Tips Gameweek 16

As good old Perry Como once sang, “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas ” and from a fantasy football point of view that means games, games & more games! You thought you’ve had it tough over the first 15 game-weeks? Well you ain’t seen nothing yet! With so many games in such a short time period the top clubs are likely to rotate their squads, while the smaller clubs who don’t have the luxury of rotating their squads are more at risk of picking up a couple of injuries. Basically it just means more headaches for us fantasy managers! But fear not, below we have detailed a number of options who we feel could deliver over the coming weeks.

Goalkeepers

First up this week is Everton’s Tim Howard. In terms of goals conceded Everton currently sit second in the form table having conceded only five goals in their last eight games and have kept five clean sheets in this period. With the likes of Cech, Mignolet & de Gea all failing to deliver the fantasy points over recent weeks, the American stopper could just be the answer to your goalkeeping issues, especially when you consider Everton’s fixtures between now and the end of January. Of their next seven games, five of these are against teams currently in the bottom eight and as a result we are quietly confident that Howard will pick up a number of clean sheets over the coming weeks. His popularity is rising fast and as a result his price has now risen to £5.8m but given his form and fixtures we still feel that this is good value. A word of caution though, he is currently only one yellow card away from a suspension so it might be prudent to have a keeper who is playing for his respective team on your bench.

Newcastle have turned in a number of impressive performances of late and in the process they have kept three clean sheets in their last six games and as a result we are this week tipping Tim Krul. The Dutchman has been in fine form of late and turned in a man of the match display last weekend at Old Trafford, which saw him pick up three bonus points, something that not many keepers have done this season (pick up three bonus points that is), although this is the second time that Krul has managed it. Apart from the visit of Arsenal in GW19, Newcastle have three fixtures from which they could quite easily pick up two clean sheets and at £5.1m we feel that Krul could be a solid investment ahead of the festive schedule.

Having conceded nineteen goals in his last eight games it might come as a surprise to some to see us tipping John Ruddy this week, but it is worth remembering that twelve of these goals came in matches against Man City and Liverpool. Considering we will have a wildcard available as soon as GW2O starts (Jan 1st) many fantasy managers are now simply basing their transfers on the next five game-weeks and if you fall into this category well then Ruddy could be the man for you as four of their next five games are against, Swansea, Sunderland, Fulham & Palace, oh and the other game is against United. Therefore it is quite possible that Norwich could pick up two or three clean sheets in this period and at just £4.9m he won’t break your piggy bank ahead of Christmas.

Finally, a couple of other keepers who deserve a mention are Villa’s Brad Guzan and Hull’s Allan McGregor. Villa have been relatively solid at the back of late and have some fairly easy-looking fixtures coming up while at just £4.4m McGregor could prove excellent value for money over the coming weeks given Hull’s fixtures.

Defenders

As we have highlighted above, Everton are in great form defensively and we really do believe that their defence warrants some serious consideration. Obviously we have already tipped Tim Howard but given their form and fixtures it might even to be an idea to double up at the back. Seamus Coleman has been one of the standout defenders in the seasons Premier League and this has translated into fantasy points and he is currently the highest scoring defender in the FPL. The Irishman has scored twice and picked up an assist to go with eight clean sheets and as a result his price has risen from £5.0m to £5.9m. For those of you who can’t stretch to £5.9m for Coleman, we would recommend you consider his colleague Sylvain Distin. Clearly Distin is not as dynamic as Coleman so we don’t expect the same returns from him, but at £0.7m cheaper he is most certainly a viable alternative.

With the number of clean sheets seemingly diminishing over recent weeks it might be time to turn our attentions to those defenders who could potentially pick up some offensive points. First up is West Brom’s Gareth McAuley who has already chipped in with two goals and an assist, so clearly the Northern Irish international has an eye for goal. West Brom’s form has been somewhat of a concern of late, but with two of their next four games against teams in the bottom five there is certainly an opportunity for them to pick up the odd clean sheet and with McAuley there is always the chance of a goal.

Next up is Sunderland’s Phil Bardsley, no we’re not joking! The Scottish international has scored twice this season, unfortunately for both he and Sunderland he has also scored two own goals. Sunderland currently sit at the foot of the table, five points adrift and times are looking bleak for the Black Cats. A quick look at their upcoming fixtures would suggest that if Sunderland are to survive they will need to pick a decent point’s haul over their next seven or eight games. With that in mind we’re going for a ‘hail mary’ style punt and tipping Bardsley to be among the fantasy points over the coming weeks.

On the assists front, Manchester City duo Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksander Kolarov lead the way with four apiece, although this is hardly surprising given the verve with which City have attacked with this season, particularly at home. Now it might come as a surprise but we’re going to take another punt here and tip Kolarov over Zabaleta. There’s no denying that Kolarov is a far greater rotational risk, but with Gael Clichy currently out with a foot injury, Kolarov is likely to remain in the side and at just £5.3m and featuring in just over 1% of teams he could prove to be a nice differential over the coming weeks.

A couple of other defenders who we’d like to mention before moving on are Patrice Evra and Norwich’s Martin Olsson. United have been rather shaky at the back this season but they do have some rather easy fixtures over the coming weeks and it’s because of these fixtures coupled with Evra’s attacking threat that we are this week tipping the Frenchman. As we have already mentioned, Norwich have some relatively easy fixtures over the coming weeks and at just £4.2m Olsson could prove to be a shrewd investment.

Midfielders

Our first midfield tip this week is City’s diminutive Spaniard, David Silva. Silva has missed City’s last five league games through injury but made his return against Bayern on Tuesday night as City stunned the reigning European champions. The Spaniard’s season has been blighted by injury meaning he’s only made seven appearances in the league, but he has managed to pick up three goals & three assists in those seven games and with both Aguero & Negredo in great form ahead of him we fully expect him Silva to be among the goals & assists over the coming weeks. For those of you who are reluctant to trust his fitness, you could do a lot worse than invest in Yaya Toure who continues to impress and is the driving force behind nearly everything good that City do.

Aside from Yaya the only other premium midfielders who have been performing consistently of late are Mesut Ozil and Eden Hazard. Ozil got off to a flyer at the Emirates picking up four assists in his first two games and then scored twice in his fifth game for the club, however he then went through a quiet patch in which he only picked up the one assist in four games. He has subsequently bounced back with two goals & two assists in his last three games. The Germans price reached a high of £10.8m in GW10 but that has now dropped to £10.3m and we feel that despite the fact that Arsenal have a couple of tough fixtures over the next two weeks that now might be the right time to pick Ozil up. Hazard’s season got off to quite a slow start but he has really come to the party for Chelsea since GW7 and since then he has scored six goals and picked up five assists in nine games. Chelsea have quite a mixed fixture list over the coming weeks but the Belgian has proven to be quite explosive of late and could very well deliver a number of Christmas crackers.

With a number of fantasy managers picking a trio of Suarez, Aguero & Rooney in attack they are left trying to pick up a couple of cheap midfielders and with this in mind we’re now going to take a look at a number of midfielders priced at under £6.0m. First up is Norwich’s Leroy Fer (£5.9m) who has caught the eye of late in a struggling Norwich team, with three goals and an assist in his last five games. With Norwich having some tempting fixtures over the coming weeks, the Dutch international has been attracting a certain amount of attention and we can definitely understand why. For those of you unwilling to shell out £5.9m on a Norwich midfielder you could consider his colleague Nathan Redmond who has picked up an assist in each of his last two games and is priced at just £4.6m.

Next up is Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko. With the likes of Remy and Cabaye grabbing the recent headlines on Tyneside, Sissoko has somewhat flown under the radar, but with a goal and an assist in his last three games the French international is starting to display some of the form which made him an instant hit with the Geordies last January. With Newcastle having a number of tempting fixtures over the coming weeks Sissoko could prove to be good value for money at just £5.5m.

For those of you shopping in the bargain bin for a cheap 5th midfielder, how about Barry Bannan of Crystal Palace or Alex Pozuelo of Swansea? Bannan failed to win a place in the starting XI at the beginning of the season but has been a regular since GW9 and has picked up a goal & an assist in his last four games, helping Palace to win three of their last four games. Palace’s fixtures become a little trickier over the coming weeks but at just £4.4m Bannan will free up cash for you to invest elsewhere. At £4.2m Pozuelo is cheaper again and the Spaniard has picked up two assists in his last four games and with games coming thick & fast over the coming weeks he is likely to get plenty of game time. Our final midfielder this week is someone who we would suggest you keep an eye and that is Stoke’s Stephen Ireland. Since leaving City his career has been on a downward trajectory but against Chelsea last week he showed glimpses of the form which made him a great fantasy asset in the 08/09 season and if he can maintain such form he might just force his way into a few more fantasy teams.

Forwards

Moving onto the boys up top and we’ll start with the big 3, namely Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero & Wayne Rooney who between them have managed 34 goals to date. With fourteen goals and seven assists from just ten games, Suarez has arguably been the player of the season and what’s more impressive is the fact that he’s gone ten games without doing anything controversial. Liverpool are set to embark on a rather tough run of fixtures and without their inspirational leader Steven Gerrard, Suarez might lose some of his appeal but the Uruguayan has shown over recent weeks that he can conjure a goal out of nothing so don’t be surprised if he continues to fill his sack with goals over the festive period. Aguero too has been in impressive form of late, scoring ten and picking up six assists in his last eleven games. While City have a number of tough fixtures over the coming weeks it should be noted that these games are at home where they have been in scintillating form this season and have David Silva back to provide the ammunition for Aguero. What is also worth pointing out is that while City have struggled somewhat away from home, Aguero has still managed to score three in his last four away games. With just a mere eight goals and seven assists Rooney has not been as impressive as the two South Americans! However, Rooney has a number of things in his favour at the moment, United’s fixture list over the festive period is much easier when compared to both Liverpool & City, he is £1.7m cheaper than Suarez & £1.4m cheaper than Aguero and he currently features in just over 13% of teams making him quite a differential when compared to the other two. So when you look at it like this, maybe Rooney is the best option of the three over the coming weeks.

With Everton’s upcoming fixtures looking so tempting many fantasy managers will want at least one of their attacking options and with their midfield failing to deliver on a consistent basis, that just leaves us with Chelsea’s, sorry Everton’s Romelu Lukaku! The Belgian has delivered in each of his last four games, scoring three and picking up two assists. With Arouna Kone injured and Nikica Jelavic out of form & favour, Lukaku would appear to be a nailed on starter for each game over the busy festive period. For those of you who are reluctant to go all in on Suarez, Aguero & Rooney we firmly believe that at £8.4m Lukaku is the next best option.

Loic Remy has had a couple of quiet games of late, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that in his previous four games he scored three and picked up an assist. Newcastle have been quite impressive of late and sit fifth in the current form table and with a number of very winnable fixtures over the next few weeks we fully expect Remy to be back on the goal trail very soon.

For those of you looking for a cheap 3rd striker how about Gary Hooper, Gabby Agbonlahor or Jay Rodriguez? With three goals, an assist and seven bonus points in his last five games Hooper has been in great form and with Norwich having a number of appealing fixtures over the coming weeks he could prove to be good value at just £6.1m. Just like Norwich, Villa have some decent fixtures over the coming weeks and with a goal and an assist against Southampton in GW14, it’s clear that Gabby is back to full fitness. Unlike Norwich & Villa, Southampton have a number of tough games coming up so Rodriguez might not be an obvious choice, but he appears to have cemented his place in the side and is priced at just £5.9m.

This article was written by Kop Warrior.