Welcome to our latest visit to the Weekly Shop, where we will help guide your selections for daily and weekly Fantasy Football squad building, scanning FanDuel’s player list with all ten Gameweek 11 fixtures in mind.
We’re focused on a trio of matches in particular, with the teams involved in all three encounters contributing a batch of players to our shortlist.
The Liverpool midfield have been in swashbuckling form in recent weeks, so it seems very likley that at least one of the Reds will make our line-ups and we may even double-up for the visit of Watford to Anfield.
The Hornets, conversely, provide us with defensive options, both from their backline and in midfield as they look to repel the waves of attacks from Jurgen Klopp’s side.
After a bright start to the campaign, Hull City have slipped into the relegation zone, and that leaves us looking at their bargain defenders for the visit of Southampton.
The Saints, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from defeat to Chelsea, and boast several attackers that demand consideration.
After some stuttering displays, Manchester City’s victory over Barcelona following the 4-0 thrashing of West Brom presents overwhelming evidence that they revitalised as an attacking force.
Weekend visitors Middlesbrough have back-to-back clean sheets and will set out to keep an unlikely third at the Etihad; their defensive picks could certainly prove profitable.
The Better Buys
We start the review of our targets by scanning the options in the top bracket – those players who cost the big money but have the fixtures and form to justify their price tags.
We will be looking to build our FanDuel squads around these assets, relying on them as the main force behind our weekend tallies.
Tom Heaton (£8.1m) is the standout contender for our keeper’s jersey at the top end of the market.
The Burnley skipper’s 57 saves this season is way ahead of Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford, who ranks next on 40. With just four goals conceded in six matches at Turf Moor, it’s difficult to ignore Heaton’s claims ahead of the visit of Crystal Palace.
For FanDuel defenders, we usually target away sides that seem destined to come under sustained attack from their hosts.
Only goalkeepers are rewarded points for clean sheets, so we need to seek out tackles won and clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI’s) as our key source of points from the back.
Watford’s Jose Holebas (6.9m) has been a key source of points over recent weeks, picking up a 26 point FanDuel average across the last four Gameweeks.
The Greek has registered convincing all-round numbers – he’s the top defender for goal attempts (13) and also created nine chances. At Anfield, his defensive duties will be at the fore, though, and with 74 CBI’s and 14 tackles, it’s clear that he can offer potential in that area.
It seems likely that the Middlesbrough defence will be under severe pressure at the Etihad, so we’re looking to draft in George Friend (£7.7m) for our line-ups.
The full-back’s 80 CBI’s recorded is augmented by 25 tackles (worth two points apiece in FanDuel) this term – only team-mate Antonio Barragan (£7m) has won more.
Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann (£8.8m) returned against Liverpool and is in the top four defenders on FanDuel, posting an average of 23.75 points over six appearances.
A trip to Burnley promises sets up a key battle with Sam Vokes and offers Dann the opportunity to exploit his own aerial power at set-pieces: the Clarets have conceded more attempts from set plays (56) than any other side.
In midfield, we’re looking for more traditional sources of points – goals and assists – along with shots on target and chances created.
The Liverpool midfield can provide us with plenty of assets that fulfil those criteria.
Philippe Coutinho (£13.6m) has flourished of late, picking up a goal and a pair of assists in his last two matches.
The underlying numbers over the previous four highlight some the Brazilian’s form: he’s created 13 chances and fired in 16 goal attempts, with seven of those on target. Coutinho now has a 31.4-point average in FanDuel and will be pulling the strings against Watford.
If we need a cheaper option, we may well turn to Sadio Mane, who is available for £9.5m. The Senegalese has netted three of his four goals this term in four league matches at Anfield and created nine chances.
West Ham’s Dimitri Payet (£13.2m) has soared ahead of the midfield pack when it comes to creativity.
The Frenchman is now top for chances created, with 33 over eight outings. Payet is also averaging 3.5 shots and 26 FanDuel points per match.
His opponents Stoke have been more robust of late but have conceded 4.8 attempts per away match from set-pieces, a factor that plays into Payet’s hands.
Southampton’s Dusan Tadic (£9.6m) is another creative force that stands out: he makes the trip to a Hull City side that have suffered six straight defeats.
Team-mate Nathan Redmond (£8.8m) is also worth considering with a slightly stronger FanDuel average (20.07) than Tadic (19.98) and a lower price tag.
Both have had five shots on target over the last four and should gain more opportunities against the Tigers, who have shipped 20 goals in their last six outings.
In attack, we’ve now had our confidence renewed in Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (£16.2m). Following his brace and assist at West Brom last time out, he could be indispensable to our squads ahead of the Etihad meeting with Middlesbrough.
Aitor Karanka’s side should surrender opportunities to a confident City, while Aguero’s 17 goal attempts (eight on target) over the last four trails only Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s (£15.2m) who boasts 25 with ten efforts on target.
Diego Costa’s (£12.3m) is the other form striker on our shortlist.
A total of 16 shots on target from 31 attempts highlight his accuracy so far this term and Costa’s consistency, scoring eight goals in ten matches, is just difficult to ignore.
The Spanish international has also created 12 chances to provide two assists and contributed defensively with 12 tackles and 17 CBI’s.
Costa’s FanDuel average of 30 points is surpassed only by Sunday’s upcoming opponent, Romelu Lukaku (£10.4m and 31), among the FanDuel forwards.
Poundstretchers
Now we delve into the cheaper end of the market across the positions, with a trio of goalkeeper options coming to the fore.
Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo (6.4m) earned his second clean sheet last time and faces a Middlesbrough side that have failed to score in two of their last four on the road.
Pep Guardiola’s reliance on his keeper as an auxiliary outfield player even helps Bravo pick up a few points from his passing.
Loris Karius (5.7m) has not had an ideal start to his Liverpool career, keeping one clean sheet in six, but the German should feel settled after five successive starts for the Reds. His opponents Watford travel to Anfield having scored just once in their last three away matches.
Leicester City have been resilient at home this campaign, keeping three clean sheets in five matches at the King Power Stadium with just two goals conceded.
With Kasper Schmeichel (£7.4m) out for at least a month due to a fractured hand, his deputy Ron-Robert Zieler (£4.5m) looks excellent value for money.
We’re banking on an end-to-end affair of the Emirates, which would promote Spurs’ Jan Vertonghen (£6.6m) as an option.
Keenly priced, the centre-back should improve on a 15.5 FanDuel points average against a potent Arsenal attack. An impressive 17 clearances against Leicester City last time out has helped put him rank fourth for CBI’s this with 125.
We’ve targeted James Tomkins as a potential budget alternative to Scott Dann from the Crystal Palace backline.
Available for just £5.6m, Tomkins has a FanDuel average of 18 points per match over the last six outings. Eight clearances against Liverpool bodes well ahead of the likely aerial battle against Burnley.
John O’Shea’s fitness doubts ahead of a trip to Bournemouth have us considering Papy Djilobodji (£6.8m) from a Sunderland rearguard that will be under fire.
The Senegalese defender has a 19.86 FanDuel average, having impressed earlier in the campaign, and could be good value if, as expected, he starts the clash at the Vitality Stadium.
Marcos Alonso (£5.8m) has been a regular of late in the Weekly Shop, and we just can’t ignore the Chelsea defender while he remains so kindly priced.
Seven clearances and four tackles last time helped accrue a score of 20.5 and, even with Everton as a testing opponent, the Spaniard has to be on our shortlist.
Similarly, midfielder Victor Moses (£5.8m) can’t be overlooked given his price point.
The Nigerian served up an assist at Southampton to add to his recent goal against Leicester City; those actions have contributed to a solid 26.5 point average over last four matches.
We’ve got our eyes on Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal (£6.5m) for the trip to Hull City.
We’ll be checking the Saints line-up for tonight’s encounter with Inter Milan for indication of the Moroccan’s possible involvement at the weekend.
The summer signing is pushing for a first league start after scoring the winner at Sunderland in the EFL cup last week. Boufal’s netted 11 goals and provided four assists in 29 league appearances for the Ligue 1 side last season.
Xherdan Shaqiri’s possible injury absence and Marko Arnautovic’s suspension could see Ramadan Sobhi (£4.3m) pick up a first Premier League start for Stoke at West Ham.
Prior to his move to the Potters, the young winger scored 17 goals and served up 15 assists in 74 outings for El Ahly Cairo.
The Egyptian will be providing service for Wilfried Bony (£5.9m), who finally got off the mark at the bet365 stadium with a brace against Swansea City.
West Ham will be missing defensive stalwart Winston Reid, and that may just help compensate for Stoke’s absentees and provide Bony with opportunities.
Bournemouth will host a porous Sunderland defence on the south coast, which has us considering striker Callum Wilson (£7m).
Three goals from 20 attempts this season and spot-kick duties make Wilson our pick of the Cherries attack.
Finally, Southampton’s Charlie Austin is still available for £6.1m and, while he’s blanked in the last two, he netted four goals in as many matches prior to that spell. The forward looks strong value ahead of the clash at the KCOM stadium.
I will return on Friday with our FanDuel Focus article, revealing just how many of this list made the final cut to take their place amongst my preferred line-up, along with a review of the available contests ahead of the weekend.
