| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 33 | 94.5 | 78 | 17 | 222.5 |
2 - |  | 30 | 96 | 72 | 15 | 213.0 |
3 - | | 34 | 73.5 | 90 | 13 | 210.5 |
4 - | | 39 | 81 | 75 | 13 | 208.0 |
5 1 |  | 33 | 106.5 | 51 | 15 | 205.5 |
My choice of Mohamed Salah as my captain paid off last week, but overall my team lost more ground as other players didn’t do as well as I had hoped. The chances are Erling Haaland will be my captain again this week as he has been almost every week so far and I’ll probably activate my wildcard too. There are a lot of extra games coming up for some teams over the next few weeks and squad management will be very important.
Saturday March 4
Manchester City v Newcastle United
12.30pm GMT, Etihad Stadium, Manchester
City won 4-1 away to Bournemouth last week to leave them in second place five points behind Arsenal. They have won their last three home games and they scored 10 goals in those games with no other team taking more points or scoring more goals on their own ground. They have taken 20 points from their last 10 games and no other team has scored more goals, but they need to go on a long winning streak if they’re going to retain their title.
Erling Haaland remains the City player of choice for fantasy managers with any or all of their midfielders good choices too depending on who Pep Guardiola decides to pick.
Newcastle didn’t play last week as they were busy losing the EFL Cup Final and they now have four points to make up on fourth place with two games in hand. No other team has lost less games or conceded less goals away from home, but no other team has drawn more games on their travels either. They have only won once in their last seven games, but they drew five of them and no other team has drawn more games or conceded less goals.
Newcastle haven’t done too much recently and it could be a risk picking their players this week, but long term their defenders and keeper are good choices with Kieran Trippier the best of them.
I think City should pile more pressure on Newcastle by taking the three points in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Arsenal v Bournemouth
3pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 1-0 away to Leicester and 4-0 at home to Everton last week to move five points clear at the top of the table. Only City have taken more points and scored more goals at home and their next four home games are against teams in the bottom half of the table. They have won their last three games after failing to win the previous three with only City scoring more goals and only Newcastle conceding less.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard are all looking very good for fantasy managers at the moment with the Arsenal defenders and keeper good options too.
Bournemouth lost 4-1 away to City last week to stay in second last place, but they’re still only one point from safety. They won their last away game after losing the previous six and no other team has conceded more goals away from home. They have taken four points from their last three games after only taking one in the previous six games and no other team has conceded more goals.
I can’t see any Bournemouth players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable Arsenal victory in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
3pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham
Villa won 2-0 away to Everton last week and they’re now only outside the top half of the table on goal difference. They have only won once in their last five home games and they conceded 13 goals in those games. They had lost three games in a row before beating Everton and they conceded 11 goals in those three defeats with only five other teams conceding more goals.
Ollie Watkins is in great form for fantasy managers at the moment and Emiliano Buendia is not a bad shout either.
Palace drew 0-0 at home to Liverpool last week and they’re only four points behind Villa going into this game despite a very difficult run of games. They have only taken one point from their last three away games with only three other teams scoring less goals on the road. They haven’t won in eight games, but they drew five of them and only four other teams have scored less goals.
I’m not sure there are any Palace players doing enough to interest fantasy managers despite them playing twice next week.
I think this will be a close game with a draw the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Brighton And Hove Albion v West Ham United
3pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton didn’t play last week and their lack of activity saw them fall to eighth place. They have lost three of their last five home games with only four other teams conceding less goals on their own patch. They have only won once in their last four games after winning five of their previous seven.
Brighton players are looking very good to fantasy managers at the moment as they have so many games in hand with Pervis Estupinan, Solly March, Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson all worth including.
West Ham won 4-0 at home to Forest last week to move themselves two points clear of the bottom three. They haven’t won in their last 10 away games with no other team taking less points on their travels and only Forest and Everton scoring less goals. They have taken eight points from their last five games and their next three games after this one are at home.
Despite their big win last week I’m still not convinced West Ham players are good choices for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think West Ham will make a game of it, but the chances are Brighton will take the three points.
Prediction: 2-1
Chelsea v Leeds United
3pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea lost 2-0 away to Spurs last week and they only remain in the top half of the table on goal difference with 14 points to make up on fourth place and only 14 games to go. They have only won two of their last seven home games, but no other team has conceded less goals at home. They have only won two of their last 15 games and no other team in the top half of the table has scored less goals.
The only Chelsea players for fantasy managers to even consider are their defenders and keeper.
Leeds won 1-0 at home to Southampton last week and that win moved them one point above the relegation zone. They have only taken two points from their last six away games with no other team taking less points on the road. The win against Southampton was their first win in 11 games and three of their next four games are against teams in the top half of the table.
Leeds just aren’t doing enough at the moment to recommend any of their players to fantasy managers.
I can’t see too many goals in this game, but the chances are Chelsea will get a much needed win.
Prediction: 1-0
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
3pm GMT, Molineux, Wolverhampton
Wolves drew 1-1 away to Fulham and lost 2-0 away to Liverpool last week and that point left them three points above the relegation zone. They lost their last home game after winning the previous three and no other team has scored less goals on their own ground. They have only taken one point and scored one goal in their last three games after winning three of the previous four with only Everton scoring less goals.
I still can’t see any Wolves players doing enough to interest fantasy managers.
Spurs won 2-0 at home to Chelsea last week to strengthen their hold on fourth place. They have lost two of their last three away games and they conceded eight goals in those games with no other team in the top half of the table conceding more goals on their travels. They have won four of their last five games and they kept clean sheets in each of those victories, but no other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals.
Harry Kane is the Spurs player to have for fantasy managers while their defenders and keeper are in very good form at the moment too.
I think Wolves will make things difficult for Spurs and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Southampton v Leicester City
5.30pm GMT, St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
Southampton lost 1-0 away to Leeds last week and that defeat left them rooted to the foot of the table. They have lost their last five home games with no other team taking less points at home and only Wolves scoring less goals. They have lost 10 of their last 12 games with no other team losing more games and only Everton and Wolves scoring less goals.
With two games to play next week James Ward-Prowse could be a good choice for fantasy managers, but it’s a risk to pick any Southampton players.
Leicester lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal last week and they’re still only three points above the bottom three. They have lost three of their last four away games and they conceded nine goals in those games with only three other teams scoring more goals on their travels and only two teams conceding more. They have only won two of their last nine games with only Bournemouth conceding more goals.
If he’s fit to play James Maddison is the Leicester player to have for fantasy managers.
I think Leicester should just about get the better of things in this game and give themselves some breathing space at the wrong end of the table.
Prediction: 1-2
Sunday March 5
Nottingham Forest v Everton
2pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest lost 4-0 away to West Ham last week, but they’re still four points clear of the relegation zone. They are unbeaten in their last eight home games and they kept clean sheets in four of those games while three of their next four games are at home. They have only taken one point and scored one goal in their last three games with only Bournemouth conceding more goals.
Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White are the Forest players who could make an impact for fantasy managers.
Everton lost 2-0 at home to Villa and 4-0 away to Arsenal last week and those two defeats saw them drop back into the bottom three. They have only taken two points from their last eight away games and they only scored one goal in those games with only Forest scoring less goals on their travels.
I can’t see any Everton players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
This is a big game for both teams as they look to stay up and I think Forest will take the three points.
Prediction: 2-0
Liverpool v Manchester United
4.30pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool drew 0-0 away to Palace and won 2-0 at home to Wolves last week to move within six points of the top four. They have taken 13 points from their last five home games and they kept clean sheets in the last three with only the top three taking more points on their own ground. They have taken 10 points from their last four games and they didn’t concede any goals in those games, but four of their next five games are against other teams in the “big six”.
Mohamed Salah is still the best of the Liverpool players for fantasy managers while their defenders and keeper have looked good recently too.
United didn’t play last week as they were busy winning the EFL Cup final and they’re now 11 points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. They have taken 10 points from their last five away games with only the top two taking more points on the road, but no other team in the top half of the table conceding more goals on their travels. They have taken 26 points from their last 11 games and they kept clean sheets in five of those games.
Marcus Rashford is an absolute must have for fantasy managers at the moment while Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw are both good options too.
This is a tough game to call, but I think United might just sneak a narrow victory.
Prediction: 1-2
Monday March 6
Brentford v Fulham
8pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford didn’t play last week, but they managed to hold on to ninth place anyway. They are unbeaten in their last eight home games with only four other teams scoring more goals on their own patch. They are unbeaten in 11 games, but they drew six of them with no other team drawing more games.
Ivan Toney, David Raya, Ben Mee and Bryan Mbeumo all look pretty good for fantasy managers as they have six games over the next four gameweeks.
Fulham drew 1-1 at home to Wolves last week and that point moved them four points ahead of Brentford going into this game. They have taken 10 points from their last five away games and they kept clean sheets in four of those games. They have two tough games starting with this one, but eight of their next nine games after that are against teams in the bottom half of the table.
I’m not sure there are any Fulham players doing enough to recommend them to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this will be a close game with Brentford more than likely taking the three points.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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