Gylfi Sigurdsson’s Fantasy Football DNA remains impeccable. Harry Kane threatens to be untouchable, while Seamus Coleman and Gareth McAuley have become irreplaceable. We learned this and more from Gameweek 26.
Kane demands our attention….
Derailed by an ankle injury back in September, Harry Kane’s season stalled just as he was on the cusp of establishing himself as a key asset once again.
At that point, the Spurs striker was found in just over 560,000 Fantasy Premier League squads; that had reduced to 203,000 by the time he returned to action in Gameweek 11.
Fifteen matches and 15 goals later, Kane has now firmly claimed his rightful status.
Sunday’s hat-trick was his third in nine matches in all competitions, confirmation, as if we needed it, that Kane is a striker in irresistible form.
At a time when we’re preoccupied with the merits of Sergio Aguero around the possibility of Manchester City’s double Gameweek, Kane can perhaps be temporarily shelved but must surely be an almost “essential” target from Gameweek 29 onwards.
Leicester may just have a say…
The transformation of Leicester City in Monday night’s 3-1 win over Liverpool was both incredible and disappointing.
It’s mystifying as to why it took Claudio Ranieri’s departure and press reports of a revolt to motivate and inspire individuals into rediscovering the performance levels that had made them such unlikely heroes last season.
In Fantasy terms perhaps we don’t care: we can only watch on and assess whether the Foxes can now maintain this renaissance, providing us with an array of assets from back to front once again. The Gameweek 27 King Power Stadium meeting with Hull City will tell us more.
Sigurdsson is a gift that can’t be ignored…
Is there a player more suited to the role of a Fantasy Football asset than Gylfi Sigurdsson?
Saturday’s perfectly flighted delivery for Fernando Llorente’s headed goal at Chelsea provided the latest confirmation that the Icelander is such a gift to our seasons. Whatever the fixture, whoever the opponent, he has the ways and means to deliver.
Siggy now returned a goal or an assist in six of seven matches since Paul Clement’s arrival. He tops the charts for goal attempts and chances created for a Swansea outfit that now have possibly the kindest run of fixtures of any Premier League side. He has the highest goal involvement of any player in any team, and he’s on set-pieces from both sides of the pitch as well as penalties. It’s almost overwhelming.
While we can’t yet justify describing Sigurdsson as a “heavy-hitter” – he may never be that – I am struggling to remember an asset so complete in terms of suitability.
Unless the Swans dry up completely. Unless Clement changes Sigurdsson’s role dramatically, it seems improbable, if not impossible, that he will not go on delivering us goals and assists until the end of the season.
Every box is ticked, and at just 7.6, that includes the price.
Fabregas has become a frustration…
In contrast, Cesc Fabregas continues to be a source of consternation.
Once a member of that “heavy-hitter” elite, the playmaker remains on the periphery of our thinking as he struggles to cement a regular place on Chelsea’s teamsheet.
This would be easier for us to accept if Fabregas toiled when handed pitch time, but the Spaniard has demonstrated the form and points output that leaves us in little doubt: he is a lost asset.
In six starts this season, Fabregas has delivered two goals and five assists. When on the pitch, he’s contributed to 52% of Chelsea’s goals.
Despite this, we’re expecting to see Nemanja Matic oust him to the bench for the Gameweek 27 trip to West Ham. That’s the first of four matches in the next six which take Chelsea away from Stamford Bridge, a factor that is likely to limit Fabregas’ minutes and ensure that he remains an afterthought in our season.
Coleman and McAuley are priceless…
While our attentions are so often drawn to the points potential available in attacking areas, Everton’s Seamus Coleman and West Brom’s Gareth McAuley are overdue further recognition for their contributions to the cause.
Both were again among the attacking points in Gameweek 26, with McAuley claiming a sixth goal of the campaign – again underlining his ability to come alive in the box to benefit from the Baggies set-piece prowess. As for Coleman, he provided another assist in the win over Sunderland, his fourth in the last six Gameweeks, to continue a run of compelling form.
From Gameweek 20, with this pair in your squad, you would have received 105 points – an incredible average of 15 points over those seven Gameweeks.
Van Aanholt sticks to the script…
While Patrick van Aanholt is unlikely to reach the status of Coleman and McAuley, he continues to show that he can be a superbly convenient differential who sticks to the script when a prize fixture beckons.
The Dutchman delivered his first Crystal Palace goal in the 1-0 win over Middlesbrough – coupled with a clean sheet, he supplied a second 15-point return of the season.
Looking back over the campaign, Van Aanholt has produced his best four scores against West Brom (home, seven points), Hull City (home, ten points), Watford (home, 15 points), Middlesbrough (home, 15 points).
The pattern is obvious and with Watford, Leicester City and Burnley to visit Selhurst Park over the run-in, there appears to be more opportunities to exploit the trend.
Snodgrass is yet to find his role…
We would have liked Robert Snodgrass to hit the ground running – with Gameweek 28 approaching, it would have been convenient for the Scot to settle at West Ham and start to produce.
Saturday’s stuttering display at Watford indicated that he is still yet to settle and establish his role in the Hammers attack.
Deployed in the No 10 position behind a lone striker, Snodgrass should eventually show the performance levels and output to elevate himself in our thinking.
But right now he seems to be jostling with Manuel Lanzini as West Ham’s main source of creativity and threat from midfield; the pair are almost feeling each other out and deciding on duties.
Time on the training ground and the return of Andy Carroll, with Michail Antonio stationed back on the right flank, would likely offer us a clearer picture.
Until then, Snodgrass remains a differential for Gameweek 28’s trip to Bournemouth, with the smart money likely to remain on Antonio as the most likely to deliver at Bournemouth.
Trapdoor keeps Fraser and King simmering…
The Cherries are struggling to keep their heads above water: bit by bit they’re being pulled into the uncertainty of a relegation battle.
In Fantasy terms, that may not be a bad thing.
Bournemouth, like Watford, went to sleep as a source of Fantasy points once their status was secured last term. It seems likely that Eddie Howe’s men will not have that luxury this time around.
While Middlesbrough are expected to preserve their top-flight status through discipline and defensive resilience, Howe’s men seem far likelier to rely on scoring goals.
Bournemouth are among the most expensive teams in the Premier League and, should they be forced to chase victories they have, in Ryan Fraser and Josh King, assets that could serve us well.
Deployed as the lone striker, King boosted his stock by assuming spot-kick duties in the 2-1 defeat to West Brom, snatching them from Charlie Daniels, with Junior Stanislas still inexplicably frozen out on the bench.
Fraser meanwhile, can be a 4.8-priced fifth midfielder who can provide from our bench.
He’s started eight successive outings, completing 90 minutes in the last four Gameweeks and was hugely impressive against the Baggies, claiming an assist and the maximum three bonus points.
The impish winger has delivered two goals and four assists in those eight starts, and our members need only check on data over the last six Gameweeks to see the value that he and King could provide over Bournemouth’s seemingly vital run-in.
