Welcome to the seventh edition of 2 in 2 out! The series where I give you some key fantasy Premier League tips and I tell YOU which two players to bring in and which two players to kick out of your teams with the aim of giving you green arrows!
Happy New Year! We’ve had so, so many gameweeks since the last edition so summing it up will be a massive drag for both you and me… let’s just say it went very “meh”. The slate has been wiped clean and I’m just going to get on with the suggestions for GW21 and bring all of us the green arrows we need!
IN
Dele Alli (Spurs, Midfielder, 5.4m)
This is a fairly obvious one, but it’s a transfer that needs to be made for many reasons. Firstly, the points. We transfer players in to score points of course and Dele Alli is perfect. The midfielder has both goals and assists in his locker and has five of each to his name this season so far. Alli is always looking forward and always looking to create or score a goal. Against Everton he had the most attempts at goal with six attempts, and it’s encouraging to hear this as a fantasy football manager. Secondly, the price. He’s only 5.4m, it’s an absolute BARGAIN! You’re more than likely going to have spare cash in the bank from making this transfer and this can be vital for preparing for double gameweeks for example. Finally, the fixtures. Spurs’ next three fixtures includes: Leicester (H), Sunderland (H) and Crystal Palace (A). If this hasn’t convinced you to bring Dele Alli into your teams I don’t know what will. Let’s just enjoy the points he brings for such a cheap price.
Dimitri Payet (West Ham, Midfielder, 7.7m)
He’s back! Payet is back! Although he’s missed 11 games through injury he still has 4 goals and 5 assists for the Hammers and now he’s back, I’m expecting more to come. Before his injury, Payet’s price was 8.3m and has since dropped down to 7.7m. We can expect that to only rise and now’s the time to catch him at his cheapest. West Ham’s upcoming fixtures are fairly friendly when it comes to the defences they come up against. Their next four Premier League fixtures include: Bournemouth (A), Newcastle (A), Man City (H) and Aston Villa (H). West Ham looked great against Liverpool without Payet for most of the fixture and imagining what they can do with him back in the side is a scary thought! Get Payet in.
OUT
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City, Striker, 7.6m)
THIS IS RISKY! I’ve just brought Jamie Vardy out for Ighalo myself, the reason being that he’s gone off the boil recently and always seems to have an illness or a slight injury around him. Is Jamie Vardy burning out? I’m not saying he’ll not score again, he will, but will he keep scoring at the rate he has been doing? No. He’s not scored in his last four games and Leicester haven’t scored in their last three games. The signs are there that both Leicester and Vardy are slowly but surely fizzling out of red hot form. Ighalo is a cheaper option for only 6.3m and has been in much better form recently. If you have both Vardy and Ighalo, erm…why haven’t you got either Kane or Lukaku?! It’s a risk and a risk I’ve taken and maybe one you should take too. He’s either going to make me look very silly or very smart.
Chris Smalling (Man United, Defender, 6.8m)
Chris Smalling is an absolute rip off! 6.8m and he’s the joint fourth highest scoring defender. Man United have kept two clean sheets in their last eight Premier League games and for 6.8m (can’t believe that price) is it worth it?! You know the answer. The real points in fantasy football are scored in the attacking positions and taking Smalling out would give you a huge chunk of spare cash to spend further up the field. Smalling has had a very good season but fantasy football is about points and making sure your valuable players are delivering those points. I don’t need to tell you anymore that 6.8m for a defender isn’t worth it. If you’re in the huge 27.3% of managers that has Smalling, get him out!
I’m keeping this short and sweet, good luck and goodbye!
Written by Tom Mellor
