Only Punts and Horses – Gameweek 22

I greatly miss the Puntmaster’s regular weekly article, as I’m sure many of you do, so I thought I would give it a go and try and find some hidden, low-owned gems to bring in the points during the forthcoming Gameweek. As the Puntmaster did I too will be looking for a punt in each outfield position.

Christian Fuchs

Position: Defender

Team: Leicester

Price: 4.7

Ownership: 0.5%

Fuchs was highly touted as a great Fantasy Football prospect upon arriving in England but didnt really start playing until Gameweek 8. He has shown plenty of potential but pretty much all Leicester’s attacking returns were being soaked up by Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.

Recently he’s been getting further forward and is crossing plenty. Since Leicester have slowed down on the direct attacking front the defenders seem to be creeping forward. Their last four games have been very low scoring with just one goal conceded and one goal scored. In fact, the last three games Leicester have kept clean sheets, and Fuchs has been integral to that with some top tackles. He has made 13 starts for the club with a total of six shut-outs. In the eight games he didnt start, Leicester failed to keep a single clean sheet. In his last three games he has accumulated 26 points thanks to five bonus and one assist (coming from a corner in the last game). He has a total of two assists this season, not mind blowing, but they both came with in the last eight Gameweeks, showing his improvement of late.

This Gameweek he faces the Premier League’s bottom club, Aston Villa and will be hoping for a fourth straight clean sheet with the possibility of attacking returns too. Definitely one to watch.

Michail Antonio

Club: West Ham

Price: 5.2

Ownership: 0.7%

Antonio arrived in the Summer from Nottingham Forrest for just under £7m. He didnt really get a proper run until Gameweek 15 when he played 54 minutes and was subbed off for Victor Moses. In Gameweeks 16 and 17 he played almost the full 90 and that’s when he started to look like he’d really start to have a say in the team, but as he was yet to have any attacking returns he remained firmly under the radar.

As the anticipation grew for playmaker Dimitri Payet’s return, the Englishman has continued to be ignored as a route into West Ham’s attack. Managers looking for a 5.0-5.5 mid, have only had eyes for Dele Alli it seems.

Antonio though is showing signs he could rival the Spurs man in terms of Fantasy points. In Gameweek 18 Antonio finally played a full game and picked up an assist in a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.

In the following game he played the full 90 again, this time at home to Southampton and picked up not only another assist but a goal too and maximum FPL bonus. Against Liverpool in Gameweek 20 he scored again and when West Ham visited Bournemouth in Gameweek 21 he returned home with a further two assists under his belt. So to add that up he has an incredible four assists, two goals and three bonus in his last four games. With Payet back I expect more from the Hammers and for Antonio to prosper, especially against a leaky Newcastle backline this Gameweek.

Aleksandar Mitrovic

Team: Newcastle

Value: 6.2

Ownership: 0.8%

This was by far the hardest position to fill, a real head-scratcher. There aren’t really many low-ownership strikers with any kind of form coupled with a good fixture, so this took me quite some time. I was looking at Saints striker Shane Long but I was concerned about the imminent return of Graziano Pelle possibly pushing him out wide or even taking his place entirely.

Newcastle man Mitrovic edges it this week, after racking up a goal and assist in Gameweek 16 and again in Gameweek 21. He’s more of an explosive option currently but looks ready to be a steady scorer, especially with his significant aerial threat. West Ham may be luxuriating in attacking options, but they remain flimsy at the back, with a single clean sheet in the last four Gameweeks.

Gameweek 21’s Punts

My first week was somewhat of a mixed bag. I tipped the Villa defence to do well against a toothless Palace (no goals in four since Yannick Bolasie has been out) and punted on Micah Richards. I was right as Villa duly delivered a clean sheet, but sadly Richards was rotated so my correct decision was not rewarded.

My midfield pick came in the form of Gylfi Sigurdsson, who grabbed a goal from the spot to save my blushes. However, there was bad news for my forward pick Andy Carroll. the West Ham man succumbed to injury after just 14 minutes and now faces being sidelined for around a month.

Verdict: One thoroughbred champion, one injured mare, one no show.