Our midweek regular is rolled out again this evening, as we take an early look at those players currently under consideration for our squads across weekly and daily Fantasy Football games.
We’ve divided this early scouting into two sections. The “Better Buys” will look at the key players for the week ahead, generally assessing those in-form assets who are braced for a promising fixture. The “Poundstretchers”, on the other hand, are the Gameweek prospects that should offer excellent value – often one-week punts, whose lower price tags enable funds to be spent on the big-hitters elsewhere in our lineups.
In this week’s article, we take a look at what’s on offer in this week’s two featured games Fantasy Bet and PlayON…
Better Buys
Despite facing injury issues in central defence, Arsenal have managed back-to-back clean sheets in the last two Gameweeks. With that in mind, we turn to Petr Cech (FantasyBet 5.5m, PlayON 7.6m) as our pick from the Gunners backline ahead of Saturday’s home encounter with Stoke. After the early defeat to West Ham, the summer signing has more than atoned with eight saves in a stand-out performance against Liverpool and, after also keeping Newcastle at bay, he could be in for another quiet afternoon against a Potters side that have only produced 13 shots on target so far this term.
West Ham’s unusual start to the season continued with a resilient win at Anfield. The Hammers have kept clean sheets away to Liverpool and Arsenal and will be hoping for a first home shut-out against Newcastle, after conceding six times against Leicester and Bournemouth at Upton Park. Aaron Cresswell (FantasyBet 5.5m, PlayON 7.3m) has produced assists in the last two, which serves a reminder of the full-back’s attacking potential. Over the first four matches Newcastle have averaged a dismal five attempts per outing and, with only five shots on target so far, have failed to score in each of their last three.
Although he’s failed to score so far, Alexis Sanchez will be a popular pick this week as Arsenal welcome Stoke to the Emirates. The Chilean recorded 15 shots in the box over August’s four fixtures, suggesting it’s only a matter of time before he gets amongst the goals. Unlike last season, Sanchez is classed as a midfielder, rather than a forward, in PlayON and is available for 14.2m (and 11m in FantasyBet). With Ryan Shawcross still absent, the visitors will surely struggle to pick up their first clean sheet of the campaign.
Tottenham fans will be hopeful of a first win of the season as they visit a Sunderland side that have conceded an abject 48 attempts inside the box, resulting in ten goals against over the opening weeks. Harry Kane (FantasyBet 9.5m, PlayON 11.1m) was in my thinking for the upcoming Gameweek prior to his well-taken goals against San Marino and Switzerland over the international break. The Spurs striker is yet to score from 13 top-flight attempts but those England strikes suggest a returning sharpness ahead of a promising fixture against the porous Black Cats defence.
Poundstretchers
After shipping five goals in the first two Gameweeks, Southampton have rediscovered their resilience. The Saints have picked up successive clean sheets against newcomers Norwich and Watford and although the upcoming away trip to West Brom will be a tougher test for Maarten Stekelenburg (FantasyBet 5m, PlayON 6.5m), the Dutchman’s price-tags could make him a canny pick between the sticks against a Baggies side that’s yet to score at the Hawthorns this season.
After Darren Randolph’s nightmare debut for West Ham, conceding four goals to Bournemouth at the Boleyn Ground, a shut-out at Anfield will have boosted his confidence. As mentioned above, opponents Newcastle are unlikely to repeat the Cherries’ attacking performance and, at only 4.5m in FantasyBet and 5.5m in PlayON, the Hammers keeper is an ideal budget enabler.
Norwich will be targeting a crucial three points as they welcome fellow newcomers Bournemouth to Carrow Road. Nathan Redmond (FantasyBet 5.5m, PlayON 8.1m) has two goals and an assist so far this season and looks to be the Canaries main threat with striker Cameron Jerome (FantasyBet 5m, PlayON 8m) yet to get off the mark.
Diafra Sakho (FantasyBet 6.5m, PlayON 9.2m) followed up an assist against Bournemouth with his first goal of the campaign at Anfield. The Hammers frontman should be able to profit against a Magpies defence that’s conceded an average of ten shots per game inside their own penalty box so far.
Finally, while Riyad Mahrez has been stealing the headlines, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy (FantasyBet 6m, PlayON 8m) has quietly been building up form and could be set to outshine his team-mate at home to Aston Villa. The newly-capped England international has two goals and as assist already and looks set to add to those as Tim Sherwood’s side travel to the King Power Stadium.
These are the players on my radar ahead of this weekend’s weekly contests. On Friday, I’ll be back with a further look at both this week’s partner games – Fantasy Bet and PlayON – as I continue my quest for profit in the 2015/16 campaign.
