The Sky Sports Fantasy Football Overhaul is here, meaning unlimited transfers can be made until Saturday 17 October without eating into your allocation of 40 for the season.
For some, their team may be set in stone and ready for domestic football’s return, but for others, crucial decisions are still to be made and Fantasy Football watchlists are to be narrowed down before the next deadline.
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We’ve picked out five players who could make your starting XI below.
Harry Kane (£11.7m)
The statistics do the talking with Harry Kane. With three goals and six assists to his name, the England captain has already hit the half-century mark in terms of Fantasy Football points after just four matches. Kane leads the way with 50, the most in the game.
A hefty 40 of these came against Southampton and Manchester United alone, with the Tottenham Hotspur talisman now finding himself in 60.2% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football teams ahead of the Overhaul period.
Kane said himself after the Manchester United result that the ability to drop deeper has always been a part of his game, so this could be seen more often in the coming weeks. Assists, as well as goals, could become synonymous with the addition of Kane into your Fantasy XI: the England striker is ranked fifth among Premier League players for key passes in 2020/21 and top for big chances created.
The most promising aspect coming out of the Overhaul is quite simply Spurs’ fixtures. Jose Mourinho’s side face West Ham, Brighton, Burnley and West Brom in their next four, which presents an opportunity for Kane to extend his gap at the top of the points chart.
Jack Grealish (£8.5m)
You could have taken your pick of players from Aston Villa’s drubbing of champions Liverpool last weekend but Jack Grealish is the one who will bring you consistent averages, week on week. He was Villa’s highest point scorer in Fantasy Football last year and you should expect that stat to stay the same this term.
The English international posted an incredible 25 points against Liverpool, thanks to his two goals and three assists. This was after he scored against Fulham the week before and he had gone mightily close to doing likewise against Sheffield United, so again he is proving it on a consistent basis.
Grealish’s ownership figure (23.13%) makes him the fourth-most selected midfielder in the game, and for good reason. With fixtures against Leeds United, Southampton, Brighton and Hove Albion and West Ham United featuring in Villa’s next six and plenty of appealing matches beyond that point, Dean Smith’s side could build on their 100% start – and Grealish will be well placed to capitalise with more Fantasy points.
Karl Darlow (£6.2m)
The Newcastle shot-stopper’s man-of-the-match performance against Tottenham Hotspur was the highlight of the season so far from a goalkeeping perspective in Sky Fantasy. If there was a threshold for tier three save bonus points, Karl Darlow would have reached it, but earning a point for Steve Bruce’s side away at Tottenham will have done just fine.
Aside from this, Newcastle’s clean sheet on the opening day at West Ham landed Darlow with another eight points.
Despite his lowly price of £6.2m (only Illan Meslier (£6.1m) costs less among playing goalkeepers), Darlow is ranked second for points among Premier League custodians and he could be a potential bargain buy following the international break.
Although Newcastle face Manchester United, Wolves and Everton in their next three, you would still expect Darlow to register bonus points alongside a potential shock clean sheet.
The obvious caveat is that Martin Dubravka (£6.7m) isn’t expected to be sidelined for too long – but Darlow’s form is such (he has the best save percentage in the division) that the Slovakian may have a fight on his hands to reclaim his place.
James Rodriguez (£8.9m)
Much has been said about James Rodriguez since his arrival at Goodison Park, particularly within these Fantasy Football articles. The last time Rodriguez was mentioned, he had a goal and an assist to his name – fast forward the clock and the Colombian has now netted three goals and set up another two, collecting a pair of man-of-the-match awards in the process.
Rodriguez is the most-selected midfielder aside from big hitters Kevin De Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes, with 24.55% of Fantasy Football teams recruiting him thus far.
A Merseyside derby awaits Rodriguez next, so he will have to be at his very best after the long trip back from South America to keep his ownership percentage so high. Southampton and Newcastle follow, so there is as good a case as any to bring in and keep the silky midfielder in your team for weeks to come.
Ruben Dias (£9.1m)
You will not transfer in a better player, for the price of £9.1m, than Ruben Dias of Manchester City. Although there has been an abundance of shocks, goals and penalties so far this campaign, many forget that Ederson walked away with the Golden Glove in 2019/20, so there is no doubt that Manchester City will keep clean sheets again this year.
The signing of Dias from Benfica for £65m will bolster the sometimes frail defence of the Citizens, as Pep Guardiola identified the Portuguese international to be the final piece of the puzzle. Partnering Aymeric Laporte against Leeds, Dias looked composed and eager to impress on his debut.
As well as clean sheet potential, the possibility of attacking returns from set plays and likely passing bonus points furthers his appeal.
Dias twice got his head to the ball from corner-kicks at Elland Road and was unfortunate not to see one of those efforts nestle in the back of the net.
To leave you with one bit of general advice: your Overhaul team should be planned with the long-term fixture schedule in mind, with a couple of differentials and cheap picks thrown in to make all the difference in your mini-leagues.
3 years, 6 months agoGtg bar injuries? 0itb.
--Martinez
--Robbo--Mitchell--Chilwell
--Salah--KDB--Jrod--Barnes
--Bamford--CL--Kane.
---Nyland--Burke--Lamptey--KWP.
Thanks guys.