Our beloved Fantasy Premier League continues on this week from gameweek 11, when Arouna Kone of Everton managed to score 20 points whilst some of the popular captain choices did not deliver. This week, the big North London derby takes place in which Arsenal and Tottenham will battle it out for bragging rights for this half of the season. Lets see what gameweek 12 has in store for us…
Bournemouth vs Newcastle
A miserable last few weeks for Bournemouth wasn’t helped by their defeat to Southampton in the South Coast derby. The Cherries have now conceded a staggering 12 goals in their last 3 games due to their common defensive mistakes and lack of squad depth. The opponents, Newcastle, still sit in a relegation place (18th) which is one place behind Bournemouth, however confidence has grown amongst Newcastle players who are no longer seen as one of the league’s vulnerable team. Instead it is Eddie Howe’s team who need to cope with that label.
Star Man – Georgino Wijnaldum (7.0m)
The Dutch international has slightly faded away since his 25 point FPL overhaul against Norwich but he can be expected to gather a large quantity of points against Bournemouth who are susceptible to conceding a large amount of goals in one game. With Mitrovic and Perez ahead of him, he should also be able to provide at least one assist.
Prediction – Bournemouth 0-2 Newcastle
Leicester City vs Watford
Leicester continued their winning streak and are unbeaten since GW7. Watford have found their form and achieved a 2-0 win, in comfortable fashion. Their young defence has proven efficient in keeping clean sheets as well as getting forward. As for Leicester, they still remain a strong force in the league, but haven’t won their recent games with ease, often having to come back from a deficit by producing in the second half. If Watford can start strong in this match there is a real possibility that they will take away points. However, the quality of the Foxes in comparison to the Hornets is noticeable and could lead to them once again, overpowering their opponents during stages of the second half.
Star Man – Odion Ighalo (5.4m)
The striker has 20 points in 2 games and should recover from his minor knock in order to start this match. Speed and power were key to his two goals against West Ham. With the help of captain Deeney, he will be crucial to this game.
Prediction – Leicester City 1-1 Watford
Manchester United vs West Brom
United looked to have found their much needed goal outlet in Martial yet they are now back to square one. They do show flurries of attack at times however for a title challenging team they really do need a world class goalscorer. With the defensive achievements that Tony Pulis holds, he has injected this ability into West Brom since his appointment. On paper it may not look like it but West Brom really have one of the best defences in the league making it a problem for United this week. This may be a case of both teams cancelling each other out, with United not scoring in two PL games and West Brom keeping two out of three clean sheets.
Star Man – Marcos Rojo (5.4m)
Rojo only found a place in the starting team around 3 weeks ago. In three weeks he has picked up 8, 6 and 8 points respectively. He can also get forward, assisting a goal in one of his team’s recent wins.
Prediction – Manchester United 0-0 West Brom
Norwich vs Swansea
Norwich aren’t on their strongest run of their season and have now been defeated 4 times in a row. Although, many expected Norwich to be defeated by 4 or more goals against leaders Manchester City, City had to wait until the 89th minute to seal their victory. This shows that Alex Neil’s team have improved their defensive gap and therefore can look to win this match against Swansea. The Welsh side face an attacking problem as it seems only midfielder Andre Ayew is having any impact. We have seen that Norwich can attack well this season and against a side who are currently missing a key attribute, they could be in with a chance of rehabilitating their first half of the season.
Star Man – Cameron Jerome (4.8m)
In a week consisting of reasonably priced star men, Jerome presents a threat in the Norwich attack and at his price he has been reasonably consistent. In a time of shortage for good FPL strikers, players may well choose this man as their 3rd striker.
Prediction – Norwich 1-1 Swansea
Sunderland vs Southampton
The tables have turned for Sunderland, going from beating rivals Newcastle 3-0 to being demolished at the hands of Everton last week. Their time under Sam Allardyce won’t be easy and they face another hard challenge in Southampton who are currently one of the standout teams of the BPL. Their defence has been well planned and some also contribute to The Saints’ goals such as Bertrand and Van Djik, a brilliant asset for an FPL defender to have. Further up the pitch their midfield have worked and taken a different approach in different situations whereas with Sunderland, Big Sam’s tactics are generally obvious. I don’t think Sunderland are in for an easy week here. They do have some good characteristics in their midfield but as a team they seem to be disfigured. So much for praise on the new manager’s defensive style!
Star Man – Graziano Pelle (8.5m)
Pelle fits Koeman’s plans and the team so well. He’s always in the right place and can finish in style. As weeks have progressed and more people have picked him in their team, if you haven’t I suggest you do before his price rises.
Prediction – Sunderland 1-3 Southampton
West Ham vs Everton
Robin Hood’s “Take from the rich and give to the poor” must be West Ham’s motto at the moment. After succeeding against Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea, the Hammers have ended up losing to several lower sides in the division. Starting Andy Carroll may have been a mistake which contributed to their 2-0 defeat to Watford. On the other hand, Everton registered a decisive victory, conquering Sunderland 6 goals to 2. Their win showed promise, especially the fact that they cracked on after Sunderland drew level with them. This could be a heated match, as although Everton are 4 points behind West Ham, in the last few weeks both have improved on their weaknesses.
Star Man – Arouna Kone (4.8m)
Kone is the highest scoring outfield player under £5.4, which is especially amazing as up until this week he had not played a full 90 minutes this season. The striker managed to award any owners who have kept him from his early season form with 20 points by scoring a hat-trick to seal the win. Kone is a bound starter for this week and may become a first team regular.
Prediction – West Ham 2-2 Everton
Stoke City vs Chelsea
Chelsea have a major problem. It’s seems their manager have no interest in them and on the pitch they have been performing poorly. On the other hand, Stoke do not seem capable of capitalising on their dilemmas even though they are placed one spot above them in the league. Chelsea began their match at the weekend with an early opener but errors were punished by Liverpool leading to another loss. Stoke have not presented any sort of threat in front of goal and it looks like Chelsea will get the win, however with the many problems all around the Chelsea camp from medical staff to red carded coaches, the Blues could once again suffer.
Star Man – Cesar Azpilicuta (5.9m)
For the next few weeks Chelsea have some good fixtures which don’t seem to have too much of an attacking force. Therefore, while he may not seem it, Azpi is probably your best pick from the Chelsea squad with their lack of form elsewhere. He was selected by most FPL players at the start of the season but was soon replaced by similar point scorers with a lower price. He does provide security for your defence, although at this moment in time, his team look on the brink of chaos.
Prediction – Stoke City 0-1 Chelsea
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
The early Sunday kick-off sees struggling Villa take on league leaders Man City, in a top versus bottom of the table match. Last week, many people placed their trust in City players such as KDB and Bony with some even triple captaining them. It’s safe to say many didn’t get the points return they would’ve wanted with City only narrowly winning via a Yaya Toure penalty. However I urge you to, again, transfer in and captain City players. Norwich present a fight whereas currently Aston Villa seem hopeless. It’s obvious that their off-pitch problems have affected their game and City will take advantage of this. I do think that with a new manager Villa can come back from desperate times somewhere along the line but with a side whose last and only win came back in early August, many will be tempted to bet on a goal fest from City.
Star Man – Kevin De Bruyne (10.6m)
What more do I have to say? The midfielder has taken his own transfer fee as well as the weight of the injured Silva on his back and still outshone every midfielder in the league. Perhaps a necessity for FPL right now.
Prediction – Aston Villa 0-3 Manchester City
Arsenal vs Tottenham
The North London derby. It has come at the right time for both teams who have recently picked up their form. Harry Kane is back to his scoring ways which will be vital in a match of such importance and Arsenal continue their dominance, picking up their 5th win in a row. Spurs could surprise a few with their midfield as it seems each player’s duties are being acknowledged. Dele Alli, Eriksen and Lamela have all had a helping hand in recent performances. On the other side of North London, Wenger must be relishing life in the league. His team have fit together perfectly and there’s no sign of any change in weeks to come. They have become real title challengers… but will it last?
Star Man – Alexis Sanchez (11.5m)
The big players need to show up in the big matches and while Sanchez hasn’t been the star of the last two matches, his natural quality still makes him a threat to any team in the league. With Ozil now in his best form in an Arsenal shirt, Sanchez will be provided with support and he will be key to Arsenal taking the 3 points at the Emirates.
Prediction – Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
With a similar stance in the league each team will be eager to kick on with the season. Up till now Palace have not encountered any problems as such. Currently, their season is pretty steady, whereas Liverpool are a team more on fierce waters. The appointment of Klopp and his first league victory has improved morale yet the manager doesn’t have a whole lot to work with. He is stuck with what was left by Rodgers and has to improvise in his search for Champions League qualification.
Star Man – Joel Ward (4.4m)
After a terrific start to the season, Ward was injured and put on the sidelines. In his return last week, he picked up where he left off by claiming 7 points. His price has decreased due to his lack of playing time due to injury, so now is the time to get him in. With some decent fixtures, he is one to watch for your team.
Prediction – Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace
By Allan Smith
