After missing a couple of weeks due to the unfortunate issues with the site, my fantasy preview is back with a bang as we look ahead to the full midweek fixture in the busy Premier League.
It is a huge week both on and off the pitch with the transfer window closing which will no doubt have an impact on fantasy owners. Here are my tips as we head deep into the second half of the season.
13
Buy: Sergio Aguero – Forward, Manchester City
I should be formally restricted from writing about Sergio Aguero, but here we go. He is undoubtedly the best striker in the Premier League and guess what? He is healthy. Over his last five matches Aguero has averaged 8.2 points per game, and now faces a Sunderland defence that have conceded the most goals in the league (46). Many forwards are likely to score a goal this week, but Aguero is the most likely to score two.
10
Buy: Harry Kane – Forward, Tottenham, 10.0
Kane is currently fourth in the league in goals scored (13) and boasts the highest shot accuracy (66%) in the league. Tottenham have scored the most goals in the Premier League over the last five matches (10) and their MW24 opponents Norwich City have conceded the most goals over that same period (11).
Sell: Alexis Sanchez – Midfielder, Arsenal, 10.8
To be honest this is really more of a “don’t buy” than a sell. While it is a natural shift from the injured Kevin De Bruyne to Sanchez you may want to wait a few weeks to make sure the Chilean is up to speed. In his five matches before his injury he notched no goals, one assist, and just three shots on target. The match ups are not that great either as Arsenal face four top ten defences in their next six matches.
9
Buy: David Silva – Midfielder, Manchester City, 9.9
One of these days Silva will fall out of the buy category, but today is not that day! With Kevin De Bruyne out for the next eight to ten weeks Silva will be the primary creator in a Manchester City team that has scored the most goals in the Premier League (45). After a slow return from injury, he is averaging three chances created over his last five and gets to face a woeful Sunderland defence on Tuesday.
Sell: Romelu Lukaku – Forward, Everton, 9.1
Lukaku has hit a rough patch of form notching no goals and just one shot on target over his last four matches. Lukaku is a whole 10% more owned (49.1) than the next most owned forward Jamie Vardy (39.1), which makes his struggles an opportune time to capitalise on other strikers form. The Everton schedule does not look too imposing though, to be fair, neither did the Swansea City match in which he scored just two points for the third straight week.
8
Buy: Christian Eriksen – Midfielder, Tottenham, 8.4
Tottenham’s great Dane has refound his form largely due to primarily playing in the middle of the park (finally). Eriksen has notched fifteen of his sixty-six chances created in just the last two weeks alone and those chances created are the second most in the league behind only Mesut Ozil (88). This week Tottenham get to face a Norwich side who have conceded a whopping eleven goals in their last five matches.
Sell: Christian Benteke – Forward, Liverpool, 8.1
Benteke has seemingly lost the starting job for Liverpool, playing just fifty minutes of the last 270. So while Liverpool do have some pretty tasty match ups over the past few weeks, all of that upside now shifts to ….
7
Buy: Roberto Firmino – Midfielder, Liverpool, 7.9
…. Firmino who is finally finding a vein of form and boy has it been effective. He has notched four goals and an assist in his last three matches and heads into a fairly kind run of fixtures against Leicester City, Sunderland, and Aston Villa. An added benefit of having Firmino in your side is that he is playing as a forward but is listed as a midfielder, meaning you get an extra point on every goal.
Sell: Georginio Wijnaldum – Midfielder, Newcastle, 7.0
Wijnaldum has been impressively inconsistent this season, but if you dig a little deeper you will start to notice a pattern in the madness. He has scored five plus points in seven matches this season, and six of those were at home. Those six home matches account for a whopping 64% of his 117 points! Unfortunately for Gini, Goodison Park does not constitute a home match for Newcastle United.
6
Buy: Andre Ayew – Forward, Swansea, 6.7
Another midfielder benefiting from playing as a forward is one Andre Ayew. He has been starting upfront, due to Bafetimbi Gomis being dropped from the side, and has done incredibly well over the past few weeks. With four goals and an assist in his last three matches Ayew definitely warrants a look.
Sell: Yohan Cabaye – Midfielder, Crystal Palace, 6.4
One goal and no assists since 24 October, yet Cabaye is still owned in 8% of teams. Palace do have a fairly easy schedule, but Palace’s struggles in front of goals are likely to continue until Yannick Bolasie comes back or Emmanuel Adebayor hits the ground running. Even if they get on the score sheet soon, I doubt it is Cabaye that does so.
5
Buy: Michail Antonio – Midfielder, West Ham, 5.3
When Lanzini went down with injury many people got pretty doom and gloom about West Ham United players not named Dimitri Payet. Well, in stepped little seen Michael Antonio and all he has done in his last six matches is notch two goals and five assists. Up next for West Ham? Three of the four worst defenses in the league (Aston Villa, Norwich City and Sunderland).
Sell: Jan Vertonghen – Defender, Tottenham, 5.5
Frankly, I would be bailing on all Tottenham defenders other than Toby Alderweireld. Vertonghen is injured, the wingbacks continue to rotate regardless of competition, and Eric Dier is forced to stay back due to Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli (oh, also buy him!) constantly bombing forward.
4
Buy: Joel Ward – Defender, Crystal Palace, 4.5
This may seem a strange pick as Palace have had the worst defence in the league over his last five matches. While that sounds bad, I am willing to forgive the big losses to Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham (-9 goal difference) as the road ahead is much smoother for Alan Pardew’s men.
Sell: Christian Fuchs – Defender, Leicester, 4.8
This pains me as I am a huge Fuchs fan, but you cannot argue with the difficulty of their upcoming schedule. Their next three opponents all have top ten attacks including a Liverpool side coming off a five goal thriller against Norwich City. If he does perform well over the next three weeks you can buy back in for MW27, and can do so with confidence.
TEB Fantasy Football League – Top Ten (follow the hashtag #TEBFFL on Twitter for updates)
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1 | Chelsea Dagger | David Gilbert | +56 | 1,305 |
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2 | Cabaye-Bye-Bye | Matthew Freeman | +39 | 1,303 |
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3 | Money Cabaye Success | Matt Jones | +39 | 1,302 |
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4 | Crystal Phallus FC | Simon Dixon | +77 | 1,291 |
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5 | fifty-fifty | Ramchandra Ram | +41 | 1,278 |
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6 | E Pluribus Anus | Rory Jackson | +57 | 1,275 |
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7 | I Know Nothing | Jonathan Bailey | +73 | 1,274 |
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8 | Wei’s Tight Shorts | Mark Bailey | +70 | 1,271 |
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9 | Tea and Busquets | Lewis Carter | +45 | 1,267 |
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10 | The Remarkable Ones | Mark Saunders | +58 | 1,260 |
