Scouting The Doubles

Double Gameweek 31 – Cheeky Punts

Having run the rule over the main contenders for the upcoming double Gameweek, we assess those options that may appeal to those Fantasy managers willing to take a gamble or two:

The Defence

With a mere 6% ownership, Bacary Sagna is far and away the least popular option amongst Arsenal’s defensive regulars. The Gunners’ recent displays on the road at Bayern and Tottenham suggest Chelsea may struggle to break them down at the Bridge, whilst the home game with Swansea looks ideal as Arsene Wenger’s side go in search of their 14th clean sheet of the campaign. Granted, the next two league matches (against City and Everton) aren’t ideal but Arsenal’s schedule from Gameweek 34 is likely to earn plenty of new investment and the right-back could be a decent differential.

James Chester’s cut-price appeal brings him into consideration. Available for just 3.8, the Hull centre-half has games against West Brom and West Ham this time round and also has a pair of fixtures in Gameweek 37 for those with one eye on the long-term.

A switch to a midfield diamond has proven positive for Liverpool’s defensive prospects after back-to-back clean sheets at Southampton and United. The return of Daniel Agger has also made a difference – with the Dane in the first XI, the Merseysiders have registered seven shut-outs in 12, compared to two clean sheets in 17 without him in the starting line-up. If Agger’s 5.6 price-tag is too steep for your budgetary requirements, young Jon Flanagan looks to have nailed down the left-back berth and is available for a mere 4.3, with a 1% ownership.

We can’t have an article on “Punts” without name-checking Aleksandar Kolarov. On his day, the Serbian is capable of delivering consistently from the back – his last nine starts have produced a goal, five assists, 10 bonus points and three clean sheets – but given that he’s been named in the City XI in just two of their last five league fixtures, it’s clear his game time is far from guaranteed. Kolarov managed one minute off the bench in last weekend’s 2-0 win at Hull as Gael Clichy got the nod again – though if you’re prepared to take the risk for the home game with Fulham and trip to Old Trafford, the 5.1-priced left-back could be the ultimate joker in the double Gameweek pack.

Newcastle left-back Paul Dummett is another cut-price contender to consider. Coming in at 3.9, with an ownership under 1%, he has a share of corners for the Magpies and his delivery from the flank has already harvested an assist. The young Welshman has started four of the last five and welcomes Palace (one goal in their last five away games) and Everton (a single strike in their last four road trips) to St James’ Park.

Sunderland pair Phil Bardsley (4.3) and Marcos Alonso (4.5) are set for the first of three doubles in the final eight Gameweeks. The Black Cats roll up to Norwich and Liverpool on the back of three clean sheets in their last five league outings, and whilst a shut-out at Anfield looks unlikely, the Canaries have scored just three goals in their last six at home and could struggle to break down the Wearsiders. Bardsley may have caught the eye with two goals and an assist but Alonso’s underlying stats suggest he could outperform his fellow full-back over the run-in.

West Ham’s George McCartney comes in at 4.0 ahead of back-to-back home games with United and Hull. Sam Allardyce’s decision to drop James Collins last week suggests he’s still undecided over the centre-half spots – McCartney has started the last six and affords a cut-price route into a backline that has conceded just once in the last three at Upton Park.

Midfield

Injuries to many of Arsene Wenger’s midfield regulars promote Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tomas Rosicky in our thinking. The former has scored or assisted in all three of his starts since recovering from a knee injury and is expected to shrug off a calf complaint in time for Saturday’s trip to the Bridge, whilst Rosicky has scored in two of the last three, earning him a couple of double-figure hauls against Sunderland and Spurs. Available for 6.6 and 5.5 respectively, both are also real differentials and are owned by less than 2% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.

Kevin Mirallas’ diminishing game time makes him a somewhat risky acquisition for Everton’s games against Swansea and Newcastle. Whilst his versatility has seen him play on the right, up front and in “the hole” in recent weeks, the Belgian last played from start to finish back in Gameweek 25 – all the more frustrating given he has scored in three of his last five 90-minute appearances. Nonetheless, since Gameweek 14 he has scored twice as many goals as Romelu Lukaku (4 to 2) and the 7.5-priced midfielder’s eye for goal could yet prove decisive if Roberto Martinez keeps him on the pitch long enough to deliver.

Dropped to the bench for Liverpool’s win at Southampton, Raheem Sterling still found time to grab one of his side’s three goals as a second-half substitute. Having previously looked nailed-on in a 4-3-3, he now seems to be alternating with Philippe Coutinho at the tip of the midfield diamond and has played 57, 34 and 71 minutes in the last three Gameweeks. Jordan Henderson, on the other hand, has played the full 90 minutes in all but one of his side’s league games this term and, at 6.4 to Sterling’s 5.9, is also favourably priced. Though has netted just three times compared to his team-mate’s six strikes thus far, Henderson has still managed to register three sets of double-figures and is owned by just 7% of Fantasy managers.

It’s a sign of the times that Juan Mata can only find a place in our Punts article. After warming the Chelsea bench for much of the first few months of the season, a move to Old Trafford was meant to kick-start the Spaniard’s Fantasy campaign – so far, he’s managed just three assists and has drawn blanks in each of his last four appearances. Only 800 Fantasy managers have turned to Mata this week ahead of the trip to West Ham and home clash against City, with over 22,000 parting company in spite of the double. If Robin van Persie is ruled out with the knee injury that saw him stretchered off against Olympiacos last night, though, a move to the middle could help ease the 9.5-priced Mata out of his current malaise.

Whilst Yaya Toure and David Silva understandably garner the attention for City’s pair of fixtures, Samir Nasri remains under the radar. The Frenchman has scored in two of his four starts since returning from injury, though, and at 8.1, offers a relatively cheap route into Manuel Pellegrini’s midfield – having started 15 of the last 16 league games he has been available for, he looks guaranteed to feature in the XI and could appeal to those looking for a City midfield double-up for the run-in.

A Gameweek 28 brace against Hull has earned Moussa Sissoko plenty of new owners for his back-to-back home games with Palace and Everton. The Magpies could toil without their top scorer Loic Remy, though, and have failed to score in each of their last four games without the Frenchman. Sissoko is reasonably priced at just 5.8, but having netted in only two of the opening 30 Gameweeks and with a tough schedule to follow, his appeal is somewhat limited.

There’d be no real surprise if Swansea failed to produce anything from their trips to Everton and Arsenal over the coming week. Nonetheless, Garry Monk’s side have scored in all of his five fixtures in charge, finding the net three times in a recent defeat at Anfield. Jonathan de Guzman, at 5.7, has scored or assisted in four of his last seven starts, whilst Michu is finally out the treatment room and back on the pitch – the 8.4-priced Spaniard’s goal threat could be vital for his side, who also have a favourable set of fixtures to follow.

Forwards

Few will be willing to gamble on Gerard Deulofeu for Everton’s pair of fixtures but he could be worth a flutter at just 5.4. Despite being fielded on the right, Deulofeu – who netted at the weekend – has scored in three of his last eight appearances, despite four of those arriving off the bench.

Shane Long has two goals, an assist and three bonus points in his last six and, coming in at 5.7 (with an ownership of 3%) could appeal to those who feel Nikica Jelavic’s 6.7 price tag is too steep for a Hull striker.

Having failed to score since Gameweek 18, Papiss Cisse has hardly done much to justify our faith here but, with Loic Remy still injured, the Senegal striker is in the driving to start both Newcastle’s home matches. If you reckon he can roll back the years and rediscover his debut season form of 2012/13, he comes in at 8.0 and is owned by 1% of FPL managers.

Andy Carroll is perhaps less of a punt that most here, though his injury record remains an issue. Since returning from a heel problem earlier this year, Carroll (priced at 7.1) has grabbed a goal and three assists in just over 300 minutes – providing he can steer clear of further problems, he looks likely to pose plenty of questions to United and Hull’s defences as Sam Allardyce looks to pick up the points and scramble to safety.

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598 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Konig Luther
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    nice goal... pirlo

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    1. Demí
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Let me guess, free kick?

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      1. Konig Luther
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        yep

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        1. Demí
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 11 days ago

          The master 😎

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  2. aehii
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Plaid are the best band with the worst name.

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    1. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      I like a band called First Aid Kit. How bad a name is that? 😆

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      1. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        Appalling.

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      2. Lord Flashheart
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        Their acronym is worst...

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    2. Konig Luther
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      or this name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZOZg7NhiGA

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    3. Zep
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      There is a local band back home called the Elastic band... 😀

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  3. Hansel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    AJ, Clyne and Meyler

    or Nolan, Baker and Oviedo (benched every week)

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    1. Nomar
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Neither are inspiring.

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      1. Hansel
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        To be fair I do think that both of them are. Mainly based on the fact that the defender I choose will be 5th choice and probably won't play at all, maybe Clyne if I go for him. The same goes for the midfielders as Yaya, Haz and Stevie occupies the 3 other spots and Nolan/AJ obviously can produce points. So the question really is AJ with a decent bench or Nolan with a less inspiring.

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    2. MJ6987
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      AJ Chester Puncheon?

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      1. Hansel
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        Already have Chester. Limited to 4.5 for the midfielder if I go for a 3.9 instead of Clyne

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  4. MJ6987
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    @Beavis re keeping Mata

    MJ6987
    Yes. On the basis that it's not worth a hit to lose a DGW player. You?

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    1. Beavis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Repost:
      Thinking yes at the moment as I've already taken a -4. Another hit to get him out seems like a good idea but, at the same time, it's another hit. Think I will end up keeping.

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  5. Feanor
    • 14 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    I'm still just doing Lallana to Yaya. The last time I took a risk with a hit it backfired horribly, so I'm not doing that again.

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      1. Feanor
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        I prefer having points to having nuts!

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        1. Wild Rover
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 11 days ago

          How many dgw players do you have?

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          1. Feanor
            • 14 Years
            10 years, 11 days ago

            8 once I get Yaya.

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  6. Wild Rover
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Admit it, you are only playing Hazard because you don't have 11 dgw players 😛

    Seriously though, are you really expecting much from the Arsenal game? I just feel that Januzaj is worth a punt.

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    1. Nomar
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      You get players like Haz because they are fixture proof.

      He may only get 2 pts this GW but he could end up with 10 or more.

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      1. filobiz
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        that's the same for everyone isn't it? anyone could get 10 or more.

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  7. Tinmen
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    How about this guys?

    Rosicky and Sturridge or Silva and Lukaku??

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    1. Beavis
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      A cause of Sturridge

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    2. Lord Flashheart
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      B by a mile IMO.

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  8. Konig Luther
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    goal tottenham 2-1

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  9. Wild Rover
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Pity Chadli doesn't have a dgw 😀

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    1. JK - Cønt ⭐
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      good thing he doesn't

      Bandwagon doomed to fail

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      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        Exactly, I wouldn't have been on it 😉

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  10. JK - Cønt ⭐
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Gary Lineker ‏@GaryLineker 5m
    Soldado makes me realise I wasn't that shit.

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  11. Froes
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    i will lose 12 points but its best to put jelavic over rodriguez or mcgregor over marshal

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  12. Optimus.
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Jesus

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    1. JK - Cønt ⭐
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      No he plays for Man City, try and keep up Optimus

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  13. DoobNoob
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Quick update on Team Value and Team Selling Price?

    Mine's 112.7 and 110.1

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    1. Salah’s Sonnet
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      109 lol

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    2. Dr Dream
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      114.0 (0.1itb)..110.8

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    3. The B
      • 10 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      TV: 114
      SV: 109.3

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      1. The B
        • 10 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        Hazard, YYT, Lallana, Coleman owner since GW1. 😛

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    4. Moorinho
      • 10 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      116.7

      111.4

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  14. Demí
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Wow, two for Chadli

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  15. The Enlightener
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Holy Nacer of Chadli.

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  16. Salah’s Sonnet
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Hi guys, do i look good for the DGW?

    Boruc
    Chester - Sagna - Coleman - Collins
    Yaya - Gerrard - Sissoko
    Sturridge - Suarez (c) - Dzeko

    Bench: K.Davis; Hazard - Ward - Bentaleb

    4.4m in the bank. Any advised transfers?

    Comments much appreciated.

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    1. DoobNoob
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Boruc -> Mannone
      or
      Sissoko -> Silva?

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      1. Salah’s Sonnet
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        Was thinking of these two exact transfers haha, would be a 4 point hit for either though, i'm more drawn towards the Silva transfer. Worth it for -4?

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  17. HurriKane
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Chadli-wagon

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  18. Konig Luther
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    benfica losing his first game since November in all competitions

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  19. Dr Dream
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    He may not be nailed on but it was coming...My table for mids for the last four gameweeks arranged by threat.http://members.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/my-stats-tables/view/4382/..

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    1. Dr Dream
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      and that's with only about 180 mins out of the possible 360..

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    2. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      I'm going to have to make more use of your tables next season, they seem to regularly be coming up with the goods.

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      1. Dr Dream
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        getting them fairly nailed down now after a couple of false starts..looking forward to using them myself for all of next season.

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        1. JK - Cønt ⭐
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 11 days ago

          your tables have become an essential part of my transfer and team selection plans. Should be of massive benefit next season 😀

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    3. Mr. Bean
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      interesting Chadli's position in that table after his performance tonight

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      1. Dr Dream
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        I'm amazed he hasn't had more minutes for them. He's always looked decent when I've watched him, which hasn't been often...but still...looks good to my eye compared to some of the others that have trod the boards at the lane..

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        1. JK - Cønt ⭐
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 11 days ago

          definitely better than Townsend

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          1. Dr Dream
            • 11 Years
            10 years, 11 days ago

            Yeah...He showed well in my original tables which concentrated on shots..but that's no good...It's the ICT threat/touches in the box, combined, that do the damage...Keep those numbers as high as you can and the points will follow..even with a load of hits...

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            1. Mr. Bean
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 13 Years
              10 years, 11 days ago

              True, shots ON target vs. just shots/goal attempts that do the damage
              (that's why Townsend sucks) 😉

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              1. Mr. Bean
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 13 Years
                10 years, 11 days ago

                though that doesn't bode well for Chadli, 27 total attempts, only 5 total on target

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                1. Dr Dream
                  • 11 Years
                  10 years, 11 days ago

                  Yeah that's what I'm saying above...something misleading in using the stat just for shots..It's the ICT threat/touches in the penalty area, combined,which delivers the points...

                  My table just for touches in the penalty area...http://members.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/my-stats-tables/view/4315/

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                  1. Dr Dream
                    • 11 Years
                    10 years, 11 days ago

                    and notice Lamah...hardly plays..Two goals and an assist in his last four appearances..all bit parts as well..

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                    1. Mr. Bean
                      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                      • 13 Years
                      10 years, 11 days ago

                      I've definitely had my eye on Lamah as a good under the radar budget option

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  20. Steevo
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    If you were 50 points behind your ML leader and knew he was playing Hazard, would you play Hazard (and look to get points through other differentials/later on) or bench Hazard and play Livermore for this GW only in an attempt to make up 5 or 6 points? Would give me 10 rather than 9 DGWers but it feels nasty having £10m+ on a bench seat.

    Cheers!

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    1. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Play Livermore

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  21. Leaf
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Collins being benched has created a problem for this week

    So

    Play Collins
    Play Ivan (on bench currently )
    Sell Collins for bardsley (-4)
    Sell Collins for Flanagan (-4)

    ????

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    1. Jef Costello
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      play collins

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  22. Uber Mo
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    A Evra Rooney Lukaku
    B Skrtel Rooney Lukaku
    C Skrtel RVP Carroll

    Assuming RVP Is fit I'm hitting up C

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  23. TheHammer91
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Would Lukaku to RVP be a wise decision? Got enough in the bank for it. Already used my free transfer and have SAS up top

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    1. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Crazy imo, we don't even know if RVP is fit

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    2. Fabreghastly
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      I have RVP and I'm not hopeful. The way he went down it looked like the challenge brought on a hamstring injury. Also, Luka has two DGWs and good fixtures

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      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        I'm a lot more optimistic, I think it was an impact injury which will hurt more at the time but usually recover more quickly

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  24. andres
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Bruce replacemnt:

    A chester
    B c.davies
    C play fonte

    Mannone (marshall)
    Coleman azpi BRUCE (ward fonte)
    Hazard gerrard AJ yaya
    Studge suarez luk
    1.2.

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  25. Wild Rover
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Has Sherwood given the two fingers yet? 😀

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  26. GREENDREAMS11
    • 14 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    sorry for the re-post folks but 7-2 Seville away to Betis, a good bet ??

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    1. Montes Fans
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      should be if you look at La Liga performance but it's a derby....

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      1. GREENDREAMS11
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        i got no responses earlier so the money is on, thanks for the reply though Montes

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    2. Baz
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      9 goals is unlikely!

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      1. GREENDREAMS11
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        lol, good, i like it

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  27. Gooner Kebab
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    play Ki or Hazard?

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    1. Lozza21
      • 10 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Hazard

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  28. Wild Rover
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Thursday night before a dgw and it's dead. I guess everyone has given up

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    1. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Not even seen a 'scoutcast?' post 🙂

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      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        I actually just had a look to make sure there wasn't one and everyone was there

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        1. There's Always One!
          • 14 Years
          10 years, 11 days ago

          You even seem to be talking to yourself! 🙂

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      2. Chu Young Ping Pong
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 11 days ago

        timing!

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        1. Lord Flashheart
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 11 days ago

          Optimus patented this post

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    2. Mr. Bean
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      I thought my compooter was broken or something...

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  29. Zeeco
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    Is Ageuro gone be fit for the DGW?

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    1. There's Always One!
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Daily mail says he will miss both but will be back for the arsenal game!

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    2. Zeeco
      • 10 Years
      10 years, 11 days ago

      Cheers mate

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  30. MagnetBPS
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 11 days ago

    What should I do for this DGW? Thinking Im doing ince+ Smalling--> Colback + Coleman

    Mannone(Adrian)
    Ivanovic Ward Shaw(Smalling, Bennett)
    Hazard Lallana Snodgrass Yaya(Ince)
    Suarez Sturridge Lukaku

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