| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 36 | 97.5 | 60 | 17 | 210.5 |
2 - |  | 40 | 76.5 | 78 | 16 | 210.5 |
3 - |  | 44 | 75 | 66 | 16 | 201.0 |
4 - |  | 34 | 72 | 78 | 12 | 196.0 |
5 - |  | 38 | 81 | 60 | 14 | 193.0 |
My fantasy team did reasonably well last week with Mohamed Salah yet again bringing home points as my captain. He was ably assisted by David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ibrahima Konate, Bryan Mbeumo and Alexander Isak. I managed to gain some of the ground I lost last week and hopefully I can continue that trend this week.
I can’t see a better option than Salah for my captain again this week with Liverpool playing twice even if they are both far from easy away games. I used my one transfer last week to bring in a Liverpool player for their extra fixture and I’ll be doing the same this week with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo the main candidates. There’s a very good chance I will use my triple captain chip on Salah too, but I haven’t made my mind up yet.
Saturday February 1
Nottingham Forest v Brighton And Hove Albion
12.30pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest’s fantastic run came to an end last week when they lost 5-0 away to Bournemouth, but they’re still in third place. They have taken 13 points from their last five home games, but they have some very tough games coming up on their own ground. The defeat against Bournemouth was their first one in nine games and no other team in the top half of the table has scored less goals.
Despite their mauling last week Chris Woods, Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White and the Forest defenders and keeper still look like good choices for fantasy managers for the next couple of weeks.
Brighton lost 1-0 at home to Everton last week, but they managed to hold on to their place in the top half of the table. They are unbeaten in their last five away games, but they drew four of them with no other team drawing more games on the road. They were unbeaten in six games before losing to Everton and their next two games are both very difficult starting with this one.
Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro are the Brighton players most likely to do well for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game with a draw probably the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Bournemouth v Liverpool
3pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth won 5-0 at home to Forest last week and they’re now only one point off the top four. They have taken nine points from their last five home games and they kept clean sheets in four of those games with no other team conceding less goals on their own patch. They have taken 25 points from their last 11 games and they scored 25 goals in those games while keeping five clean sheets.
Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Milos Kerkez are all looking very good for fantasy managers at the moment with Dango Ouattara in great form recently too.
Liverpool won 4-1 at home to Ipswich last week to maintain their six point lead at the top of the table. They’re the only team still unbeaten away from home with no other team scoring more goals on their travels and only Palace conceding less. They are unbeaten in 18 games and they won 13 of them with no other team scoring more or conceding less goals.
With two games this week Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and all of the Liverpool defenders and keeper are very good options for fantasy managers.
This has the makings of a very close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Everton v Leicester City
3pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton won 1-0 away to Brighton last week and that win moved them seven points clear of the relegation zone. They won their last home game after only taking one point and scoring no goals in the previous three and they have two home games this week. They have won their last two games after only winning one of the previous 12, but only Southampton have scored less goals.
With two home games this week Everton’s keeper and defenders look like good options for fantasy managers with Iliman Ndiaye worth a shout too.
Leicester came from behind to win 2-1 away to Spurs last week and that win was enough to move them out of the relegation zone. They won their last away game after losing the previous five with no other team conceding more goals on the road. They had lost seven games in a row before beating Spurs and they conceded 18 goals in those defeats with only Southampton and Wolves conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Leicester players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Everton will make it three wins in a row with a narrow victory in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Ipswich Town v Southampton
3pm GMT, Portman Road, Ipswich
Ipswich lost 4-1 away to Liverpool last week and they’re now only one place off the foot of the table, but they’re still only one point from safety. They have lost their last two home games and they conceded eight goals in those games with no other team scoring less goals on their own patch. They have lost their last three games and they conceded 12 goals in those games with only Southampton and Everton scoring less goals.
I wouldn’t normally recommend Ipswich players to fantasy managers, but this week could be an exception for owners of Liam Delap.
Southampton lost 3-1 at home to Newcastle last week to remain rooted to the foot of the table. They’re the only team without a win away from home and no other team has scored less goals on their travels. They have only taken two points from their last 13 games with no other team scoring less or conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Southampton players who might be of interest to fantasy managers.
I think Ipswich will take the three points in this game and it might be enough to move them out of the bottom three.
Prediction: 3-1
Newcastle United v Fulham
3pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle
Newcastle came from behind to win 3-1 away to Southampton last week and that win left them just outside the top four on goal difference. They lost their last home game after winning the previous three and they scored 10 goals in those three victories. They have won seven of their last eight games and they scored 22 goals in those games, but they play three of the four teams above them after this game.
Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy are all very good choices for fantasy managers at the moment.
Fulham lost 1-0 at home to United last week, but they managed to hold on to their place in the top half of the table. They have only lost one of their last seven away games, but they drew three of them and no other team has drawn more games on the road. They have only won twice in their last nine games, but they drew five of them with only Brighton drawing more games.
Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi are the Fulham players who should be of most interest to fantasy managers.
I think Fulham will make things difficult for Newcastle, but home advantage should see them win narrowly.
Prediction: 2-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa
5.30pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal last week and that defeat saw them drop back into the bottom three. They have lost their last two home games without scoring with only Southampton taking less points on their own patch. They have lost their last four games and they conceded 10 goals in those games while only scoring one with only Southampton conceding more goals.
Matheus Cunha is the Wolves player most likely to do well for fantasy managers.
Villa drew 1-1 at home to West Ham last week and that point left them four points off the top four. They have taken four points from their last two away games after losing the previous five, but four of their next five games on their travels are against teams in the bottom half of the table. They’re unbeaten in five games and their next two games are against teams in the relegation zone, but no other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals.
Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers are the Villa players who could do very well for fantasy managers in the next two games starting with this one.
I think Villa should be strong enough at home to win this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-1
Sunday February 2
Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur
2pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford won 2-1 away to Palace last week and that win moved them within two points of the top half of the table. They have only taken one point from their last three home games, but only the top two have taken more points on their own ground and no other team has scored more goals at home. The win against Palace was only their second win in eight games, but they have a very good run of fixtures coming up.
Bryan Mbeumo is the Brentford player to have for fantasy managers with Yoane Wissa and Mikkel Damsgaard worth considering too.
Spurs lost 2-1 at home to Leicester last week and they are closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top half of the table. They have lost four of their last five away games with only Southampton losing more games on the road. They have only taken five points from their last 11 games and they conceded 24 goals in those games, but only Liverpool and City have scored more goals.
With so many injuries at the moment the best bets in the Spurs team for fantasy managers are probably Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski.
I think Brentford will return to winning ways at home in a close game.
Prediction: 3-2
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
2pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 1-0 away to Fulham last week and that win moved them within four points of the top half of the table. They have lost four of their last five home games, but their next two games on their own patch are both against teams below them. They have won two of their last three games and five of their next six games are against teams below them in the table.
Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo are the United players most likely to return points for fantasy managers.
Palace lost 2-1 at home to Brentford last week and that defeat saw them drop two points below United in the table. They have taken 15 points from their last seven away games and they kept clean sheets in four of those games. The defeat against Brentford was only their second one in 12 games and they have a pretty good run of games coming up.
Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and the Palace defenders and keeper all look like good options for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this will be a close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Palace take the three points.
Prediction: 1-2
Arsenal v Manchester City
4.30pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 1-0 away to Wolves last week to stay in second place, but they’re still six points behind them and they have played a game more. They’re the only team still unbeaten at home with only Bournemouth conceding less goals on their own ground. They’re unbeaten in 13 games with no other team conceding less goals.
Ethan Nwaneri is available at a very good price and he could be the Arsenal player to have for fantasy managers over the next few weeks.
City came from behind to win 3-1 at home to Chelsea last week and that win moved them into the top four on goal difference. They have taken seven points from their last three away games after only taking one in the previous five, but they have a tough run of games on the road coming up. They have taken 14 points from their last six games after only taking four points from the previous eight with only Liverpool scoring more goals.
Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne and Josko Gvardiol are all looking good recently for fantasy managers.
This is a game both teams need to win and the chances are the spoils will go Arsenal’s way.
Prediction: 2-1
Monday February 3
Chelsea v West Ham United
8pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea lost 3-1 away to City last week after taking an early lead and that defeat saw them drop out of the top four. They have only won once in their last three home games, but their next six home games are all against teams in the bottom half of the table. They have only won once in their last seven games, but eight of their next 11 games are against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Cole Palmer is the Chelsea player most likely to perform for fantasy managers.
West Ham drew 1-1 away to Villa last week to move themselves slightly closer to the top half of the table. They have only lost two of their last six away games, but their next two away games are very difficult starting with this one. They have only won once in their last five games with only four other teams conceding more goals.
If Jarrod Bowen is fit to play he’s the best of the West Ham players for fantasy managers.
I think Chelsea will get a badly needed win in this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-1
Wednesday 12 February
Everton v Liverpool
7.30pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton play their second game of the week and they’re both at home, but Liverpool look like a much tougher proposition than Leicester. David Moyes has steadied the ship since taking charge and they look likely to keep moving away from the drop zone. Getting something from this game won’t be easy though, but local derbies can be difficult to predict.
The Everton players I mentioned above could all do well for fantasy managers this week, but they are more likely to score points against Leicester than Liverpool.
Liverpool play their game in hand and it affords them the opportunity to open up a clear lead at the top of the table if they can win both games this week. A trip to Everton doesn’t look as difficult as their trip to in form Bournemouth, but Everton will be up for the game. If they can manage the six points in this gameweek then the chances of anyone else catching them will be slim.
The Liverpool players I mentioned above could all have a very good week for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game, but Liverpool will have too much for Everton and should take all three points.
Prediction: 0-2
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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