Happy New Year to you all! After the crazy amount of fixtures over the last few weeks we return to some sort of normality. Here are my tips for your fantasy teams for this midweek round of games.
10
Buy: Diego Costa – Forward, Chelsea, 10.7
In his last two starts, Costa has managed three shots on target and turned them into three goals. Chelsea seem to be righting the ship and as long as Willian continues to create chances at an extremely high rate, I am willing to buy in on Costa. Chelsea face West Bromwich Albion this week, but Tony Pulis’ side are no longer the top ten defense that many still believe them to be.
Sell: David Silva – Midfielder, Manchester City, 10.0
I am done waiting for Silva. His underlying statistics continue to improve, but there are too many reliable midfielders to waste a spot on him in the official game. He has averaged 2.8 chances created over his last five matches, but has registered just two shots on target this season and it no longer looks like David Silva’s team to run.
9
Buy: Harry Kane – Forward, Tottenham Hotspur, 9.8
Kane is currently the fourth highest scoring forward and boasts the highest shot accuracy (62%) in the league. Leicester have been surprisingly stout in defense having conceded just one goal in their last three matches but that run is likely to end as they face a Tottenham side who have failed to score in just four matches all season.
Sell: Wayne Rooney – Forward, Manchester United, 9.9
Yes he scored a terrific goal last week, but please do not join the three thousand plus owners who have already brought in Rooney this week. I am still not convinced that Manchester United have turned things around and even though they face Newcastle and their third worst defense, Martial is the cheaper and better option up front.
8
Buy: Yaya Toure – Midfielder, Manchester City, 8.7
I should not be allowed to comment on Manchester City players as I am constantly wrong about them, but my pre-season love of Yaya is finally looking less insane. He is averaging 7.4 fantasy points over his last five matches with three goals and an assist over that period. Everton have one of the leakier defenses in the league and I love Toure’s odds of getting in the points again come Wednesday.
Sell: Phillippe Coutino – Midfielder, Liverpool, 8.4
He is currently injured (shock), but he would have been a sell for me even if he had not been hurt midweek. The Brazilian has had more than three points just five times this season and, with Liverpool’s attack looking increasingly stagnant, I doubt that turns around anytime soon. Now that he is out until February he is a must drop.
7
Buy: Dimitri Payet – Midfielder, West Ham United, 7.7
Despite having missed seven matches, Payet comes back from injury still sat top five in chances created (49). In just twenty seven minutes last week he managed to notch two chances created and two successful take ons, helping to allay any fears that his injury could hamper him for the rest of the season. The match-ups are great for West Ham as they face just one top ten defence in their next seven matches. Not only is Payet a great buy option, but also a great differential captain option in MW21.
Sell: Jamie Vardy – Forward, Leicester City, 7.5
Having been a fantasy darling for the first half of the season it looks like it is time to jump off the hype train. He may miss MW21 due to his recent groin surgery, but his performances have been poor enough to consider dropping him regardless. Over his last five matches he has averaged exactly one shot on target and less than one chance created as defenses have seemingly begun to figure him out. With the re-emergence of Diego Costa and the continued success of Ighalo, Lukaku, and Kane, owning Vardy now looks like an unnecessary risk.
6
Buy: Odion Ighalo – Forward, Watford, 6.4
In my last article I said Ighalo could be dropped due to his unsustainable strike rate and his difficult match-ups. Well, since then, he has only gone and scored two more goals (against Chelsea and Tottenham) while maintaining his 61% shot accuracy which is second best in the league. His next three matches are against Southampton, Swansea City, and Newcastle United who average fourteenth in goals conceded.
Sell: Georginio Wijnaldum – Midfielder, Newcastle United, 6.9
He is still the seventh highest scoring fantasy midfielder at time of writing, but his performances have been very disappointing of late. With just two points in seven of his last eight matches owning Wijnaldum is actively hurting your team as many midfielders are cheaper and more reliable. The match-ups are not great for Newcastle either as they consecutively face two top ten defences in match weeks 21 and 22.
5
Buy: Kyle Walker – Defender, Tottenham Hotspur, 5.2
The cheapest option in the Tottenham defense is Kyle Walker who finds himself in the middle of a bounce back year. He is top fifteen in both total points and chances created among defenders and, with Tottenham facing just two top ten attacks in their next five, could be in line for a few clean sheets in the coming weeks.
Sell: Virgil van Dijk – Defender, Southampton, 5.4
After a terrific start to his Southampton career, van Dijk and the Saints defense have gone off the boil in tremendous fashion. The last time the Dutchman scored a goal was October 17th and he has only kept one clean sheet since November 8th. It is time to move on from Southampton defenders.
4
Buy: Christian Fuchs – Defender, Leicester City, 4.8
I should just leave this here every week, but Fuchs continues to be a terrific budget option for your defense. He takes excellent set pieces for Leicester (and Austria) and has notched five or more points in five of his last eight matches. You do not love the Tottenham match-up on Wednesday, but Fuchs is a player you can pick up now and keep until the end of the season.
Sell: Daryl Janmaat – Defender, Newcastle United, 4.8
I still rate Janmaat as a player, but as a fantasy option he has been woeful. He has scored two points or less in his last five matches and plays for a Newcastle side with the fourth fewest clean sheets this season (5). He is owned in 2.3% of teams, but unfortunately that is 2.3% too many.
TEB Fantasy Football League (top 25)
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1 | Money Cabaye Success | Matt Jones | 27 | 1,178 |
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2 | Cabaye-Bye-Bye | Matthew Freeman | 28 | 1,175 |
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3 | Chelsea Dagger | David Gilbert | 37 | 1,165 |
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4 | fifty-fifty | Ramchandra Ram | 40 | 1,149 |
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5 | bumblastic | Raj Neha | 42 | 1,147 |
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6 | MurderOnZidanesFloor | Tom Harding | 45 | 1,145 |
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7 | SexDrugs&CarltonCole | Chris Hopkins | 35 | 1,145 |
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8 | E Pluribus Anus | Rory Jackson | 28 | 1,143 |
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9 | baap of all teams | ABHAY SINGH | 53 | 1,137 |
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10 | Tea and Busquets | Lewis Carter | 32 | 1,128 |
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11 | Worlddumbination | Phil Thomas | 35 | 1,125 |
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12 | Fortress Selhurst | Shane Sayed | 23 | 1,122 |
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13 | Oxted Eagles | Julian Chenery | 37 | 1,121 |
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14 | Crystal Phallus FC | Simon Dixon | 32 | 1,120 |
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15 | Clunge FC | David Bailey | 64 | 1,118 |
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16 | Chamakh My Bitch Up | Ryan Grant | 43 | 1,118 |
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17 | Best Weston | Asher Weston | 40 | 1,117 |
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18 | Soper’s No Hopers | Mike Soper | 40 | 1,116 |
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19 | all the best | Manoj Kumar | 42 | 1,115 |
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20 | I Know Nothing | Jonathan Bailey | 31 | 1,115 |
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21 | Evil Dinosaurs | Jack Carty | 36 | 1,106 |
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22 | Kimpton Kickers | Neil Kimpton | 34 | 1,106 |
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23 | Irish eagles | tony quinn | 32 | 1,104 |
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24 | best of best | Anamika singh | 41 | 1,102 |
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25 | Dargo All Stars | Anthony Simcoe | 41 | 1,101 |
