| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 45 | 115.5 | 72 | 22 | 254.5 |
2 - |  | 38 | 126 | 66 | 23 | 253.0 |
3 - | | 42 | 93 | 84 | 17 | 236.0 |
4 - |  | 37 | 99 | 69 | 15 | 220.0 |
5 - |  | 39 | 102 | 51 | 17 | 209.0 |
My choice of Mohamed Salah as my triple captain for last week worked out very well as he ended up with more than half of the points my team amassed over his two games. Choosing a captain this week might not be so easy with no games for Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea, but Southampton, Spurs and the two Manchester clubs all look to have very good games. At a push Bruno Fernandes might be the best choice as might Heung-Min Son or any of the City players. Burnley get to play twice this week which makes players like Nick Pope, Ben Mee and Wout Weghorst very attractive and they’re available at a good price too.
Friday 25 February
Southampton v Norwich City
8pm GMT, St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
Southampton won 2-0 at home to Everton last week and that win was enough to strengthen their grip on a place in the top half of the table. They are unbeaten in nine home games, but they drew four of them and no other team has drawn more games at home. They have only lost one of their last eight games and the clean sheet against Everton was their first one in 14 games.
James Ward-Prowse is the Southampton player most likely to make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
Norwich lost 3-1 away to Liverpool last week and that defeat saw them drop to the foot of the table again. They have lost four of their last five away games with no other team scoring less goals on their travels and only Leeds conceding more. They have lost their last two games and they conceded seven goals in those two games, but their next two games after this one are against teams they are hoping to catch.
I’m still not sure there are any Norwich players who are performing consistently enough to interest fantasy managers.
I think Southampton should be more than good enough to take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Saturday 26 February
Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur
12.30pm GMT, Elland Road, Leeds
Leeds lost 4-2 at home to United and 6-0 away to Leeds last week and they’re slowly slipping back towards the bottom three. They have lost three of their last four home games and they conceded 10 goals in those games with only three other teams conceding more goals on their own ground. They have only taken one point from their last five games and they conceded 17 goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals.
If Raphinha is back in favour he’s the Leeds player most likely to make an impression for fantasy managers.
Spurs won 3-2 away to City and lost 1-0 away to Burnley last week to remain in eighth place. They have lost two of their last three away games and they failed to score in those two defeats with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals on the road. They have lost four of their last five games and they conceded 10 goals in those games.
Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane are both looking like good options for fantasy managers at the moment while new boy Dejan Kulusevski might be worth considering too.
I think Spurs will take advantage of a Leeds team who just can’t defend and they should win by a couple of goals.
Prediction: 1-3
Brentford v Newcastle United
3pm GMT, Brentford Community Stadium, London
Brentford lost 2-1 away to Arsenal last week and they’re slowly but surely drifting towards the relegation zone. They have lost three of their last five home games with only Watford and Norwich losing more games on their own patch. They have only taken one point from their last seven games and they conceded 16 goals in those games, but they can stop their slide if they can get something from their next three games which are all against teams below them in the table.
I don’t think there are any Brentford players doing enough to interest fantasy managers, but they do have some attractive fixtures at the moment.
Newcastle drew 1-1 away to West Ham last week and they’re now two points above the bottom three and only two points behind Brentford going into this game. They have taken four points from their last two away games, but only Everton have taken less points away from home and only Norwich have scored less goals. They have taken 12 points from their last six games and they only conceded four goals in those games, but only three other teams have conceded more goals.
If Allan Saint-Maximin is fit to play he’s the Newcastle player who can do well for fantasy managers.
This is a huge game for both teams and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end in a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Brighton And Hove Albion v Aston Villa
3pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton lost 3-0 at home to Burnley last week, but they managed to hold on to ninth place in the table. They have only won once in their last eight home games with only the bottom three winning less games at home. They have lost their last two games without scoring after going unbeaten in the previous seven games.
I’m not sure there are any Brighton players performing consistently enough to interest fantasy managers, but with dependable strikers hard to find Neal Maupay is worth considering.
Villa lost 1-0 at home to Watford last week and they’re now five points off the top half of the table. They haven’t won in four home games and they haven’t kept a clean sheet in six games on their own patch. They have only won once in their last seven games and only three other teams have lost more games.
Since I recommended Phillippe Coutinho and Jacob Ramsey a couple of weeks ago they have both failed to perform for fantasy managers, but they still look like good value.
This isn’t an easy game to call, but a draw is probably the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Crystal Palace v Burnley
3pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea and then won 4-1 away to Watford last week, but they’re still only three points off the top half of the table. They have lost their last three home games and they conceded seven goals in those games, but they will see Burnley as better opposition for them than Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham who won those games. The win against Watford was their first win in seven games, but their hopes of a top ten finish are still very much alive.
Conor Gallagher and Wilfried Zaha both showed how good they can be for fantasy managers in midweek and they’re definitely worth considering.
Burnley won 3-0 away to Brighton and 1-0 at home to Spurs last week to move off the foot of the table and within two points of seventeenth place. They have taken four points from their last two away games and they kept clean sheets in both of those games. They won their last two games after failing to win the previous 11 and they have kept clean sheets in four of their last six games.
Burnley’s defenders and keeper are in very good form for fantasy managers with Wout Weghorst showing what he can do too.
This is a tough game to call and I don’t think there will be too many goals in it, but Palace might just sneak a win.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United v Watford
3pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 4-2 away to Leeds last week to keep a hold on fourth place. They have taken seven points from their last three home games and they only conceded one goal in those games with only three other teams taking more points at home. They have only lost one of their last 14 games, but they play three of the other big six games in their next three games after this one.
Bruno Fernandes seems to have found some form again for fantasy managers, but I’m not sure Cristiano Ronaldo justifies his high price.
Watford won 1-0 away to Villa before losing 4-1 at home to Palace last week and they’re only one point off the foot of the table. They have only lost one of their last four away games and they have taken more points and scored more goals away from home than they have at home. They have only won once in their last 13 games and no other team has lost more games.
Emmanuel Dennis is the Watford player to have for fantasy managers while Ismailia Sarr might be worth a shot too.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable United victory in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Everton v Manchester City
5.30pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton lost 2-0 away to Southampton last week and they’re now only two points above the bottom three. They have lost five of their last eight home games, but no other team has drawn less games at home. They have only taken nine points from their last 17 games and their next three games are all against teams in the top eight.
I’m still not sure there are any Everton players to interest fantasy managers and particularly not in this game.
City lost 3-2 at home to Spurs last week and their lead at the top of the table has now been cut to three points. They have taken 25 of the last 27 points available away from home with no other team taking more points or conceding less goals on the road. The defeat against Spurs was their first defeat in 16 games with only Liverpool scoring more goals and no other team conceding less.
City’s defenders and keeper along with Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez can all do very well for fantasy managers once they avoid the dreaded rotation.
I can’t see anything other than a City win in this game as they look to bounce back from last week’s defeat.
Prediction: 0-2
Sunday 27 February
West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
2pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham drew 1-1 at home to Newcastle last week, but they have dropped to sixth place and they’re four points off the top four. They have taken seven points from their last four home games with only the top three scoring more goals on their own patch. They have only won once in their last five games and this is a big game for them as they fight to stay in the hunt for a top four finish.
Jarrod Bowen continues to be the must have West Ham player for fantasy managers.
Wolves won 2-1 at home to Leicester before losing 2-1 away to Arsenal last week and they stayed in seventh place. They had won four away games in a row before losing to Arsenal with only the top three taking more points on the road. Their only defeats in their last nine games came in their two games against Arsenal with only City and Chelsea conceding less goals.
The Wolves defenders and keeper are still good choices for fantasy managers despite failing to keep a clean sheet in their two games last week.
I think this will be a very close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Tuesday 1 March
Burnley v Leicester City
7.45pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley play their second game of the week and they should climb out of the relegation zone if they win either of them. They have only lost one of their last eight home games, but they drew five of them with only Norwich scoring less goals at home and only the top two conceding less. They have only lost four of their last 15 games, but they drew eight of them with only Brighton drawing more games.
As I said already Burnley players look a lot more appealing to fantasy managers at the moment than they have done at any other point this season.
Leicester lost 2-1 away to Wolves last week and they’re now five points off the top half of the table. They have lost their last four away games and they conceded 12 goals in those games and only three other teams have conceded more goals on the road. They have only taken two points from their last five games and only four other teams have conceded more goals.
James Maddison is the Leicester player to have for fantasy managers while Patson Daka is a possibility too as long as Jamie Vardy is out.
I think this will be a very close game, but Leicester’s firepower might just be enough to get them a much needed win.
Prediction: 1-2
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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