| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 31 | 87 | 78 | 16 | 212.0 |
2 - |  | 29 | 90 | 69 | 14 | 202.0 |
3 - | | 33 | 70.5 | 84 | 12 | 199.5 |
4 - | | 36 | 75 | 75 | 12 | 198.0 |
5 - |  | 32 | 91.5 | 60 | 14 | 197.5 |
With the EFL Cup Final on this week there are no Premier League games for United, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford, but Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Wolves all play twice. That means there could be a lot of points to be gained for players who have set their squads up with players from those four teams.
My choice of Erling Haaland as my captain didn’t pay off last week and in retrospect Marcus Rashford should have been the man to wear the armband. The chances are I’ll choose either Martin Odegaard or Mohamed Salah as my captain this week and hope they benefit from playing twice. As I didn’t use a transfer last week I’ll have two to use this week and I’ll probably bring in a couple of Liverpool players.
Friday February 24
Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers
8pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham won 1-0 away to Brighton last week and that win moved them up to sixth place. They have won three of their last four home games and they only play two teams in the top half of the table in their last seven home games, but they are the top two. They have taken 19 points from their last nine games and they haven’t conceded a goal in their last three.
The Fulham defenders and keeper have looked good recently for fantasy managers, but I’m still not sure it’s a good idea to pick them.
Wolves lost 1-0 at home to Bournemouth last week and that defeat saw them fall within three points of the bottom three. They have taken eight points from their last five away games with only three other teams scoring less goals on the road. They lost their last game after winning three of the previous four and no other team has scored less goals.
Even with two games this week it’s not easy to know which Wolves players to choose for fantasy managers, but Ruben Neves, Craig Dawson and Jose Sa are possibilities.
I don’t think we will see too many goals in this game, but the chances are Fulham will take the three points.
Prediction: 1-0
Saturday February 25
Everton v Aston Villa
3pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton won 1-0 at home to Leeds last week and that win was enough to move them out of the bottom three. They have won their last two home games without conceding a goal after losing the previous four, but only Wolves and Southampton have scored less goals on their own ground. They have won two of their last three games after failing to win the previous eight and no other team has scored less goals.
James Tarkowski and Conor Coady could be the Everton players to have for fantasy managers this week.
Villa led twice at home to Arsenal last week, but they ended up losing 4-2, but they’re still only three points off the top half of the table. They lost their last away game after winning the previous three with only four other teams scoring less goals away from home. They have lost their last three games and they conceded 11 goals in those games with only three other teams conceding more goals.
Ollie Watkins is probably the Villa player to have for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Everton’s good home form under Sean Dyche will continue with another narrow victory in this game.
Prediction: 1-0
Leeds United v Southampton
3pm GMT, Elland Road, Leeds
Leeds lost 1-0 away to Everton last week and that defeat saw them drop into the relegation zone and they’re now only one point off the foot of the table. They have only taken two points from their last four home games and they failed to score in the last two with only two other teams taking less points on their own ground. They haven’t won in 10 games which is why they are in the bottom three and only three other teams have conceded more goals.
I’m not sure there are any Leeds players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Southampton won 1-0 away to Chelsea last week, but they’re still holding up the rest of the table. They have won two of their last three away games, but no other team has lost more games on their travels. They have lost nine of their last 11 games with only two other teams conceding more goals.
James Ward-Prowse remains the Southampton player most likely to return points for fantasy managers.
I think Southampton might just be able to build on last week’s win and take three massive points in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Leicester City v Arsenal
3pm GMT, King Power Stadium, Leicester
Leicester lost 3-0 away to United last week and they’re still only four points above the relegation zone. They won their last home game after only taking one point from their previous four with only Southampton taking less points on their own patch. They lost their last game after winning the previous two, but only Bournemouth have conceded more goals.
James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho are the Leicester players most likely to impress for fantasy managers at the moment.
Arsenal twice came from behind to win 4-2 away to Villa last week and that win saw them move back to the top of the table. No other team has taken more points or scored more goals away from home with only Newcastle conceding less goals on their travels. They had only taken one point from three games before beating Villa, but only City have scored more goals and only Newcastle have conceded less.
With two games to play this week Bukayo Saka is the must have Arsenal player for fantasy managers while Martin Odegaard is a pretty good option too.
I think we could see quite a few goals in this game and the chances are Arsenal will score the majority of them.
Prediction: 2-3
West Ham United v Nottingham Forest
3pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 2-0 away to Spurs last week and that defeat saw them drop back into the bottom three. They have taken four points from their last two home games after losing the previous three with only four other teams scoring less goals at home. They have only won once in their last 11 games and only three other teams have scored less goals.
I can’t see any West Ham players who can make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
Forest drew 1-1 at home to City last week and they still have five points to spare over the relegation zone. They have taken four points from their last three away games with no other team taking less points or scoring less goals on the road. They have only lost once in their last seven games, but only two other teams have scored less goals.
Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White are the Forest players who could be of interest to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this will be a very close game with West Ham just about getting a badly needed win.
Prediction: 1-0
Bournemouth v Manchester City
5.30pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth won 1-0 away to Wolves last week and that win moved them one point above the bottom three. They have taken five points from their last four home games, but only two other teams have scored less goals on their own ground. They have only lost one of their last four games, but no other team has conceded more goals.
Both Dominic Solanke and Marcus Tavernier could be of interest to fantasy managers if Bournemouth can continue their recent improvement.
City drew 1-1 away to Forest last week and those dropped points cost them their place at the top of the table. They have only won once in their last four away games, but only Arsenal have taken more points on the road. They have only won six of their last 11 games and no other team has scored more goals.
Erling Haaland is still the must have City player for fantasy managers with Riyad Mahrez and Kevin de Bruyne very good options too.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable City victory in this game.
Prediction: 0-3
Crystal Palace v Liverpool
7.45pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace conceded a last minute goal to draw 1-1 away to Brentford last week, but they’re still only five points off the top half of the table. They haven’t won in their last five home games with only four other teams scoring less goals on their own ground. They have only won once in their last 10 games and they only scored six goals in those games.
I can’t see any Palace players doing enough to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Liverpool won 2-0 away to Newcastle last week and that win moved them within seven points of the top four. They won their last away game after losing the previous three and it’s that away form which could cost him a place in the top four. They won their last two games without conceding a goal after only taking one point from the previous four, but only the top four have scored more goals.
With two games this week Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo are all looking like very good choices for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game with Liverpool continuing to close in on the top four by taking all three points.
Prediction: 1-2
Sunday February 26
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea
1.30pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Spurs won 2-0 at home to West Ham last week and that win moved them back into the top four. They have won their last two home games without conceding a goal after losing four of the previous five with only the two Manchester clubs winning more games on their own patch. They have won three of their last four games and they kept clean sheets in each of those wins, but no other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals.
Harry Kane is still the only Spurs player doing enough consistently to recommend to fantasy managers.
Chelsea lost 1-0 at home to Southampton last week and they’re now as close to the relegation zone as they are to the top four.
Chelsea’s defenders and keeper are the ones to watch for fantasy managers as they continue to falter at the other end of the pitch. They haven’t won in their last seven away games and no other team in the top half of the table has scored less goals on the road. They have only won two of their last 14 games and they failed to score in seven of those games with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals.
I think this will be a very close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Wednesday March 1
Arsenal v Everton
7.45pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal play their second game of the week and they have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table if they win both games. They have only taken one point from their last two home games, but only the two Manchester teams have taken more points on their own ground and only City have scored more goals. It’s a big week for them as they play their game in hand on the teams below them and they really need to take all six points to show they are genuine title contenders.
As I said above both Saka and Odegaard are looking very good this week for fantasy managers with Eddie Nketiah plus their defenders possibilities too.
Everton play their second game of the week too and a trip to the team at the top of the table will be a tougher proposition than a home game against Villa, but they did beat Arsenal a couple of weeks ago. They have only taken two points from their last seven away games and they only scored one goal in those games with only Forest scoring less goals on their travels. They have managed to climb out of the relegation zone and they could consolidate that position with two good results this week.
Even with two games this week Everton’s attacking players don’t look like good choices for fantasy managers, but their defenders and keeper could do well.
I think Arsenal should have enough at home to pay Everton back for beating them a couple of weeks ago.
Prediction: 2-0
Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers
8pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool play their second game of the week and they have a chance to get an awful lot closer to the top four if they can take all six points. They have taken 10 points from their last four home games and they kept clean sheets in the last two with only City and Arsenal scoring more goals at home. They have moved within touching distance of the top four and they could be right back in the mix after this game.
The Liverpool players I mentioned already might be very good options for fantasy managers this week if they can overcome their midweek trials and tribulations.
Wolves play their second away game of the week and they’re both very tough games. Their away form isn’t great, but it has definitely improved in recent weeks even if they have struggled to score goals. They won the reverse game 3-0 a couple of weeks ago, but they will do very well to get anything from this game.
None of the Wolves attacking players have done enough to interest fantasy managers in a normal week, but Neves might be worth considering this week.
I don’t think there will be too much between these two teams, but the chances are Liverpool will take the three points.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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