Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 33

Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 33

The 2014/15 FPL season has been particularly easy to navigate in that there’s been relatively few blank gameweeks or double gameweeks. Things now become a little more complicated as six teams sit out GW33 while four then have a double in GW34 and this has made planning a little more difficult, unless of course you have a wildcard in hand! This really is the last chance saloon for many fantasy managers just as it is for many managers in the real world such as Manuel Pellegrini, who foolishly believes his job is safe. Manuel, have you not heard that Jurgen Klopp is available? Anyway I digress! If you have planned accordingly for GW33 & 34 you should in theory do well as many managers will first of all be forced to take a hit to field 11 this week and then will probably do likewise to take advantage of next week’s double. Whether you have prepared or not we feel that the players we have discussed below will be of benefit to you over the next two gameweeks and beyond.

Goalkeepers

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[/three_fourth]Chelsea’s next two games are at home to United and away to Arsenal, who between them have scored 29 goals in their last six games, so it might seem somewhat strange for Thibaut Courtois to be our first tip this week. However let’s not forget that Jose is the master when it comes to such games (we won’t mention the Liverpool game from last season!) and first & foremost he will set his side up to stifle the opposition, so I wouldn’t expect either of these games to be a classic, and if any team can keep both United & Arsenal quiet it’s Chelsea. And this is despite their recent defensive frailties, I say frailties but they’ve only conceded five in their last six, granted they’ve only kept two clean sheets in this period. The fact that Chelsea have a DGW in GW34 makes Courtois a more attractive proposition and I would be very surprised should they not pick up at least one clean sheet from their games at Arsenal & Leicester. With doubts surrounding both Costa & Remy a few brave managers might consider doubling up on Chelsea at the back, and if this is a strategy you are contemplating I’d suggest you consider Courtois as he’s significantly cheaper than both Ivanovic & Terry, the only defenders guaranteed to start both games in the double.

Staying with next week’s DGW for a moment and the only other keeper who features in the double and also plays this week is Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel. With 51 goals conceded to date the Foxes have the league’s 2nd worst defence and have conceded 10 in their last six games, so it’s going to take a serious leap of faith for anyone to bring Schmeichel into their squad! But, isn’t that what DGW’s are all about? Leicester have shown some battling qualities over recent weeks and there is always a possibility that this tenaciousness will translate into one or two clean sheets over the remainder of the season, they’ve certainly got the fixtures for it. For those of you who are going to chase the double Schmeichel might be your best bet from the Foxes defence as he’s likely to pick up a number of save bonus points.

Moving away from the DGW and we feel that two keepers who are worth some consideration are Kelvin Davis (again!!!) and Tom Heaton. At £4.5m Davis is the cheapest route into a defence that have conceded just 22 goals all season and have conceded just three in their last six games, keeping three clean sheets just for good measure. The Saints are not only in decent nick at the back, they’ve also got a number of fixtures remaining from which they will surely pick another few clean sheets. Need any more convincing? I thought not. If Burnley are to secure their top flight status it’s unlikely that they will score their way out of trouble, they’ve managed just one in their last six games and 26 for the season. However they have conceded just six goals in the same period, picking up two clean sheets in the process. So if you’re looking to take a chance over the remaining gameweeks Heaton could prove an interesting differential.

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Defenders

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[/three_fourth]For those of you who are confident that your team is set up to cope with this week’s blanks you are surely already planning for DGW34 and from a defensive point of view that begins with Chelsea. The outstanding candidate is without doubt Branislav Ivanovic who has already accumulated 155 points thanks in no small part to his four goals and five assists. The Serb has started every game this season so we can confidently proclaim that there is no chance of him being rotated/rested! Unsurprisingly this has seen his price increase to £7.7m and this may rule him out for many of you. If this is the case the next best alternative is John Terry who is nearly £1.0m cheaper at £6.8m. There’s no denying that Ivanovic’s underlying stats over the season are far superior to those of Terry but should Ivanovic fail to produce any attacking returns then Terry actually represents better value. Despite Ivanovic’s goals & assists over the season he has only two bonus points more than Terry and if Chelsea’s upcoming games are tight, which I suspect they will, then Terry possibly has a better chance of picking up bonus points than the Serb. Despite their lack of clean sheets over the coming weeks I suspect both will prove popular ahead of the DGW.

For much of the season it was a straight choice between Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne when it came to picking a Southampton defender. With Clyne benched last week and possibly heading for the exit door there is now a chance that the defender will feature sporadically over the remaining games, therefore if you still don’t own a Saints defender and are planning on bringing one in then Bertrand would be my choice. With Southampton boasting the league’s best defence & with a decent run of fixtures we’re pretty confident that they will add to their impressive tally of clean sheets, and with Bertrand a good bet for attacking returns he will surely be amongst the fantasy points over the remaining gameweeks. For those of you who are trying to free up some cash ahead of the upcoming DGW’s you might want to consider Toby Alderweireld who is considerably cheaper at £4.8m. The chances of him picking up attacking returns are not as great of those as Bertrand but he could very well enable you to bring in another heavy hitter with a DGW.

As we move ever closer to the end of the season it will become increasingly difficult to identify which games are likely to produce clean sheets, certainly amongst the teams outside of the top six teams and therefore it might be an idea to look for defenders who are likely to produce some attacking returns. We’ve already highlighted Branislav Ivanovic & Ryan Bertrand, and another three whom we feel warrant a mention are Everton’s Seamus Coleman, West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell and Burnley’s Kieran Trippier. Coleman has three goals & four assists to his credit this season and with Everton having found a degree of solidity in recent weeks the Irishman shouldn’t be ignored. West Ham brought quite a few new faces to the club last summer, including Cresswell who has proved to be a bargain at just £2.0m. The 25 year old has picked up two goals & four assists to date and anyone who saw his goal last weekend will know he’s well able to strike a free kick. Following this weekend’s trip to play City they have a relatively easy run in and they might even keep the odd clean sheet. As we have alluded to above Burnley have scored just once in their last six so it might be a surprise to see Trippier included. We should however mention that their last six games have all been against teams in the top eight. Their remaining games are considerably easier meaning there’s a good chance that Trippier will add to his four assists to date while a clean sheet or two are also possibilities.

Before moving onto the midfielder’s let’s take a quick look at the Leicester City defence ahead of their DGW next week. Unfortunately the pickings are slim! Thanks to his three goals & one assist the most obvious choice is Jeffrey Schlupp although the last of his attacking returns came back in GW20. It should be noted that Marcin Wasilewski came off the bench at half-time to replace Richie de Laet in GW32. I’m not sure why this happened or whether Wasilewski will continue in the side but it’s a situation that’s worth monitoring at as the Pole has dropped to £3.8m.

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Midfielders

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[/three_fourth]The most obvious place is more often than not the best place to start and so yet again we’ll start our midfield round up with, yes you’ve guessed it, Eden Hazard. There’s not much we can say about the Belgian that hasn’t been said already and he is surely a shoe-in for player of the season. From a fantasy point of view he has 12 goals, nine assists and a league best 37 bonus points. His recent form is also impressive, his two goals, two assists and five bonus points in his last three games make him in my opinion the only ‘must have’ for DGW34. Many fantasy managers will have had Diego Costa pencilled into their squads ahead of DGW34, following his injury they then turned their attaentions towards Loic Remy but with doubts now surrounding the Frenchman it might be time to our attentions towards one of Hazard’s midfield colleagues. Luckily Cesc Fabregas has of late shown signs of recapturing his early season form. Following his recent short absence from the side the Spaniard went four games without producing any attacking returns but has contributed a goal and two assists in his last three games. This dip in form has seen his price drop to £9.2m and at that price he represents decent value for money as we approach the DGW.

The fantasy options within the United midfield continue to grow but the standout candidate is undoubtedly Juan Mata. Back in February the Spanish international was clearly out of favour and there was talk of him returning to Spain. Such talk is now in the past and Mata is now playing his best football since joining United some 15 months ago. He has started each of the last four games, scoring three as well as picking up an assist and six bonus points in the process. United face Chelsea this weekend in what is likely to be a tight affair but then have a number of relatively easy games and having scored 15 goals in their last six games I suspect the goals will continue to flow. For those of you on the hunt for a bargain you could consider Ashley Young who is priced at just £4.9m and has started each of the last six games, claiming a goal and two assists in the Manc derby last weekend.

It’s pretty safe to assume that City will not retain their title this season and if they’re not careful they won’t even finish in the top 4, and by & large they should be ignored in fantasy circles. There are however one or two exceptions and one of those is certainly David Silva. While those around him have been doing their best impressions of pub league players the Spaniard has continued to shine, and has five goals and three assists in his last ten games. Their recent form has been very poor and they’ve failed to beat a number of teams which you would have expected them to beat, but their next game is against West Ham side who look set to join the Geordies in Ibiza. Should they get a decent result against the Hammers this will give their confidence a boost and they then have another number of winnable games from which Silva could very well fill his boots.

Last week when we focused solely on differentials we included Aaron Lennon and chose to omit Yannick Bolasie in favour of his colleague Jason Puncheon! Lennon didn’t let us down as he scored against Swansea to make it two goals and an assist in his last four games. With a permanent move away from White Hart Lane likely to happen this summer he is clearly out to impress and with Everton’s remaining fixtures being relatively easy there is a good chance we’ll see his name on the scoresheet a number of times over the coming weeks. The aforementioned Puncheon did let us down! While Bolasie is unlikely to repeat last week’s heroics both he & Palace as a team are clearly in form (it’s all down to Pardew!). Given this form and the fact that their next two games are against a leaky West Brom & Hull it might be a good idea to get some Palace attacking coverage and at just £5.5m Bolasie won’t break the bank.

Finally a quick look at the Leicester midfield and on current form the only option worth consideration is Esteban Cambiasso. With a goal and an assist in his last two games he has the potential to be great value for money at just £4.7m. Not only do Leicester have a double next week they also look like they’ll put up a fight over the remainder of the season meaning you could very well play the Argentine in a number of games following their double.

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Forwards

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[/three_fourth]Write him off at your peril! Who are we referring to? Why Sergio Aguero of course. Having failed to register a goal or an assist in four straight games we have seen the Argentines price plummet from £13m to £12.4m as fantasy managers the world over jumped ship. Those managers may have regretted their decision last Sunday afternoon as while City rolled over for United, Aguero gave us all a timely reminder of his capabilities with two goals & two bonus points. One would hope that Aguero will kick on from here and despite City’s recent poor form they should still have enough to turn over the likes of West Ham & Villa in their next two games. With doubts over the likes of Diego Costa and Daniel Sturridge ahead of next week’s DGW there really isn’t any standout striking options for the double making Aguero even more appealing with two tasty home fixtures to come followed by a trip to White Hart Lane, and we all know what happens when City play Spurs!

We’ve included Jamie Vardy in each of the last two Tips articles, but he was merely just a footnote. However given his recent form, his price and his upcoming DGW we felt he deserved to be moved up the billing this week. He has started the last four games for Leicester while he made an appearance off the bench in the previous two and in this six game period he has claimed two goals and four assists. Such stats on their own may not sound that impressive, but what makes them impressive is the fact that he costs just £4.5m. As we pointed out last week only Fabregas & di Maria have more assists than him and we’re somewhat surprised that more has not been made of this. The Foxes have scored eight in their last three games so they’ve obviously decided that if they’re to go down they’ll go down fighting and this has to be a positive for those brave souls who decide to take a punt on Vardy. The fact that he only features in 1.5% of teams should further sweeten the deal. His strike partner David Nugent also deserves a mention as in his last six games he’s got three goals and an assist.

Three goals, four assists and eight bonus points has seen Glenn Murray pick up scores of 12, 12 & 14 over the last three gameweeks. If someone like Costa or Aguero had done that we’d all be salivating like Pavlov’s dog, but the fact that he plays for Palace and costs just £5.2m means we get a little less excited. However, form is key in fantasy football and if we’ve learned anything this season it’s that we need to jump on and off bandwagons at the right time, and with Palace’s next two fixtures against West Brom & Hull there may still be time left in this bandwagon. To be honest, given Palace’s current form you could see them giving Chelsea, United & Liverpool a tough time in their following three fixtures. For those of you who plan to wildcard next week and are looking for a one week punt, our tip is Murray.

With the likes of Giroud, Benteke & Austin all of whom are in good form, not in action this week your options are somewhat limited, however you could consider one of the following, United’s Wayne Rooney, Southampton’s Graziano Pelle or Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. With four goals and an assist in his last six games Rooney is perhaps playing his best football of the season, it’s no surprise that he’s playing up top. Of late United have been playing with a swagger that we haven’t seen since Fergie departed and given the fact that they’ll want to finish the season as strongly as possible I feel that Rooney is a good bet for a few goals over the remaining gameweeeks. Unlike Rooney, Pelle is certainly not in form! In fact his goal last weekend against Hull was his first since GW17, so he would certainly be a punt, but given Southampton’s remaining fixtures it may not be that outrageous of a punt, particularly if he can finish the season in the manner in which he started it. Ok, so Lukaku hasn’t played the last two games due to a hamstring problem and even if he’s passed fit for this weekend he’s still a massive punt. But given the fact that’s probably regretting having joined the Toffees on a permanent basis he’s bound to be keen to finish the season on a high so as to interest perspective buyers.

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Thanks for reading Kops Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 33. 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 for GW33, 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 over €300 in free entry prizes and a whopping €1,850 in guaranteed pots. 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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Don’t forget to vote in this week’s Captain Poll

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