Fantasy Preview – Match Week 16

The busy seasonal period is almost upon us as the jostling for position continues in the Premier League with no outright favourite at the moment. Here are my fantasy picks ahead of the match ups this weekend.

13

Sell: Sergio Aguero – Forward, Manchester City, 13.1

I have finally taken him out of my side, and you may want to consider doing the same. Aguero has yet to return to running let alone training and his constant injury issues continue to diminish his fantasy value. Will he come back in two or three weeks time and absolutely tear up the Premier League? Possibly, but I would rather not have 13+ sunk into a player who has already missed a third of of his matches and is set to miss more.

10

Buy: David Silva – Midfielder, Manchester City, 10.0

I know he was disappointing last week but I still believe he will finish top ten among midfielders and reach 11+ by the end of the season. Wilfried Bony will get the start again which is not the best news for Silva, but they are facing a wayward and now managerless Swansea side so I think the attacking players at City could be in for a big day.

Sell: Daniel Sturridge – Forward, Liverpool, 10.2

Speaking of injured forwards, Sturridge is set to miss ‘a couple of weeks’ according to manager Jurgen Klopp. Until we see the English forward get multiple consecutive starts there is no point in owning him but, for some reason, his ownership has actually increased since MW15.

9

Buy: Romelu Lukaku – Forward, Everton, 9.1

He has been absolutely tremendous of late scoring six goals in his last five matches, averaging 9.6 points per match over that span. Admittedly I was set to attribute his recent success to the poor level of his opposition but, even if that is true, it will not change anytime soon as their next three matches are against bottom ten defenses (Norwich City, Leicester City, Newcastle United).

Sell: N/A

8

Buy: Aaron Ramsey – Midfielder, Arsenal, 8.0

Ramsey has decided to break type and become one of the few healthy Arsenal players at the moment. Not only is he guaranteed a starting spot, but it is a starting spot in central midfield where he has found much success. Ramsey has two goals and an assist in his last three matches and, facing a languishing Aston Villa side, it is easy to imagine him contributing to at least one goal this weekend.

Sell: Christian Benteke – Forward, Liverpool, 8.3

He has scored more than two points in just five matches this season and seems to have struggled in adapting to Jurgen Klopp’s setup. The return of Phillippe Coutinho could increase his value, but with Sturridge lurking in the mid-to-long term it is hard to rationalise owning either of them. West Brom’s defense has held opponents to one goal in their last three matches.

7

Buy: Ross Barkley – Midfielder, Everton, 7.4

I will start off by admitting I am not much of a Barkley fan. That having been said, he has been excellent amassing thirty-four points in the last three weeks alone. While most of those points were earned against lesser opposition, Everton’s upcoming schedule is still favourable.

Sell: Dusan Tadic – Midfielder, Southampton, 7.1

Tadic has struggled of late amassing a grand total of five points in his last three matches. Unfortunately, things are not about to get easier as their next three opponents all have top five defenses. Considering how hard he burned owners in the second half of last season, I am fine with pulling the trigger now. (Ed – interesting to note the comments by a Saints fan on Tadic in our feature The Southampton View this week)

6

Buy: Xherdan Shaqiri – Midfielder, Stoke City, 6.6

Shaqiri had what may well be his breakout match last week against Manchester City. He easily could have had more than his two assists with eight combined chances created and successful crosses, and it is likely that targetman Mame Biram Diouf finds way back into the Stoke side soon. Winston Reid’s absence for West Ham leads me to believe Stoke can duplicate their impressive performance from MW15.

Sell: Chris Smalling – Defender, Manchester United, 6.9

His average of five points per match is quite incredible, but not only have his defensive partners suffered injuries, but now Smalling has picked up a groin injury of his own. Manchester United continue to lead the league in clean sheets (9) but they were set to regress to the mean before all these injuries, now it is even more likely.

5

Buy: Dele Alli – Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur, 5.0

Alli has cemented his place in the Tottenham midfield and continues to impress. His three goals and three assists mean that Alli has contributed to 24% of all Tottenham’s goals this season and, at 5.0, he is an absolute steal. Who does he get to face this week? A Newcastle side that have conceded the most goals in the league (30)

Buy: Odion Ighalo, Watford, 5.9

Some people are worried about it being ‘too late’ to buy in on Ighalo, but his twenty-two points in the last two weeks are well worth any sub-six price. He currently sits top three in both goals and assists amongst forwards and gets the enviable pleasure of facing Sunderland at the weekend. Everyone loves the Kane, Lukaku, and Giroud match-ups, so Ighalo is a great differential option in MW16.

4

Buy: Christian Fuchs – Defender, Leicester City, 4.7

He has picked up seventeen points in his last three matches and takes almost every set piece. Seriously, just buy him.

Sell: Heurelho Gomes – Goalkeeper, Watford, 4.7

While he has a favourable matchup this week against Sunderland, his next six consecutive matches are Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, and Southampton. I do not want any part of that.

TEB Fantasy Football League Table after MW15 (top 25 from 257)

	#	Team	Manager	GW	TOT
	1	fifty-fifty	Ramchandra Ram	60	883
	2	E Pluribus Anus	Rory Jackson	65	859
	3	Chelsea Dagger	David Gilbert	83	858
	4	Money Cabaye Success	Matt Jones	61	854
	5	Cabaye-Bye-Bye	Matthew Freeman	63	854
	6	SexDrugs&CarltonCole	Chris Hopkins	91	836
	7	Fortress Selhurst	Shane Sayed	77	835
	8	Enduring Eagles	Simon King	78	830
	9	Reds in my Bed	Graham Matthews	68	828
	10	Crystal Phallus FC	Simon Dixon	75	823
	11	Irish eagles	tony quinn	72	822
	12	Chamakh My Bitch Up	Ryan Grant	65	821
	13	khabarmantra	Asif Naim	53	821
	14	npl XI	david champion	65	818
	15	Tea and Busquets	Lewis Carter	69	817
	16	Oxted Eagles	Julian Chenery	55	815
	17	Best Weston	Asher Weston	54	815
	18	MurderOnZidanesFloor	Tom Harding	77	813
	19	Worlddumbination	Phil Thomas	79	811
	20	Dynamo Dan Dan	Daniel Bright	59	810
	21	all the best	Manoj Kumar	75	809
	22	Cabaye’ my lover..	Greg Ross	64	808
	23	Eglwysbach FC	Joe Roberts	61	803
	24	Mané Kurian FC	James Kearney	67	803
	25	crystanbul	Edmund Brack	69	801