Premier Punt Focus – Gameweek 9

After covering Premier Punt’s Champions League games in our last Focus article, it’s back to the Premier League this weekend as I continue my quest to increase my original £100 pot. In the last league article we looked at the new single game contests that Premier Punt introduced – these feature a unique scoring system combined with an unlimited budget for the five-man selection from a single fixture.

The Price Structure
This week we’re going to look closer at the pricing structure in Premier Punt. The price list is refreshing in that it’s difficult to pick a team full of the more obvious players, reducing the chance of template squads. Though it’s a bit more challenging then many games, it rewards more in-depth research in the members area, which means tinkering to get your squad just right to find those players that offer value.

The budget in the daily and weekly games is 100m for 11 players, however, with the most expensive assets coming in at 16m (Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard) and other big hitters such as Alexis Sanchez, David Silva, Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge being 14m or more, it’s almost unworkable to fit more than one or two in without ruining the rest of your team.

A sample squad for the upcoming weekend could be built around the generously-priced Kevin De Bruyne (10.5m), who clearly offers value with the injuries to Aguero and Silva, whilst being 3.0m cheaper than Yaya Toure and Raheem Sterling. Graziano Pelle, at 12.2m, also looks to be worth investment with other popular choices this week such as Costa prohibitively expensive.

Beyond that, however, thinking outside the box is key and going for your second or third options is the only way to get a balanced side. At a price of 15.4, for example, Alexis Sanchez, looks steep when Theo Walcott is available for 12.6m – both are classed as forwards in Premier Punt.

Defenders also have tricky pricing, players such as Cesar Azpilicueta (9.2m) look affordable but with a lack of very cheap and reliable budget options at the back it’s awkward to fit them in. I prefer to find nailed on starters for between 7m and 8m to avoid having weak-links in the team.

My Team

This week I’m backing West Brom to keep a clean sheet against Sunderland by doubling up on their defence, with Boaz Myhill (7.3m) and Craig Dawson (7.9m). I also get a pair of Arsenal centre-backs, Gabriel (7.1m) and Per Mertesacker (7.3m), who would usually be rotation risks but both look viable picks given that Laurent Koscielny (8.6m) is a major doubt, with Arsene Wenger sure to have one eye on the upcoming Champions League clash against Bayern.

I’ve gone for Yohan Cabaye at 8.0m – as mentioned in the Weekly Shop, the Frenchman is likely to be involved if Palace score against West Ham. Instead of trying to fit in Bafetimbi Gomis (11.1m) or Andre Ayew (11m), I settle for Jonjo Shelvey (8.7m) as the Swans welcome Stoke to the Britannia.

Norwich visit St James’ Park and Aleksandar Mitrovic takes the final forward spot partly for his goal against City but mainly for a budget price tag of 6.9m. The other player I was considering here, Saido Berahino (9.7m), remains a doubt, so by downgrading the Baggies forward, I’ve got enough cash left over to swap out Georginio Wijnaldum to Philippe Coutinho. The Liverpool playmaker gets the nod after recording 38 goal attempts this season, a tally only bettered by Alexis Sanchez.

My Starting XI: Boaz Myhill, Craig Dawson, Gabriel, Per Mertesacker, Kevin De Bruyne, Yohan Cabaye, Jonjo Shelvey, Philippe Coutinho, Theo Walcott, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Graziano Pelle.

The Bottom Line

My entry into the round two fixtures of the Champions League failed to place in the money but I’m still up overall, with £143.99 to spend going into Gameweek 9.

This Week’s Stake

Weekly – I’ve put two teams into the £150 guaranteed £2 entry game, I may yet enter a third depending on how many other teams are involved. If you have joined any paid game, there’s a £50 free contest on offer, so I also put three teams into that including the one above.

Single Games – I’ve selected my five players for the Manchester City v Bournemouth fixture for a £2 fee.

This Week’s Stake – £6
Current Balance – £137.99