Fantasy Preview – Match Week 4

As we head into the fourth week of the season there are a few surprises in terms of my tips on who is hot and who is not. I take no responsibility for the players I suggest dropping performing and vice versa but here are my thoughts on who I think should be added to your teams or more importantly, dropped.

13

Buy: Sergio Aguero – Forward, Manchester City, 13.2

A lot of people captained Aguero last week and may have felt burned, but do not. Watford have managed two clean sheets this season, but I doubt they will be able to stop this lethal Manchester City attack. Get him in now before his price rises even more.

11

Buy: Alexis Sanchez – Midfielder, Arsenal, 11.0

Sanchez has not performed well this season for Arsenal or your fantasy team, but it is not time to cut bait just yet. The Newcastle defense looks shaky and I would not expect Haidara to be able to contain Sanchez.

Sell: Eden Hazard – Midfielder, Chelsea, 11.4

I said to sell him last week, and that was before Pedro stepped in and absolutely took over that attack. I am not saying Hazard will finish outside the top five midfielders come the end of the year, but there is little point in paying top dollar for him at the moment.

10

Buy: David Silva – Midfielder, Manchester City, 10.1

He did not get an assist last week but he created three chances that easily could have been turned in on a different day. Next up is a Watford side who do have a good defensive record thus far, but will have a difficult time neutralising all of City’s threats

Sell: Wayne Rooney – Forward, Manchester United, 10.4

Yes, he scored a hat-trick midweek, but there is not a defense in the Premier League as shaky as Club Brugge (except maybe Sunderland). Swansea have looked good in defense and will push Manchester United enough to keep them off the front foot for most of the match.

9

Buy: Pedro – Midfielder, Chelsea, 9.5

Pedro walked into the Chelsea starting line up and started dictating play from minute one. With a goal and an assist (and a chance wasted by Willian), the former Barcelona man proved exactly why he was so coveted by Chelsea. A straight swap of Hazard for Pedro will get you more points in the immediate future and add 1.9 to your budget.

Sell: Harry Kane – Striker, Tottenham Hotspur, 9.4

With Christian Eriksen set to miss out through injury again, you have to wonder where Tottenham’s chances will come from. Kane has done his best to create half chances for himself this season, but there is not enough creativity in this team to inspire confidence.

8

Buy: Romelu Lukaku – Forward, Everton, 8.2

The Belgian scored two midweek and seems to be on blistering form. He may be on tired legs having played teh whole game in the Capital One Cup, but this Tottenham defence has mistakes in it and Lukaku may well capitalise on them.

Sell: Christian Eriksen – Midfielder, Tottenham, 8.4

Though this is mostly due to the injury, Tottenham need to strengthen before you can trust Eriksen to get back to the amazing provider he is on the pitch. He will likely continue to drop over the coming international break, so I would suggest selling now and picking him back up for MW5 against Sunderland.

7

Buy: Xherdan Shaqiri – Midfielder, Stoke City, 7.0

With two crosses, two chances created, and one assist Shaqiri impressed in his debut. I know he will be facing a Tony Pulis side that likes to defend but, honestly, they have not done a great job of it this year. Shaqiri can absolutely take advantage of Joleon Lescott, who he will most likely be facing this week.

Sell: Gylfi Sigurdsson – Midfielder, Swansea City, 7.4

Before we get into the analysis, you should probably just drop him for one of  Andre Ayew or Jefferson Montero. That is mostly because that is where the Swansea attack is coming from these days. With their newly found pace on the wings, the Swans often forgo a midfield buildup in favour of a more direct approach. Sigurdsson does still have value as their free kick and corner taker.

6

Buy: Jeremain Lens – Midfielder, Sunderland,  6.5

Hey look, Lens had another assist this weekend. That is three in three for those counting at home. Defoe seems to be firing at the moment and Lens is the one that is going to be suplying him the ball so I would say ride that train while it is still chugging.

Sell: Nicolas Otamendi – Defender, Manchester City, 6.5

This price would have been too high for me even if he was guaranteed a place in the starting eleven, and guess what? He is not. Eliaquim Mangala has looked every bit the player he was at Porto thus far and I doubt manager Manuel Pellegrini feels like shaking what is currently, the best defense in the Premier League.

5

Buy: Cheikhou Kouyate – Midfielder, West Ham, 5.5

With two goals and an assist already, Kouyate looks an absolute steal at 5.5. While the Liverpool match-up is not particularly favourable, I would say he is definitely worth grabbing at this price before he inevitably rises in value.

Sell: Wilfried Zaha – Midfielder, Crystal Palace, 5.5

It is no secret that he has struggled the past two weeks, and I doubt he will find his form against Cesar Azpilicueta on Saturday. I do think he will end up being a top 25 midfielder come the end of the season, but approach him with caution for now.

4

Buy: Dele Alli – Midfielder, Tottenham, 4.9

This is my sneaky play of the week. With Christian Eriksen missing through injury, Alli, who performed excellently last week, may well get his spot behind Kane. He is a tremendous athlete who is capable of dismantling defenders with an impressive mix of technique and pace. If he does get the start he will likely be involved in at least one goal

Sell: Any Sunderland defender –  4.5-4.9

They are just a mess this season. With rotating centre backs, Billy Jones’ struggles, and Patrick van Aanholt’s apparent regression, none of them are worth owning.

TEB Fantasy Football League – Top 25 (of 257) after MW3

	1	The Moon Kestrels	Stuart Ions	79	185
	2	Soper’s No Hopers	Mike Soper	93	173
	3	The Remarkable Ones	Mark Saunders	39	171
	4	Depay’s tuna canoe	John Munnelly	53	162
	5	npl XI	david champion	46	161
	6	Crystal Phallus FC	Simon Dixon	56	160
	7	E Pluribus Anus	Rory Jackson	57	157
	8	Wheddsta	Harvey Wheddon	46	156
	9	lets football	Kiran ManU	47	155
	9	CHB_98	charlie baker	60	155
	11	Carthage Eagles	John Deeks	50	154
	12	The untouchables	Alex Clark	51	152
	13	BOOM BOOM	Neetu Singh	62	150
	13	Verdens Bedste Far	David Macdonald	79	150
	15	all the best	Manoj Kumar	48	150
	15	Wong fc ��	Tom Aldous	61	150
	17	Milky Melts	Christopher Mills	77	148
	18	Hopkin2curl1	Josh Nadarajan	51	148
	18	Muunstruck Mk. 3	Nick Howard	63	148
	20	Real sosobad	Brad Ricketts	49	148
	20	Game of Throw-Ins	Phil Holah	53	148
	22	Prairie Wind	Graeme Wiseman	63	147
	22	KPFC	Kate Payne	42	147
	22	Cabaye my lover	Dan Roberts	61	147
	25	View from Jericho	Owen Davis	45	147