Gameweek 15 threw up some shocking results and with the Capital One cup being a bigger factor than anyone could imagine, it saw players look tired and effortless as it ruined our Fantasy Premier League teams and our predictions & tips. Also a rarity happened, Vardy didn’t score so those who opted to captain him again were left disappointed after such an impressive run, but let’s move on from who didn’t do us any good and give some credit to the players who did or could have given us them 100+ FPL points we all desire every gameweek. So with no more babbling on let’s get straight into this dream team (with some quite unexpected appearances in some positions)!
Goalkeeper
Artur Boruc – This week we saw Bournemouth take an unexpected 1-0 win against struggling Chelsea, however for Boruc it wasn’t as easy as it sounds as he makes a season record of seven, yes, SEVEN saves to continue the Chelsea strikers’ goal droughts. He put in a man of the match performance and he was given 3 bonus points to condone his efforts. This took him to a noticeable 11, maybe this will give him the ability to start every week instead of only being featured once in a while.
Defenders
Steve Cook – Only 3 in defence this week, and it’s another Bournemouth player due to their shock result with Cook earning his points with an assist and a hard worked for clean sheet, Bournemouth’s second of the season. With United in the line up next week, the defenders will have to produce a just as impressive display. Maybe it isn’t a complete write off and it will leave some managers thinking whether United’s boring play style can break the newly promoted side or not.
Adam Smith – Okay, this is becoming repetitive now… Another player from guess who? Smith from Bournemouth found himself on the end of 3 bonus points which added to his clean sheet points, meaning he leapt straight into the dream team. He doesn’t usually play full games but this week he might have given his manager a few questions to think about as Bournemouth look to break out of their poor form.
Winston Reid – Finally in this Bournemouth infested back line is Reid, a strong centre back from none other than West Ham. Keeping a clean sheet against United was previously an accomplishment but with Van Gaal’s philosophy or “boring, boring football” it is harder to let them score! He still managed to prevent the few attacks that came his way and found himself with 3 bonus points taking his overall tally for the season to 33 but most importantly, he has led West Ham to 7th in the Premier League table.
Midfielders
Riyad Mahrez – Next up is Mahrez. He went quiet for a while after such an impressive display at the start of the season but he is back to his scoring ways, I have no doubt about that. A hat-trick saw Leicester ease past Swansea and although Jamie Vardy didn’t get a goal he will still be happy for his team-mate who is proving to be one of the best summer signings in a long time. Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Man City are their games over Christmas, not a very nice present at all…
Marko Arnautovic – Arnautovic disassembled City this week, with 2 goals and 3 bonus points, but at the fortress of the Britannia Stadium, most teams seem to struggle. It’s his 5th goal of this term and he has looked quite quiet in his last 2 games so he will be happy to be reaching a form where he and Shaqiri look unstoppable with their top tier link up play.
Georginio Wijnaldum – Wijnaldum went a bit quiet after his 5 goal display, but he’s back this week with a goal and an assist to shock a tired Liverpool squad who smashed Southampton 6-1 in mid-week. Klopp won’t be a happy man, but the Newcastle midfielder will be looking forward to playing some more football against Spurs and then Villa in the coming weeks.
Aaron Ramsey – 4th up in this stacked midfield is more of a usual face in Aaron Ramsey and after a spell of injuries, he will be excited to be playing some first team football and more importantly getting on the score sheet this week for the first time this season. He is criticised for not scoring enough goals so this will do his confidence good as Arsenal look to a hard qualifying game in midweek to move on in the UCL.
Xherdan Shaqiri – Finally we have Shaqiri, who along with Arnautovic was one of the key players of the week after looking threatening all game, an absolute bargain for Stoke! He produced 2 assists and could have easily had a goal to his name if he was selfish and didn’t try and help Arnautovic to get a hat-trick which just wouldn’t happen! His 3rd assist of the season isn’t that impressive but he looks like he’s settled in after such an impressive performance.
Forwards
Troy Deeney & Odion Ighalo – I’m feeling a bit of déjà vu here. Again for the second week we have the Watford duo of Deeney and Ighalo, who continue to question defensive lines after an impressive display against Norwich where they both got a goal and an assist each and are really looking like a partnership which could keep Watford in the Premier League. Ighalo has been linked with some bigger clubs in the winter transfer window, but hopefully Watford and Deeney can make him stay at the club as it has looked quite successful in recent weeks and isn’t going to slow down any time soon!
So how did the week go for you? Was it a success or did you have faith in Vardy and Sanchez? Let us know @Fpl_Updates and ask us any questions you may have regarding Fantasy football over this Christmas period!
By Morgan Kidson
