Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 23

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 23

Thanks largely to the FA Cup the world of FPL seems to be dragging on and on in the month of January, although the cup did give us some great entertainment last weekend as Chelsea crashed out to the mighty Bradford. The recent Greek elections have had a knock on effect on FPL prices and as a result those who have played their wildcards have had little opportunity to raise some much needed extra cash. The lack of activity in the FPL transfer market has been largely mirrored in the Premier League and to date there hasn’t been a single transfer to get fantasy managers excited, although that might change over the coming days, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. And so it is that our pool of players to pick from has remained relatively unchanged and below we have outlined a number of players from said pool whom we feel can deliver over the coming weeks.

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]Few of us, aside from Mito, had heard of David Ospina prior to last summer’s World Cup. However, following a number of impressive displays for Colombia, Arsene Wenger shelled out a fee reported to be in the region of £3m for the Colombian stopper, taking him from Nice to North London. He’s had to play second fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny up until mid-January when he made his first league start of the season against Stoke in GW21. He is certainly making the most of his opportunity, keeping back to back clean sheets in his first two league games. Perhaps more significantly is the fact that Szczesny returned for the first XI for Sundays FA Cup tie against Brighton and this would suggest that Ospina is now Wenger’s number 1. This is great news for fantasy managers as Ospina is currently priced at £4.8m and with Arsenal having a great run of fixtures over the coming weeks I suspect that this could prove excellent value for money. It’s also worth noting that he features in just 0.6% of teams and while you’re probably not going to buy a keeper because he’s a differential, he could prove an excellent differential! And as far as we know he doesn’t smoke. At least not in the showers.

Anyone who was unlucky enough to have seen the recent Everton v West Brom will be only too aware that Tony Pulis is already doin’ his t’ing with West Brom. Prior to his arrival they were a solid enough team, they’d kept six clean sheets, but now after less than a month in charge he has them looking like a team who could defend all day and enjoy doing it! Not only are they in great shape defensively, they have got some excellent fixtures coming up. Four of their next six games are against Burnley, Swansea, Sunderland & Villa, games that just scream ‘clean sheet’. So what else can I say, go out and get yourself Ben Foster…who knows, at this rate you won’t have to worry about rotating your keepers, you’ll just play Foster every week.

A number of other keepers whom I feel warrant some consideration this week are United’s David de Gea, Southampton’s Fraser Forster and Costel Pantilimon of Sunderland. De Gea and Forster are tied at the top of the FPL charts with 89 points apiece, although that’s hardly surprising when you consider that Southampton have the league’s best defence while United have the 3rd best. Take a look at the current form table and you will see that the Saints have conceded just three in their last six, while United have conceded just four in the same period. Not only are both teams proving quite solid at the back, both have got a decent run of fixtures coming meaning both de Gea & Forster will surely add to their impressive tally of clean sheets. While Southampton & United have two of the leagues best defences, the same cannot be said of Sunderland who have the league’s 14th best defence, conceding 33 goals from their 22 games. Pantilimon however has made 57 saves in his 13 games to date earning himself an extra 16 points as well as six bonus points, so if he doesn’t keep a clean sheet you are nearly guaranteed he’ll pick up a couple of brucie bonus points along the way. Finally I should point out that Pantilimon and Ben Foster rotate quite well until the end of the season.

Defenders

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[/three_fourth]Arsenal have now kept seven clean sheets this season with Laurent Koscielny being present for five of these and this is despite the fact that he’s missed 10 games this season due to injury. This just emphasises how important he is to the gooners and while he’s not necessarily in the upper echelons of centre backs, he really does bring some solidity to an otherwise creaky defence and makes the likes of Mertesacker et al better players. As we have already alluded to above, Arsenal have a great run of fixtures coming up and now might be the right time to invest in their defence. There is competition for both full back spots and while new signing Paulista will provide competition at centre back, I firmly believe Kos and Mert will remain first choice. The addition of the Frenchman to your squad will give you a defender who is always a threat from set pieces and has always enjoyed the odd bonus point. For those of you on the hunt for a bargain you could take a gamble on young Hector Bellerin who is priced at just £4.4m and has started the last two games at right back in the absence of Mathieu Debuchy. The youngster is currently carrying a knock but he was fit enough to take a spot on the bench on Sunday against Brighton. Obviously I would suggest you check back with us on Friday when we bring you all the news from around the grounds before taking the plunge on Bellerin.

When United turned in a number of impressive displays in late November & early December many expected them to really kick on from there. Unfortunately for both their fans and fantasy managers alike this hasn’t been the case and they have stumbled from game to game turning in a number of poor performances along the way. Defensively they have been fairly solid, they’ve conceded just four goals in their last seven, keeping three clean sheets along the way. So who do you choose from the league’s 3rd best defence? Currently there really is only one serious candidate and that is Phil Jones. United have a number of fixtures coming up from which they will hope to pick up a number of clean sheets and Jones could prove a shrewd investment at just £5.3m. I should also point out that of late Jones has been seen taking corners! Why? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask LvG that question, although you’re unlikely to get a straight answer. Obviously this increases the chances that he’ll pick up the odd assist but at the same time it surely reduces his chances of scoring. I still feel he’s worth some consideration.

Having conceded just 16 goals in their opening 22 games keeping 10 clean sheets in the process, conventional wisdom dictates that it is probably a good idea to have some Southampton defensive coverage in your side. Over the course of the season we have continuously tipped both Nathaniel Clyne & Ryan Bertrand and while both remain excellent choices we’re going to take a different tack this week and tip Jose Fonte. The centre back has been the cornerstone of the Saints defence this season missing only one game, it looks like Liverpool bought the wrong centre back from Southampton! Fonte can’t match the attacking returns offered by either Clyne or Bertrand but he has proved something of a baps magnet, picking up 13 to date. So if you’re currently on your wildcard and you’re looking to be a little different you could choose Fonte over Clyne & Bertrand as he features in just over 10% of teams as compared to 30% for the other two.

Finally, a trio of defenders who deserve a mention this week are West Brom’s Andre Wisdom, Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt and Philipp Wollscheid of Stoke. Wisdom isn’t the cheapest option from the Baggies defence but with Pulis reportedly in the market for a new left back there are doubts over the long term FPL potential of Chris Baird. Wisdom has only missed one game this season and I see no reason for that to change over the coming months and with the Baggies likely to rack up the clean sheets he could prove excellent value for money at £4.5m. Sunderland have leaked a few goals of late, but the main reason for the inclusion of PvA is because he is cheap (£4.2m) and poses an excellent attacking threat. The Black Cats have some relatively easy fixtures coming up from which PvA could pick up a couple of clean sheets and with Jermain Defoe on hand he may even pick up the odd assist. Mark Hughes wasted little time in giving new signing Wollscheid his debut and the German international would already appear to have made the position beside Ryan Shawcross his own. Stoke have struggled somewhat for clean sheets this season but they do have a number of decent fixtures coming up and at just £4.5m Wollscheid could prove a reasonable purchase.

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]Aside from the north London derby in GW24 Arsenal have an excellent run of fixtures and do not face another team from the current top six until GW34. Their recent form has been pretty good as was highlighted by their impressive defeat of City in GW22 and they have taken 13 points from their last six games. So with form and fixtures on their side maybe now is the time to consider them a serious fantasy prospect. We’re all well aware of Alexis Sanchez who has single-handedly kept Arsenal in the hunt for a top 4 spot this season. He has 12 goals, seven assists and 22 bonus points to his credit and as a result he now features in nearly 45% of teams. In our recent ‘Grab, Avoid, Bore Off’ article I suggested that you were unlikely to double up on the Arsenal midfield, buy you know, maybe it’s not the worst idea in the world. The only question is who do you choose along with Alexis? With both Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott both fully fit the options are plentiful. Santi Cazorla had an indifferent start to the season and was in & out of the side. However he has started all but one game since GW7 and in fairness he has probably been Arsenal’s 2nd best player this season. His last 10 games have seen him pick up five goals, 3 assists and 13 bonus points, while he turned in a man of the match performance last time out against City. At £8.3m he is currently offering excellent value for money while he also represents a superb differential, presently featuring in just 4.7% of teams. Question is, are you brave enough to double up?!

We have tipped Oscar a number of times this season but always as part of the holy trinity, we’ve never given him top billing, so we thought we’d change that this week. Unlike Hazard & Fabregas the Brazilian is not undroppable and as a result he’s missed two of Chelsea’s last six games. He has however played a starring role in Chelsea’s last two games claiming three goals, an assist and five bonus points to leave him on 105 points for the season. In fact he’s only 15 points behind Fabregas & 26 points behind Hazard despite playing over 300 minutes less than the Spaniard & 400 minutes less than the Belgian, while it should also be noted that he’s £1.4m less than Cesc and a massive £2.4m less than Hazard. So while Hazard & Fabregas are seen as essentials by many Oscar continues to fly under the radar and currently features in just 6% of teams. So based on these simple stats I feel that Oscar really does warrant some serious consideration, especially if you’ve got a decent bench to cover you for the games in which he doesn’t feature.

Now let’s take a look at a number of players priced under £6.5m, the majority of whom you will probably be looking at as a 4th midfielder but depending on your strategy they could even be considered for your 3rd or 5th midfielder. First up is Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson who is priced at £6.1m. Raheem Sterling is currently Liverpool’s most popular midfield but on current form I believe that Henderson represents better bang for your buck, he’s picked up four assists in his last six games. Liverpool haven’t set the world alight this season but they sit 2nd in the current form table with four wins and two draws from their last six, scoring 12 goals in that period. Their upcoming fixtures aren’t the greatest, but at the same time they’re not the worst and as they showed against Chelsea they can still play well when they put their mind to it.

Stoke have struggled for goals of late but they’ve still managed three wins & a draw in their last six games and aside from the visit of Manchester City they have a nice run of fixtures over the coming weeks and as we all know, sometimes it’s worth playing the fixtures. In Jonathan Walters (1.6%) and Victor Moses (0.2%) they have two excellent differentials, both of whom are currently priced at £5.2m. Walters has four goals & four assists to his credit this season with his most recent assist coming last time out against Leicester. Moses made his first start against Leicester since sustaining a thigh injury against Burnley in GW12, while he also started and scored against Rochdale in the cup on Monday night. Prior to his injury he was in decent form and therefore I’d probably favour him over Walters, but only just.

Three others midfielders whom I feel warrant some serious consideration are Crystal Palace’s Jason Puncheon, Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson and James Ward-Prowse of Southampton. Palace have won every game since Alan Pardew took over with Jason Puncheon playing a starring role in the league wins over Spurs and Burnley. Their next three games are quite winnable and while the games then become a little tougher we saw last season that when the Eagles are in full flight they can make life difficult for even the best teams and Puncheon could yet prove a steal at just £5.5m. Larsson has been in decent nick of late with a goal and assist in his last three games. The Swede delivers an excellent set piece and with Jermaine Defoe set to terrorise defences I suspect Sunderland may earn a few more direct free kicks over the coming weeks. JWP now has seven assists for the season with only Fabregas, Tadic, Siggy & Baines having picked up more and this is despite the fact that the youngster sat out 10 games due to injury. If there’s a better midfielder for less than £5.0m I’m yet to find him!

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]With their brooding good looks, perfectly chiseled torsos and equally stiff coiffured hair our first two striker picks this week wouldn’t look out of place wooing the ladies in a leopard skin thong in the Chippendales or indeed throw a sharp Italian suit on them and a Scorcese movie wouldn’t be out of the question either. We are of course referring to the French God Olivier ‘where’s the mirror’ Giroud and Grazianno ‘the Italian Stallion’ Pelle. Now then one of our guys is actually the 4th highest points scoring fantasy striker in the game whilst the other you have to go to page 2 on the striker list to find! The first is actually Pelle who has notched himself 97 points this season so far which is way over twice as many as Giroud on 42 but this only tells half the tale but we highly recommend you consider them both this week and here’s why…

Let’s deal with the higher ranked Pelle first. He’s registered a handy if unspectacular 8 goals in 22 games so far so just better than 1 in 3 but he’s supplemented this with 5 assists and picked up 10 bonus points too along the way. Now he hasn’t actually registered a goal since GW17 all the way back prior to Christmas but the Saints had a bit of a tricky run with fixtures against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United but they are past that now and enter a period of relative comfort with the next two games being at home to Swansea and away to QPR and are at home for 3 of the next 4 where they have scored 24 goals, which is the joint best in the league with leaders Chelsea. If you want solid game time (he’s only missed 30 mins all season), allied to consistent returns and spectacular good looks all for a reasonable price (£7.8m) then you can’t really go wrong with the preening Pelle.

The (much) lower ranked Giroud may actually offer the better bang for your buck though and you shouldn’t be fooled by his meagre return of just 42 points. The main reason for this is that he has in fact only played 620 minutes this season which equates to less than 7 games yet has managed 6 goals in that short time. In fact if he had played the same minutes as Pelle then pro rata he would be on 132 points and not only be the highest points scoring striker but also be 2nd only behind team-mate Sanchez overall. That’s all if’s, but’s and theory of course but does illustrate the impact he’s had with 6 goals in those 6-odd games including one last weekend at the Etihad which is no mean feat. Add in to that Arsenal’s very kind fixture schedule with the likes of Villa, Leicester, Everton and QPR on the horizon and sticking with the gorgeous Giroud could reap you some very good rewards.

Our next tip is a slightly more down to earth, home grown and clean shaven cockney who is none the less still bling laden and heavy with goals. The problem with that last bit is he’s gone to a team who aren’t exactly ‘heavy with goals’. The hope of Gus Poyet is that Jermain Defoe can change all that and fire his goal-shy side to safety. Whether 12 months counting cash in Vancouver has blunted his instincts remains to be seen but certainly the pedigree is there and it’s not like he needs time to adapt to Premier League life. 226 goals in 532 career appearances suggests he knows where the goal is but the question to be answered really is whether his team mates know who where the man who knows where the goal is, is! If they do then home games against Burnley and QPR in the next 3 should be as good as any to get delicious Defoe off to a flyer.

[highlight_yellow]***SPOILER ALERT***[/highlight_yellow] We were about to wax lyrical about dirty Diego but since this piece was written he has gone and got himself an FA charge for violent conduct and in all likelihood is set to be banned for three games. Assuming this happens we will no longer be tipping Costa but just on the off chance he is successful here’s our take on him and you can either read this if his appeal is successful or delete it from your memory if he isn’t!

Diego Costa is the top scoring striker on 119 points and owned by 60.1% of teams. If you want consistency (17 goals) and the center forward for the top team in the league then you pretty much expect to pay well for it and at £11.2m you do just that but 6 goals in his last 7 games along with 2 assists and 5 bonus points would put even Mr Giroud’s pro rata hypothetical stats to shame (it’s 48 points in 7 games which is a nice round 150 pro rata over 22 games to save you working it out). He’s just not as pretty to look at.

We shall leave you with two picks at polar opposites of the spectrum both in terms of price, profile and ownership, one of whom is bang in form while the other is having a barren spell but has the fixtures to suggest he may be a suitable short term replacement for Costa should the Brazilian Spaniard get his comeuppance.  At the top end we have Wayne Rooney who, it’s fair to say, at £10.7m hasn’t really delivered this season to the justify that price tag. He’s been shunted around different positions and had the odd injury thrown in but is even so he’s still sitting within the top 10 strikers with 83 points and has 8 goals and 4 assists to his name. He had a purple patch for both club and country not so long back that culminated in him netting 16 points in GW18. The significance of that one is that it was a home game against significantly weaker opposition and he was expected to do well as a result and duly delivered. The good news then it that the same scenario is about to present itself as United have home games against Leicester and Burnley in the next three and wicked Wayne could therefore be a nice little place filler for a bit until Costa returns from his near inevitable ban.

At the other end we have the slightly less popular (0.5% owned) and slightly less pricey (£5.0m) Dwight Gayle. Despite this he was in fact the only forward to keep pace with the stricken Costa last week with 16 points and over the past two weeks has actually outscored him with 24 points in total! (that’s a massive 264 points pro rata for the season to save you working it out…) Of course he won’t keep that up but for a player who’s barely played prior to GW21 he’s certainly hit the ground running since messiah Pardew came through the door. In fact he’s actually played 4 minutes more than Giroud this season and scored 12 points more albeit in a completely different pattern, being mainly used from the bench, but he’s surely secured his starting place for now and if you need a very budget friendly striker to compliment a heavy outlay elsewhere then you could do worse than calling on delightful Dwight.

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WooFBet
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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 23. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79