It’s time for us to take a Friday dinnertime check over the Premier Punt game now ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. Read on as I reveal my plans for the upcoming round of fixtures…

This Week’s Games

There are three big guaranteed pots in Premier Punt this week.

The largest contest is a £350 game for a £5 buy-in – this one still currently has some overlay and up to three line-ups can be entered. There’s also a £100 pot for a £10 fee and a £200 contest for £20.

We arrive back from the international break with a fixture slate that could potentially aid our team selection. Everton and Crystal Palace entertain bottom two Villa and Sunderland respectively and therefore look primed for investment, with the low-to-mid-priced players from those teams helping to create a balanced squad.

Elsewhere, Tottenham host West Ham and have shown promising form at both ends of the pitch recently. Arsenal, the best away team in the league in terms of goals scored, travel to the top-flight’s worst home defence, West Brom. Finally, Chelsea will look upon a home encounter with Norwich as a good chance to secure their first points in four matches.

My Team

We start at Selhurst Park, with the visit of a Sunderland side that have blanked in three of their last four on the road. Wayne Hennessy is first on the team sheet at only 5.6m and I go for a double-up with Joel Ward (6.3m), as I expect him to return to the starting XI after being benched at Anfield last time out. Scott Dann (7.8m) is the prevailing popular pick from the Eagles backline but Ward is cheaper and also has two goals this season.

I’ve gone with two more attacking full-backs to complete the defence. Danny Rose (7.8m) has notched an assist in each of Spurs’ last three, while Ryan Bertrand (7.8m) has served up an assist in each of the previous two ahead of Southampton’s home encounter with Stoke.

Mesut Ozil (11.8m) is the first pick in midfield, having produced eight assists in the last six matches. Yannick Bolasie (7.7m) also finds a spot after scoring twice over the break and netting at Anfield in Palace’s last league outing. I’ve gone with the reliable Riyad Mahrez (8.5m) against Newcastle – with doubts over Jamie Vardy, the Algerian has to be included. After picking my forward line I’m 0.3 short of getting Willian (10.2m) as the final midfielder, so settle for Dele Alli (7.7m) instead after his midweek strike for England against France.

Up front, I invest in Harry Kane – after five goals in three the Spur’s frontman has clearly found the form that eluded him earlier in the season. Romelu Lukaku (11.7m) has five goals and three assists in six matches for the Toffees and has formed a potent partnership with Gerard Deulofeu (9.4m), who takes the last berth after supplying six assists in as many matches.

The Bottom Line

It wasn’t the best week for me, with 45 points the highest score from my three weekly line-ups, which was only enough to reach 18th in the main £250 pot. Dusan Tadic was my highest scoring player with eight points, though if I had captained the Serbian instead of Riyad Mahrez, I would have been firmly in the money places.

Congratulations go to Dave Thomas, who grabbed top spot with 55 points – a five-man midfield with Yannick Bolasie, Philippe Coutinho and Georginio Wijnaldum clinching him just under £90. I remain upbeat, however, as I won’t win every week and still have a healthy pot of £215.34.

This Week’s Stake
Three line-ups go automatically into the £350 pot, while I will consider those bigger entry fee games on Saturday morning and also enter a team into the £2 weekly game. There’s some action in the single games, so I put a team into the Watford versus Man United Saturday lunchtime contest for another £2.

Stake – £19
Current Balance – £196.34

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