Welcome to the ninth edition of the Fantasy Premier League 2 In 2 Out for gameweek 26! This is the series where I tell YOU which two FPL players to bring in and which two players to kick out of your teams with the aim of giving you green arrows for the coming gameweeks!
We ALMOST had a perfect edition last article but Ross Barkley decided to ruin it and prove me right that he is inconsistent. He decided to score two goals against Newcastle which saw him pick up 16 points, ouch. I told you to take out Kevin De Bruyne, nothing to brag about! The players I suggested you brought in were Diego Costa and Firmino who both found the net since the last article, Firmino also assisted and picked up three bonus points. Almost a solid 10/10 article, but because of Barkley I’m calling it a 7/10…anyways, let’s get on with the predictions.
IN
Jamie Vardy, Leicester, Forward, 7.4m
Myself and most football fans thought Leicester would fizzle out by now. They haven’t, they mean business and it’s time to take them seriously, very seriously. A huge 43.6% of fantasy football managers have Vardy which seems a lot but in winter the striker went from costing 7.7m to 7.2m after a drop in form which saw a huge amount of managers taking him out. If you were one of those managers (I was) it’s time to bring him back in. Leicester’s next game is away at the Emirates which on paper seems a hard task but after seeing Leicester SMASH Man City at the Etihad, we all know they can win it. After the Arsenal game, Leicester’s run of fixtures are very nice that really make me believe they can lift the title come May. The run of Norwich (H), West Brom (H), Watford (A), Newcastle (H), Crystal Palace (A), Southampton (H), Sunderland (A), West Ham (H), Swansea (H) is a delightful thought for us FPL managers with Vardy and if you’re not one of those managers, bring him in!
Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, Forward, 10.0m
This is a good differential as only 10.8% of managers have Rooney. It’s taken Rooney up until January to finally start playing a little bit like a player on 300k a week, but he has now scored five and assisted three in his last six Premier League appearances and now is certainly the time to bring him in I believe. With Sunderland (A), Arsenal (H) and Watford (H), now seems the perfect time to bring England’s all time top scorer in, he loves a goal against Arsenal and I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit one past them in their upcoming fixture. 10.0m seems quite pricey but trust me when I say that his price is only going up. Put Rooney in!
OUT
Geoginio Wijnaldum, Newcastle, Midfielder, 7.1m
14.9% of you have Wijnaldum and rightly so, he’s the fourth highest scoring midfielder this season so far and has found the net nine times this season for the Toon. I feel now is the right time to take Wijnaldum out for many reasons though. Firstly, I feel he’s burning out slightly and him scoring only two league goals in his last ten league games backs that point up. Secondly, Newcastle’s next three gameweeks also helps me make this suggestion with Newcastle coming up against Chelsea (A), A BLANK GW 27 and then playing Stoke (A), two tough fixtures and one missed gameweek. The final reason for this suggestion is that the replacements on offer for a cheaper/similar price are more value for your money right now, for example: Riyad Mahrez (7.1m), Dele Alli (5.6m), Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.0m) and Michail Antonio (5.3m). There’s four solid options away from Wijnaldum that should be enough to tempt you to take my advice!
Olivier Giroud, Arsenal, Forward, 9.1m
I like Giroud. He gets some unfair criticism considering he’s scored 12 goals this season so far and this is a tough one to call but the reason I’m making this decision is purely down to his recent form of not scoring in his last five appearances. While Giroud has hit zero in his last five we saw Kane score four, Aguero score six, Defoe score four and Afobe score three. The point is that although Giroud will score goals in the near future, there are players that will score more on a much more consistent basis and if you’re one of the 12.7% with the Frenchman in your team, you need to ask yourself “Is it worth it?”. At 9.1m, Giroud is an expensive striker and with cheaper options that are currently firing such as Defoe, Afobe and Vardy, is keeping Giroud worth it? As I said, he will find the net in the near future but will he find it as many times as the potential replacements? I’m not sure.
We’ve gone for a very attacking edition of two in two out which always runs the risk of biting me on the backside but it’s a risk I’m willing to take just for you lovely readers! I’m really hoping these suggestions come good and you can see green arrows as a result of them. Good luck!
Written by Tom Mellor
