The Digest – Gameweek 15

Leicester’s three-goal hero reminds us just why he’s such a popular pick across the Fantasy games. Stoke’s form at both ends of the pitch is making Fantasy managers take notice, whilst many are left wondering what to do with their festive budgets in light of injuries to Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Aguero.

The Player

A three-goal haul at Swansea fired Riyad Mahrez to the top of the overall Fantasy Premier League (FPL) standings and saw Leicester reclaim their spot at the summit once again.

Overshadowed in recent weeks by team-mate Jamie Vardy’s record-breaking scoring streak, the Algerian showed just why he sits in over 61% of FPL teams with a 21-point return at the Liberty – his seventh double-figure haul of the campaign.

Dropped to the bench in Gameweek 8 and 9, there were fears that Mahrez’ Fantasy star was on the slide over the autumn. His subsequent displays have served up five strikes, two assists and nine bonus points in six outings, cementing a place in Claudio Ranieri’s first-team plans as his on-pitch understanding with Vardy becomes increasingly key to the Foxes’ surprise title tilt.

Mahrez punished the near-128,000 FPL managers who chose to bench him for the Liberty encounter and served a timely reminder of his explosive potential just as the schedule turns against the Foxes.

Up next, Ranieri’s men face Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, City and Spurs over the next six, with only a visit from Bournemouth looking straightforward during that spell.

Having averaged 8.5 points per appearance and blanked in only four of his 14 outings, though, Mahrez’ weekend display suggests it’ll take nerves of steel to stick him on the bench in any given Gameweek as the in-form Foxes look to maintain momentum over the hectic festive period.

The Team

Having lost 2-0 at Sunderland in the previous Gameweek, Stoke bounced back in style by defeating former leaders Man City by a similar scoreline at the Britannia.

The weekend win maintained a superb run of defensive displays that have seen Mark Hughes’ side chalk up six clean sheets in the last eight Gameweeks, also keeping out the likes of Chelsea and Southampton over that period. Whilst the popular Jack Butland leads the way amongst keepers on 74 points, Hughes’ decision to hand Philipp Wollscheid a run of starts has proven inspired – since the 4.4-priced Austrian’s installation to the back-four in Gameweek 7, Stoke have conceded just five goals in nine matches.

Although Hughes’ defence are now mirroring their resilient displays under previous boss Tony Pulis, the contrast could barely be starker further up the field. The Potters manager’s decision to shift Bojan into a central role allowed Xherdan Shaqiri to turn in his most influential showing of the season, providing the assists for both Marko Arnautovic’s goals in the 2-0 triumph. The 6.0-priced Austrian, meanwhile, who netted just one of his 44 attempts on goal in 2014/15, has finally found his shooting boots and scored five times already – he’s now up to 71 FPL points, just one behind City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

Sitting just four points off fifth-placed Spurs, Stoke look packed with ready-made differentials – aside from Butland, not one of their players is owned by more than 2% of FPL managers. If they can kick off from their weekend win over City and take advantage of a schedule that pits them against West Ham, Palace, United, Everton, West Brom and Norwich in the next six Gameweeks. Hughes’ men could soon barge their way onto our Fantasy radars.

The Talking Point

With Sergio Aguero once again sidelined by injury and Alexis Sanchez ruled out with a hamstring problem, most Fantasy managers have an abundance of spare cash floating around right now.

As the fixtures arrive thick and fast over the festive period and the threat of rest and rotation looms large, plenty have a real quandary on how to spend their surplus funds. Do we simply bank the cash and hope Aguero and Sanchez return over the Christmas period or should we seek to strengthen elsewhere?

Looking at the fixtures over the five remaining festive Gameweeks, the case for splashing out on United’s defence, and Chris Smalling in particular, could barely be more enticing. Trips to Bournemouth and Stoke are allied with three home clashes (NOR, CHE, SWA) as Louis van Gaal’s men look to continue the form that has seen them concede once at Old Trafford so far. Suddenly, Smalling’s 6.9 price tag doesn’t look beyond our budgets – the only nailed-on defender under Van Gaal, his 75 points has been bettered by only five midfielders and three forwards.

Up front, it’s a different matter. The value for money remains outstanding, with not one of the top eight scoring forwards costing 10.0 or more as the big hitters continue to falter.

As a result, now could be the time to use our spare budget to upgrade our cheap fifth midfield slot in preparation for the Christmas schedule. Given that most Fantasy managers will be keen to hold high ownership assets such as Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, hunting out differentials in the centre of the park could prove a canny tactic – the likes of Aaron Ramsey (2% ownership) and Georginio Wijnaldum (6%) look vital to their respective sides and have the upcoming fixtures to maintain momentum after serving up double-figure hauls at the weekend.

It remains to be seen just when Aguero and Sanchez will return to contention but with the schedule picking up pace, it may well be that their managers will look to ration their minutes anyway, for fear of further setbacks. In such a scenario, there’s every chance that taking the initiative and strengthening our options could well be the difference between a very Merry Christmas and festive disappointment.