| POSITION | PLAYER NAME | THIS WEEK | POINTS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) |  |  |  | David96 | 2340 | ||||||
| 2 (3) | |  | | mbbeth Malcolm Beth | 2330 | ||||||
| 3 (2) | | | | whitgooner frank merrick | 2320 | ||||||
| 4 (4) | | | | stevew3ok | 2200 | ||||||
| 5 (10) | | | | micky b | 2160 |
It’s an odd week for fantasy managers with only five games due to FA Cup commitments which could leave some struggling to field a full team. I’ll be using my “free hit” chip to make sure I have a full team to field and hopefully it will help me to make up some ground in what has been a poor season for me so far. There is a school of thought that the free hit should be kept for a double game week later in the season, but I’m not buying into that right now.
Saturday March 16
Bournemouth v Newcastle United
3pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth won 2-0 away to Huddersfield last week and they’re now only one point off the top half of the table. Only the top six have taken more points at home and only five teams have scored more goals on their own patch. Their win at Huddersfield was their first win in six games and they failed to score in three of those games, but four of them were away from home.
Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser will be very popular with fantasy managers this week while David Brooks, Charlie Daniels and Artur Boruc offer some value too.
Newcastle came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at home to Everton lastbweek to keep themselves six points above the relegation zone. Only two teams have won less games away from home and they have only taken two points from their last six away games. They have taken 16 points from their last eight games though as five of those games were at home and only the bottom three teams have scored less goals.
Solomon Rondon is probably the Newcastle player for fantasy managers to consider this week while Issac Hayden could be a very reasonably priced option too.
I think this will be a very close game with Bournemouth probably winning by the odd goal.
Prediction: 2-1
Burnley v Leicester City
3pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley led at Liverpool last week, but they ended up losing 4-2 and they’re now only two points above the bottom three. Only three other teams have taken less points at home and only Cardiff and Fulham have conceded more goals at home, but they have taken 10 points from their last five games at home. They have lost their last three games and they conceded nine goals in those games after going unbeaten in the previous eight games, but only Fulham have conceded more goals.
Both Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood are the Burnley players who should interest fantasy managers this week.
Leicester won 3-1 at home to Fulham last week to move back into the top half of the table. They have only taken one point from their last four away games and they conceded 10 goals in those games. They have won two of their last three games after losing five of the previous six and they’re still only six points off seventh place.
Jamie Vardy could be the striker to have for fantasy managers this week with James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes possibilities too.
I think this will be another close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end all square.
Prediction: 2-2
West Ham United v Huddersfield Town
3pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 2-0 away to Cardiff last week, but they held on to their place in the top half of the table. They have taken 11 points from their last five home games and will hope to extend their unbeaten home run to six games against Huddersfield. Their home form is keeping them in the top half of the table and it should move them even closer to the teams above them in this game.
West Ham’s defenders such as Declan Rice and Lukasz Fabianski are certainly worth considering for fantasy managers this week while Marco Arnautovic (if he plays) and Felipe Anderson might not do badly either.
Huddersfield lost 2-0 at home to Bournemouth last week and their relegation could be confirmed within their next couple of games. Only Fulham have taken less points away from home with no other team scoring less goals on the road and they have failed to score in their last five away games. They have only taken four points from their last 15 games with no other team scoring less goals.
Despite being one of only 10 teams playing this week it’s still hard to recommend Huddersfield players to fantasy managers, but Christopher Schindler might not be a bad reasonably priced back up defender.
I think West Ham should be good enough at home to beat the bottom club with at least two goals to spare.
Prediction: 2-0
Sunday March 17
Fulham v Liverpool
2.15pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham lost 3-1 away to Leicester last week and relegation looks a certainty for them at this stage. Only Huddersfield and Palace have taken less points at home with only Cardiff conceding more goals on their own patch and their next home game is against City. They have lost their last six games and they conceded 15 goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Fulham players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Liverpool came from behind to win 4-2 at home to Burnley last week and stay hot on the heels of City at the top of the table. Only Spurs have taken more points on the road with no other team conceding less goals on their travels, but they have only won once in their last five away games. They have only won five of their last 10 games, but no other team has conceded less goals and only City have scored more.
Liverpool’s players are at a premium for fantasy managers this week with three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and any of their defenders or keeper must haves.
I can’t see anything other than a comprehensive win for Liverpool in this game.
Prediction: 0-3
Everton v Chelsea
4.30pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton led 2-0 away to Newcastle last week, but they ended up losing 3-2 and they dropped into the bottom half of the table. They have only won once in their last eight home games after winning five of the first seven and they have conceded as many goals as they have scored at home. They have only won four of their last 16 games and they lost nine of them with their hopes of finishing seventh fading with each game.
Maybe Lucas Digne or Gylfi Sigurdsson might do well for fantasy managers this week, but I would be far from sure about it.
Chelsea got a last minute equaliser at home to Wolves last week, but that point leaves them in sixth place. They won their last away game after losing the previous three and conceding 12 goals in those three games. They have taken 10 points from their last five games even if those games did include a 6-0 defeat at City and they’re still in with a good chance of a top four finish.
Despite their struggles away from home Eden Hazard and Caesar Azpilicueta still look like the Chelsea players to have for fantasy managers this week.
I think this will be a close game which could go either way with a draw probably the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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