Billy Lumsden picks out three differential options to consider bringing into your Sky Sports Fantasy Football team for the remainder of the campaign.
The end of the season is in sight but there are still places to fight for on the leaderboard and in mini-leagues, and the fixtures are there to be taken advantage of.
Some clubs’ schedules look more generous than others, while the individual game days provide teasing and tempting captaincy choices.
Thiago Silva – £9.2m
Thiago Silva has accrued 121 Sky Sports Fantasy Football points from just 17 Premier League starts this season, racking up an impressive 7.1 points per game. The injury he sustained at Tottenham Hotspur has kept him out for seven matches but Silva could be in line to make his return at home to West Bromwich Albion, fitness – and Thomas Tuchel – permitting.
The Brazilian centre-half has hit double-figure hauls on eight occasions this season, and where there is a clean sheet, there are usually tier two bonus points. With Chelsea to play West Brom, Crystal Palace, Brighton, West Ham and Fulham in their next five, now could be the time to strike, not only with the former PSG man but Chelsea defenders in general.
Currently in 0% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football teams, Silva provides a real differential pick for the latter stages of the season. His nonchalance and experience at the heart of the Chelsea defence could be invaluable if they are to consolidate that top-four position and continue to strive towards that Champions League final.
Jesse Lingard – £7.2m
Since joining West Ham, Jesse Lingard has contributed to eight goals in only seven starts, finding the net on five occasions and assisting three strikes for David Moyes’ side. Off the back of these performances, the Manchester United loanee has earned another England call-up, featuring in all three of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup qualifying matches.
Lingard has tallied 66 points from his seven starts at the Hammers, notching just under 10 points per game in that spell. This includes four double-digit hauls, three Man of the Match awards and a 20-point debut against Aston Villa. A rich vein of form indeed – and all at only £7.2m.
His ownership figure is increasing, too. He is in 7.6% of the top 1,000 Sky Sports Fantasy Football teams but with a decent opportunity to captain him further down the line when West Ham face Newcastle, as well as matches against Burnley, Brighton and West Brom in the pipeline, he looks a shrewd acquisition.
Conor Coady – £8.1m
Conor Coady is fresh back from England duty, where he impressed once again. There could be more joy for him with Wolves’ fixture list in mind: clean sheets, and even a goal or two, could be in the offing for the centre-back.
West Ham, Fulham, Sheffield United, Burnley, West Brom and Brighton are who Wolves will face in their next six matches. With Coady recently admitting that his side are targeting set pieces more, there could be points in abundance for the Wolves captain and any of his teammates coming up for dead-ball situations.
A mere 0.3% of the top 1,000 Sky Sports Fantasy Football managers currently have Coady in their team and these high flyers look to be ahead of the trend. Those fixtures are too generous to pass up on, when combining the single game days at Fulham and other noticeable captaincy days like West Ham and Sheffield United.
