| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 40 | 106.5 | 81 | 22 | 249.5 |
2 - |  | 40 | 105 | 78 | 23 | 246.0 |
3 1 |  | 42 | 100.5 | 78 | 19 | 239.5 |
4 1 |  | 42 | 105 | 69 | 22 | 238.0 |
5 1 |  | 45 | 96 | 72 | 21 | 234.0 |
My choice of Erling Haaland as my fantasy captain sort of paid off last week, but I hoped for a lot more from him with two home games in the same week. His points were added to by William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Diogo Jota and Ivan Toney, but it wasn’t enough to stop me losing a little bit of the ground I have made up recently. Haaland has to be the best captaincy choice again this week with Saka, Pedro Neto, Ollie Watkins and Rasmus Hojlund all worth considering too.
With four teams not playing this week I might have to make a couple of changes to make sure my team is strong enough to try to make up for my losses last week. The players I mentioned above as captaincy options are all very good options to bring in, but it’s not so easy to find good defenders at the moment. I will definitely have to get rid of Diogo Jota after he picked up an injury and I will probably bring in Pascal Gross or Simon Adringra of Brighton.
Saturday February 24
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
3pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham
Villa won 2-1 away to Fulham last week and that win moved them back into the top four. They have lost their last two home games and they conceded five goals in those games with only Liverpool scoring more goals on their own ground. They have won two of their last three games and their next two games are against teams who have conceded a lot of goals so far.
Ollie Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey are the Villa players who can do well for fantasy managers in the next couple of weeks.
Forest won 2-0 at home to West Ham last week and that win moved them four points clear of the bottom three. They have taken four points from their last three away games after only taking two in the previous six, but they could struggle to get anything from this game. The win against West Ham was their first win in five games and it was badly needed with the run of games they have coming up.
Taiwo Awoniyi and Anthony Elanga are the Forest players most likely to impress for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Villa will strengthen their place in the top four by winning this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-1
Brighton And Hove Albion v Everton
3pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton won 5-0 away to 10 man Sheffield United last week and they moved back up to seventh place. They are unbeaten in 10 games at home and they scored 21 goals in those games with no other team drawing more games on their own patch. They have won two of their last three games after only winning once in the previous seven with no other team drawing more games.
Pascal Gross is the in form Brighton player for fantasy managers with Simon Adingra worth considering too.
Everton drew 1-1 at home to Palace last week and that point was enough to get them out of the relegation zone on goal difference. They have only taken one point from their last four away games and they failed to score in the last three, but they have won as many games as they have lost on their travels. They haven’t won in eight games, but they drew four of them with only the bottom two scoring less goals and only the top three conceding less.
Everton’s defenders and keeper have done well for fantasy managers, but it’s still not easy to pick them.
I think Brighton’s home record suggests they should take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Crystal Palace v Burnley
3pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace drew 1-1 away to Everton last week and that point moved them five points clear of the bottom three. They have taken seven points from their last four home games, but they play teams below them in their next two games on their own ground. They have only won two of their last 14 games, but they play four of the teams around them in the table in their next six games.
As long as Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are injured I can’t see any Palace players to recommend to fantasy managers.
Burnley lost 5-0 at home to Arsenal last week and they’re only off the foot of the table on goal difference. They have lost their last three away games snd they conceded nine goals in those games with only Sheffield United and Fulham scoring less goals on the road. They have only taken two points from their last seven games and they conceded 19 goals in those games with only Sheffield United conceding more and scoring less goals.
With a run of games coming up which they could do well in David Dotra Fofana might be of interest to fantasy managers.
I think Palace will get a badly needed win in this game and push Burnley that bit closer to what looks like their inevitable relegation.
Prediction: 3-1
Manchester United v Fulham
3pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 2-1 away to Luton last week and that win moved them within five points of the top four. They have taken seven points and scored eight goals in their last three home games, but no other team in the top half of the table has scored less goals on their own patch. They have won their last four games and they scored 11 goals in those games with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals.
Rasmus Hojlund is the United player to have for fantasy managers at the moment with Diogo Dalot and Andre Onana worth considering too.
Fulham lost 2-1 at home to Villa last week, but they’re still closer to the top half of the table than they are to the relegation zone. They haven’t won in their last 11 away games with only Sheffield United scoring less goals on their travels. They have only won two of their last nine games and they have a tough run of games coming up.
Rodrigo Muniz is the Fulham player most likely to do well for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think United’s run of victories will continue in this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-1
Bournemouth v Manchester City
5.30pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth drew 2-2 away to Newcastle last week and they’re still in a comfortable position in mid table. They have only lost one of their last six home games, but no other team has scored less goals on their own ground. They have only taken three points from their last six games after winning six of their previous seven with only the bottom three conceding more goals.
Dominic Solanke is the Bournemouth player who can make a real difference for fantasy managers.
City drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea and won 1-0 at home to Brentford last week to go four points behind Liverpool at the top of the table with a game in hand. They have won their last four away games and they scored 11 goals in those games with only Arsenal scoring more goals on the road. They have taken 26 points from their last 10 games with only Liverpool scoring more goals.
Erling Haaland is a must have for fantasy managers while Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne are looking pretty good at the moment too.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable City victory in this game.
Prediction: 0-3
Arsenal v Newcastle United
8pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 5-0 away to Brighton last week and they’re five points behind Liverpool at the top of the table with a game in hand. They have won their last two home games and they scored eight goals in those games with no other team conceding less goals on their own patch. They have won their last five games and they scored 21 goals in those games with only Liverpool scoring more goals and no other team conceding less.
Bukayo Saka is the must have Arsenal player for fantasy managers at the moment with all of their defenders and keeper good choices too.
Newcastle drew 2-2 at home to Brighton last week and they now have 12 points to make up on the top four with only 13 games left to play. They have won their last two away games and they scored six goals in those games, but they lost their previous five. They have taken eight points from their last four games and they scored 12 goals in those games, but they conceded nine.
Anthony Gordon is the best bet among the Newcastle players for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Arsenal will continue their impressive form with another win in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Sunday February 25
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sheffield United
1.30pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves won 2-1 away to Spurs last week and they’re only outside the top half of the table on goal difference. They have lost their last two home games after being unbeaten in the previous eight and they conceded six goals in those two defeats. They have taken 16 points from their last eight games and they scored 18 goals in those games.
With Matheus Cunha injured both Pedro Neto and Hwang Hee-Chan are looking like very good options for fantasy managers at the moment.
United lost 5-0 at home to Brighton last week after having a man sent off early on and they’re still on the bottom of the table. They won their last away game after failing to win the previous 11 with no other team scoring less or conceding more goals on their travels. They have only won once in their last nine games with no other team scoring less or conceding more goals.
I can’t see any United players doing enough consistently to make a difference for fantasy managers.
I think Wolves will be too good for United and will win by at least a couple of goals.
Prediction: 4-1
Monday February 26
West Ham United v Brentford
8pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 2-0 away to Forest last week and they’re now only one point above the bottom half of the table. They have only taken two points and scored one goal in their last three home games with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals on their own ground. They have lost their last three games without scoring and they conceded 11 goals in those games with only four other teams conceding more goals.
Jarrod Bowen is the West Ham player who can do well for fantasy managers if they can regain their form.
Brentford lost 4-1 at home to Liverpool and 1-0 away to City last week and they’re only five points clear of the bottom three. They have lost six of their last seven away games with only Sheffield United losing more games on the road. They have lost nine of their last 11 games and only four other teams have conceded more goals.
Ivan Toney is the Brentford player most likely to impress for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this is a game which could go either way which makes a draw the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
Arsenal 2 Newcastle 2
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