Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 20

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 20

So that’s the first half of the season done & dusted, how was it for you? A couple of weeks back we suggested that the festive period would be a rollercoaster and that has certainly been the case, the average scores over the past three game-weeks have been 47, 61 & 37. As expected it has proved a frustrating time for fantasy managers as we’ve dealt with rotation and injuries. The good news is that following the games on New Year’s Day we get a nine day break thanks to the 3rd round of the FA Cup. What’s more, once the deadline bell rings on New Year’s morning you can choose to activate the January wildcard, something I suspect many of us will be doing! Because this is the last game-week before the availability of the January wildcard we have decided to simply focus our tips on game-week 20, so below we have detailed a number of players whom we feel can deliver on January 1st, hopefully none of them are rotated!!!!

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]I appreciate it’s unlikely that many of you will bring in a keeper for just one week ahead of playing your January wildcard, but just in case any of you crazy kids are doing that we will as usual start with the men with the gloves. With City 2-0 up at halftime and seemingly cruising at home to Burnley on Sunday afternoon, Joe Hart owners had in all likelihood banked those six points. Come fulltime, just like the City fans, they were distraught to have only picked up a point as City somehow managed to throw away that two goal lead. Since picking up three clean sheets on the bounce between game-weeks 15 & 17 City have failed to keep clean sheets against both West Brom & Burnley, games many would have seen as guaranteed clean sheets. However, I’m tipping Hart to start 2015 with a shutout as City entertain Sunderland who have scored just 16 goals all season and have managed just four in their last six games. While Hart is expensive at £6.2m, he would appear to be the only guaranteed starter in the City rear guard, a rear-guard that has only conceded 17 goals in the first half of the season.

It’s impossible to have a discussion about goalkeepers at present without including one David de Gea. It’s hard to believe that the Spaniard is now into his fourth season with United as it seems like only yesterday that the scrawny, snotty nosed 20 year old rocked up at Old Trafford. For long periods of time it appeared as though he wasn’t good enough to play for a club who have had the likes of Stepney, Schmeichel & Van Der Sar between the sticks over the years but he has most certainly come of age this season and is now surely one of the top keepers in Europe? He’s kept four clean sheets in his last nine games which may not sound great, but he only conceded one goal in each of the other five games. United now boast the fourth best defence in the league and don’t forget that’s despite conceding five against Leicester, yes Leicester. United face Stoke on New Year’s Day in what will be a tough game for them but with LvG’s defensive crisis beginning to abate coupled with De Gea’s form I’m tipping the Spaniard to pass the Daz doorstep challenge!

For those of you who need to free up some cash and are willing to take a points hit to do so you could do a lot worse than consider Newcastle’s Jak Alnwick. Granted Newcastle have been terrible at the back of late conceding 12 in their last six but they host a Burnley side this week who are likely to still be in shock having scored twice against City and will most likely revert to nature and shoot blanks. The main thing is, Alnwick is £4.0m, he’ll play and he might keep a clean sheet! What more can you ask?

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]Did you ever play musical chairs or the hokey pokey as a kid? Perhaps you still do?! Maybe you don’t even know what I’m talking about, but if you own any of Manchester City’s four fullbacks you’ll certainly know what I’m talking about as they’ve been playing ‘you’re it’ with their jerseys over the festive period. Having sat out game-weeks 17 & 19 I’m tipping Gael Clichy to be ‘it’ on New Year’s Day. The French international has turned in some impressive displays this season and has actually looked like a decent fullback. If you’re not prepared to take a risk on Clichy, you could always consider either Demichelis or Mangala both of whom should start if Vincent Kompany is once more ruled out.

Phil Jones has now started four consecutive games which would certainly suggest that he is 100% match fit, unfortunately for Jones, his next injury is never very far away. In those four games United have kept two clean sheets conceding just one goal in each of the other two, so it’s clear that he has fitted into LvG’s system. His displays in these games have been impressive and he could very well prove to be United’s defensive lynchpin, at least for the remainder of this season.

Three other defenders who warrant some consideration this week are Newcastle’s Daryl Janmaat, West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell and Villa’s Alan Hutton. Newcastle have been rather porous at the back of late but this week they face goal shy Burnley so a clean sheet is not beyond the bounds of possibility and Janmaat is always a good bet for some attacking points. West Ham will be eager to bounce back from consecutive defeats and who would bet against them as they face managerless West Brom at Upton Park. The Baggies have scored just five in their last six games and like Janmaat, Cresswell enjoys getting forward. Villa picked up their 6th clean sheet of the season against Sunderland on Sunday and this week they face a Crystal Palace side who have scored just twice in their last six, so don’t be surprised if Villa make it seven!

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]In the absence of any recognised forwards David Silva has certainly stepped up to the plate when City needed him most. In fantasy football circles he’s been likened to Santa as he has delivered four goals and an assist over the past three game-weeks. In recent games James Milner has been deployed in the ‘false 9’ role but it has been Silva who has benefited as he has taken advantage of the space created by Milner. There is a chance that Stevan Jovetic could return for the Sunderland game but that shouldn’t effect Silva in the number 10 position. City play Sunderland this week, a team who have had some decent results against City in recent seasons, but not in GW14 when City were 4-1 winners at The Stadium of Light. City have been in great form of late, aside from the slip up to Burnley, and have scored 14 goals in their last six games. I see no reason for this run of form to come to an end against Sunderland and I fully expect the diminutive Silva to orchestrate another victory.

This season hasn’t gone quite as expected on Merseyside with Liverpool lying in 8th place while Everton languish in 12th, seven points behind the reds. Liverpool have shown signs, albeit very small signs, of improvement in recent games having won their last two and in all honesty they should have beaten Arsenal. Unlike Manchester City, Liverpool have a number of fit forwards, it’s just that they’re crap and therefore Brendan Rodgers has turned to Raheem Sterling to spearhead the attack. The youngster has adapted relatively well to the role and if truth be told he should have more than one goal to his name over the last four league games. Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana have been deployed in support of Sterling with the Brazilian claiming a goal & two assists in his last three games, while Lallana has claimed two goals and an assist in his last three. Liverpool are still but a shadow of last season’s team but I reckon any of the above three are worth a one week punt as the reds host Leicester on New Year’s Day. With just one win in their last six Everton’s form of late has been shocking so it might come as somewhat of a surprise to see Kevin Mirallas included here this week, but don’t forget that this is all about a punt for one game-week and Everton face Hull this week! Roberto Martinez, much to the frustration of fantasy managers is constantly rotating his attacking midfielders but with the Belgian having started just one of the past three games I reckon he’ll start against Hull and he has scored three in his last six appearances.

Manchester United’s scoreless draw against Spurs last Sunday was the first time since GW10 they failed to find the back of the net. Juan Mata was in and out of the side for the first 12 games of the season but the Spanish international has now started the last seven games. With two goals and two assists in his last six games he has shown glimpses of the form he displayed in his first two seasons with Chelsea. If you don’t have £8.5m to spend on Mata you could always take a massive punt on Ashley Young! Like Mata he has started the last seven games and has actually turned in a couple of impressive displays and is probably unlucky to have come away with just one assist in that time. United travel to Stoke on Thursday and while Stoke will certainly cause them problems and I fully expect United to come away with the three points.

For those of you who need to free up some cash this week you might consider Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez and Newcastle’s Jack Colback. Leicester have struggled of late but they travel to Anfield this week to take on a Liverpool team who ALWAYS give the opposition a number of chances. Mahrez has a goal & an assist in his last two and his pace & trickery could very well cause Liverpool problems. Just like Mahrez, Colback also has a goal & an assist in his last two and the Geordies will be hoping to build upon their win over Everton with three points against Burnley.

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]Both Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie may not be quite as reliable as they have been in previous seasons but in recent weeks they have kept the points ticking over. LvG has given Rooney a set of armbands in recent weeks as he has played his captain in a midfield role, behind the likes of Mata, RvP and Falcao but that hasn’t stopped him weighing in with three goals and two assists in his last five games. Van Persie is certainly not as prolific as he once was yet he has managed five goals and two assists from his last seven games. If you have the money floating around after Christmas I’d suggest splashing the cash on van Persie as I suspect he will bounce back from his blank against Spurs, however Rooney is also worth some consideration even if he’s playing in midfield.

QPR have won four and drawn two of their last six games at Loftus Road, scoring 12 times in that period. Of those 12 goals Charlie Austin has scored eight so it’s unlikely to surprise any of you that we have included him this week. He did however draw a blank at home to Crystal Palace last Sunday but I firmly believe he will set the record straight as they host Swansea on Thursday afternoon. Swansea’s away form has been poor and they have conceded 11 times in their last six games outside of Wales and even Liverpool made them look a poor side on Monday night.

I’ll leave you for 2014 with four strikers whom I feel could be amongst the goals on New Year’s Day and they are Newcastle’s Ayoze Perez, West Ham’s Andy Carroll, Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke and Manchester City’s Stevan Jovetic. At just £4.7m Ayoze has become a permanent fixture in the Newcastle side and impressed once more against Everton with a goal and three bonus points. With Papiss Cisse likely to be suspended Ayoze could well be the focal point of the attack against Burnley. Having suffered back to back defeats in London derbies West Ham will be eager to bounce back against West Brom. The Baggies have conceded 10 in their last six and in all likelihood they will offer up chances to Carroll & Co. Villa have struggled for goals all season, in fact they’ve only managed 11 which is the lowest in the league. Since returning from injury and then suspension Benteke hasn’t exactly set the world alight but his recent goal against United suggests that he might not be far away from regaining some modicum of form and he will surely get a couple of opportunities against Palace. Having missed four games through injury Jovetic made a 29 minute cameo off the bench against Burnley and he will surely start against Sunderland. The Montenegrin has struggled with injuries this season but has still managed to score four and has looked lively when on the pitch.

Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 20. This article was written by Kop Warrior

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