| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 29 | 73.5 | 66 | 14 | 182.5 |
2 - |  | 33 | 64.5 | 72 | 11 | 180.5 |
3 - |  | 29 | 81 | 57 | 13 | 180.0 |
4 1 | | 31 | 63 | 75 | 11 | 180.0 |
5 1 | | 27 | 79.5 | 60 | 13 | 179.5 |
My choice of Erling Haaland as my captain really paid off last week with his hat trick against Wolves, but he probably won’t be my captain again this week as other players will be playing twice. The chances are Marcus Rashford will wear the armband with Bruno Fernandes a very good option too. Besides Haaland’s great performance I was also helped by Kepa Arrizabalaga, Kieran Trippier, Martin Odegaard and Rashford as I moved up a little bit in the overall rankings last week.
Friday 3 February
Chelsea v Fulham
8pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea drew 0-0 away to Liverpool in their last game and that point left them in 10th place with 10 points to make up on the top four. They have only won two of their last five home games with only two other teams conceding less goals on their own ground. They have only won two of their last 11 games and no other team in the top half of the table has scored less goals.
With so many new players coming in it’s difficult to know which Chelsea players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Fulham lost 1-0 at home to Spurs in their last game, but they’re still in seventh place and two points ahead of Chelsea going into this game. They have won three of their last five away games, but they will do well to get anything from this game. They have lost their last two games without scoring after winning the previous four.
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andreas Pereira are the Fulham players most likely to make an impact for fantasy managers.
I think Fulham will make a game of it, but the chances are Chelsea will take the three points.
Prediction: 1-0
Saturday 4 February
Everton v Arsenal
12.30pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton lost 2-0 away to West Ham in their last game and they’re only off the foot of the table on goal difference. They have lost their last four home games and they conceded 10 goals in those games with only Southampton taking less points on their own patch. They have only taken two points from their last eight games and they failed to score in four of them with only Wolves scoring less goals.
I can’t see any Everton players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Arsenal won 3-2 at home to United in their last game to maintain their five point lead at the top of the table. They have won their last four away games and they scored nine goals in those games with no other team taking more points or conceding less goals on their travels. They have taken 35 points from their last 13 games with only City scoring more goals and only Newcastle conceding less.
Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are the Arsenal players to have for fantasy managers while Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli and all of their defenders are good choices too.
I think Arsenal will continue to keep their gap at the top of the table by winning this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 0-2
Aston Villa v Leicester City
3pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham
Villa won 1-0 away to Southampton in their last game and they’re now only one point off the top half of the table. They have taken 10 points from their last five home games and they scored 11 goals in those games. They have taken 16 points from their last seven games, but they need to find the net more often if their improvement is going to continue.
Leon Bailey is the Villa player who could make a difference for fantasy managers while Emiliano Buendia has done well recently too.
Leicester drew 2-2 at home to Brighton in their last game and they’re only one point above the bottom three. No other team has lost more games away from home with only Bournemouth conceding more goals on the road. They have only taken one point from their last five games and they failed to score in three of them with only Southampton losing more games and only Bournemouth conceding more goals.
When he’s back to full fitness James Maddison is the Leicester player to have for fantasy managers, but I can’t see any others doing enough to recommend at the moment.
I think Villa will continue to push for a place in the top half of the table by taking all the points in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Brentford v Southampton
3pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford drew 0-0 away to Leeds in their last game to remain safely in the top half of the table. They’re unbeaten in six home games and they kept clean sheets in three of them with only four other teams scoring more goals on their own ground. They’re unbeaten in eight games while they kept clean sheets in three of their last four games and they have a good run of games coming up.
Ivan Toney is the Brentford player of choice for fantasy managers with David Raya and Ben Mee worth considering too.
Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Villa in their last game and that defeat left them at the foot of the table on goal difference. They won their last away game after losing the previous three and no other team has lost more games on their travels. They have lost seven of their last eight games and they conceded 16 goals in those games with only Bournemouth conceding more goals.
James Ward-Prowse is the only Southampton player who might even cross the radar of fantasy managers.
I think Brentford will continue their impressive run with another win in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Brighton And Hove Albion v Bournemouth
3pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton drew 2-2 at home to Leicester in their last game and that win moved them up to sixth place. They won their last home game after losing the previous two and it’s their away results which have them so high in the table. They have taken 16 points from their last eight games and they scored 22 goals in those games with only three other teams scoring more goals.
Solly March, Pascal Gross and Kaoru Mitoma are all looking very good for fantasy managers at the moment while Evan Ferguson is a good choice too if he recovers from his injury.
Bournemouth drew 1-1 at home to Forest in their last game, but that point wasn’t enough to stop them falling into the bottom three. They have lost their last five away games and they failed to score in four of them with no other team conceding more goals on the road. They have lost eight of their last 10 games and they failed to score in six of them with no other team conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Bournemouth players to interest fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Brighton should be too strong for Bournemouth and should win this game with a few goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-0
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
3pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United lost 3-2 away to Arsenal in their last game and that defeat saw them drop to fourth place in the table. They have won their last five home games and they only conceded one goal in those games with no other team conceding less goals at home. They had taken 16 points from their previous six games before losing to Arsenal, but Chelsea are the only team in the top half of the table to have scored less goals.
With two games this week Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw all look like great choices for fantasy managers while Anthony Martial could do well too if he’s fit enough to play.
Palace drew 0-0 at home to Newcastle in their last game, but they are now five points off the top half of the table. They have won two of their last four away games, but only four other teams have scored less goals on the road. They haven’t won in four games and they only scored one goal in those games with only five other teams scoring less goals.
I’m not sure there are any Palace players doing enough to turn the heads of fantasy managers at the moment.
I think United’s impressive home form will continue with a win in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
3pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves lost 3-0 away to City in their last game and they’re only above the relegation zone on goal difference. They won their last home game against West Ham after losing the previous four and no other team has scored less goals on their own ground. They have taken seven points from their last five games to move out of the bottom three, but no other team has scored less goals.
I can’t see any Wolves players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Liverpool drew 0-0 at home to Chelsea in their last game and they’re now 10 points adrift of the top four. They have only won two of their nine away games and they only kept a clean sheet in one of those games. They have only taken one point and scored one goal in their last three games, but they have a good run of fixtures coming up starting with this one.
I’m not sure what Liverpool players to suggest to fantasy managers given their current form, but surely that has to change soon.
I think this will be a very close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Newcastle United v West Ham United
5.30pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle
Newcastle drew 0-0 away to Palace in their last game and that point was enough to move them up to third place. They’re one of two teams still unbeaten at home and no other team has drawn more games or conceded less goals on their own ground. They’re unbeaten in 15 games and they have kept clean sheets in their last six, but they have only scored one goal in their last four games.
Kieran Trippier is an absolute must have for fantasy managers with all of Newcastle’s defenders and keeper very good choices too.
West Ham won 2-0 at home to Everton in their last game and those three points were enough to move them out of the relegation zone. They have only taken two points from their last five away games and no other team has taken less points on their travels with only Forest scoring less goals away from home. The win against Everton was their first win in eight games and this is the first of three very tough games in a row.
Despite scoring twice in his last game I still think it’s too soon to recommend Jarrod Bowen or any of the West Ham players to fantasy managers.
I can’t see anything other than a Newcastle victory in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Sunday 5 February
Nottingham Forest v Leeds United
2pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest drew 1-1 away to Bournemouth in their last game and they have now moved up to 13th place. They have taken 12 points from their last six home games and it’s that home form which looks like it might be enough to keep them up. They have only lost two of their last 10 games and they kept clean sheets in five of those games, but only two other teams have scored less goals.
Serge Aurier, Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson have all done well recently for fantasy managers, but I still think it’s a risk to pick Forest players.
Leeds drew 0-0 at home to Brentford in their last game and that kept them one point above the relegation zone. No other team has taken less points away from home with only four other teams conceding more goals on the road. They haven’t won in six games and they need to get something from this game with United back to back in their next two games.
With Rodrigo out for two months Wilfried Gnonto could be the Leeds player to have this week as they play twice.
I think this will be a close game with Forest probably getting the better of proceedings.
Prediction: 2-1
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
4.30pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Spurs won 1-0 away to Fulham in their last game and that win moved them within three points of the top four. They have lost four of their last five home games and they conceded 11 goals in those games, but only three other teams have scored more goals on their own patch. They have only won two of their last six games, but only the top two have scored more goals and no other team in the top half of the table has conceded more.
Harry Kane is still a very good choice for fantasy managers while Dejan Kulusevski could be worth considering too.
City won 3-0 at home to Wolves last week to stay five points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. They have won three of their last four away games, but their next two away games are far from easy. They have only taken 13 points from their last seven games and they will have to improve if they’re going to catch Arsenal, but no other team has scored more goals.
Erling Haaland remains an absolute must have for fantasy managers while Riyad Mahrez has been in great form recently too.
I think City will put more pressure on Spurs by taking the three points in this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 1-3
Wednesday 8 February
Manchester United v Leeds United
8pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United play their second home game of the week and they’re both against teams in the bottom half of the table. Their home results have been so good recently that they will be expected to take six points from the two games and keep a couple of clean sheets too. If they’re going to tighten their grip on a top four place they can’t afford anything other than those six points.
As I said already United players are looking very good for fantasy managers this week and the chances are Rashford and Fernandes will be the captains for a lot of teams.
Leeds play their second game of the week and a trip to United will be harder than their game against Forest. With their away record and the absence of Rodrigo they will do very well to get anything from this game. With the wrong end of the table so tight at the moment they could find themselves in the bottom three if they lost both of their games.
As I said already Gnonto could be a good choice for fantasy managers while Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford could be considered too.
I think United will make it two wins out of two this week with at least a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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