Gameweek 14 done and dusted and for some it was a really good set of midweek fantasy football points, whereas for others (yours truly) it was an abject disaster. A selection of favourable captain options saw some take a risk away from the sensible option of just giving the red-hot Sergio Aguero the armband. For those that did; result. For those that didn’t; dry your eyes and move on! This last statement also includes yours truly.
A gameweek average of 49 points meant anyone over that threshold did ok, with the overall weekly Dream Team managing to rack up an incredibly healthy 115 points. The highest weekly total posted by a manager was 109 points, and this from a very much active participant in this season’s game. Well played fella!
So who made this week’s team?
Goalkeeper
Making his second appearance this season between the sticks of the weekly team was Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan. Villa made a good start to the season and he was featured back in gameweek 2. A disastrous run between gameweeks 5 and 10 meant no Villa player was providing decent returns, however they do look to be recovering some form now, and have a couple of decent fixtures coming up; LEI (H) and WBA (A). I’m sure it is entirely coincidental that this upturn in form has coincided with the abrasive Roy Keane leaving the club…
Defenders
Backing his keeper up was Aly Cissokho, priced at £4.5m (but soon rising) who scored a very creditable 9 points after collecting all 3 bonus Points to back up the clean sheet earned by Villa, in what was a hard fought away win at Crystal Palace this week. This was their third away win of the season, but don’t be hoodwinked, historically Villa are not the best of travellers.
Per Mertesacker had arguably his best game since the World Cup finals as Arsenal made tough work of beating early season high flyers Southampton at the Emirates. For those of us Sanchez owners, the 3 bonus points for the Chilean would have been welcomed for his winning goal, but he only picked up 2 and the maximum went to the German centre-half. Arsenal look a much tighter unit with Koscielny and the BFG, but the value is probably still to be found with Calum Chambers I would suggest – if you’re looking for Arsenal representation in your defensive line.
Chelsea kept their mandatory clean sheet at the Bridge as they weathered early pressure from Spurs before putting them to the sword as they have done every year since football was invented. A clean sheet, an assist and all 3 bonus points went to the increasingly popular Cesar Azpilicueta. He also rose in price straight after the game, so if you want to get in on the action he will now set you back £6.1m. Chelsea have a very favourable run between now and the end of January, so it may be prudent to get a defender on board if you can squeeze one in when evaluated against their attacking potency, and the options available higher up the pitch.
Midfield
The centre of the park provided some decent returns from a few differentials. In fact the only one over 10% ownership was Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, who scored 10 points with his goal and maximum bonus points following the Reds 3-1 away win against a particularly poor Leicester side. The Foxes managed to wipe off the clean sheet point for Henderson due to some comical (and increasingly common) goalkeeping errors from keeper Mignolet.
Swansea left it late to break down the resistance from QPR (and particularly keeper Rob Green) but eventually it was Ki Sung-Yeung who managed to find a way through to set up the Swans for an eventual 2-0 win. An ever present this season, his fantasy football points returns have been low, but priced at just £4.9m he could be about to embark on a run during a time from now until the end of the year when fixtures look ok for the Welsh side.
In previous years, West Ham’s Kevin Nolan has been FPL dynamite. An early season injury has seen him have a below par start to this year’s campaign which has coincided with probably the Hammers’ best form ever in the Premier League. He has been consigned to bit-part appearances, but he played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 away win at WBA and scored. This is a player who can easily reach double figures for the season if given a good run of games, although more realistically it may by 6 or 7 between now and the end of the season. He may be an option for the next 3 weeks as they face; SWA (H), SUN (A) and LEI (H). Pricey at £6.2m, but if you like a gamble he may fit the bill?
Finally, it was Stoke City’s Steven N’Zonzi who completed the Team of the Week, as he scored his first goal of the season at Old Trafford in the Potters’ 2-1 defeat on Tuesday evening. Ruining the clean sheet points for David De Gea in the process. Having played every minute of every game so far this season, could N’Zonzi do with some closer fantasy football scrutiny? No. Appearance points only until this goal I’m afraid. Avoid.
Strikers
In a night reminiscent of his fantasy football glory days of the 2009/10 season when he racked up 29 goals and 13 assists, it was Chelsea pensioner Didier Drogba showing the form of old proving their may be life in the old dog yet. As a standby for Diego Costa’s inevitable injury and suspension absences, Mourinho has once again shown his shrewdness in the transfer market in bringing Drogba back. His record against Spurs probably intimidated the away dressing room, and so it came to pass as he scored, assisted and picked up 2 bonus points.
It’s not often Argentine striker Sergio Aguero blanks for more than two league games in a row, but having failed to net against Swansea and Southampton in GW12 and 13, he rectified that with a brace against bogey team Sunderland. The sensible and risk-free captain choice, he rewarded those who gave him the armband with 32 points and no doubt a helping shove up the overall FPL rankings. Surely at present, he is the only bona-fide “must have” in the game?
His partner in crime also joined him in the weekly Dream Team. Stevan Jovetic scored his 3rd goal in 3 games and laid on an assist to score a useful 10 points for the 3.4% of you that own him. Not a bad goal scoring return for someone who normally only gets just under an hour to make his mark on the game. Admittedly, perhaps there are better options out there in the mid-range price bracket, but City have great fixtures and he is obviously in a run of goalscoring form.
As I mentioned at the start, a poor week for me but hopefully yours was better. As long as you are one place in the rankings below me, we can continue to be friends! If you want to have a laugh at my expense with my terrible transfers and laughable captain decisions, give me a follow on Twitter:
@meet_the_gadfly
FLY.
