| POSITION | PLAYER NAME | THIS WEEK | POINTS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) |  |  |  | GoonerLaw | 1400 | ||||||
| 2 (2) | | |  | AFCDAVE | 1165 | ||||||
| 3 (2) | | |  | Mystical | 1150 | ||||||
| 4 (4) | |  |  | Feel | 1055 | ||||||
| 5 (6) | | |  | Invader 67 | 1050 |
Tuesday January 21
Aston Villa v Watford
7.30pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham
Villa came from behind to get a 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to move them out of the bottom three. They have lost three of their last four home games and they conceded 13 goals in those games with only Southampton and Norwich conceding more goals at home. They have only won two of their last 10 games with only Norwich conceding more goals, but no other team in the bottom half of the table has scored more goals.
Jack Grealish has made himself almost a must have for fantasy managers in recent weeks.
Watford drew 0-0 at home to Spurs on Saturday after Troy Deeney missed a penalty and that point was enough to keep them out of the relegation zone. They have taken four points from their last two away games, but only Norwich have scored less goals on their travels. They have taken 14 points and kept four clean sheets in their last six games as they have climbed out of the relegation zone.
Abdoulaye Doucoure looks like a good option for fantasy managers at the moment with Ben Foster doing quite well too.
I think this will be a very close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end in a score draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Bournemouth v Brighton And Hove Albion
7.30pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth lost 1-0 away to Norwich on Saturday, but they’re still only three points off the relative safety of seventeenth place. They have only taken one point in their last five home games with no other team scoring less goals on their own patch. They have only taken four points from their last 12 games and they have failed to score in seven of their last nine games.
I can’t see any Bournemouth players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Brighton drew 1-1 at home to Villa on Saturday and that was enough to keep them three points above the bottom three. Only Villa and Norwich have lost more away games and only Norwich have taken less points away from home. They have only won once in their last eight games, but their next six games offer them a chance to get some points on the board.
I’m not so sure there are any Brighton players to recommend to fantasy managers either, but Matt Ryan and Lewis Dunk might prove me wrong.
This should be another very close game and again a draw is probably the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Crystal Palace v Southampton
7.30pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace drew 2-2 away to City on Saturday to stay in the top half of the table. They have taken eight points in their last four home games, but no other team has scored less goals at home and only Liverpool have conceded less. They have only lost one of their last 10 games, but they drew six of those games and only three other teams have conceded less goals.
Palace defenders had being doing well for fantasy managers a few weeks ago and their next seven games suggest they might do so again.
Southampton lost 3-2 at home to Wolves on Saturday after taking a 2-0 lead, but they’re still only one point off the top half of the table. Only four other teams have taken more points away from home and they have won their last three away games. They had taken 13 points from five games before losing to Wolves and they have a favourable run of games coming up.
Danny Ings has become almost a must have for fantasy managers while Southampton’s defenders and keeper are worth considering too.
I think this will be another close game with Southampton’s away form possibly giving them an edge.
Prediction: 1-2
Everton v Newcastle United
7.30pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton drew 1-1 away to West Ham on Saturday and they’re still only in the bottom half of the table on goal difference. Only three other teams have taken less points away from home and only Villa have conceded more goals on the road. They have taken 15 points from their last eight games and they kept three clean sheets in those games.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the Everton player who has done the best for fantasy managers in recent weeks.
Newcastle won 1-0 at home to Chelsea on Saturday and they’re now only off the top half of the table on goal difference. Only Villa and Norwich have lost more away games with only Norwich and West Ham scoring less goals on their travels. They have taken four points from their last two games and they only play one of the “big six” in their next 10 games.
I can’t see any Newcastle players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think home advantage should be enough to see Everton take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Sheffield United v Manchester City
7.30pm GMT, Bramall Lane, Sheffield
United came from behind to get a point away to Arsenal on Saturday and that moved them within one point of fifth place. They have taken 14 points in their last seven games with only Liverpool conceding less goals at home, but only three other teams scoring less goals on their own patch. They have only lost three of their last 16 games with only Liverpool conceding less goals.
United’s defenders and keeper have done very well for fantasy managers while John Fleck has looked good in recent weeks too.
City could only draw 2-2 at home to Palace on Saturday and they’re now 16 points behind Liverpool and they’ve played an extra game too. Only Liverpool have taken more points away from home and no other team has scored more goals on their travels. They have taken 16 points from their last seven games to move back into second place and no other team has scored more goals.
Kevin de Bruyne has been by far the best of the City players so far this season for fantasy managers and it’s hard to ignore the form of Sergio Aguero since he returned from injury.
I think United will make things very difficult for City, but City will probably win by the odd goal.
Prediction: 1-2
Chelsea v Arsenal
8.15pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea lost 1-0 away to Newcastle on Saturday, but it didn’t really have much impact on their hold on fourth place as only one of the rest of the top 10 below them won. They have lost three of their last five home games and they failed to score in each of those defeats, but only Liverpool have conceded less goals at home. They have only won four of their last 11 games, but they’re almost as close to third place as the fifth placed team are to them.
Tammy Abraham and Willian are still the best of the bunch in the Chelsea team for fantasy managers, but they haven’t done so well in recent weeks.
Arsenal let a lead slip again on Saturday when they drew 1-1 at home to Sheffield United and that was enough to keep them in the top half of the table on goal difference. They’re unbeaten in five games away from home, but they drew four of those games with only three other teams conceding less goals on the road. They have only won two of their last 15 games and no other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still suspended Gabriel Martinelli could be the Arsenal player to interest fantasy managers.
I think this is a very hard game to call, but Arsenal will just about nick a win.
Prediction: 1-2
Wednesday January 22
Leicester City v West Ham United
7.30pm GMT, King Power Stadium, Leicester
Leicester led away to Burnley on Sunday, but they ended up losing 2-1 after Jamie Vardy missed a penalty. They haven’t won in their last three home games, but only three other teams have conceded less goals. They have only won two of their last seven games as they have dropped to third place 19 points adrift of Liverpool.
Jamie Vardy and James Maddison still look like good value for fantasy managers even if their return isn’t what it was a few weeks ago.
West Ham drew 1-1 at home to Everton on Saturday and that point was enough to keep them out of the bottom three. They have lost three of their last four away games with only Norwich scoring less goals away from home. They have lost five of their last eight games and seven of their next 10 games are very tough.
With two games to play West Ham players might be of interest to fantasy managers with Robert Snodgrass probably the best of them.
I think Leicester will get back to winning ways by taking the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
7.30pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Spurs drew 0-0 away to Watford last week which kept them in eighth place and they’re only three points behind fifth placed United. They have lost two of their last three home games, but only three other teams have conceded less goals at home. They have only won once in their last six games and they have only kept three clean sheets in their 23 games.
With Harry Kane injured it’s up to Dele Alli, Lucas Moura and Heung-Min Son to score the goals for fantasy managers, but they’re not doing it at the moment.
Norwich won 1-0 at home to Bournemouth on Saturday and they’re now only three points adrift at the foot of the table. No other has taken less points or scored less goals away from home. The win on Saturday was their first win in 10 games and no other team has conceded more goals while three of their next five games are very tough.
Considering the run of games they have coming up I can’t see any Norwich players to recommend to fantasy managers.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable Spurs win in this game.
Prediction: 3-0
Manchester United v Burnley
8.15pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United lost 2-0 away to Liverpool on Sunday, but they managed to hold on to fifth place as almost all the teams chasing them failed to win. Only Liverpool have lost less games and conceded less goals at home while only Liverpool and City have scored more goals on their own patch. They have lost three of their last six games and they failed to score in each of those defeats.
With Marcus Rashford injured Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood could be the United players to have for fantasy managers.
Burnley came from behind to win 2-1 at home to Leicester on Saturday and that win moved them five points clear of the bottom three. Only three other teams have taken less points away from home with only Norwich and West Ham scoring less goals on their travels. They had lost four games in a row before beating Leicester and only three other teams have conceded more goals.
I can’t see any Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think United will bounce back from their weekend disappointment by taking the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Thursday January 23
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
8pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 away to Southampton on Saturday and they’re now only behind fifth placed United on goal difference. They have only lost two of their 11 home games, but no other team has drawn more games on their own patch. The win against Southampton was their first win in four games and they have only failed to score once since their opening game.
Raul Jiminez and Adama Traore came bouncing back for fantasy managers against Southampton, but they have four tough games in their next five.
Liverpool won 2-0 at home to United on Sunday to go 16 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand too. They have only dropped two points in their 10 away games so far and no other team has conceded less goals away from home. They have won their last 13 games and kept clean sheets in their last seven with no other team conceding less goals and only City scoring more.
With two games this week Liverpool players are at a premium for fantasy managers and Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah plus all of their defenders and keeper are really good options.
I think Wolves will make things difficult for Liverpool, but they won’t be able to halt their march to their first league title in 30 years.
Prediction: 1-2
Wednesday January 29
West Ham United v Liverpool
7.45pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham play for the second time in this Gameweek and it’s against another one of the top three. They’re unbeaten in their last two home games, but only Bournemouth have taken less points at home and only Southampton and Norwich have conceded more goals. They don’t have much chance of getting any points off Leicester, but their chances in this game are even slimmer.
As I said before Robert Snodgrass could be the West Ham player to perform for fantasy managers this week, but the chances are none of them will.
Liverpool get to play their game in hand this week and if things go their way they will be at least 19 points clear at the top of the table with only 15 games to go. Both of their games are away from home, but it doesn’t seem to matter where they play at the moment. They look like they are going to break all sorts of Premier League records this season and those two games should bring some of these records even closer.
The big decisions for fantasy managers this week are which Liverpool players to choose, which one to captain and whether the triple captain option should be used or not.
I think Liverpool will continue their relentless march to the title with yet another three points in this game.
Prediction: 0-2
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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