Tips Gameweek 23 FPL Fantasy Premier League

Tips Game-week 23 FPL Fantasy Premier League

It is now commonly accepted that the FA Cup has lost its glory, but that’s a discussion for another day! All we’ll say about the Cup at this stage is that it’s an unwanted distraction for us fantasy managers, but luckily we have a full midweek fixture list to get us back in the groove. The countdown to transfer deadline day has well and truly begun and it’s nearly time for Jim White to strut his stuff! What has been a relatively mundane window sprung to life over the weekend with Juan Mata’s arrival at Old Trafford. We’re quite sure that the remainder of the window will throw up a few more surprises and with them a number of headaches for us fantasy managers. However, we’re also quite sure that a number of you already have a headache as you ponder a number of selection dilemmas and with this in mind we have detailed below a number of players who we believe can help you attain your goals over the coming weeks.

Goalkeepers
Hull City (at least we think they’re still called Hull City) are currently best placed of the three clubs who gained promotion last season. Having scored only 22 goals to date while conceding just 28 it is quite clear that their success is based on a solid defence, with Scot Allan McGregor forming the last line of that defence. Some of you may be concerned by the fact that McGregor has only kept two clean sheets in his last eleven games, however don’t let this put you off, instead, turn your attentions to their upcoming fixtures and you will notice that they face three of the current bottom five teams over the next five game-weeks. It is as a result of these fixtures that the Scot at £4.5m will prove good value for money over the coming weeks.

Last week’s win over Hull was Norwich’s first win since GW15, so it might surprise a few of you that our next tip is John Ruddy. Nonetheless, while they have been struggling to pick up those much needed three points, defensively they have been quite solid. In fact over the last eight games they boast the second best defence in the league, conceding only seven goals in this period with Ruddy picking up three clean sheets. Apart from the visits of Manchester City & Spurs in game-weeks 25&27 Norwich do not face another side from the top seven sides until GW35 and just like McGregor above, we feel Ruddy warrants some consideration based on their defensive form and future fixtures.

As we outlined last week, Jose Mourinho is once again making Chelsea a team that are tough to beat and they have lost just once in their last twelve league games, winning their last five. As a result they now boast the joint 2^nd best defence in the league and have only conceded six in their last eight games, with Petr Cech picking up four clean sheets in his last six games. Aside from a trip to the Etihad in GW24 Chelsea have a number of relatively straightforward games over the coming weeks from which they are well capable of picking up a number of clean sheets and let’s face it, if any team are currently capable of keeping City quiet, it’s Chelsea.

Defenders
Having conceded just nineteen goals and kept ten clean sheets in their opening 22 games we feel it’s pretty safe to assume that the majority of fantasy managers are at the very least considering an Arsenal defender, particularly if Wojciech Szczesny is not one of your keepers. The good news is three great options in Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny & Bacary Sagna. Which one of the three you decide to choose probably depends on what you’re looking for! If you’re looking for a goal threat and someone who is likely to garner you some bonus points well then Mertesacker is probably the one for you, however he is £1.0m more expensive than the other two and features in just over 30% of teams. There is little if nothing to separate the other two as their respective points totals show, however if we were forced to choose we’d go for Sagna on the basis that he features in just 6% of teams.

With Seamus Coleman currently struggling with a hamstring injury this week we turn our attentions to Everton’s left back, Leighton Baines. In the four games he has played since his return from injury Baines has picked up a goal and an assist as well as six bonus points which just serves to prove how important he is to the Toffees. Everton don’t have the greatest of fixtures over the coming weeks as they face trips to Liverpool, Spurs & Chelsea in the next five game-weeks, but with the joint 2^nd best defence in the league we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them pick up a couple of clean sheets from these games. Even if they don’t manage any clean sheets there is always the chance of Baines chipping in with a goal or an assist and fact that he takes all of the clubs set pieces can only improve his chances.

Sunderland are still languishing in the relegation zone, although slowly but surely Gus Poyet seems to be turning things around and with two wins & four draws in their last eight games they currently sit 9^th in the form table and have only conceded eight goals in this period. Defeating Manchester United over two legs in the league cup semi-final will also have given the Black Cats a significant boost of confidence and with games against the likes of Stoke, Hull & West Brom coming up over the next six game-weeks they have a great chance of picking up a number of clean sheets. Our tip from the Sunderland defence is full back Phil Bardsley who offers a great attacking threat and the Scot has already scored twice this season.

A number of times this season we have tipped either David de Gea or a United defender and each time we have regretted it. Nonetheless, as a result of their next three fixtures we are going to get back up on the horse and this week we are tipping Jonny Evans. The fixtures we refer to are against Cardiff, Stoke and Fulham, none of whom are noted for their goal scoring abilities and at just £5.0 the Northern Irish international could prove good value over the coming weeks.

With just a win and two draws from their last eight games Aston Villa currently sit 4^th from bottom of the current form table. However, if you take a look a look at their upcoming fixtures you will see that they have a number of games from which they will hope to pick up maximum points and they could conceivably pick up a couple of clean sheets. The obvious choice is club captain Ron Vlaar whose price has dropped to £4.3m as a result of his recent injury, however our tip this week is Ryan Bertrand who has joined on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season. The youngster enjoys getting forward, in fact Rafa Benitez fielded him on the left side of midfield last season and he will certainly be out to impress.

Midfielders
Manchester City have scored already scored an astonishing 63 goals in just 22 games and because of this it is surely a necessity to have some coverage from their attack in your squad. Clearly the obvious choice from their midfield is Yaya ‘he can’t keep this up’ Toure! The Ivorian has been in sensational form this season scoring eleven and picking up four assists. As a result of this form he is now the 3^rd most popular player in the FPL and costs £10.1m. If these numbers are too big for you or you simply feel that his form will not continue we would suggest you consider Jesus Navas. Despite scoring four and creating six, the Spaniard has somewhat flown under the radar and currently he features in just 4.7% of teams. Despite the fact that City face a couple of tricky fixtures against Spurs & Chelsea in the next two game-weeks we feel that Navas currently represents a great differential and could prove great value for money at just £8.3m.

Whether or not AVB actually wanted Christian Eriksen or not, he must look back and wonder why he didn’t give the young Dane more opportunities. He has since started every game under Tim Sherwood and is most certainly repaying his managers faith in him as he has picked up three goals, two assists and eight bonus points in his last five games. Spurs do have a couple of difficult fixtures coming up, however they have won their last four and will be full of confidence. Eriksen is currently one of the inform midfielders and could prove to be a bargain at just £7.3m.

Is Adam Johnson a bandwagon worth jumping on? If you’re a gambler the answer is probably yes, while if you’re a little more conservative, the answer is probably wait and see. As a result of his last two games in which he has picked up four goals, two assists and six bonus points we feel that he certainly warrants consideration. As we have alluded to already Sunderland appear to be a team reborn under Gus Poyet and in recent games Johnson has played a central part in everything that Sunderland have done. At £6.5m he’s not going to break the bank and he represents a great differential, featuring in just 4.7% of teams.

A couple of other midfielders who we feel warrant a mention are Everton’s Kevin Mirallas and Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye. Much was expected of Mirallas this season, but if we’re being honest the Belgian has been somewhat of a disappointment. However with goals in each of his last two games it would appear as though he has stepped up to the plate and could prove decent value at £7.2m. After becoming the epitome of consistency for a number of weeks, Cabaye went off the boil and didn’t deliver any returns for three consecutive game-weeks. However he bounced back with a timely reminder last time out with a brace against West Ham. The Geordies have a number of difficult fixtures in the coming weeks, however Cabaye has already proved this season that he can deliver against the top sides. We should point out however that Cabaye is currently being linked with PSG and this is certainly worth monitoring.

Our final midfielder this week is Man United’s record signing, Juan Mata. Bizarrely the Spaniard has been deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge! In his brief Chelsea career Mata scored 18 goals, provided 27 assists and created 227 chances in the league. There’s no doubt that bringing Mata into your team immediately is a slight gamble as we don’t know quite how match fit he is and we don’t know what the Moyesiah has in store for him. However if he can recapture some of his form from the last two seasons he could very well be FPL gold and could prove to be a bargain at just £9.4m!

Forwards
As we have outlined above City are currently scoring goals for fun and if you don’t already own one of their strikers we certainly believe that you should consider changing this. Sergio Aguero is clearly their #1 striker and the Argentine showed just what he is capable of last weekend as he climbed off the bench to pick up a goal & an assist in just 29 minutes. Unsurprisingly Aguero’s popularity is soaring and as a result his price has already risen to £12.3m having been as low as £11.9. City face Spurs & Chelsea in their next two games and it should be noted that Aguero has scored against both teams already this season. Should you decide that Aguero is not for you, well then you could consider Edin Dzeko. Now while Alvaro Negredo is clearly the obvious second choice should you ignore Aguero, at just £6.7m the Bosnian could turn out to be the ideal 3^rd striker for your team over the remainder of the season. Doubts over Negredo’s fitness this week though should see Dzeko retain his place if he does not recover in time. Should you decide to go with Dzeko, we would suggest you ensure you have a strong bench as he will probably sit out a number of games as Pellegrini rotates his squad.

In goal scoring terms only one team can currently live with City and that’s Liverpool, both teams have scored 23 goals in their last eight league games. Luis Suarez has played 17 league games this season this season and only on three occasions has he failed to register either a goal or an assist and because of this he now features in over 50% of teams and we would be amazed if any of you did not own the Uruguayan! Daniel Sturridge has picked up exactly where he left off prior to his injury and since his return he has picked up two goals, an assist & fours bonus points in less than one & a half games and his link up play with Suarez has been a joy to watch. Liverpool’s overall play of late hasn’t been the greatest but with Suarez & Sturridge able to create chances for each other out of nothing we’re quite sure that both will be among the goals over the coming weeks.

With no wins and only three draws in their last eight games Swansea currently sit bottom of the form table so it might come as somewhat of a surprise to a few that our next tip is Wilfried Bony. However, while a number of those around him have looked like Championship players at best, Bony has been showing glimpses of the player we expected to see back in August, with three goals in his last three league games as well as three in the cup. Swansea face Fulham, West Ham, Cardiff & Stoke in their next four games and with each of these teams also struggling we believe that’s a good chance that we’ll see Bony’s name on the score sheet a number of times over the coming weeks. The Ivorian’s price has dropped to £7.3m and he represents an excellent differential featuring in just 3.9% of teams.

A number of other strikers who we feel warrant a mention at this stage are Emmanuel Adebayor of Spurs, Chelsea’s Samuel Eto’o and Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke. Adebayor appears to be a player reborn under Tim Sherwood and just like Christian Eriksen he is repaying his managers faith in him with five goals and three assists in six games. Granted, Spurs have some difficult fixtures coming up, but as Adebayor has proved in the past, when he has his mind on the job he has the ability to score against anyone and at just £7.8m he currently appears to be a bargain. When Chelsea signed Eto’o many wondered if they were simply flogging a dead horse and while the Cameroonian hasn’t set the Premier League alight he has still managed six goals from just twelve appearances with three of those coming last time out against United. His biggest problem is that he hasn’t had a decent run in the side, but with Fernando Torres currently side-lined it would certainly appear that he will now be afforded a number of starts. With the likes of Oscar and Hazard creating the chances you would expect Eto’o to add to his tally and he represents a superb differential, featuring in just 1.4% of teams. Having failed to score for eleven league games Villa fans must have been wondering what had happened to last season’s Christian Benteke. However the Belgian has now scored in back to back games and his confidence is likely to be on the rise. Aston Villa have some relatively easy fixtures over the coming weeks and if Benteke can recapture last season’s form he will be a bargain at £8.7m.

This article was written by Kop Warrior.