Welcome to our latest visit to the Weekly Shop, where we will help guide your selections for daily and weekly Fantasy Football squad building.
For this round we’re looking at FanDuel’s player list for all ten Gameweek 5 fixtures.
As with last term, we divide the player analysis into two parts.
I will assess the key targets that no squad can do without in “Better Buys”, before seeking out those one-shot “Poundstretcher” prospects that can provide us with points, whilst liberating crucial funds.
For those new to FanDuel our recent strategy guide will help familiarise yourself with their scoring model and key strategies for success.
Better Buys
Manchester City’s summer signing Claudio Bravo has been handed an exceptionally kind price tag of £5m. With Bournemouth visiting the Etihad this weekend, he’s an easy selection between the sticks. While 10 clean sheet points look on the cards, save points could be at a premium – the Cherries have made just 39 attempts on goal this term, with only Watford and Burnley proving more shot shy.
If you’re not convinced by the cut-price City stopper then consider Hugo Lloris (£7.9m), as Spurs welcome Sunderland to White Hart Lane. The Frenchman kept a second shut-out of the season at Stoke, earning 18.5 FanDuel points and faces a Black Cats side that blanked in front of their own fans against Everton on Monday night.
As defenders in FanDuel do not benefit from clean sheet points, it is best to target those with healthy numbers of clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI). Be sure to check out FanDuel’s scoring system for more on information on that.
Bournemouth may not have to deal with the suspended Sergio Aguero this weekend but with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Kelechi Iheanacho all in promising form, Adam Smith (£7m) should pick up plenty of CBI points. An average of 20.94 over four appearances shows the right-back is a sound FanDuel pick. Centre-backs are more often in the thick of it, though, and Steve Cook’s (£7.4m) total of 47 CBI actions places him in the top five overall, making him another Cherries defender to consider.
Likewise, Burnley’s Ben Mee (£7m) will be attempting to keep a resurgent Jamie Vardy quiet. The centre-back was joint first, along with Simon Francis (£8.3m), for clearances (11) last Gameweek, and has made 31 in total this campaign.
Only Curtis Davies (£9.2m) has made more defensive contributions in total – the Hull defender’s 84 CBI’s comprehensively outstrips Mee’s 51 has registered so far. The Tigers welcome Arsenal to the KCOM stadium and Davies should be kept busy again to help maintain his impressive 34.38 average.
Etienne Capoue (£9m) rather surprisingly has the best average points for midfielders, with 34.81 FanDuel points per match. The Frenchman’s ball-winning abilities in the centre of the park, combined with an eye for goal that has harvested three strikes in four outings, means he’s worth considering even against Manchester United.
Manchester City are the only team yet to drop a point in the top-flight, a sign that Pep Guardiola already has his new side playing relentless attacking football. With Bournemouth visiting, doubling up on City attackers looks wise this week with Raheem Sterling (£9.1m) among the key targets. He excelled in his last home match, notching a brace to bring in a haul of 54 points.
Kevin De Bruyne (£15.3m) requires much more investment, though it may be worthwhile after the midfielder’s outstanding performance in Gameweek 4’s Manchester derby. The Belgian’s goal, six chances created and two shots on target helped accrue a score of 50.5 points.
With a goal and assist, Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.6m) was another to excel for City in the derby. That bargain basement price makes him tough to avoid, as he is an almost certain starter in the absence of Aguero.
Everton’s victory against Sunderland on Monday night has thrown up a variety of options after a thrilling second half that saw Romelu Lukaku bag a hat-trick. The forward has to be considered at £9.2m for the Goodison Park showdown with newly promoted Middlesbrough after his sensational 79.5-point return against the Black Cats.
The Belgian’s supporting cast also provides excellent options for FanDuel. Yannick Bolasie (£7.7m) created four chances and set up one of Lukaku’s goals.
We also like the look of Idrissa Gueye (£8.2m). The Senegalese’s all-round style looks well suited to FanDuel – he has made more successful tackles (15) than any player so far and also chipped in with an assist against Sunderland.
A slow start to the season for Leicester Jamie Vardy (£9.5m) is forgotten after goals in back-to-back matches. The forward had three shots on target in the defeat at Liverpool last weekend, indicating he has recovered some sharpness as the Foxes welcome Burnley to the King Power Stadium.
Poundstretchers
Despite recording successive clean sheets, Everton’s Maarten Stekelenburg (£6m) is another stopper to be handed a generous price tag. Nine saves over four matches is hardly inspiring but the Dutch keeper looks a solid shout for securing a clean sheet at home to a Middlesbrough side that is level with Bournemouth as the third most shot shy team this term.
Boro’ provide us with a pair of bargain defenders that will be hard pressed to contain the Toffees, which means lots of opportunities to rack up CBI points. Right-back Antonio Barragan (£5.5m) made eight tackles against Crystal Palace, placing third for defenders for FanDuel points per million last Gameweek. We also think Ben Gibson (£5.9m) will be busy attempting to keep Romelu Lukaku quiet, with only Curtis Davies blocking more shots this term than the centre-back.
Sunderland’s Papy Djilobodji (£5.5m) should pick up plenty of defensive actions at White Hart Lane. The Senegalese defender missed the opening match of the season but is in the top five defenders for CBI, including an impressive 14 interceptions over his three appearances.
Similarly, Joel Matip (£5.7m) was absent for the start of the season but has shown promise in picking up FanDuel points in his pair of Liverpool league appearances. A total of 15 clearances and five interceptions over those two indicate the centre-back will be key to keeping Chelsea at bay.
Nacer Chadli (£4.6m) made his debut for West Brom at the weekend and, as he builds up fitness, should start to influence matches more often. The Baggies host West Ham and, at such a budget price, the midfielder could provide an excellent source of freeing up funds.
An extraordinary display from Heung-Min Son (£5.3m) saw the Spurs midfielder notch a brace and an assist in 20 minutes against Stoke. With late swaps allowed in FanDuel, be sure to check the team sheets in case the South Korean is selected once again for Sunderland’s visit on Sunday.
After Son, Burnley’s record signing Steven Defour (£7.1m) was the best value midfielder in terms of FanDuel points per million last Gameweek. The Belgian is certainly a player whose all-round abilities are geared to the FanDuel scoring matrix. In addition to his goal against Hull last Gameweek, he also created two chances, made two successful tackles and accrued three interceptions to notch an impressive tally of 37.25. A trip to Leicester may be a tougher fixture but it should see an increase in defensive actions.
Despite Stoke’s heavy loss to Spurs, summer signing Joe Allen (£6.3m) still scored 25.75 FanDuel points for the Potters. The ex-Liverpool player created four chances and drew four fouls in a number ten role. A budget price tag makes the midfielder worth considering for the trip to Crystal Palace where he will be attempting to set up Wilfried Bony’s (£5.3m) first goal for Mark Hughes’ team. With four attempts against Spurs it may not be long before the on loan striker gets off the mark.
Facing Stoke will be Christian Benteke (£7.9m) who scored his first goal for the Eagles in the 2-1 victory at the Riverside Stadium. The Belgian could prove a profitable differential as no Premier League side has conceded more goals or efforts in the box than the Potters this season.
