Everyone now has or have had (in my case) their wildcard, we’ve all got or taken (in my case) the chance to freshen up our teams and strive towards a positive scoring second half of the season. I’ve had a brilliant game week as I put the man they call Alexis as captain who scored me 38 points on his own! In the last article of 2 in 2 out, I recommended that you brought in Silva and Lallana and well, Lallana got ruled out of action for a month and Silva managed just the 1 assist, so average. I also recommended that you brought out Ivanovic and Pelle, Ivanovic has done very well managing 2 assists but conceding a huge 5 goals to Spurs and Pelle didn’t score, so not bad. Let’s get on with the recommendations!
IN
Danny Ings (Burnley, Forward, 5.6m)
Before the season started, everyone, including myself, said that Burnley needed a miracle to stay in the Premier League, but Sean Dyche and his side have done themselves very proud so far, sitting outside the bottom three with their next three fixtures being; Crystal Palace (H), Sunderland (A) and West Brom (H). Burnley’s next three fixtures is the exact reason why I believe Danny Ings at 5.6m Is an absolute steal to bring into your team. With 6 goals so far this season and only 2.8% of managers having him in their teams, Danny Ings has shown he can score goals in the Premier League and give you an advantage over the 97.2% of managers that don’t have him. So why not take a risk with Danny Ings and if it doesn’t come off, you’ll always have a decent amount of money in the bank for other players due to him being so cheap!
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, Midfielder, 8.6m)
After recently making the huge announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season to play for LA Galaxy, Gerrard has said himself that there is still a lot of work to do this season and with him knowing he’s not got long left at the football club he loves, I can see him playing out of his skin in his final games for Liverpool. Although Gerrard did come off at half time against Sunderland with a suspected hamstring injury, Gerrard has been given a 75% chance of playing so I wouldn’t worry too much and with Lallana ruled out for a month, Brendan Rodgers will be desperate for Gerrard to be in his team. Even though Stevie G has lost that “yard of pace” he is still Liverpool’s penalty and free-kick taker, giving him opportunities to score every game and score you points, which is why we all play fantasy football, points! It’s not guaranteed that Gerrard will play every remaining game Liverpool has, but it is guaranteed that he will be giving 110% and more to make sure his team picks up 3 points every game, which is why I feel Gerrard is a player currently under the fantasy football radar that can be quite an important player for your teams.
OUT
Falcao (Man United, Forward, 10.5)
The big money signing of Falcao so far has been a failure. He’s now starting to be labelled a “flop” which any player with a big price tag and reputation attached to him does not want to be called. Falcao has only scored 3 goals this season so far and this is down to the inconsistent amount of minutes he has been getting. He has only played the full 90 minutes in two games this season and for the price of 10.5, it’s just not worth it at all. To make the decision to take the forward out of your team easier, you only need to look as far as the potential replacements for a cheaper price, such as; Harry Kane (5.8m), Andy Carroll (6.9m) and Bafetimbi Gomis (6.5m). If you haven’t already and you want to stop seeing red arrows on your screen, you need to take Falcao out of your team.
Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal, Goalkeeper, 5.3m)
If you’re one of the 5.9% of managers that has Szczesny in your team, now is the perfect time to take him out. After rumoured disciplinary issues and that shocker against Southampton, the Polish keeper was dropped for the game against Stoke at the Emirates for Ospina. Fantasy football is about points and points only and when you choose a goalkeeper, you need to make sure that their upcoming fixtures are ones that a clean sheet can be achieved in. In Arsenal’s next three fixtures, they have Man City (A) and Spurs (A), so to save yourself from only scoring 2 points (or less), you need to replace Szczesny now. If I was going to choose a replacement, I would certainly look at Arsenal’s former keeper Lukas Fabianski as he is in the form of his life. I would also look at Ben Foster for the reason that Tony Pulis has just been appointed the West Brom manager and he will make sure that the defence in front of Foster is performing to his standards.
Now if you haven’t already used your wildcard, make sure that you use it before the end of this month as it will expire and you will have wasted a golden fantasy football opportunity. I’m sure these recommendations will do me justice and hopefully you take the tips I’ve given and of course…see the mighty green arrows! Good luck everyone.
Tom.
@MellorFootball
