New Years Day Tips and Captains Picks FPL Fantasy Premier League

No rest for the wicked then! Whilst the festivities go on around us many serious fantasy managers will be scrambling for their last minute transfers and captain choices as yet another deadline looms on New Years Day at 11.30am. Many will be looking to make their transfers today we imagine just in case they happen to sleep in for whatever reason! Let’s have a quick look at your options then this week as we give you our pick for each position and round off with our captain analysis for game-week 20.

Goalkeeper

One look at the league table and you will see that Crystal Palace currently sit just outside the relegation places in 17^th position. However, if you take a look at the current form table you will see that they sit 9^th with four wins and four losses from their last eight games. What’s more impressive is that fact that across these eight games they boast the best defensive record in the league, conceding just seven goals in that period. A key figure in this recent revival is undoubtedly Julian Speroni. The Argentine has now kept five clean sheets this season which might not seem that impressive, what is impressive though is the fact that these shutouts have all come in Palace’s last nine games. With three of their next four games at home to Norwich, Stoke & Hull we firmly believe that Speroni could very well pick up another couple of clean sheets and therefore he represents superb value at just £4.5m.

Defence

Everton continue to go from strength to strength and have picked up five wins and two draws from their last eight games, conceding just eight goals. Now the obvious pick from the Everton defence is Seamus Coleman, however the Irishman is now priced at £6.6m and as a result those that do not already have him may be reluctant to pay such a premium price. With this in mind, our tip from the Everton defence is Antolin Alcaraz. With Phil Jagielka side lined for a number of weeks the Paraguayan is likely to deputise at centre back and with Everton facing Stoke, Norwich and West Brom in their next three games Alcaraz could prove to be an absolute bargain at just £4.3m. Obviously this would be a short term move but it worth remembering that we all have a wildcard to play in January, so it is as good a time as any to be considering short term moves!

Midfield

With David Silva suspended for the trip to Swansea the debate over which one of these two fantasy power-houses to own will be a little one-sided this week. With nine goals and three assists so far Yaya Toure is sitting joint second in the overall midfield standings having been pipped this week by Hazard due mainly to the fact that he was rested for the game at home to Palace. We wouldn’t bet against him regaining that top spot this week though as he now has penalty duties in his locker, due to the absence of Aguero and with Silva out he should snaffle all the free-kick duties as well which he has become an expert at this season. The fact that Silva is absent may well see Toure push on into more advanced areas as well which will only enhance his appeal as a fantasy asset against a Swansea team who have only won two at home this season and have conceded fourteen goals in the process.

Forward

For those managers looking for a one week punt in front of a possible wildcard, we would look no further than recommending Lukas Podolski. In the absence of the injured Olivier Giroud, we expect Podolski to lead the line against Cardiff. Having made a successful return from injury, Podolski came on in the win at West Ham and in his 26mins of game time he managed to score and assist, scoring 10 fantasy points for any lucky manager that gambled upon him. Wenger has wisely chosen not to rush the German striker back from injury and has instead spent the last month getting himself 100% match-fit, hence he should walk straight into the team vs Cardiff. With the creativity of Cazorla, Walcott and Rosicky behind him, we would expect the striker to get a fair few chances in the match and, as he demonstrated at Upton Park, he can be ruthless and will be looking to make up for lost time this season. Owned by just 1.6% of managers and priced at 8.1m he could be a perfect fit into your team.

Captain Picks

Having considered your possible transfers from the tips above, all that is left is the all-important choice as to who gets the armband. Who is likely to start 2014 off for you with a lovely haul of double points? Let’s have a look at the standout options:

Luis Suarez
The Liverpool striker is the obvious Captain’s pick for GW20 and will, undoubtedly, top all Captain’s polls. Difficult to ignore, the forward has scored 18 goals and created 12 assists in the fourteen league games since returning from his start-of-season ban – 13 of those goals have come at Anfield. Having gone two games without a goal (albeit vs Man City & Chelsea), Suarez will be hungry to get back on the goal trail and a home match vs Hull would appear to offer him the perfect opportunity. Some will point out Hull’s decent defensive record, which has impressed many, but more so at the KC Stadium than on the road. They have failed to keep a clean sheet on their travels this season and with Steven Gerrard believed to be ready to return from injury and the inform Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling operating just behind Suarez, it would only take Phillipe Coutinho to rediscover his creating talents to make it a long evening for Steve Bruce’s men. Suarez has scored in every match he has played at home this season – it would take a brave manager to ignore him this week.

Theo Walcott
For those looking for an alternative to Suarez, Theo Walcott appears to be a sensible choice for the armband. Since his return from injury, the England winger has scored 4 goals and created 3 assists for his team-mates in just 412mins of playing time and looks to be getting back to his best. Owned by just 12% of managers, Walcott could prove to be a brilliant choice for captain, especially if Suarez doesn’t perform as expected vs Hull. Cardiff are Arsenal’s opponents at the Emirates and to say they are having a rough time is somewhat of an understatement – they are without a manager since the unpopular sacking of Malky Mackay, they have conceded eight goals in their last three games, have won just once in nine games and have already been beaten 3-0 at home by Arsenal at the end of November. It is worth pointing out that Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey are both missing for the Gunners, though will plenty of midfield options at his disposal, Arsene Wenger will be hopeful that his team and Walcott can carry their good form into 2014 although in his pre-match press conference, the manager did say Walcott will need to be assessed before the match as he has a small niggle.

Wayne Rooney
If passed fit to play, United will be hoping that Wayne Rooney continues his impressive form, which has seen him score 9 goals and create 11 assists so far this season, a lot of the time from a deeper role than he is accustomed to, due to the Reds having suffered significant injuries in midfield. But with Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher now back and fully fit, we would expect Rooney to operate in his preferred position further forward. United have won their last four matches and are gradually hauling themselves back into contention for a top four spot and Rooney’s form, coupled with RvP’s expected return to the first team soon, should see the goals stating to flow again. Interesting to note in those last four wins, United scored 3 goals in the 3 matches Rooney played, but only once at Norwich at the weekend, when the striker didn’t travel. Spurs kept their first clean sheet in nine games at the weekend in the win over Stoke, but with Rooney having already scored twice vs Spurs already this season, he will be confident of continuing that run. There has been 23 goals in the last 6 meetings between the two clubs at Old Trafford, so it’s a clearly a match that produces goals – and when United score, Rooney is generally involved. The only word of caution is his groin injury that kept him out of the Norwich game – while we expect him to play vs Spurs, keep an ear out for the latest United team news from David Moyes before handing him the armband.

Other options:
There are clearly other options to consider and of course, it’s not always the obvious candidates that score the highest in a game-week. Other names that should be considered include Alvaro Negredo, Yaya Toure, Kevin Nolan, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Loic Remy.

Happy New Year from everyone at FF247 and good luck tomorrow!

This article was written by Cookie, Kop and inittowinit