| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 23 | 66 | 57 | 15 | 161.0 |
2 - |  | 22 | 73.5 | 48 | 15 | 158.5 |
3 - |  | 30 | 57 | 45 | 13 | 145.0 |
4 - | | 20 | 73.5 | 39 | 12 | 144.5 |
5 1 |  | 27 | 66 | 36 | 14 | 143.0 |
My choice of Mohamed Salah as my captain didn’t work out too well as he failed to produce against the worst defence in the league. The only players who scored any points for me were Hwang Hee-Chan, Bukayo Saka and Caoimhin Kelleher, but I moved up slightly in the overall standings as it was far from a high scoring week for the majority of fantasy managers.
The obvious choice for captain this week has to be Erling Haaland away to Luton, but I have got my captain choice wrong so often that it’s difficult to trust my judgment at this stage. I’m not so sure who I might bring in to my team this week and I will probably hold my free transfer until next week when I will have two.
Saturday December 9
Crystal Palace v Liverpool
12.30pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace lost 2-0 at home to Bournemouth on Wednesday night, but they’re still only three points off the top half of the table. They have lost their last three home games with only the bottom two taking less points and no other team scoring less goals on their own ground. They have only taken six points from their last eight games with only Sheffield United scoring less goals.
I can’t see any Palace players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Liverpool won 2-0 away to Sheffield United in midweek to stay in second place two points behind Arsenal. The win against United was their first away win in four games and no other team has drawn more games on the road. They have taken 18 points from their last eight games with only City scoring more goals and no other team conceding less.
Mohamed Salah is the Liverpool player to have for fantasy managers with Trent Alexander-Arnold in good form too and Caoimhin Kelleher a very good price while Alisson Becker is injured.
I think Liverpool will keep up the pressure at the top of the table with another three points in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Brighton And Hove Albion v Burnley
3pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton came from behind to win 2-1 at home to Brentford on Wednesday night and they’re now only two points off fifth place. They had drawn three home games in a row before beating Brentford and no other team has drawn more games on their own patch. They have won two of their last three games after failing to win the previous six and only the top four have scored more goals.
With Kaoru Mitoma back from injury he’s the Brighton player most likely to perform for fantasy managers while Pascal Gross isn’t the worst option either.
Burnley lost 1-0 away to Wolves on Tuesday night and that defeat left them one place off the foot of the table. They have lost their last four away games with only Sheffield United scoring less goals on their travels. They have lost seven of their last eight games with only Sheffield United conceding more goals and only Sheffield United and Palace scoring less.
With Luca Koleosho injured I can’t see any other Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers.
I think Brighton will make it back to back wins with a couple of goals to spare in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Manchester United v Bournemouth
3pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 2-1 at home to Chelsea on Wednesday night and that win moved them within three points of the top four. They have won three of their last four home games with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals on their own ground. They have won six of their last eight games and they play three of the teams above them in their next six games.
Despite their good run of results there are no United players standing out enough to really interest fantasy managers at the moment.
Bournemouth won 2-0 away to Palace in midweek and they’re now only three points off the top half of the table. They have won their last two away games after failing to win the previous five with only Sheffield United conceding more goals on the road. They have taken 13 points from their last six games after only taking three in the previous nine.
Dominic Solanke is the Bournemouth player who is most likely to score points for fantasy managers.
I think Bournemouth will make a game of it, but United will take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Sheffield United v Brentford
3pm GMT, Bramall Lane, Sheffield
United lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool on Wednesday night and they’re rooted to the foot of the table with only one win from their first 15 games. They have only taken four points from their eight home games and no other team has conceded more goals on their own patch with only Palace scoring less. They have lost their last three games and they conceded 10 goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals after 15 games since the advent of the Premier League.
I can’t see any United players to recommend to fantasy managers.
Brentford lost 2-1 away to Brighton in midweek as their injuries continued to mount, but they’re still only outside the top half of the table on goals scored. They have lost four of their last six away games with only Arsenal and United conceding less goals on their travels. They have lost three of their last four games after winning the previous three and they don’t play in two weeks time.
If Bryan Mbeumo is injured I can’t see any other Brentford players who might make a difference for fantasy managers.
I think Brentford should have enough to beat United despite their injury issues.
Prediction: 1-2
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Nottingham Forest
3pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves won 1-0 at home to Burnley on Tuesday night and they’re now only one point off the top half of the table. They have taken 11 points from their last five home games and they have a good run of home games coming up. They have only lost three of their last 10 games and they could do very well over the next few weeks.
Hwang Hee-Chan is a very good choice for fantasy managers at the moment with Matheus Cunha a definite prospect too.
Forest lost 5-0 away to Fulham on Wednesday night and they’re now only four points above the relegation zone. They have lost their last three away games and they conceded 11 goals in those games with only Sheffield United conceding more goals on the road and only Sheffield United and Burnley scoring less. They have only won once in their last 11 games and only three other teams have scored less goals.
Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White had looked like good choices for fantasy managers a couple of weeks ago, but the way Forest are playing it’s probably best to avoid them for the moment.
I think Wolves will continue their progress with another win in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Aston Villa v Arsenal
5.30pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham
Villa won 1-0 at home to City in midweek and that win moved them above City into third place. They are one of two teams with a 100% record at home and no other team has scored more goals on their own ground with only Newcastle conceding less. They have taken 26 points from their last 11 games with only City scoring more goals.
Ollie Watkins is probably the best of the Villa players for fantasy managers with Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres and Leon Bailey all worth considering too.
Arsenal got a last gasp goal to win 4-3 away to Luton on Tuesday night and that win kept them two points clear at the top of the table. They have won five of their seven away games with no other team taking more points or conceding less goals on their travels. They have won their last four games and they scored 10 goals in those games with no other team conceding less goals.
Bukayo Saka remains the outstanding choice in the Arsenal team for fantasy managers, but Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus are showing some form too.
This looks like it will be a very close game and the chances are the points will be shared.
Prediction: 2-2
Sunday December 10
Everton v Chelsea
2pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton won 3-0 at home to Newcastle on Thursday night and that win was enough to move them out of the relegation zone. They have taken seven points from their last four home games after losing the previous four, but only two other teams have scored less goals on their own patch. They have won three of their last four games and they have kept clean sheets in the last two.
Vitalii Mykolenko and James Tarkowski are looking good for fantasy managers at the moment with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dwight McNeil possibilities too.
Chelsea lost 2-1 away to United on Wednesday night, but they just about managed to stay in the top half of the table as they have scored more goals than Brentford. They have lost their last two away games and they conceded six goals in those games, but they have a good run of away games coming up. They have only won two of their last seven games, but their next six games are all against teams below them in the table.
Cole Palmer is probably the Chelsea player who offers the best value for fantasy managers with Raheem Sterling worth considering over the next few weeks too.
I think Everton will continue to move away from the bottom three with a narrow victory in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Fulham v West Ham United
2pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham won 5-0 at home to Forest in midweek and they’re now only one point off the top half of the table. They have won three of their last four home games and they scored 11 goals in those games. They have won two of their last three games and they scored 11 goals in those games.
If they’re going to keep scoring as many goals as they have recently then Alex Iwobi and Andreas Pereira could possibly be considered by fantasy managers.
West Ham came from behind to win 2-1 away to Spurs on Thursday night and they’re now only three points off fifth place. Only two other teams have taken more points away from home and only three other teams have scored more goals on the road. They have taken 10 points from their last four games after losing the previous three and they have two good fixtures to come before their games get a lot harder.
Jarrod Bowen is the West Ham player to have for fantasy managers with James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek and Mohammed Kudus good options too.
I think this will be a close game with a draw the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Luton Town v Manchester City
2pm GMT, Kenilworth Road, Luton
Luton were beaten at the very death when they lost 4-3 at home to Arsenal on Tuesday night and that defeat saw them drop back into the relegation zone. They have taken four points from their last three home games after only taking one in the previous four, but their next four home games are all very difficult. They have lost three of their last four games and only three other teams have scored less goals.
I still can’t see any Luton players doing enough to recommend them to fantasy managers.
City lost 1-0 away to Villa on Wednesday night and that defeat saw them drop below Villa into fourth place. They have only won once in their last five away games, but only two other teams have taken more points on their travels and only Spurs have scored more goals. They haven’t won in four games, but they drew three of them and five of their next six games are against teams in the bottom seven.
Erling Haaland is the City player to have for fantasy managers with Phil Foden worth considering too.
I can’t see anything other than a City victory in this game.
Prediction: 1-3
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United
4.30pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Spurs lost a lead to lose 2-1 at home to West Ham on Thursday night, but they’re still only three points behind the top four. They have lost their last three home games and they conceded eight goals in those games. They have only taken one point from their last five games after leading in each of those games and they conceded 13 goals in them.
Son Heung-Min is still the best of the Spurs players for fantasy managers with Pedro Porro doing quite well too.
Newcastle lost 3-0 away to Everton in midweek, but they’re only one point and two places behind Spurs going into this game. They have only taken two points from their last four away games and they conceded nine goals in those games. They have taken 23 points from their last nine games, but their away form is having an adverse effect on their top four chances.
Anthony Gordon is the Newcastle player who can get points for fantasy managers while Martin Dubravka is a very good choice as a cut price goalkeeper with Nick Pope out long term.
This is a very difficult game to call so I’m going to opt for a score draw.
Prediction: 1-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment