Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 15
How much fun is this?! Games coming thick and fast, players picking up injuries & suspensions, while some clubs have the audacity not to hold a press conference to let us know that player X is injured. I’ll leave it to you to figure out the club and player in question! Back to my question, its great fun, isn’t it? It makes things more exciting and keeps us all on our toes. And the fun isn’t over yet, no sooner has GW14 finished than we have to start planning for GW15 and for those of you that haven’t enjoyed the ride…just wait until Christmas. Enough of this waffle…Chins, how am I doing on the word count?! There are now six game-weeks remaining before we all have the dreaded January wildcard available and therefore we will do our best this week and over the coming weeks to highlight the players we feel can deliver during this period.
Goalkeepers
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[/three_fourth]Take a look at the transfer market on an average game-week and you’re unlikely to see a great deal of activity surrounding the goalkeepers. However with popular keepers such as Tim Krul and Fraser Forster being ditched for different reasons there is more interest than usual in the men between the sticks. If you are in the market for a keeper and you have £5.2m to spare, then you should at the very least be considering Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski. Swansea currently have the league’s 4th best defence having conceded just 14 times to date with Fabianski keeping six clean sheets in the opening 14 game-weeks. Given their current form (just four goals conceded in their last six games) and their upcoming fixtures I firmly believe that the Pole is a great option between now and January.
The inclusion of David De Gea might seem somewhat of an odd choice as the United defence has been derided both in fantasy circles as well as in reality quite a bit over the course of the season. However there have been signs of late that they are slowly but surely turning things around and they have conceded just four goals in their last six games with De Gea picking up two clean sheets in his last four. United still have a number of injuries at the back but the majority of these players are due to return in the coming weeks, meaning LvG will soon have a full deck of defenders to choose from which can only help De Gea’s cause. Following Monday nights trip to St. Mary’s they have a relatively easy run of fixtures into 2015 and I wouldn’t be at all surprised should the Spaniard pick up a number of clean sheets over the coming weeks.
A couple of other keepers who I feel warrant a mention this week are Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan and Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois. Guzan proved quite popular in the early part of the season as he kept three clean sheets in the opening four games, unfortunately he conceded 15 in the following six games. However he has kept two clean sheets in his last four games and Villa’s upcoming fixtures suggest that another few clean sheets are a distinct possibility. To be honest Courtois deserves a mention every week given Chelsea’s current form, I’m just giving him a brief mention this week as I’m sure he’ll feature heavily over the coming weeks.
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Defenders
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[/three_fourth]Let’s start with the heavy hitters and for me the standout candidates in this category are Everton’s Leighton Baines and Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta. Everton haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last four games and they’ve only kept three all season, however let’s be honest you don’t pick Baines for his clean sheets, they’re just an added bonus when they come along. There’s no getting away from the fact that he’s the most expensive defender in the game, but with him in your team you have a defender who you can rely on to weigh in with more than the occasional goal or assist. Whereas you don’t buy Baines for his clean sheets you most certainly do purchase Azpi for clean sheets. Chelsea have now kept six clean sheets and significantly they have now had three in a row. If I remember correctly, Chelsea struggled to keep clean sheets in the early part of last season but once they started they didn’t stop and it looks like it’s about to happen again this season. Azpi is also offering more of an attacking threat than he did last season and picked up his 2nd assist of the season on Wednesday night against Spurs and at £6.1m he is possibly the best value for money defender available at present. Should you choose to pair Baines with Azpilicueta in your defence you will have two defenders who you can confidently play every week, meaning you can pick up three cheap defenders to rotate with them.
As I have already outlined above, Swansea are in good form and have some decent fixtures between now and the January wildcard, so I feel that I should once more include a Swans defender. In recent weeks I have included Neil Taylor as I believe he is great value for money, but having picked up his 5th yellow card of the season the Welsh international is suspended for GW15, so my tip this week is Ashley Williams. The club captain has been as ever present this season and has picked up seven bonus points to date which is four more than any of his defensive colleagues. I should however point out that Williams is on four yellow cards, so a suspension is in all likelihood just around the corner. Should you feel that Williams is too expensive at £5.2m you could always take a gamble on Kyle Bartley who has started the last four in place of the injured Federico Fernandez and is priced at just £3.9m, however I would expect Fernandez to reclaim the position once he returns from injury.
In recent weeks we have tipped West Ham defenders James Tomkins & Aaron Cresswell and they haven’t let us down over the past two game-weeks as Cresswell scored in GW13 while Tomkins scored in GW14. The Hammers have a mixed bag of fixtures between now and 2015, while they have a number of rather easy games, they also travel to Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day and follow this up with the visit of Arsenal in GW19. Despite these two rather difficult fixtures I believe both Tomkins and Cresswell continue to warrant consideration. While West Ham’s defensive stats are not the greatest, they have only the joint 7th best defence in the league, they have shown signs of improvement of late and have conceded just six times in their last six games, keeping two clean sheets in their last four. Both have a goal and two assists to their credit so there’s little to separate them, although Cresswell is £0.5m more expensive at £5.4m, however he would appear to be more assured of his place as he has started every game to date. It’s also worth noting that Tomkins is currently on four yellow cards.
My last two defensive tips this week are Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton and Arsenal’s Calum Chambers. As I have outlined above Villa have of late looked like the team that picked up three clean sheets in their first four games. Given Villa’s next six fixtures the Scottish international at just £4.2m could prove to be great value for money over the coming game-weeks. Arsenal’s clean sheet against Southampton on Wednesday night was their 5th of the season and while they continue to look unconvincing they have started to grind out results making Chambers great value for money despite his price having risen to £5.0m. Mathieu Debuchy is apparently nearing a return but it will surely take some time for him to regain his match fitness and I feel that Chambers is safe enough in the short-term.
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Midfielders
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[/three_fourth]Given Chelsea’s current form can you afford to do without one of their midfield maestros, otherwise known as Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Oscar? Fabregas and Hazard are now tied on 78 points although they certainly accumulate their points in a different manner. Whereas Cesc has one goal and 10 assists, Hazard has five goals and two assists. In FPL terms Fabregas is clearly the more consistent of the two while Hazard is the more explosive. This explosiveness makes him excellent captaincy material and given his form at Stamford Bridge in recent game-weeks I would probably go with the Belgian over the Spaniard at present. Oscar doesn’t quite have the consistency of Fabregas nor the explosiveness of Hazard but he has still weighed in with three goals & four assists to date and therefore he should not be ignored. The Brazilian is over £1.0m cheaper than the other two and he also represents an excellent differential as he features in just 6.6% of teams.
I’m sure most of you will agree with me when I say that Sergio Aguero is currently the best player in the Premier League and most of you will probably also agree that Alexis Sanchez is the 2nd best. Arsenal are struggling with him in the side, can you imagine what they would be like without him? He’s their best player and has already become their talisman. The Chilean international now has nine goals & two assists to his name while he has also claimed 16 bonus points, only the aforementioned Aguero has claimed more baps. Arsenal have a relatively straightforward fixture list between now and January and I suspect Sanchez will enjoy the remainder of 2014.
For whatever the reason Juan Mata does not appear to figure in Louis Van Gaal’s long-term plans. The Spaniard played 90 minutes in game-weeks 1&2 and has played the full 90 minutes in the last two game-weeks, but in the intervening 10 game-weeks he only played 90 minutes once. Despite this he has four goals & an assist to his credit, with only Wayne Rooney having scored more goals. With both Di Maria & Rooney both currently sidelined I would expect Mata to maintain his spot in the starting XI, what happens once they’re fit is anyone’s guess, especially if Mata can turn in a couple of decent performances. If you’re looking for a short-term punt Mata could be your man and he represents a decent differential as he currently features in just 6.6% of teams. Before you bring Mata into your squad I would check in with us for Friday’s ‘Team Talk’ when hopefully we will have an update on both ADM & Rooney.
It’s been a while since a Liverpool player has featured in this article, thanks to Raheem Sterling’s loss of form and Daniel Sturridge being injured, although the fact that they haven’t been able to buy a win hasn’t helped. Despite back to back wins over the mighty Stoke and the powerful Leicester we are not getting carried away but given their fixtures between now and January I feel they might just be worth taking a punt on. Steven Gerrard is not a defensive midfielder and I don’t think he ever will be, there I said it. Despite finishing 2nd last season, they still conceded 50 goals which isn’t a great advert for a defensive midfielder. Having been benched for the game against Stoke he came on and played further up the field a role he also adopted against Leicester and it was no surprise that he turned in his best display of the season at King Power stadium. Hopefully Rodgers has seen the light and he continues to play Gerrard where he can influence a game and should this be the case I reckon he could be a decent punt over the coming game-weeks. It’s pretty safe to say that Liverpool’s summer signings have failed to set the world alight, but Adam Lallana has shown glimpses of the form he demonstrated at Southampton last season, yet for some reason Rodgers doesn’t seem to agree. Should Rodgers realise that Lallana deserves an extended run in the side he could prove to be an excellent differential.
My final two midfield picks this week are West Ham’s Stewart Downing and Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak. Downing has kept the points ticking over this season and while the Hammers have struggled for goals in recent weeks Diafra Sakho is expected to return this weekend and West Ham are a better side when he plays. Jedinak has become a fantasy prospect of late thanks to two goals in his last three games to bring his tally to five. He’s on penalties & free kicks and at £5.2m he’s currently offering decent value for money.
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Forwards
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[/three_fourth]There has been much debate over recent weeks about one Diego Costa. Many managers are fed up jumping on and off the Brazilian due to injuries & his recent suspension and many are now questioning whether it’s time to jump off permanently. There is also a theory that he’s not explosive, which is possibly true as he has only twice hit double figures this season, the last of which was back in GW4. The managers that adhere to these theories will argue that he is too expensive for what he offers and that there is better value elsewhere, and they may actually be correct but I disagree! He is after all the leagues 2nd highest goal scorer with 11 goals and in the last six games in which he has played he has scored four times which is not electric but it has kept the points ticking over. The fact that he is playing for the league’s best team should not be ignored either. While others might be more explosive they do not have the likes of Fabregas, Hazard & Oscar creating chances for them and therefore I’m firmly in the Costa camp.
There may be questions surrounding Diego Costa and whether he should or shouldn’t be in your squad. There are no such questions surrounding Sergio Aguero, if you don’t have him the only question I have for you is, why not? The Argentinean now has 14 goals to his credit this season and that makes it 30 in his last 33 Premier League appearances. As we’ve suggested in recent weeks City are slowly moving up a gear and they have scored 11 goals in their last four games and this has led to Aguero picking up his first assists of the season. If you don’t already have Aguero in your squad take a look at their next six or seven fixtures, then try and work out how you’re going to get him in, it doesn’t matter how you do it, just do it! Given his current form he is a candidate for the armband every game-week and while it won’t work out all the time, more often than not you will reap the benefits.
Two mid-priced strikers who deserve a mention are Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Swansea’s Wilfried Bony. Ahead of GW13 we tipped Lukaku and said he was likely to frustrate and surprise surprise he blanked away to Spurs, but in all honesty it was a flat performance from the team. However, against Hull on Wednesday night he scored to make it six for the season. Everton are struggling to find any consistency at present but you do have to suspect that it’s just around the corner making Lukaku a tempting differential. When Bony failed to score in his opening six games many began to wonder if he had only been a one season wonder. Not only was he not scoring, he was dropped and failed to start in game-weeks 4, 5&6. However something has sparked him into life and in the eight subsequent games he has claimed six goals and an assist. Given their remaining fixtures in 2014 he could be a great shout as we move towards the festive period.
As we have noted time & time again over recent weeks, this really has been the season of the cheap / budget forward. The only problem with such players is knowing when to buy and when to sell. In my opinion the two worth buying at the moment are QPR’s Charlie Austin and Burnley’s Danny Ings. Austin has been in sparkling form of late, scoring five in his last six games to bring his tally to seven for the season. Five of his goals have been scored at Loftus Road so he is clearly more comfortable in familiar surroundings, but with his next three home games against Burnley, West Brom and Palace I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit double figures before 2015 arrives. It might be worth considering getting a decent midfielder who rotates well with Austin so that you can bench him when QPR are on their travels. Danny Ings just like Burnley enjoyed a quiet start to life in the Premier League and he had to wait until game-week nine to his first goal of the season but he is now starting to look like the player who scored 21 goals in the Championship last season and has four goals and an assist in his last six. Burnley don’t have the easiest of fixtures between now and 2015 but given his form and price (£5.8m) I reckon the youngster deserves some consideration.
Finally, for those of you that like a punt and I know that there are a few of you out there I’ll leave you with Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke and Liverpool’s Rickie Lambert. Benteke returned to the starting XI for Tuesday night’s game against Palace following a three match ban and duly scored his first goal of the season. If Benteke can recapture his form of two seasons past and to a lesser extent last season he will certainly not be a punt and given Villa’s upcoming fixtures he will have every chance to rediscover that form. When Lambert arrived at Liverpool early in the summer it was assumed that he was being bought to be the clubs 4th choice striker, however things have not transpired in that manner and suddenly he’s 1st choice! He has a goal and an assist from his last three games meaning his confidence will be up and with an ownership of just 2.6% you could reap the rewards of a gamble. He who dares….
Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 15. This article was written by Kop Warrior
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WooFBet
Over on the WooFBet website they have a special tournament running from Gameweek 14 to Gameweek 19 called ‘Decembers Best Manager’, which is free to enter and has a whopping €500 up for grabs.
To enter, visit woofbet.com and sign up (no card details required). Navigate to the Tournament section and click participate on the ‘Decembers Best Manager – €500 FREEROLL’.
The exclusive FF247 league is back for GW15 and has a prize pool of €150 and it is free to enter so get yourselves over there sharpish!
Isn’t it time your fantasy manager job finally paid off!
Thanks kop, enjoyed that!