For anyone else, it is a standard seven days in the heart of a national lockdown, but for Sky Sports Fantasy Football fanatics, it is it a week filled with optimism, hope and an awful lot of planning.
The second Overhaul is here, a time for change and glances to the future, as pretty much anything goes. Aside from the £100m budget remaining the same, Sky Sports Fantasy Football players can make unlimited changes to their side without them counting towards the 40 they have available for the season.
The Overhaul period runs from Monday 8 February to 12.30pm on Saturday 13 February at 2:30pm.
If you wanted a full team of rampant Manchester City players, you could do it, so long as you are within the £100m budget. Now is the moment to get the edge over your fierce friends in mini-leagues, earn the bragging rights, or even put yourself in contention for the £50,000 jackpot.
For many of us, that may not be a realistic possibility, but with new fixtures on the horizon and plenty of cut-throat decisions to be made, there are some players who should be at the forefront of consideration to make your final Overhaul XI of the campaign.
Ruben Dias – £9.1m
If you haven’t had Ruben Dias in your Fantasy Football XI before now – why? Potentially the signing of the summer, Dias has been the Virgil van Dijk of Manchester City, revitalising their defence and proving exactly why defence wins, or soon can win you, championships.
Since being introduced to Sky Sports Fantasy Football teams, the Portuguese international has racked up 148 points in just 20 games, averaging 7.4 points per match. It is a staggering record, even more so when you consider the fact he has only dipped below five points in four of those 20 matches.
The City centre-half is in 90.9% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football teams, and I still think this ought to increase with the Overhaul just under two days away from finishing. They may play Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but you cannot argue with Pep Guardiola’s defence this campaign, who look assured, resolute and even nonchalant at times.
Raphinha – £6.8m
He is Brazilian, and he only cost £17m. Patrick Bamford (£8.2m), another good option for a Sky Fantasy striker position, said himself that Raphinha was a ‘steal’. Looking at his Fantasy Football price, you could say the exact same. A mere £6.8m for a goalscoring and playmaking midfielder: yes, please.
Raphinha has 39 points from his last four games, which includes two goals, three assists and two Man of the Match awards. You will not get a better player in the game for £6.8m. He now has four goals and five assists for the season already, which leads us to believe that he will have an even better second half of the campaign.
Jack Harrison (£6.9m) could be another Leeds asset worthy of consideration, but the flare and panache of Raphinha is extremely attractive. Again, the selection percentage within the top 1,000 is increasing day-by-day, currently standing at 14.4%.
Jorginho – £8.4m
This may be a surprising inclusion, but Jorginho was once a target for Thomas Tuchel at PSG. N’Golo Kante is expected to come in and play alongside the Italian when fit, but much like Ruben Dias, Jorginho looks like a guaranteed five points per game.
Sure, you have other ‘enablers’ within the game such as Oriol Romeu (£6.9m) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£7.4m), but there is one significant difference between Jorginho and his two competitors: penalties. He was relieved of his duties earlier in the campaign but it appears he has won back spot-kick responsibilities after scoring two in as many games.
The pass-master has registered 34 points in his last four Premier League matches, hitting tier two pass bonus points in all of those. With a top 1,000 selection rate of 10%, the Italian international is an ever-increasing thought on the minds of Fantasy Football players.
Takumi Minamino – £7.2m
This may be a rogue shout, but Takumi Minamino offers a differential option like no other, specifically drawing on the fact he is in only 0.2% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football teams in the Sky game.
The Liverpool loanee scored on his debut for Southampton at St James’ Park, earning eight points, and he was probably unfortunate not to see that figure surpass the double-digit mark. He impressed and I have no doubts that he will continue to feature whenever possible for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Southampton are one of the clubs (alongside Manchester City and Aston Villa to name a couple) who are playing catch-up with the rest of the teams in the Premier League. One of these matches is against Leeds, and they do also have an individual game-day at Everton, providing a wealth of captaincy opportunities.
Robert Sanchez – £6m
Robert Sanchez is the cheapest starting Premier League goalkeeper at just £6m, and he has performed superbly since earning the number one shirt at Brighton. He has tallied 70 points from his 12 starts, with 53 of those coming in his last six outings.
He has not dipped below five points in that stint, keeping four clean sheets and saving a penalty at Manchester City. It is form that has seen an 11% rise in the top 1,000 players recruiting his services, and this is expected to increase further with Brighton’s game-day against Crystal Palace taking place on Monday night.
Whatever your thoughts are on Ederson (£7.9m) or Emiliano Martinez (£6.3m), Sanchez does not only provide the budget option, but he offers you captaincy availability while being great value for money. It then allows the prospect of reinvesting that money elsewhere in your team.
The Overhaul deadline ends on Saturday at 12:30pm, so create or amend your Fantasy Football team here.
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