Well past the halfway point, we are now ready to resume normal Fantasy Eliteserien service. We look ahead to upcoming Gameweek 18, overshadowed by the start of the FPL season, potentially giving managers a chance to catch their opponents out.

Chip-review

As a little review, we’ve looked at the Eliteserien chips to delve into their power and possibilities, here by looking at the maximum potential from the first half of the season.

Park the buss: Let’s get the obvious one out of the way: Park the Buss was a massive chip early on, as the double gameweeks in rounds 4 and 6 set up some huge scores for a lot of managers. Maximum payout for these gameweeks were 76 and 82 extra points respectively, and with a huge number of points for favourite players in gameweek 6.

2 Captains: Nailing your captain choice is always a difficult endeavour, but nailing 2 choices had some big potential if you targeted the double gameweek in gameweek 4. Gjermund Åsen alone picked up 30 points, with his teammate Kent-Are Antonsen delivering on a further 17; a potential 47 points there for the taking. Åsen was, at this point a popular choice, so quite a number of managers got a piece of this action as well.

Striker rush: Defying logic, the budget options take this one away, with a whopping 46 extra points being up for grabs in both gameweek 15 and 16. Central to these hauls are Molde youth star Erling Braut Håland, hauling 6 goals and an assist over the 2 gameweeks for 21 and 16 points respectively. He did this while Manchester United, amongst others, scouted him from the stands. Around him other budget names packed in some scores, with Frank Boli (Stabæk), Runar Espejord (Tromsø), Bendik Bye (Kristiansund), and Kristian Fardal Opseth (Bodø/Glimt) all scoring in double digits. While many might have had Håland in their side, few capitalised fully on the chip-opportunity for these rounds.

Gameweek 18 feature matches

Rosenborg – Stabæk
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
Having sacked their head coach and his assistant, the caretaker coach set about adjusting the Rosenborg midfield somewhat, flipping the V for the midfield 3 and giving Mike Jensen the advanced number 10 role. This showed immediate effect as he netted a goal and banged one off the crossbar in their recent away clash against Ranheim. Jensen also showed some signs of form against Celtic in the champions league qualifier, and finally looks a decent option at his now 9.3 price tag. With their top 3 wingers on the injury-list, budget option Jonatan Levi is getting a lot of gametime, and has showed a lot of promise. We’re looking at him to break out against league straglers Stabæk this weekend. The lack of true wingers has also opened the striker spot for Alexander Søderlund, but he still looks a bit rusty and struggles to find the net. Niklas Bendtner is now out wide and not looking a big threat either. Birger Meling however firmly stakes his claim as the Eliteserien equivalent of Alonso, as he is storming up and down the line like a winger, seeing a lot of action in the box, and even netted a goal at Celtic Park in the qualifiers.

Molde – Brann
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
Brann have been stumbling and are not looking as solid as they were in the first half of the season, but still look mighty strong. This matchup will be a true test as in form Molde are closing the gap fast to rejoin the title race, led by young star Erling Braut Håland and a solid midfield line. We’re looking at Eirik Hestad and Magnus Wolff Eikrem in the Molde midfield as big options as well. From Brann, Gilli Rolantsson once again scored in the last match, showing big potential. They have not had many penalties, but Wormgoor still looks a decent pick, and last match their midfield virtuoso Fredrik Haugen showed class with a great free kick in the back of the net.

MrKlin says..

In the midst of Europa League qualifiers, teams like Rosenborg, Sarpsborg, and Molde have hit the back half of the season running, looking to have picked up some form by their earlier resuming of play. This has resulted in good looking scorelines for the trio, but also offers rotation headaches for managers looking to get players in. Rosenborg and Molde are well covered, but Sarpsborg are, in addition to their qualifiers mid-week, heading in to a tough couple of games hosting, Lillestrøm and then away to Brann. Despite their form you might want to think twice about investing here, but putting Patrick Mortensen and Kristoffer Zachariassen on the watchlist now might be advisable. A huge home game for IK Start who, despite getting thumped by Brann, are showing signs of turning it around under new management. Winger Kevin Kabran is once more looking enticing and their next fixture is at home against a Ranheim team who are a bit out of form. An outside punt on Elliot Kack can also be considered, and at 4.2 this could be a good pick to free up some cash should you need it. Also have a look at Haugesund’s premium defender Alexander Stølås, who has scored good points in 3 of the last 4, and has some good fixtures coming up in his next 3.

Scout Picks

MrKlin’s picks for Gameweek 18

Bråtveit
Meling – Tønne – Stølås
Jensen – Akintola – Nguen – Levi – Kabran
Braut Håland – Pedersen