Finally, I’m back and I don’t think any of us expected West Ham and Southampton to be in the top 4. But fair play to them, both sides have been terrific, especially Big Sam’s side. The signings they have made have flipped that teams’ form 180 degrees and considering he was made favourite by all the bookies in the market “First Premier League manager to be sacked” at the start of the season, he’s done a very good job. The majority of us fantasy football managers have had to deal with Diego Costa being unavailable. Should you take him out? Should you wait? All I’m saying is on my behalf is thank you to Pelle! Hopefully the following players I’m hinting at you to bring in and pull out of your team’s will improve your team and make me look good! Let’s get on with it.
IN
Diafra Sakho (West Ham, Forward, 5.7m)
This player’s ownership percentage of 5.2% is going to be going up and up after his recent performance against Manchester City but you HAVE to get this man into your team. He’s 5.7m which is cheap for a striker that’s scored 5 goals and got 2 assists. Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia are both complementing each other on the pitch and their pace and power is proving to be very difficult to defend against. The only reason I favoured Sakho over Valencia is because of the price, before you question me! West Ham are sitting 4th in the Premier League table at the moment and the form they are in is unstoppable, even for the current champions as we saw. If you’re still not convinced and may worry that West Ham’s form may drop, you need to see their next 5 fixtures; Stoke (A), Aston Villa (H), Everton (A), Newcastle (H) and West Brom (A). I rarely look further than a teams’ next 3 fixtures but I’m sure Big Sam will be licking his lips at the fixture list and instead of trying to survive and keep his job, he’ll be wanting to get 3 points from each of these games and will be playing the positive football we’re not used to seeing from West Ham, with Diafra Sakho in the heart of it, picking up points for your team.
Filipe Luis(Chelsea, Defender, 5.4m)
When I’m looking for a defender to bring into my team in fantasy football I look for many different things. Firstly, will he play? There’s nothing worse than buying a player and him getting a blank 0 points because of 0 minutes played! Will Filipe Luis play? It’s always slightly risky to put any player in your team from Chelsea considering the strength in depth they have, but with Azpilicueta and Ivanovic both suspended, it’s very likely Filipe Luis will and it’s encouraging to see he did play a full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Man United. Of course, Ivanovic will probably serve his suspension against Shrewsbury tomorrow night in the Capital One cup but Felipe Luis should be a guaranteed starter for at least one more week. The second thing I look for is the player’s future fixtures. Would you transfer in a defender that will play against teams in the top 4? Yes…if you’re stupid, or would you transfer in a defender whose next 3 games are against teams in the bottom half? Yes, of course! Chelsea’s next 3 fixtures are QPR (H), Liverpool (A) and West Brom (H). I know what you’re thinking, “No chance can Chelsea keep a clean sheet at Anfield”, it’s going to be tough but they did it last year and Jose Mourinho is the one of the best managers in the world for organising his team defensively at tough places to go. Finally, can I afford him? Filipe Luis hasn’t played much at all this season which is why his price is so cheap at 5.4m, which in my opinion is a steal for any fantasy football manager. A cheap Chelsea defender that will play doesn’t come very often, so make the most of it and get him in your team.
OUT
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, Midfielder, 6.1m)
Jordan Henderson is one of my favourite players. He’s an absolute engine and his transformation under Brendan Rodgers has been brilliant as well as going from being one of Liverpool’s laughing stock big money signings along with Andy Carroll and Stuart Downing, to being the vice captain of Liverpool and a regular starter for England. He was one of the few positives out of England’s World Cup campaign, but fantasy football is about points and not necessarily performances. Although Henderson has managed to score 1 goal and set 3 up this season, I still feel there are better alternatives out there for a similar price. You have to remember that Henderson is picked by 13.2% of fantasy football managers and you want to be looking to get “one up” over managers by picking a player with a lower percentage and higher points. Henderson cost’s 6.1m and I feel there are several alternatives that can improve your squad such as; Wayne Routledge (5.5m), Mohamed Diame (5.5m) and Stuart Downing (5.7m) who has been on fire this year. Henderson is a brilliant squad player and will claim points, but not on a consistent basis and if you want to improve your team I strongly recommend you bring him out.
Eric Dier(Spurs, Defender, 5.3m)
After scoring in his first two games, the majority of the fantasy football world thought Eric Dier would go on to work wonders. He’s been transferred into 900455 teams and has a teams selected by % of 23%. But since the 3rd game-week, he hasn’t produced at all, literally…not one clean sheet, not one goal, not one assist since game week-three, and yet 23% of managers still have him in their teams! The only reason I can imagine why he’s still in teams is because of his fairly cheap price of 5.3m, but when you see other defenders for the same price that have picked up at least one clean sheet, you should feel like you’re missing out. Clean sheets are very rare in the Premier League but it’s worth taking a risk and choosing to replace Dier with a defender with a lower team selected by %, at least then you have a chance of gaining points over other fantasy football managers.
I feel I’ve given you two solid players to transfer in this week that will definitely score vital points. It’s important to make sure that your squad is solid and scoring points, there’s nothing worse than playing catch up after Christmas when everybody has a good idea of who the key point scorers are in the Premier League. Let’s hope you take my advice and climb up whatever league you’re in, good luck!
Tom Mellor.
@MellorFootball
