Saturday February 1
Leicester City v Chelsea
12.30pm GMT, King Power Stadium, Leicester
Leicester won 4-1 at home to West Ham last time out to stay third and they have 14 points to spare over the fifth placed team. That was their first home win in four games, but only Liverpool have taken more points at home. They have lost four of their last eight games, but only the top two have scored more goals with only Liverpool and Sheffield United conceding less.
If he’s fit to play Jamie Vardy is the Leicester player to have for fantasy managers while Ayoze Perez has done well in recent weeks.
Chelsea drew 2-2 at home to 10 man Arsenal in their last game to stay fourth and they’re eight points behind Leicester going into this game. They have only won two of their last six away games, but only the top two have taken more points away from home. They have lost six of their last 12 games and they have three very tough games in a row starting with this game.
Tammy Abraham is still possibly the Chelsea player to have for fantasy managers if he recovers in time to play.
This isn’t an easy game to call, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end in a draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Bournemouth v Aston Villa
3pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth won 3-1 at home to Brighton in their last game, but they’re still in the relegation zone on goal difference. That was their first win in six home games and only three other teams have scored less goals at home. They have lost 10 of their last 13 games with only Norwich taking less points and only Watford and Palace scoring less goals.
I still can’t see any Bournemouth players to recommend to fantasy managers for the moment at least.
Villa came from behind to win 2-1 at home to Watford in their last game and that was enough to move them out of the relegation zone. They have taken four points from their last two away games, but only Norwich have taken less points on their travels and no other team has conceded more goals away from home.They have taken 10 points from their last six games and they’re the leading scorers in the bottom half of the table, but only Norwich have conceded more goals.
Jack Grealish has been the outstanding Villa player for fantasy managers and he’s still available at a fairly reasonable price.
This is a very big game for two teams at the wrong end of the table and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Crystal Palace v Sheffield United
3pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace lost 2-0 at home to Southampton in their last game, but they’re only in the bottom half of the table on goal difference. They have only won once in their last four home games and no other team has scored less goals at home, but only Liverpool and Sheffield United have conceded less goals on their own patch. They have only won once in their last nine games, but they drew six of those games with only Watford scoring less goals.
Palace players haven’t done an awful lot for fantasy managers in recent weeks, but that could change for their defenders and keeper soon.
United lost 1-0 at home to City last time out, but they’re still only one point off fifth place. They have only lost two of their 12 away games, but no other team has drawn more games on the road and only Liverpool have conceded less goals away from home. They have only won once in their last six games, but they have a very favourable run of seven fixtures starting with this game.
The United defenders and keeper are still very good options for fantasy managers while John Fleck has done well in recent weeks too.
I think this will be a very close low scoring game with United possibly winning it with the only goal in the game.
Prediction: 0-1
Liverpool v Southampton
3pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool played twice in the last Gameweek and wins away to Wolves and West Ham moved them 19 points clear at the top of the table with only 14 games to go. They have won all of their home games and no other team has scored more or conceded less goals at home. They have won their last 15 games with no other team conceding less goals and their next seven fixtures are very favourable too.
With Sadio Mane probably injured Mohamed Salah is the must have Liverpool player for fantasy managers while all of their defenders and keeper are very good choices too.
Southampton won 2-0 away to Palace in their last game to move into the top half of the table. They have won their last four away games with only four other teams taking more points and only three other teams conceding less goals on the road. They have taken 16 points from their last seven games to move from the relegation zone to the top half of the table and their games get a lot easier after this one.
Danny Ings has been great for fantasy managers for a long time this season while James Ward-Prowse hasn’t done too badly recently either.
I think Southampton’s away form suggests they will make a game out of this, but Liverpool will continue on their winning ways.
Prediction: 3-1
Newcastle United v Norwich City
3pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle
Newcastle scored two added time goals to snatch a 2-2 draw away to Everton in their last game and they’re only in the bottom half of the table on goal difference. Only six other teams have taken more points at home with only Liverpool and Sheffield United conceding less goals on their own patch. They’re unbeaten in three games after losing the previous three games and they only play one of the “big six” in their next nine games.
I’m still not sure there are any Newcastle players to interest fantasy managers.
Norwich lost 2-1 away to Spurs last time out and they’re now six points adrift at the foot of the table. They have only taken one point from their last five away games and no other team has taken less points or scored less goals away from home. They have only won once in their last 11 games and no other team has conceded more goals with only Watford and Palace scoring less goals.
Teemu Pukki, Todd Cantwell and Emiliano Buendia all offer reasonable value to fantasy managers, but mainly when they play at home.
I think Newcastle should be good enough at home to take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 1-0
Watford v Everton
3pm GMT, Vicarage Road, Watford
Watford lost 2-1 away to Villa to a very late goal in their last game and that defeat saw them drop back into the relegation zone on goal difference. They have taken 11 points from their last five home games and they only conceded one goal in those games, but only Palace have scored less at home. The defeat at Villa was their first defeat in seven games, but no other team has scored less goals and three of their next six games are against teams in the top five.
Troy Deeney has done well for fantasy managers in recent weeks while Gerard Deulofeu and Abdoulaye Doucoure as well as their keeper and defenders haven’t done too badly either.
Everton looked to have the three points sewn up in their last game at home to Newcastle, but two very late goals meant they had to settle for one point which kept them in the bottom half of the table. They have lost seven of their 12 away games and their next two away games after this one are at Arsenal and Chelsea. They have only lost once in their last nine games, but they have six very tough games in their next nine games.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lucas Digne have been the Everton players to impress for fantasy managers during their recent revival.
Watford’s recent home form suggests they should be good enough to win this game.
Prediction: 2-0
West Ham United v Brighton And Hove Albion
3pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 4-1 away to Leicester and then 2-0 at home to Liverpool in the last Gameweek and they’re only above the bottom three on goal difference. They have only won once in their last nine home games with no other team taking less points at home. They have only taken one point from their last four games and they play “big six”teams in five of their next eight games.
I can’t see any West Ham players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Brighton lost 3-1 away to Bournemouth in their last game and they’re now only two points above the bottom three. They have lost their last three away games with only Norwich taking less points on their travels. They have only won once in their last nine games, but they have a good chance to put some points on the board in their next five games.
Brighton players haven’t exactly set the world alight recently either, but Aaron Mooy hasn’t done too badly and could be worth considering.
This is a tough one to call for two teams badly in need of points, but I think West Ham might just edge it.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
5.30pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United lost 2-0 at home to Burnley last time out, but they stayed in fifth place as the teams closest to them all lost too. Only four teams have taken more points at home with only the top two scoring more goals and only Liverpool and Sheffield United conceding less at home. They have lost three of their last four games and they failed to score in each of those defeats too.
I’m not so sure there are any United players to recommend to fantasy managers with Marcus Rashford injured, but Anthony Martial is certainly worth considering.
Wolves were a little unlucky to lose 2-1 at home to Liverpool in their last game, but they’re still only behind fifth placed United on goal difference. Only five other teams have taken more points away from home, but their next two away games are against United and Spurs. They have lost three of their last five games and three of their next four games are against teams above them.
Raul Jiminez and Adama Traore are the Wolves players to have for fantasy managers with Matt Doherty worth considering too despite their inability to keep clean sheets.
This is a very big game for United considering recent results and I don’t think they will take more than a point from it.
Prediction: 1-1
Sunday February 2
Burnley v Arsenal
2.00pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley won 2-0 away to United in their last game and like quite a few other teams they’re only outside the top half of the table on goal difference. They have lost five of their last eight home games and they’re one of only two teams who haven’t drawn a home game so far. They won their last two games after losing the previous four and only four other teams have conceded more goals.
Chris Wood is the Burnley player most likely to make an impact for fantasy managers at the moment while Nick Pope isn’t doing too badly either.
Arsenal twice came from behind with 10 men to get a 2-2 draw away to Chelsea in their last game and that was enough to keep them in the top half of the table on goal difference. They’re unbeaten in six away games, but they drew five of those games and no other team has drawn more games on the road. They have only won two of their last 16 games, but they did draw nine of those games and they don’t play any of the other “big six” teams in their next eight games.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returns from suspension and he could be of real interest to fantasy managers while Gabriel Martinelli might be worth considering too if he can keep his place.
This looks like it will be another very close game with Arsenal possibly emerging with a narrow victory.
Prediction: 1-2
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
4pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Spurs won 2-1 at home to Norwich in their last game and they’re only behind fifth placed United on goal difference. Only the top three have taken more points at home with only Liverpool and Sheffield United conceding less goals on their own ground. They have only won two of their last seven games and they play three of the five teams above them in their next six games.
With Christian Eriksen sold to Inter and Harry Kane injured it looks like Heung-min Son and Dele Alli are the Spurs players of interest to fantasy managers.
City won 1-0 away to Sheffield United last time out, but they could be 22 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table going into this game. They have won four of their last five away games with only Liverpool taking more points and no other team scoring more goals away from home. They have taken 19 points from their last eight games, but it’s not enough to even keep pace with Liverpool.
Kevin de Bruyne is the only City play more or less guaranteed to play in every game which makes him a great choice for fantasy managers while Sergio Aguero is hard to ignore at the moment too.
This is a game both teams really need to win, but I think City will narrowly get the better of proceedings.
Prediction: 1-2
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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