teams he really does represent an excellent differential.

Aside from Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea players continue to fly under the radar and this certainly includes Wilfried Bony who currently features in just 4.7% of teams, this despite the fact that he scored 17 times last season and has hit the back of the net five times this season. I accept that many managers will be reluctant to have both Siggy and Bony in their teams as they play for unfashionable Swansea but one look at their upcoming fixtures would suggest there is absolutely no reason not to include both.

Having scored 11 goals between them everyone is aware of QPR’s Charlie Austin and West Ham’s Diafra Sakho, so it is a little surprising to see that they feature in just 5.5% and 7% of teams respectively. Both teams have a relatively decent run of games until January and with both priced under £6.0m the acquisition of either one might just allow you to pair the dynamic duo of Costa & Aguero together. I should point out that at the time of writing Sakho is still carrying a yellow flag so if he’s in your plans I’d suggest you check in with us on Friday afternoon when Cookie brings us ‘Team Talk’.

My final tip this week is Romelu Lukaku (8.9%)…yes Mr. Frustration himself. We’ve all had Lukaku in our team from time to time over the past few seasons, he’s brought us nothing but frustration so we’ve sold him only for him to go and score in the very next game. The moral of the story is to pick the Belgian and leave him in your team as the goals will come, but you will need patience and apparently it’s a virtue!

Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 13. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

Fantasy Football Podcast GW13
Featuring our very own Yorkshireman in Japan Bryan ‘don’t wish me luck’ Munich…