Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 26

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 26

I say, I don’t like cricket, oh no, I love it! With the cricket World Cup having gotten off to such a superb start last weekend you’d almost be forgiven for getting about FPL altogether and just concentrating on fantasy cricket! But fear not we’re only a few days away from the return of FPL and it’s time to start fine tuning your teams as the first double gameweek of the season is only just around the corner, although more importantly our first blank gameweek of the season is next week so it’s time to strengthen your bench as the vast majority of fantasy managers will surely have three players from Chelsea, Spurs, QPR & Leicester to bench next week. What do you mean your bench isn’t important? So we’ve reluctantly pulled ourselves away from the cricket to discuss FPL and below we have outlined a number of players whom we feel can deliver over the coming weeks. “Howzat”.

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]Southampton have a mixed bag of fixtures over the coming weeks, they face a resurgent Liverpool side this weekend and table toppers Chelsea in GW29. However when it comes to the Saints defence I’d suggest you ignore their fixtures as they have proved over the course of the season that they’re a resolute bunch and as a result they have the league’s best defence with just 17 goals conceded from 25 games, while they have also kept a total of 12 clean sheets to date. Fraser Forster has been in superb form of late with four clean sheets in his last six games and during this period he has only been beaten on two occasions. While I’ve already suggested you ignore their fixtures I’m now going to contradict myself and point out that three of their next five fixtures are against West Brom, Palace & Burnley so I suspect we’ll see another few clean sheets over the coming gameweeks. There are cheaper options available from the Saints defence but until Toby Alderweireld returns I would avoid these budget defenders as they will lose their places over the coming weeks.

It turns out that David Ospina isn’t unbeatable after all! Having kept clean sheets in his opening three league fixtures for Arsenal rumours started to circulate that Arsene Wenger had signed a goalkeeping messiah, but alas that was not to be the case as the Colombian has conceded in his last two games! While he may not be a messiah he is part of a defence that have only conceded five goals in their last six games and just as importantly he’s currently valued at just £4.8m. While their upcoming fixtures are not necessarily difficult it must be said that they’re not the easiest either, however at £4.8m I feel Ospina deserves some serious consideration and I’m confident he will pick up a number of clean sheets over the coming weeks.

A couple of other keepers whom I feel warrant a mention this week are West Brom’s Ben Foster and Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan. Since Tony Pulis has taken over at the Hawthorns the Baggies have kept three clean sheets from five games and while they did concede five goals in the other two games I feel it’s safe enough to assume that they will keep their fair share of clean sheets, particularly when you look at some of their fixtures over the coming weeks. There has been much love in fantasy circles for Wisdom and Baird but both now appear to be out of favour with Pulis and for me Foster is the best option from the West Brom defence. Villa have taken just one point from their last six games and have conceded 12 goals in this period, so the inclusion of Guzan may come as a surprise to some. However three of their last four games were against Liverpool, Arsenal & Chelsea. Tim Sherwood may not be the greatest manager in the world, but Villa needed to change something and I suspect that we may now see an upturn in Villa’s fortunes. Their win over Leicester in the cup at the weekend is likely to give their confidence a boost and with a relatively easy fixture list over the coming weeks a couple of clean sheets is not beyond the bounds of possibility. The return of captain Ron Vlaar should also prove to be a boost.

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]Everton have conceded 35 goals to date and have only kept six clean sheets over the course of the season, in fact only five teams have conceded more. As a result, their defence aside from Leighton Baines has largely been ignored and that is understandable. However due to their poor defensive form over the majority of the season their recent improvement has seemingly gone unnoticed. In their last six games they have conceded just four goals and kept three clean sheets. So, who do you choose? The aforementioned Baines is currently injured and prior to the injury he wasn’t performing as a defender of his price should and the same can be said of Seamus Coleman. So that leaves us with Phil Jagielka and John Stones. Of the two Jagielka would be my preferred option as he provides a goal scoring threat and he has been a baps magnet this season, the only defender to have accumulated more baps is Gael Clichy. However in recent weeks Stones’ underlying stats have been a little more impressive than Jagielka’s and therefore if money is an issue I would happily go for Stones who at £5.2m is £0.3m cheaper. The Toffees have a number of relatively (I say relatively but they have a tendency to make things difficult for themselves) straightforward games over the coming weeks and they could very well pick up a number of clean sheets.

Goal scoring defenders are worth their weight in gold and with two goals in his last game Chris Smalling…don’t worry I’m only joking I’m not going to tip Chris Smalling! I am instead going to tip Laurent Koscielny who has weighed in with two goals in his last five games and with Arsenal having picked up three clean sheets in this period the Frenchman has accumulated 35 points. Arsenal have a number of fixtures over the coming weeks from which they could easily add to their tally of eight clean sheets and therefore Koscielny could make a sound foundation on which to build your defence. It at £6.0m you consider him a little on the expensive side you could do a lot worse than Hector Bellerin who has started the last four league games and is available for £4.6m.

The Liverpool defence has brought much joy to opposition fans this season, as calamity followed calamity. They’ve conceded a total of 29 goals and on nine occasions they’ve conceded two or three goals, which was ok last season when they had SAS but not this season. They have however managed nine clean sheets, a total which is bettered by only Chelsea & Southampton and significantly four of these clean sheets have come in their last five games. Granted they have a number of difficult fixtures over the coming weeks but as this time of the season some of need to try something different. Unfortunately Emre Can is listed as a midfielder so he is not being rewarded for his superb displays at centre back. With Can therefore not in the running my tip is Alberto Moreno. Despite scoring in the win over Spurs back in August the Spaniard took his time settling into his new surroundings, although this was possibly due to Liverpool as a team struggling all over the park. In recent weeks, since Liverpool have gone to a back three, Moreno has begun to look like the player Liverpool paid £12m for and he has flourished in the left wing back role. While he hasn’t picked up any attacking points his underlying stats have been quite impressive and at £5.2m he could prove an interesting differential over the coming weeks.

A number of cheaper defensive options who deserve some consideration are West Brom duo Joleon Lescott & Craig Dawson, Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt and Stoke’s Philipp Wollscheid. Tony Pulis is still clearly looking for the right combination at the back and it currently appears as though fantasy favourites Wisdom & Baird are no longer in favour. Since Pulis has arrived at the Hawthorns Lescott & Gareth McAuley are the only defenders to have started every league so they are the safest bets and of the two Lescott would be my choice, he is however the most expensive option at £5.0m. If money is tight Dawson is worth a look at £4.4m, although while he has started the last three games we’re not 100% that he is nailed on! Sunderland continue to struggle for consistency, although some might say they’re consistently poor! However, aside from a trip to Old Trafford next week they have a decent run of fixtures and a couple of clean sheets would not be a surprise, while PvA always offers the possibility of attacking returns. Stoke have quite a number of injuries at the back but they do have an excellent run of fixtures meaning Wollscheid could very well pick a clean sheet or two over the coming weeks.

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]Manchester City have struggled to find any form of late, winning just two of their last six games and as a result they have slipped seven points behind Chelsea. Yaya Toure came in for quite a bit of criticism in the early part of the season as he failed to hit the lofty heights of last season, however in the last eight games before his departure to the ACON he found the back of the net on six occasions and picked up 11 bonus points. His importance to the team has certainly shone through in his absence as City have struggled both in attack & defence. His return to the side this weekend is eagerly awaited by both City fans & fantasy managers and with an ownership of 5.9% he represents an excellent differential. Since his return to the side David Silva has flourished scoring & claiming three assists in his last nine games and he should benefit from the return of Toure. The Spaniard features in over 18% of teams so is not a differential like the Ivorian, he is however £1.3m cheaper at £9.4m. Aside from a trip to Anfield next weekend City have excellent run of fixtures in which goals should be plentiful. If you’re in the hunt for a 4th or 5th midfielder and you fancy a gamble you could always consider James Milner who has claimed two goals & an assist in his last two games and costs just £5.4m. The return of Yaya makes this an even bigger gamble as it could very well affect his game time.

It’s now getting to the stage where it’s easier to pick the winning lotto than predict which midfielders Arsene Wenger will select for any given game. For the vast majority of the season Alexis Sanchez has been their talisman and he single-handedly carried the team, but of late his returns have not been quite as impressive. I’ll let you decide whether this is due to the return of the likes of Ozil & Walcott or whether the amount of games he has played has caught up with him. I fully expect him to bounce back but for now I feel there might be better options available in their midfield and on current form the one you want is Mesut Ozil. Since his return the German has featured primarily on the left of three midfielders behind the lone frontman and with two goals, three assists and six bonus points in three games he certainly rewarded those who picked him up early. Due to this form interest in the German has been on the rise and his price has increased from £8.9m to £9.1m, although he still represents a superb differential featuring in just 4.6% of teams.

Southampton have been in excellent form of late with four wins and a draw in their last six games. This form has been largely due to their defence as they’ve conceded just two goals in this period while they have only found the back of the net on six occasions. Prior to his departure for the ACON Sadio Mane had scored in three consecutive games, while he has also scored once in three appearances since his return. It has taken him a while to acclimatise but this goal scoring form should come as no surprise as the Senegalese international found the back of the net 31 times in 63 appearances for his previous club Salzburg. Granted the Saints have a couple of tricky fixtures over the coming weeks but Mane is a gamble that might just be worth taking as he features in just 1.6% of teams and at £6.6m he won’t break the bank. Also with Graziano Pelle woefully out of form and Southampton’s other recognised strikers injured Koeman might take a chance and play Mane further forward.

Sticking with the mid-priced midfielders and my next two tips are West Ham’s Stewart Downing and Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson. I’m sure the inclusion of both will come as a surprise but bear with me! Downing is the 4th highest scoring midfielder in this seasons FPL and has until late been quite a consistent points scorer, in the last eight gameweeks he has just one goal & one assist to his credit. There is an argument to be made that during this time Andy Carroll became the focal point of the West Ham attack and their style of football changed somewhat. With Carroll out for the remainder of the season Big Sam will likely revert to Sakho & Valencia up top meaning that there is more pace to the game and I feel that this will suit Downing. They’ve got some tricky fixtures over the coming weeks, but if they can rediscover their form Downing will surely be a regular point’s scorer yet again. Siggy started the season in a blaze of glory and his low price made him a very popular choice, unfortunately he couldn’t maintain this form and his returns became rather sporadic. Swansea have a number of decent fixtures over the coming weeks and the return of Siggy will be a welcome boost. While he currently features in over 23% of teams I reckon a significant number of these are ‘dead teams’ and if he rediscovers his form he could in fact prove to be a differential over the coming weeks.

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]Since his return from injury in GW21 there has been much discussion regarding the form of Sergio Aguero and just two assists in three starts had many suggesting that he wasn’t worth the money. One thing was clear though was that his form was improving slowly with each match and against Stoke in GW25 he turned in the type of performance which we were all waiting for as he grabbed two goals & two bonus points. As I have already noted above City have a number of fixtures over the coming weeks that scream goals and City goals typically equate to Aguero goals, so the Argentine will make excellent captaincy material over the coming weeks. Yaya Toure has not returned from Guinea alone, he has brought with him a new striker in the form of Wilfried Bony and there is speculation that Bony will go straight into the starting XI. Aguero will of course remain their #1 striker but should Bony start scoring he could become an interesting alternative to Aguero especially when you consider that he’s only £8.2m but for now we would suggest you adopt a wait & see approach with Bony.

There were groans from fantasy managers around the globe when the Arsenal team sheet for the game against Leicester in GW25 was made available as Olivier Giroud was conspicuous by his absence, luckily the deadline bell had not rung and the majority were able to take the necessary action. With so many talented midfielders for Arsene to choose from there is of course the chance that Giroud will be benched again in the future in favour of one of the many midfielders, however he will certainly start the vast majority of the games. Take a look at Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures and you will find it quite difficult to ignore the Frenchman and I’m not talking about his looks! Given these fixtures and the abundance of talent in midfield Arsenal will create plenty of chances which should lead to the Frenchman appearing on the score sheet quite a few times over the coming weeks.

Daniel Sturridge has yet to play 90 minutes since his return from injury, but his minutes on the pitch have increased with every game. While he might not yet be 100% match fit he has given Liverpool fans & fantasy managers a glimpse of what they’ve been missing with a goal & two assists from three league appearances as well as a goal in the Cup last weekend. There’s no denying that Liverpool have some tough fixtures over the coming weeks but believe it or not they’re actually the form team in the league with four wins and two draws from their last six games so they will embark on this tough run of fixtures with a degree of confidence. At £11.2 he’s not cheap but he’s a proven goal scorer and don’t let the ownership figure of 11.1% fool you, the real figure is much lower than that. With the likes of Sterling, Lallana & Coutinho all coming into form Sturridge will get the opportunities and as we’ve seen since his return, he hasn’t lost the sharpness he discovered last season.

Throughout the season there has always been at least one cheap forward in form and as we’ve said a number of times you need to jump on & off these forwards as they will invariably go through dry spells, unless of course their name is Harry Kane and if you don’t own him you’re doing something wrong! Anyway, for those of you currently on the hunt for a cheap striker I’ve got a couple of names for you and they are West Brom’s Brown Ideye and Hull’s Dame N’Doye. Ideye signed for the Baggies back in August for a club record fee of £10m despite then manager Alan Irvine never watching him play live, is it any wonder that Irvine is no longer in charge?! Due to poor form and injury he enjoyed a torrid start to life in the UK and he didn’t score his first goal until Boxing Day. He has only started two games since the arrival of Pulis but significantly they were last weekend in the Cup and in GW25, scoring in both games to make it three in his last three games. West Brom have some decent fixtures over the coming weeks and if he can maintain this form he could be a bargain at £5.6m as well as an excellent differential. N’Doye has enjoyed a much better start to life in the UK as he scored one, picked up an assist as well as three bonus points in his first start since joining the Tigers on transfer deadline day from Lokomotiv Moscow. Hull’s recent form has been poor and scoring goals has been a struggle so they will be hoping that the Senegalese international can inject some life into their battle for survival. They’ve got a run of enticing fixtures and like Ideye he could prove an excellent differential as he too features in just 0.2% of teams.

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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 26. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

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