Fantasy Eliteserien 2018 – Gameweek 5 Preview

Gameweek 4 served up a bumper set of double fixtures, with many Eliteserien managers racking up some huge scores. Another round of double encounters looms in Gameweek 6 but ahead of that we have some respite with this weekend and Monday’s single collection of matches.

Even though this set of fixtures is sandwiched between two pivotal Gameweeks, it should still offer Fantasy managers plenty of opportunity to accrue points.

Gameweek 5 matches

IK Start – Vålerenga
(Saturday, 5:00 P.M.)
After a brilliant opening match at home against Tromsø, Start have lost two games in a row. Despite scoring only one goal in those two, Start have looked like a team capable of scoring goals. Kabran looks like the major threat, while Floki seems to be nailed on up front. Sigurdarson is on most set pieces, but has been the first player to be subbed out of the front players.

Vålerenga will hope to bounce back after a terrible game against Strømsgodset. Johnson is worth monitoring going forward.

Molde – Lillestrøm
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
Molde had a terrible game against Rosenborg and were put down to earth again. With two scrappy wins against Haugesund and Tromsø in the previous gameweeks as well there are question marks over how good they are. Rotation is likely as well after last gameweeks horror show. Linde should still be a safe pick. Lehne Olsen and Knudtzon have been among the top scorers over the first four gameweeks, and are being overlooked by a lot due to the double gameweeks. This is probably not the best week to bring them in, but long term they are definitely viable options.

Ranheim – FK Haugesund
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
Ranheim pulled an impressive comeback late against Sandefjord away and secured their second win in three games. Neither team looked particularly impressive though, and Ranheim were also tore apart by Tromsø in their first game in the previous gameweek. Tønne still looks like a great option, he was just inches away from scoring against Sandefjord after going around the goalkeeper.

Haugesund have enjoyed a surprisingly good start to the season and have given us a few good options. Akintola currently looks like the prime pick, as he’s been involved in most of their goals and has caught our eye with his great dribbling.

Sandefjord – Kristiansund BK
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
Sandefjord still looks like prime candidates to go down, despite their 1-4 win away against Start in Gameweek 3. Last time out they were incredibly lucky to get a draw against Stabæk at home, before they gave away a 1-0 lead at home against Ranheim. We can’t see any Sandefjord assets worth keeping.

Kristiansund played a cynical away game against Brann and almost got away with a point. Their defensively minded approach could mean McDermott is the prime pick from the 4.5 bracket. Gjertsen surprisingly missed out with an injury, he’s worth monitoring. Stokke is also back for Kristiansund.

Stabæk – Tromsø
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
This tie includes two of the most interesting Eliteserien teams right now. Stabæk’s Ohi should be a prime option ahead of the double in Gameweek 6, as should Brochmann who scored his first goal of the season against Sandefjord. They also offes a bunch of budget options, like Vetlesen (4.4) who have been given a more advanced role as a wide central midfielder in a 4-3-3 instead of a holding midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 and Granli (4.0) who seems to have nailed down the right back spot and is also on corners from the left hand side.

As last year, Tromsø was the team who delivered most points during the double Gameweek. Playing attractive attacking football, they scored seven goals over the two fixtures. Åsen was the man of the week with a monster 30 point haul, scoring two, assisting three and three bonus in both games. Antonsen, their out of position defender playing in midfield, scored one and assisted one, while wingback Nilsen also got a goal. Berntsen is emerging as the prime budget pick, as the 5.0 midfielder is fielded up front and looks to be in great form. After assisting a goal in his debut against Molde, he scored a goal and picked up a total of five bonus points over the double. A honorable mention to Gamst, who had two great games from his holding midfield role, and picked up three bonus points.

Strømsgodset – Odd
(Sunday, 5:00 P.M.)
Strømsgodset are a team we are struggling to place right now. They played a perfect away game against Vålerenga in a 4-1 win, before they were completely outplayed by Tromsø in a 1-3 loss. Pedersen looks like he’s capable of winning the golden boot, while we had two disappointing games from the prime midfielders Jradi and Ulland Andersen.

Odd got their first win of the season against Bodø/Glimt after a brilliant Ruud free kick, but still doesn’t look like a team likely to score a lot of points. Kitolano still a good pick at 4.5, while Risa is worth monitoring as he’s starting up front in the absence of Børven.

Sarpsborg 08 – Brann
(Sunday, 7:00 P.M.)
Two of the top teams meet up in the late game on Sunday. On paper this looks like a tight match with few chances. Sarpsborg were surprisingly outplayed by Haugesund away and should be fairly happy to get away from that clash with a point. Schwartz looks like a good pick if he can nail down that striker spot over Agger.

Brann scored a deserved winner seven minutes into injury time after an Acosta header. They definitely look like a solid team, but they also look more likely to keep clean sheets than score a lot of goals. Despite the tough matchup, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a clean sheet for Brann here. Rolantsson is worth monitoring as he keeps starting out wide. Wormgoor and Teniste the safe picks, who both offers attacking returns and bonus potential.

Bodø/Glimt – Rosenborg
(Monday, 6:00 P.M.)
Rosenborg came back in a big big way last round, while Bodø/Glimt had their big goalscorer come off with injury, a heavy cramp they are now racing to get completely rid of for monday. Given the season injury on their second choice striker as well, this leaves Bodø/Glimt looking somewhat toothless, and a re-invigorated Rosenborg are huge favorites for this Monday night game. We are looking at the right flank to provide points in Helland and Hedenstad, as well as backing a clean sheet in Hansen and Reginiussen.

Rosenborg’s Tactical Shift Worth Monitoring

One of the huge discussion-points from this last gameweek is the resounding win Rosenborg pulled out at home against previously undefeated Molde. Though much can be explained with the players adding that extra few percentages to the effort on the pitch, there was a huge tactical change worth looking into, in Nicklas Bendtner taking up the left flank, allowing them to field both super-strikers Bendtner and Søderlund up top. With the ill effects of Bendtner’s wandering playstyle neutralised in this way, and also setting up both him and Søderlund as big targets for the crosses from Helland and Hedenstad, Rosenborg looked to be back in that unbeatable form they have sported these seasons passed.

The big question now is, will Rosenborg keep playing in this manner, and what does that do for the Fantasy options in the squad?

Bendtner finding his stride is a big one, with a huge ownership already invested he is once again a danger to those who don’t have him. A continued presence on the left side will dull his prospects as the prime goal scorer, so the price tag is somewhat high now, and the weigh-up vs. ownership gets even tougher than before.

The formation opens up Søderlund as an option, and with him taking the main striker position possibly the best option for strikers. Søderlund is no stranger to the Norwegian golden boot, and is more than capable of pulling out brace and hat-trick performances.

Of most interest is perhaps the added value to Helland and Hedenstad as solid fantasy picks. Helland has always been a big goal and assist threat on his own, and with two big strikers to aim for he should find his target more often than before. The same could be said for Hedenstad, who seems to have unlocked his combination play with Helland to become an equally dangerous threat. That they both share set piece duty also helps, with the likes of Reginiussen, Konradsen and new arrival Hovland bolstering the power present in the box at corners and free kicks.

Alas, this all depends on Rosenborg adapting this tactic full time or not, so all eyes are following them in the coming two Gameweeks before we might see another big push for double or triple ownership in the team.

Scout Picks

As before, these are our best eleven for this round alone, with no regard to the upcoming gameweeks or any chip play.

Niemi’s picks for Gameweek 5

Linde
Hedenstad – Glesnes – Rolantsson
Helland (K) – Åsen – Brochmann – Kabran
Pedersen – Ohi – Braut Håland

MrKlin’s picks for Gameweek 5

Linde
Hedenstad – Haugen – Teniste – Askar
Helland – Akintola – Åsen – Aasmundsen – Kabran
Bendtner(K)

Key Links

Official source for lineups, normally 1hr 15m before kick off.