Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 33

Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 33 – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16

“There’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark out, and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.” Sit back and enjoy the ride folks. The majority of us have stumbled from one disaster to another over the past 32 game-weeks but the six remaining game-weeks will provide each and every one of us with the opportunity to finish our seasons on a high. Double game-week season is upon us and like all good duck hunters the best of us have spent the last number of weeks preparing for them and the rest of us simply activated a wildcard. Speaking of double game-weeks, despite what some might say there is no right or wrong way to approach. Some will attack them with all guns blazing while others will adopt a more measured approach. You need to do what suits the situation you find yourself in, so if you’re chasing in your mini-league you’re probably best served by getting the guns out! Anyway, rather than following the usual format for our tips article we have decided instead to focus on a number of topics which have been widely discussed on the site recently. We hope it’s of use.

Ozil v Sanchez

Arsenal have shown signs of improvement this season. Ok they’re unlikely to win the Premier League but we’re into April and they’re still in with a shout. Wenger must stay. With five goals and an impressive 18 assists to his name Mesut Ozil is undoubtedly their player of the season. He’s been one of the stars of the FPL season and only four players have scored more than his 177pts. Thanks to his consistency over the course of the season he now features in over 43% of teams and is priced at £9.7m from a starting price of £8.5m. Alexis Sanchez on the other hand has struggled to find his best form this season and has weighed in with just eight goals and five assists. To put this into some perspective he finished last season with 16 goals and eight assists, however he did miss eight games around the turn of the year. Because of this he features in just 11.5% of teams and is currently valued at £10.8m.

Over the course of the season it’s clear that Ozil was the Arsenal midfielder to own. However things have changed of late with Sanchez scoring twice & picking up three assists in his last four games while Ozil has blanked in his last four. If we take a look at their stats since Sanchez returned to the starting XI in GW24 we see that things are relatively even but if we focus on the last four games we see that Sanchez has moved ahead of the German. As you would expect Ozil still leads the way in terms of touches & passes, but Sanchez leads the way in chances created, attempted assists, through balls & shots on target, and most importantly in terms of points amassed.

To Kun or not to Kun

In previous seasons the thought of entering a double game-week in which City played twice without Sergio Aguero would have been enough to send many of us into a cold sweat. But not this season, particularly as both of their games in GW34 are away from home and they have struggled for form away from the Etihad. They have scored a total of 56 goals to date but only 17 of those have come on their travels. Likewise Aguero has struggled away from the Etihad, he’s scored 17 times this season but only five of those have been away from home. If this was any ordinary player you would rule him out on that basis, but Aguero isn’t any ordinary player.

They went to Bournemouth on Saturday and put four past The Cherries. This was only the 2nd time this season they have scored three or more goals on their travels. Ok it was against a Bournemouth side who are all but safe, but it shows that City can turn it on when they want to. With Champions League football for next season far from being secure they will need to turn in another few similar performances over the course of the season. The Bournemouth game also marked the return of Kevin de Bruyne, a player whom City have missed over the last number of weeks. He brings a directness to City’s play which can only but benefit Aguero over the coming game-weeks.

For those of you on a wildcard I’m sure you’ve constructed a team without Aguero in it and it looks great. They always do. On paper! Yes your defence might look a little stronger and your midfield might be more exciting. But are you confident that by not picking the Argentine you can accumulate more points? Would you be surprised should Aguero score four over the course of GW34? I wouldn’t. I’m not saying that he’s a ‘must have’ but it will be a brave manager who goes without him.

Single Game-week Teams!

Just as was expected we’ve all gone double game-week crazy. Whether you have your wildcard in play or just using your transfers everyone appears to be fixated on those teams with a double in game-weeks 33, 34 & 37. It is however worth remembering that there are a number of teams who simply play once every week for the remaining six game-weeks. Those teams are of course Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Leicester, Southampton, Stoke, Swansea & Spurs. Without disrespecting the rest of these teams we are going to concentrate on Leicester & Spurs as not only are they 1 & 2 in the table, they’re also 1 & 2 in the form table.

Having won five of their last six games by a score line of 1-0 it’s stating the obvious to say that defensively they’re in good form. Obviously those of you currently on a wildcard are free to make as many changes to your teams as you see fit but I would strongly advise you to hold onto your Leicester defensive assets as a look at their next three or four fixtures suggest another few clean sheets. Those of you who don’t own any Leicester defenders might want to take the opportunity to draft one in. It still amazes me that only Schmeichel (15%) and Huth (14.8%) are in double figures in terms of ownership so their entire rear-guard represents something of a differential. Further forward things aren’t as clear cut. Due to the fact that they’ve only scored seven in their last six games the points have somewhat dried up for both Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. Mahrez has two goals and an assist in the last six games while Vardy has picked up three assists in the same period. With that in mind I personally don’t see the need to hold onto both players as we move in double game-week territory and there’s even a case to be made for dropping both if you want to seriously chase the doubles.

And what about Spurs? They may have the league’s 2nd best defence but this has resulted in just 11 clean sheets and they’ve managed just two in their last six games and therefore if you’re on a wildcard I see no reason to hold onto your Spurs defenders. However it’s a different kettle of fish as we move further up the pitch. Dele Alli is surely in line to win yYoung Player of the Season thanks to his meteoric rise to the top. It’s hard to believe that he was plying his trade in the 3rd tier of English football less than 12 months ago. The goals have dried up of late with the last of his seven league goals coming back in GW24 but he has weighed in with four assists in his last four games to ensure that he still offers value for money at £6.2m. In one of our Tips articles at the back end of 2015 I said that I felt that Harry Kane would end up as the league’s top scorer and on current form it would appear as though I’ll be proved right. He has built on last season’s breakthrough season and currently has 22 goals to his name but more importantly he has 11 in his last 11 games. He is the leagues form striker by a considerable distance and I would back him to outscore the majority of double game-week forwards over the coming weeks.

Everton & Palace

Obviously we need to take a quick look at Everton & Palace both of whom play four times in the next two game-weeks. Our first response should of course be happy days lets load up on Toffees and Eagles but unfortunately it’s not that easy. Palace sit bottom of the form table with just three draws from their last eight games and Everton haven’t fared much better with just three wins from their last eight games. However as we’ve seen in seasons past double game-weeks are ignored at your peril, see Austin & Benteke last season.

Palace haven’t kept a clean sheet since GW19 and despite two home games in GW33 it’s difficult to see any clean sheets and we won’t even mention GW34. If you’re feeling lucky you could take a chance on Damien Delaney who has scored twice and created another four this season and is priced at just £4.3m. Despite their poor recent form they have managed to score ten times in their last eight games. Unfortunately these goals have been shared around and the one midfielder/forward to score more than one in this period is currently injured and that is Connor Wickham. Check back with us on Friday when Cookie brings us his weekly Team Talk and should he have any positive news on the Wickham front he might be the one to grab. Given the form of their midfielders it really is pot luck but if you forced me to pick one I’d go with Yannick Bolasie.

Everton haven’t been quite as frail at the back but have still shipped 10 in their last eight games, keeping just two clean sheets in that period. However with three double game-weeks to come many will want to take a chance on one of their rear-guard and Joel Robles currently appears to be the best bet. He’s just £4.3m and is unlikely to be rotated. In the middle of the park Aaron Lennon has started the last seven games, scoring four and picking up an assist in that time, and at just £5.6m he appears to be the one tailor made for some double game-week fun! Up top there’s Romelu Lukaku and eh, Romelu Lukaku. Don’t forget that Everton have an FA Cup semi-final a matter of days after their 2nd game in GW34 and despite this being a Merseyside derby I fully expect Martinez to rotate a number of key players.

Double Game-week Bargains!

Just because a player is cheap does not necessarily mean he’s a bargain! Take Newcastle’s Karl Darlow as an example. He’s only £3.9m but do you expect him to pick up a clean sheet over the coming weeks? No. But because he’s so cheap he might just allow you to afford someone who might knock in a goal or two for you and therefore he must be considered. With two goals in his last two games West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini could prove an interesting differential over the coming weeks. The Argentine features in just 1% of teams and is currently priced at just £4.9m making him ideally suited to be your 5th midfielder. Actually hang on a second I’ve found an even better 5th midfielder! Should you fancy doubling up on the Arsenal attack but don’t feel as though you can afford it you might cast your eye over Alex Iwobi. The youngster has started the last two games and has scored in each game. It would appear that Carlsberg do double game-weeks, they’ve certainly done one for Manchester United! Home games against Villa and Palace just scream goals and if Marcus Rashford wasn’t already an option he certainly is now!

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Game-week 33. This article was written by Kop Warrior

Follow @KenLyons79

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