In Tom Freeman’s second Pro Pundits article for Fantasy Football Scout, the five-time top 1k finisher talks Sheffield United, Theo Walcott, Liverpool v Manchester City and this weekโs captaincy, as well as bringing us his Gameweek review and team reveal.
In pre-season, I wrote a Hot Topic on Sheffield Unitedโs approach, suggesting Jack OโConnell (ยฃ4.6m) and Enda Stevens (ยฃ5.1m) should be on our Watchlists.
As an Aston Villa fan, Iโd seen first-hand how good they are in the Championship. Following our play-off final victory in May, Jack Grealish (ยฃ5.9m) was interviewed by pundit for the day Chris Wilder, and told him: “Your boys were the best team weโve played this season”. Itโs hard to argue otherwise.
By the time Gameweek 1 had arrived, my selections had changed but my thoughts on the Blades remained the same: that theyโd be a team pushing for a top-half finish. Both Dean Henderson (ยฃ4.7m) and John Lundstram (ยฃ4.8m) were installed in my squad, and what an impact theyโve made.
Before this season, Lundstram had only scored two goals since the start of the 2018 calendar year. Against Burnley, he had two by half-time. Has there ever been a better Fantasy Premier League budget asset? Probably not.
Their recent performances have made me consider tripling on them from Gameweek 13, with a favourable run of fixtures ahead:
Stevens, John Fleck (ยฃ4.8m) – who like Lundstram, looks like heโs been given a bit more license to push forward recently – and Lys Mousset (ยฃ4.9m) are all under consideration, but the defensive triple-up is what Iโm currently leaning towards. This is a team with the joint-best defence in the league, theyโre yet to lose a game by more than one goal and they have only conceded 37 shots on target all season, which is only bettered by Liverpool and Chelsea.
Lundstramโs 21-point haul, combined with 12 points apiece from Martรญn Montoya (ยฃ4.5m) and Tammy Abraham (ยฃ7.9m), contributed towards my Gameweek 11 score of 73 points, which has seen my overall rank rise to 15,827.
Re Theo Walcott (ยฃ6.2m), you can read more about my thought process behind the move in last weekโs Hot Topic. How do I feel about it now? A little frustrated.
He was hauled off on 67 minutes against Spurs, despite Alex Iwobi (ยฃ5.8m) playing his poorest game in an Everton shirt, and now has 14 shots without scoring this season โ only Wilfried Zaha (ยฃ6.7m), Andreas Pereira (ยฃ5.0m), Miguel Almirรณn (ยฃ5.8m), Felipe Anderson (ยฃ6.8m), David McGoldrick (ยฃ5.4m) and Ross Barkley (ยฃ5.6m) have had more without finding the back of the net.
A few moments for Walcott stood out – he almost registered an assist on a couple of occasions – but his average position and poor final ball are a concern. Iโll no doubt give him a second chance against Southampton and Norwich City but again, Iโll be monitoring his and Evertonโs performance carefully. With no Andrรฉ Gomes (ยฃ5.3m) for the foreseeable future, I think they could lack a player capable of dictating play from deep and controlling games, but letโs see.
Sundayโs game between Liverpool and Manchester City has the potential to be a classic, and I canโt wait to see what Jรผrgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have in store for us tactically. The Citizens have issues in defence, and you can see the Reds pressing hard, high up the pitch, trying to force them to make errors. I see a score draw but you can make a case for either side winning.
In Gameweek 12 Iโll likely roll a transfer, despite the temptation to turn Montoya into รaฤlar Sรถyรผncรผ (ยฃ4.8m). This is largely because I have an eye on Gameweek 13 when I wonโt have a playing keeper (Henderson is ineligible to face parent club Manchester United), and two transfers will give me a bit more flexibility in my choices.
In terms of captaincy, itโs Jamie Vardy (ยฃ9.4m) – again. He scored his tenth Premier League goal of the season against Crystal Palace on Sunday and is scoring at a rate that would surpass the 24 he racked up in Leicester Cityโs title-winning season.
Here’s a nice stat: since Brendan Rodgers first took charge, Vardy is averaging 7.43 FPL points per match. With only Aston Villa and Norwich conceding more shots than Arsenal this season, I see it being a long 90 minutes for the Gunners, in what could be a defining moment for Unai Emery.
Also, a quick word on Wolves. Iโve been pretty down on them in recent weeks due to a lack of creativity going forward, but it was great to see a player I talked up in pre-season, Diogo Jota (ยฃ6.1m), back to his best at the weekend. It was a match where he did everything but score. For anyone who likes Wolves and canโt afford Raรบl Jimรฉnez (ยฃ7.2m), Jota could be a good shout.
Hereโs a look at his shot locations from the Emirates, which is encouraging:
This is how Iโll likely line up heading into Gameweek 12, barring any injuries between now and Friday.
Thanks for readingโฆ until next time.
Tom Freeman – aka avfc82 – comes onto the team to make most of us feel wildly insecure about our overall rank history. A long-time Fantasy Football Scout user, he has finished inside the top 1,000 a staggering five times since 2009.
