Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 29

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 29

So GW29 is upon and as will be said numerous times at Cheltenham this week, we’re now moving into the home straight. In the last two gameweeks we’ve had our first blank gameweek and first double gameweek of the season, and if truth be told they were both pretty drab affairs…let’s hope that it’s not a sign of things to come. With just 10 gameweeks remaining it’s time for some to consolidate their positions while for the rest of us we must explore all avenues as we try to close those points gaps which continue to grow. Whichever of these groups you fall into is likely to determine whether you play it safe for the remaining weeks or whether you decide to roll the dice! With May 24th getting nearer & nearer any mistake you make now is likely to cost you dear, but fear not, we’ll be here to hold your hand every step of the way and as ever we have below, detailed a number of players whom we feel can help you achieve your goals over the coming weeks.

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]We’ll start off this week with the two most expensive keepers in FPL, of course we’re talking about Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois and City’s Joe Hart. Chelsea have the league’s 2nd best defence and have kept a total of 13 clean sheets to date, unfortunately Courtois has only been present for eight of these, meaning he’s only accumulated 83 points thus far and as a result he’s only the 15th highest scoring keeper in FPL. As a result of this he has perhaps been overlooked by many, he only features in 8.2% of teams. We are now moving into the business end of the season and Jose will be insisting they keep things as tight as possible during their last 11 games. Take a look at these 11 games and you will see that Courtois will certainly add to his tally of clean sheets, in fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised should Chelsea keep a minimum of six clean sheets from these 11 games. City have been a shambles at the back this season, but they still possess the 4th best defensive record in the league and have kept nine clean sheets. They have kept two clean sheets in their last three games and a look at their immediate fixtures would suggest that this trend could very well continue, in fact they have a pretty reasonable run-in until the seasons end. It is now clear that Hart is the safest route into the City defence, as even Kompany has been dropped of late.

Lukasz Fabianski featured regularly on these pages in the early part of the season as he kept five clean sheets from his opening ten games, unfortunately he’s only kept another five since then. Of late Swansea have shown glimpses of a return to their early defensive solidity, conceding seven in their last six games and keeping two clean sheets in that period. They have a tricky game this week as they host an inform Liverpool side on Monday night, but their next five games are against Villa, Hull, Everton, Leicester & Newcastle, who between them have managed just a total of 23 goals in the last six games and this would suggest that Fabianski could well pick up another few clean sheets. At £5.2m there are cheaper options, but at this stage of the season it is often necessary to mix things up!

We’ll finish up on the keepers with a couple whose ownership rates are surprisingly low and they are West Brom’s Ben Foster and Sunderland’s Costel Pantilimon. Foster features in only 7.8% of teams despite costing just £4.7m and keeping five clean sheets in his last eight games, while Pantilimon features in just 4.4% of teams despite costing just £4.6m, although he’s only kept two clean sheets in his last six games. Both have a number of decent fixtures in the coming weeks and as I’ve mentioned before, they rotate reasonably well until the end of the season, although GW38 might cause a few problems! For those of you who still have a WC tucked away or you’re just trying to change things up a little I would suggest you give these two some consideration.

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]If you’re searching for a defender to anchor your defence for the remainder of the season, around whom you will rotate others, the obvious candidate at present is Branislav Ivanovic. The Serb is now the highest points scoring defender in this seasons FPL, but it is his recent form which has brought him to our attention. In his last eight games he has scored twice & picked up three assists, the likes of Robin van Persie & Radamel Falcao would be like pigs in shit with such returns. It’s also worth noting that in this period he’s also picked up four clean sheets as well as four bonus points. As we have already noted above, we fully expect Chelsea to pick up a significant number of clean sheets over the remainder of the season and when you chuck in the potential for attacking returns, Ivanovic seems like a bargain even at £7.5m. John Terry has proved quite popular this season, but a quick glance at the underlying stats over the last 6 gameweeks would suggest that there’s a strong case to switch from Terry to Ivan. Should the figure of £7.5m push the Serb out of your reach you could gamble on Kurt Zouma who is priced at £4.7m. The French U21 international has started five of the last seven games, picking up three clean sheets in the process. If you’ve got a strong bench this will certainly reduce the gamble on Zouma as if he doesn’t start he’s unlikely to come on for a cameo, meaning someone can step off your bench.

If you ignore Chelsea it’s quite difficult to identify anyone else around whom you can structure your defence around. Two defenders who you could consider for the role are Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel and Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny. Prior to Christmas the mere thought of picking a Liverpool defender would have seen you placed in a straightjacket & sedated but Brendan Rodgers has found a system that works and they’ve kept six clean sheets in their last eight games. Skrtel has led from the back and has picked up six bonus points in that period. He’s only found the back of the net once this season but he is always a threat from set pieces as he demonstrated last season, finishing with seven. Granted Liverpool face Arsenal & United in GW30 & 31 but on current form you wouldn’t bet on them keeping at least one of them scoreless and after that they have a relatively straightforward run of fixtures. Arsenal haven’t been quite as tight at the back, but they have still managed four clean sheets in their last eight games during which time Koscielny has chipped in with two goals. The Gunners have 10 games left three of which are against Liverpool, Chelsea & United, however their other seven games will surely offer up a number of clean sheets and as we’ve seen in recent weeks, the Frenchman is always good for a goal.

Moving onto the cheaper end of the market and there are a number of players who warrant your consideration and they are, Southampton’s Toby Alderweireld, West Brom’s Craig Dawson, Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann and QPR’s Suk-young Yun. With just two wins & a draw from their last six games some might argue that Southampton’s season is beginning to peter out and this may be the case but one thing is for sure, they’re still as resilient as ever at the back, conceding just four in their last six. Following this weekend’s trip to Stamford Bridge they have a number of relatively easy games from which they should pick another few clean sheets and assuming Toby can win his place back at the heart of the Saints defence he could, at £4.7m, prove great value for money over the remainder of the season. If you’re going to get a West Brom defender you’d best go it quick as four of their final five games are horrible. Four of their next five games are however against Stoke, QPR, Leicester & Palace, and I wouldn’t be surprised should they pick up two or maybe even three clean sheets from those games and at £4.5m Craig Dawson would appear to be the cheapest route into the Baggies defence. Despite Alan Pardew being the world’s greatest manager Crystal Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet since his arrival, although given their upcoming fixtures I suspect that this may soon change and with two goals & two assists to date I reckon Dann is the best option from the Palace defence. Yun is back in favour at QPR and at £3.9m he’s back in favour in FPL, there’s not much else to say about the Korean international!

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]For much of the season there was an argument to be made for doubling up on Chelsea’s midfield and the most common double act was Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard. However as we move towards the business end of the season Eden Hazard is clearly the Chelsea midfielder you want in your squad. The Belgian has started every game this season and is now the FPLs top scorer with 170 points thanks to 10 goals, 7 assists and a whopping 32 bonus points. Should Chelsea go on and win the league which appears increasingly likely, he will surely be a contender for player of the season. Chelsea have a potentially tricky game this weekend against Southampton, but follow that up with games against Hull, Stoke, QPR, United and a juicy double. There are clearly goals to be had from these games and given his current form and that of his colleagues, Hazard is clearly the Chelsea player you need to own. With a price tag of £10.9m he doesn’t come cheap and with an ownership of 37.4% he’s anything but a differential, but the question is, can you do without him for the remainder of the season?

If, and it’s a big if, Manchester City manage to retain their crown they will owe David Silva another wage increase. Since his return to the team in GW16 following an injury he has scored eight times, claimed four assists and picked up 15 bonus points. It’s also worth noting that City’s other talismanic players Yaya & Kun have missed a number of games during this period due to international commitments and injury, so the Spanish international has delivered whether or not these two have played. Having won just three of their last six games, City, by their own high standards, are struggling for form, but in front of goal they’ve done ok, scoring 14 goals in that period. They have a great run of fixtures over the coming weeks and the goals should continue to flow and with the form Silva is in it would be a brave manager to do without him!

With five wins and a draw from their last six games Liverpool sit atop of the current form table, scoring 11 times in that period. Their midfield trio of Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho & Jordan Henderson have played a significant role in this period of success and between them they have six goals & five assists. Each of the three have their own merits and your own situation will probably dictate which if any of them you decide to transfer into your side. Surprisingly Coutinho represents the best differential as he features in just 7.9% of teams while if money is an issue Henderson is the budget friendly option at £6.3m. If money isn’t an issue my pick of the three would be Sterling as he is the most direct of the three and therefore I reckon he’ll have more goal scoring opportunities over the coming weeks, although Coutinho does create more, but I’d always favour the goal scorer. Many managers may wait until after Liverpool have played Arsenal in GW31 to consider a Liverpool attacker but given their current form that might be too late!

Before moving onto the forwards let’s take a look at a number of cheaper midfielders and this week’s offerings are Crystal Palace’s Jason Puncheon, Swansea’s Ki Sung-yeung, Aston Villa’s Scott Sinclair and Matty Philipps of QPR. Puncheon is a bit of an enigma in that you always feel he should probably do better than he actually does. He has scored three times this season and picked up seven assists which equates to a total of 93 points which may not sound like much but for £5.6m there aren’t many better options, particularly when you take a look at Palace’s upcoming fixtures. Ki has been on fire since his return from the Asia Cup scoring three in five games to bring his total for the season to six. Swansea have a great run of fixtures over the coming weeks and you’re unlikely to find better value in midfield than the Korean international at £5.1m. Buying a Villa player is a gamble, buying Scott Sinclair makes it an even bigger gamble! Scoring goals has been an issue for Villa this season, but since Tim Sherwood has taken charge they have scored six times in four league & cup games, with Sinclair notching twice. They are still knee deep in the relegation battle but have some decent fixtures coming up and who knows, maybe Sherwood is a good as he thinks he is and if this is the case Sinclair may not be such a gamble. Since Chris Ramsey has taken charge at QPR, Philips has started every game and has four assists in five games, and at just £4.6m he is ideally priced to be your 5th midfielder.

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]In his last six games Sergio Aguero has scored three and picked up four assists, such a return from nearly any other striker would keep us happy, but not from Sergio. It’s not just the fact that he costs £13.0m it’s also that we know he can do so much better. With City no longer in the FA Cup they had last weekend off and one would hope that Manuel Pellegrini put this time to good use and has had the troops out on the training pitch. As I have already alluded to above, City have a great set of fixtures over the coming weeks and while their overall form of late hasn’t been great, scoring goals hasn’t been an issue and therefore I fully expect to see Aguero’s name on the scoresheet over the coming weeks. City will soon be out of the Champions League and will be able to concentrate all of their efforts on the league, so if you don’t already own Aguero get him in and leave him there until the end of the season!

So it turns out that Wayne Rooney is a striker and not a deep lying central midfielder! It just goes to prove that at times we do know better than these much hyped Premier League managers. With Robin van Persie injured & crap, Radamel Falcao playing with the U21s & crap, and James Wilson only being used as a sub, the stage is set for Rooney to get an extended role up front. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at right back this weekend, would you? Unfortunately Rooney’s return to a forward role coincides with a rather nasty run of fixtures. However, as I mentioned in the intro, if you’re chasing your league leader you’re not going to make up the ground playing safe and Rooney might be a gamble worth taking. Don’t let his ownership of 16% put you off, as a large portion of this is most certainly dead teams.

Diego Costa has failed to score in two games since his return from injury, but it’s worth noting that in the three games prior to the suspension he had four goals and an assist to his name. Ignoring the games he’s missed, only once this season has he failed to score in two consecutive games and therefore I suspect we’ll see him find the back of the net sooner rather than later. Chelsea have a great run of fixtures over the coming weeks and as of now they & Leicester are the only teams to have double gameweeks confirmed. Costa currently sits precariously on eight yellow cards meaning a two game suspension could be just around the corner. However it’s worth remembering that a certain Luis Suarez was in a similar position last season and while people waited for that suspension he continued to score for fun. So should you want Costa, just get him!

Olivier Giroud has scored in each of his last three games and has five goals & two assists in his last seven. Frustratingly he will still miss a significant number of chances but at least he is finding the back of the net on a consistent basis. Given that four of their next five fixtures are against West Ham, Newcastle, Burnley & Sunderland it’s safe enough to assume that the Frenchman will remain amongst the goals and with an ownership of just above 11% he continues to represent a decent differential.

We’ll leave you this week with a few cheaper options and they are West Brom’s Saido Berahino, Hull’s Dame N’Doye and Leicester’s Andrej Kramaric. There was much speculation surrounding Berahino’s future back in January but any possible move didn’t materialise and the youngster has five goals in nine since the turn of the year, and given his form & the Baggies fixtures, he’s a decent option for the coming weeks at £5.6m. Steve Bruce splashed the cash on N’Doye back in January in the hope that he would score the goals which would keep Hull in the top flight and having scored in each of his three starts he is clearly enjoying life in England. Hull have a number of tough fixtures over the coming weeks but at £5.5m N’Doye should not be ignored. Leicester have scored just 24 goals all season and just four in their last six so Kramaric would be the ultimate gamble, however their remaining fixtures are not the worst and if they are to survive they will need Kramaric to demonstrate the form he showed for Rijeka!!

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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 29. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

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WooFBet

We would like to remind you that our official partners, WooFBet, are again running a whole host of prize competitions, which will please many of you who are slowly building a lovely retirement nest egg, while others continue to persevere in the hope that this week will be their week! If you haven’t done so yet we recommend you get yourselves over to WooFBet.com as this week they have launched an exclusive competition for FF247 members with a prize pool of €50. Aside from this competition, there is also the usual array of competitions to enter. You also have the option to create your own tournaments and head-to-head challenges. Choose your rules and buy-in fee, and invite friends or leave it open for the public to challenge you.

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