EPL Seasonlong Fantasy Blog: August 2018

Freitag, 10. August 2018

Team Preview: Southampton

Penalties: Austin, Gabbiadini, Bertrand, Ward-Prwose, Davis

Free Kicks: War-Prowse, Elyounoussi, Redmond, Yoshida

Direct Free Kicks: Ward-Prowse, Boufal, Elyounoussi, Davis, Bertrand, Redmond

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Southampton was already a bad choice for fantasy managers last season and since they now also gave Tadic away, I will stay away from them until I can see how Hughes system and their new players evolve. That being said, I kinda doubt that they will end up struggling again. On paper, this is a good team and should end up in the top 10.

Goalkeeper:

McCarthy, 4.5 Mil
Could be a good value pick, will monitor and maybe enter him into my home/away GK rotation.

Defenders:

This is - without a doubt - the best part of their team. You can basically pick them all if the team shows signs of life. All of them have a decent goal threat and Betrand and Soares also assists value.

Midfielders:

It has yet to be seen how this Midfield performs after Tadic has left.

Ward-Prowse, 6 Mil.

Set Pieces upside, now without Tadic even more so. I hope he can fill the void Tadic left.

Ellyounoussi, 6.5 Mil.
If Ward-Prowse, Redmond and him can get some chemistry going, this looks like a juicy fantasy Midfield. This guy is good, or he was, in the Swiss league tho. Let's see how this translates into the EPL. I am not a "THE EPL IS THE BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD" believer, so I think he has a fair chance to leave a mark.

Redmond, 5,5 Mil and Armstrong, 5.5 Mil

Redmond was on of their best last season and I do not expect that this will change, I actually expect him to make 3 digits in fantasy this season. Armstrong comes from the Scottish league and like Ellyounoussi, he needs to prove that he perform in a stronger league.

Forwards:

You know your Forwards suck when Austin is your best goalscorer despite missing most of the season.

Austin, 6 Mil.
Yeah, not a big fan of the Southampton offense, but someone will and has to score and he is still their best bet.

Gabbiadini, 6 Mil.
Send back to Italy please

Ings, 5 Mil
Bad Boy Ings, yeah...no thanks. Someone will probably quote that to me when he scores this weekend.

Team Previews Quick Links:

Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Huddersfield, Leicester, Liverpool, ManCity, Manu, Newcastle, Southampton, Spurs, Watford, West Ham, The 3 Newbies

Team Preview: Newcastle United

Penalties: Ritchie, Gayle, Atsu

Free Kicks: Ritchie, Shelvey, Kenedy, Gayle, Atsu

Direct Free Kicks: Ritchie, Shelvey, Kenedy, Ki, Murphy, Saivet, Atsu

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Newcastle has to fight to stay in this league this year. I am not saying they will be relegated, but it won't be easy for them. At least they decided to get a new Forward. Rondon joined from West Bromwich and should help them to score more goals than last season.

Goalkeeper:

Dubravka, 5 Mil.

Looks like he gets the start. He started end of last season and did a good job.

Defenders:

Fabian Schär, 5 Mil.

Given his goal threat, this is a nice price.

I have to monitor who is starting here. They also bought Fernandez from Swansea. Will revisit after a few weeks into the season.

Midfielders:

Richtie, 6 Mil.
Surely their best asset. He is on all Set Pieces and leads the offensive charge.

Kenedy, 5 Mil.
I think this price is a steal! I love Kenedy and I think he will help them a lot. He was more dangerous than their forwards last season, so keep an eye on him.

Sung-Yong Ki, 5.5 Mil.
The Korean international played for Swansea before, be careful. While he was on some Set Pieces at Swansea, he might not take any here.

Forwards:

Perez, 6.5 Mil.
Had a good end of last season, let's see if he can pick up where he stopped. Goal scoring is Newcastle's biggest issue.

Rondon, 6 Mil.
He is back in the Premier League and I am glad about that. Solid Centre Forward, hard worker, no bullshit. Hope he can score some for the Magpies.

Donnerstag, 9. August 2018

Team Previews: Manchester United

Penalties: Sanchez, Pogba, Mata, Herrera, Lukaku

Free Kicks: Pogba, Sanchez, Mata, Rashford, Lukaku, Young

Direct Free Kicks: Mata, Young, Sanchez, Shaw, Lingard, Herrera, Martial, Rashford

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Quo vadis Manu? A team full of "stars" and an eccentric coach who is too stubborn for success at times. This seasons success also depends a lot on if Sanchez can go back to pre Manu form, last season was very mediocre for a player with his skill set. One of the key factors for last years result was De Gea, he was the reason for their many Clean Sheets, not the defense. Unfortunately, he had a bad off season, he made a bunch of easy mistakes in both, friendly and World Cup matches. I am curious about any possible last minute transfers and Pogba's future under Mourinho.

Goalkeeper:

De Gea, 6 Mil.

Best GK last season, for now I am not paying up for him but he has a decent match-up so I can see players going for him.

Defenders:

Only guy I consider for now is:

Eric Bailly. 5.5 Mil

Waiting for how the Defense will line up and if Young can return to a good form after, in my eyes, a horrible world Cup performance.

Midfielders:

Sanchez, 10.5 Mil.
Yes, he didn't have the best season last year but I expect him to show up this time and lead this team. He has enough talent around him to make it into the top 3 but it will not be easy.

Mata, 6.5 Mil.
If he gets enough playing time, he is a very good pick. His price is way to cheap in my eyes.

Pogba, 8 Mil.

Why do I mention Mata before him? Well, I am not sure about his future at Old Trafford. Yes, the bought Fred and he looks like he is going to play more offense now and yes, he was their best fantasy player last season but Pogba doesn't perform well when he is not happy with his environment. I will monitor the situation before playing him. That being said, I can clearly see people picking 3 Manu guys early on.

Forwards:

Lukaku, 11 Mil.
Yeah, no secret here. He is a star. Not expecting him to start in the first game but after that he will be a regular in my lines. Strong, physical attacker would should see more help by Sanchez this year and therefor more shots.

Rashford, 7 Mil.

Reminds me of Sane at City, can be genius or complete salary waste. His talent is undisputed but he needs more experience and guidance. Possible first game week start if Lukaku does not suit up.

Mittwoch, 8. August 2018

Team Previews: Manchester City

Penalties: Aguero, Gundogan, Mahrez, Jesus, De Bruyne, Sterling

Free Kicks: De Bruyne, Mahrez, D. Silva

Direct Free Kicks: De Bruyne, Mahrez, D. Silva, Sane, Sterling, B. Silva

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Hail the champions! Back to back Champions? Very likely but I guess we will find out. The strongest city ever got even stronger by adding Mahrez for 50. Mil. from Leicester. I am pretty sure he will find his way into the team and make an impact. If not, no problem! There are tons of options to choose from, from GK to Forward, every single player is viable. City had crazy fantasy value last season. 13 players over 100 points on FPL, 2 of them over 200.

The Fanteam scoring is slightly different but in general this is a good indicator of how good this team was last season. Sterling for example had 251 points on Fanteam and De Bruyne 243. De Bruyne will be referred to as KDB in my blog, I am too laze to write his name all the time. :)

Goalkeeper:

Ederson, 5.5
Second best GK last season and I am sure he will repeat or even top his last year result of 212 points. He had 16 Clean Sheets. He does not collect many saves due to City not allowing many goal attempts.

Defenders:

Since I am not a huge fan of elite Defenders in a Seasonlong, I am staying away from City players at the moment. I can see why people would play them, I just think that you can also get CS and Goals from cheaper options and rather use the saved salary for Midfielders/Forwards. I consider those positions more valuable than the defenders in a Seasonlong. You basically would need to nail the goal scoring + CS defenders each week to justify paying up for them.

Midfielders:

Welcome to Fantasy player heaven!

KDB, 10 Mil
Yes, he is my first pick, always. I am sure this season will be better than last for him and his potential is just insane. He should be up there with the likes of Salah, Kane, Aguero. He seems like pure value to me for 10 Mil. IF you play draft league,s that is your first pick if you can manage to snatch him.

Sterling, 10.5 Mil.

I hope that he will "recover" from his stumble World Cup...how annoying it was to watch him. He was the best City fantasy player last season but I think that both, KDB and Aguero, will do better than him this year.

D. Silva, 8.5 Mil.

He might go overlooked but I will for sure look at him whenever he starts.

Mahrez, Sane, Gündogan, B. Silva, Fernandinho. Foden.
They might all end up in one of my lines at some point, but for now they are part of a rotation scheme which I have no clue of, so neither of them will make it in my initial lines.

Forwards:

Aguero, 11 Mil
"Bounce back" candidate. I mean he was never really gone, it was just not his best season ever and I think this year he will will shine. I will lock him in alongside KDB whenever possible.

Jesus, 10.5 Mil

Another player who did not convince me during the World Cup. He could have scored so many goals.
If he plays he is defo a punt play, just a very expensive one. anything less than 2 goals is a bust for that price.

Team Previews: Liverpool

Penalties: Mane, Salah Fabinho, Milner, Firmino

Free Kicks: Henderson, Milner, Alexander-Arnold, Shaqiri

Direct Free Kicks: Oxlade Chamberlain, Milner, Henderson, Salah, Shaqiri, Firmino

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

We are half way through and this is only our second top 6 team, or should I say top 3? ;) I love Liverpool, I love Salah, I love Klopp (I am a huge Dortmund fan) and I love the way he dictates his philosophy onto a team. It is amazing how similar Liverpool and Dortmund played after just 2 seasons under his reign. I also love their new players, every single transfer makes complete sense and will help them attacking City and that is also where I see them in the end, they are contenders for that top spot. They might end up losing that battle but I am sure about the top 3 finish.

Goalkeeper:

Right, I said all the transfers made sense? Well, kind of! I think the transfer amounts for GKs is becoming ridiculous. €73 Million? Srsly? Anyway...

Alisson, 5.5 Mil

It is a fair price but I will not play him since I prefer to have 2-3 Liverpool Midfielders/Forwards on the field most of the times.

Defenders:

Some interesting options here but same issue as with Alisson, I prefer to have Liverpools offensive department in my line. BUT, in some match-ups I will throw in some Dijk, TAA or Robertson/Gomez

Midfielders:

What can I say? Watch the rotation and choose your poison.

Salah, 13 Mil.

Is he expensive? Yes! Is he worth it! Definitely! You will read a lot about second season trouble, man to man coverage, doubling...yeah, that happened all the time last season. And tell me, how many goals did he score? Right...!

Mane, 9.5 Mil
Another great option from this amazing Midfield. Should a team really manage to shut down Salah, then he will be the next threat they will have to deal with. He gains some extra upside due to him being on penalties.

Keita, 7.5 Mil
How happy I am with this addition, he is such a great player and I think he is the perfect match for this team and system. I am not sure about his fantasy production yet so I will choose 6-7 Mil options from other teams over him for now, but if you feel like a Liverpool stack, go for it.

And the rest... There will be lots of rotation and we yet have to see who is taking which Set Pieces so mosf the other players will be week by week decisions. Milner at 5.5 Mil. is always worth a shot when playing.

Forwards:

Firmino, 9.5 Mil.

An Eite Forward in this team with a great price tag! In my opinion a must play in week 1, more than Salah.

Sturridge, 6.0 Mil.
An alternative to King, Woods and other 6/6.5 Mil. Forwards? His pre-season looks impressive so far, he is Liverpools scoring leader there, with 6 Goals and 2 Assists against Manu, Napoli, Torino, Blackburn and Chester. If he plays I am intrigued!

Solanke, 5 Mil
Yeah...no! I mean, whenever he played he looked misplaced to me but on the other hand, when you start upfront, in this team, you will get many balls which will lead to many chances, at some point he might net one.

And I am not gonna mention Ings..

Dienstag, 7. August 2018

Team Previews: Leicester City

Penalties: Vardy, Maddison

Free Kicks: Maddison, Fuchs, Albrighton, Gray

Direct Free Kicks: Albrighton, Maddison, Fuchs, Gray, James

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Mahrez is gone! Yep, that is a big deal for this team and until I have seen what Maddison can do, I am staying away from Leicester. Sure, they have Vardy but I yet have to see if Maddison can feed him or if Albrighton steps up. I am also not a big Schmeichel fan, I think he is very overrated and just another mediocre GK. Their defense has obv. Maguire, which should be highly owned due to his good World Cup performance, but Leicester does not have a Trippier and no Southgate Set Pieces, so I am not sold.

Goalkeeper:

Schmeichel, 5.0 Mil.
I gladly pass and choose a 4.5 Mil. Keeper instead.

Defenders:

Maguire, 5.5 Mil.
Will here and there end up in my lines. Reason to fade him is his "high" ownership.

Midfielders:

Maddison, 6 Mil.
Looks promising but could be a trap, I will wait. Premier League ist not = Championship.

Albrighton, 5.5 Mil

I like him, I also liked him last season but only viable when the match-up is good. Again, I will wait how the Leicester Midfield is going to develop.

Forwards:

Vardy, 9.0 Mil.

Yes, he is a great forward but for 9.0 Mil. he will also be on my waiting list until I have a better idea of where the Leicester Team is going.

Team Previews: Huddersfield Town

Penalties: Mooy, Van La Parra, Löwe

Free Kicks: Mooy, Löwe

Direct Free Kicks: Mooy, Löwe, Palmer, Hefele

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

And here is my 3rd candidate for possible relegation. They won only 3 of their last 20 matches last season. They added some players but none of them excites me. They only kept the class because they did some decent defending and had the 8st most Clean Sheets. This will be a short preview.

Goalkeeper:

Lössl, 4.5

His Clean Sheets came from good defending, his save statistics are not convincing, still he managed to be the highest scoring player in terms of fantasy in his team.I will gladly fade.

Defenders:

Cheap value material, not gonna break them down. At home, vs non top 6 Teams, they can give you salary relief.

Midfielders:

Aaron Mooy, 6.0 Mil
He carried them last season and most likely he will continue to do so. He has some upside due to him being the guy for all the Set Pieces. Will occasionally end up in my lines when the match-up allows it.

Forwards:

Since they were the least dangerous team last season I am gladly skipping their forwards but one should be mentioned.

Mounie, 6 Mil.
He scored 8 Goals and 1 Assist. And that's it.

Team Previews: Everton F.C.

Penalties: Baines, Sigurdson, Tosun

Free Kicks: Sigurdson, Baines

Direct Free Kicks: Sigurdson, Baines, Walcott, Davies

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Year 1 after the Rooney year...lol!
I think it is good for them that he left and the new Coach, Marco Silva, should be able to finally sort out the mess his predecessors left for him. If he can manage to finally define Sigurdson's role on the field and form a team around him, they should be able to pull a top half performance. They most definitely got the weapons to do so.

Goalkeeper:

Pickford, 5 Mil.

Top 10 Goalkeeper last season and I think he will repeat that performance. He only had 8 Clean Sheets but raked up 120 saves, that was the 3rd biggest number of saves last season only after Fabianski and Ryan. I don't expect a significant improvement on Defense for Everton, but he is just a very good GK and will repeat his performance. If they manage to add 1 or 2 CS more this season, he will probably end up in the top 5 GKs.

Defenders:

Their defensive squad is the opposite of value for me. Baines and Coleman are priced at 5.5 Mil. Keane, Martina, Digne are 5.0 Mil and Holgate, Jagielka and Kenny are 4.5. Before I have seen what they can do, I won't have any Everton defense in my lines.

Midfielders:

Sigurdson, 7.0 Mil
Those who read my blog before will know that he is one of my favorites and that I really hated seeing him "suffer" last season. He ran around the field like a headless chicken and so did the Toffees. He dropped from 190 points production at Swansea, to 105 points in way better team. If it wasn't for the Set Pieces, he would have been lost in the number hell with less points than any 4.5 Mil. defensive midfielder. This is my Nr.1 bounce back candidate.

Walcott, 7.0 Mil

Not sure why they have the same price, but ok. He will play his role and he will have a decent season, I just see him slightly below Sigurdson, since he does not have any Set Pieces duties.

Richarlison, 6.5 Mil.

This is a player who might fly under the radar. The former Watford player was someone I tried to use a lot last year but he just couldn't hit the goals despite his great efforts. I thought he played great, was just unlucky with his finishes. I am excited to see him in this team and expect a good year.

Bolasie, 6.5 Mil.
Another good asset with a wrong price. I cannot see me playing him over other players in that price range.

Forwards:

Tosun, 7.0 Mil.

Great forward in a team that will probably do better than last season. He scored 5 Goals in 12 games after he joined Everton in week 23. Could be your 3rd Forward every other week.

Niasse, 5.5 Mil

IF this guy finds a spot in the starting 11, which he SHOULD, then I will play him a lot! I thought he was impressive last season. He only started in 10 games and scored 8 Goals and gave 3 Assists. I expect him to keep this pace. Great price!

Calvert-Lewin, 5.5 Mil

Another talented forward. Will monitor him while the season progresses but for now he would take the back seat behind Niasse for me.

Montag, 6. August 2018

Team Previews: Crystal Palace

Set Pieces Takers:

Penalties: Milivojevic, Benteke, Wickham

Free Kicks: Milivojevic, Puncheon, van Aanholt

Direct Free Kicks & Corners: Townsend, van Aanholt, Puncheon

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

After starting pretty bad last season, they managed to turn the ship around and had an impressive last few games. Roy Hodgson did a very good job revamping this team. They made 2 additions to their Midfield for this season. Kouyate came from West Ham and Max Meyer from Schalke 04, Germany. Meyer is only 22 years of age and already played for the German national team when he was 18. He did not live up to the hype he created back then and his name was forgotten. I am curious about what he can do in the Premier League since he is actually a real talent. Kouyate will provide more stability in their defensive Midfield which will allow them to aim for more than their 9 Clean Sheets they had last season.

Goalkeepers:

For now I am guessing that Hennessey, 4.5 Mil. will get the start over Guaita and Speroni but since they all have the same price, It will be easy to swap around if needed. I like Hennessey as a pick all season long. He made 110 points in 29 games and had 7 CS to his name. I expect that number to be higher this season.

Defenders:

Whenever I drafted a team for this season, I ended up with at least one Defender from this team, they have some intriguing options.

Van Aanholt, 5.5 Mil

I expect him to have a great season. He is also a goal threat when it comes down to Set Pieces and and he might get a share from their Corners and Free Kicks.

Tomkins and Sakho, 5 Mil.

Tomkins scored 3 goals last season and together they managed to get 4 Clean Sheets at the end of the season. Pretty much a coin flip between those two..or maybe you play them both in certain match-ups.

Midfielders:

Milivojevic, 7.0 Mil.

His upside comes from taking their Penalties. Last season he scored 7 and missed 1. Overall he scored 10 goals. In this price range I have other favorites but there will be match-ups where you want to pair him with Zaha.

Townsend, 6.0 Mil.

Is worth a look if he keeps delivering the Corners. He competes with Xhaka, Gudmundsson, Mooy, Ritchie and Mouthino(and some) at this price range, so he is a very match-up depending pick.

McArthur, 5.0 Mil.

He had 2 Assists and 5 Goals last season and he is cheap. Pre season also indicates that he is in good shape(1 Goal, 3 Assists).

Meyer, 6.5 Mil.

The reason he is last in this list is, that I don't know his role in the team yet. The surely has the talent but can he proof it? He is someone to be monitored and snatched when he starts delivering.

Forwards:

Zaha, 7.5 Mil.

The spear head of this team. I am going that far to say that if they would have sold him, this team would have lost its class. For now I cannot find a better Forward in that salary range. There is Giroud for 8 Mil...and below him are Tosun, Arnautovic, Rashford, Wood, Welbeck, King, Murray, Perez.... That is a list of pure goal scoring value and players that might not even make the starting 11 every week.

Benteke, 6.5 Mil.

A player I considered "overdue" every week last season and he let me down, week after week. That being said, he missed out on around 20 big chances, some call it unlucky I call it lack of focus. I hope he can get his focus back but for now I will gladly pass on him.

Sörloth, 5.0 Mil

A value option when he starts. Looks good stats wise, just did not convert last season. He did score during pre season though, 2 Goals and 3 Assists.

Team Previews Quick Links:

Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Huddersfield, Leicester, Liverpool, ManCity, Manu, Newcastle, Southampton, Spurs, Watford, West Ham, The 3 Newbies

Freitag, 3. August 2018

Team Previews: Chelsea Football Club

Penalties: Hazard, Fabregas, Willian, Morata
Free Kicks: Alonso, Luiz, Willian, Fabregas
Direct Free Kicks and Corners: Fabregas, Willian, Pedro, Hazard

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

Our first preview of a team that most likely finishing in the top 6. The 5th place finish last season made both, Chelsea officials and fans, very unhappy. They got rid of Conte and hired another Italian Coach, Maurizio Sarri instead, who brought a €50 Million transfer with him, Jorghino. Most likely the heart of the coaches philosophy "Sarry-ball". A 4-3-3 the heavily relies on possession and high pressing. He made Napoli score 94 goals while only conceding 29 . Let's see what he can do with the player pool he will find at Chelsea. It looks like they are not adding any other players to their squad before the season kicks off.
I am not sure if Fabregas can still play such a physically demanding tactic and who is going to join Hazard in that front 3? There is fantasy upside though! Sarri does not rotate much, so if there are no injuries, then the starting 11 will not change. The starting 11 of Napoli played at least 30 games in the league.

Goalkeeper:

Cuortois, 5.5 Mil.
A top 5 GK last season with 15 Clean Sheets and 77 Saves and he is very likely to repeat this performance. I personally find him overrated but he plays behind a very solid defensive line that should be even better this year. If you have 5.5 Mil. left, go for it.

Defenders:

I am a bit clueless with their Defense due to the new Coach. Alonso and Azpilicueta were used as wingers under Conti and had lots of impact on the offensive power of Chelsea. They accounted for 13 Goals and 8 Assists. The other defenders also put in some work: Moses, 3 Goals and 6 Assists, Rüdiger, 2 Goals and 1 Assist, Luiz 1 Goal, 2 Assists and Zappacosta ,1 Goal and 1 Assist and even Emerson had 1 Assist. That adds up to 20 Goals and 19 Assist by the Defenders, very impressive numbers.

I don't want to name any players here until Sarri revealed how this "new" Chelsea is going to play. Should Azpilicueta and Alonso lose their forward thrive, then I can't pay 6.5 Mil. for them. Just a quick comparison: Alonso averaged a chance every 44 minutes and he had 101 penalty box touches under Conte, while Napoli Left back, Mario Rui, had 13 penalty box touches (in 25 games) and averaged a shot every 298 minutes under Sarri.

If he industrializes them the same way Conte did, you basically get 2 Midfielders with Clean sheet upside for 6.5 Million. Suddenly I am happy to pay that amount. Let's wait and see.

Midfielders:

Hazard, 10.5 Mil.
No Brainer! Put him in when the match-up is favorable, good pivot away from Man City picks. Played an amazing World Cup and I expect that he will have a better season than last year. He finished with 168 points on Fanteam last year. In 2016 he had 228, so there is room for improvement. At the same time I expect some City players to lose a bit of their upside due to the new players and a constant rotation by Pep. That makes him even more interesting to me.

Willian, 8 Mil.
Probably my least favorite pick but most likely because he burned me so many times last season or went through the roof when I ignored him. I think there is better value for that price but for days where you want a Chelsea stack, he is definitely an option.

Fabregas, 6.5 Mil.
If he plays, he is gold. Only Özil created as many chances for his teammates last season. And he is 2 Million cheaper than Özil. BUT he went from 127 points in 2016 to 107 in 2017 so better monitor the development in Chelsea before putting him in your team.

Forwards:

....well...

*cough* Giroud... *Cough Cough*

GIROUD, 8 Mil.

There I said it! Giroud is a forward...on paper. I just don't think that he is a good fit for this team ... or for any team, really. :D
Sorry! Maybe he surprises me...I started laughing when I typed that.

Morata, 9 Mil.
Now THAT is a forward! He scored 11 last year but I feel like I don't get enough value from him for 9 Mil. When you look at the Forwards above and below him in terms of salary, you will find better picks in my opinion. But in the right match-up he might be an option.

Team Previews: Burnley Football Club

Penalties: Barnes, Vokes, Wood
Free Kicks: Brady, Hendrick
Direct Free Kicks and Corners: Brady, Gudmundsson

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

After finishing 7th last year, right behind the "great 6", Burnley managed to qualify to the European Cup. This is a blessing and curse at the same time. Last season Burnley already had a slower second half of the season, only keeping a Clean Sheets 3 times while they kept 8 in the first 19 games. I expect that to happen on a greater scale, due to playing one more competition with the same squad. I am surprised that they did not get active on the transfer market and I hope it does not backfire, as I took a liking to the team over the past 2 years. I think they are doing some solid work and I hope that this European adventure does not break their neck.

Goalkeeper:

For now it looks like Pope is injured and Heaton takes over. He had a decent 2016 campaign but only played the first 3 games of the last season. Burnley had 11 Clean sheets, I expect that to go down to 8-9. He is not my first choice in the keeper position for 5.0 Mil.

Defenders:

Due to their good performance last season, Mee, Tarkoswki, Ward and Lowton got bumped to 5. Mil. which makes them a little bit less attractive to me. We still got Long for 4.5 Mil. Burnley does have "easy" first 7 weeks, so I can see me playing one or two of those guys.

They will play Watford at home, Fulham away, Manu at home, Wolves away, Bournemouth at home, Cardiff away, Huddersfield at home before they have to travel to Etihad.

Midfielders:

The Burnley Midfield might look boring on first glance, but Gudmundsson, Brady(Lennon), Hendrick and Co. put up some good numbers last season. The spear head was Gudmundsson as their Nr.1 Set Pieces taker. He had 2 Goals and 9 Assists. Brady got hurt early in the season which makes it even more surprising that they had such a good run.

Gudmundsson, 6.0 Mil.

Their main threat and he comes at a great price, I will play him many times this season. He is in my "6. Mil." rotation. What I like about him is that he is match-up proof. He performs equally well (Fantasy points wise) against good and bad opponents, mostly because of the Set Pieces obviously. Monitor if he keeps the delivering those Set Pieces since Brady returns.

Brady, 5.5 Mil.

Yeah, this is supposed to be the second possible pick in their Midfield but this has yet to be seen. He was injured most of the season so I will monitor his performance before putting him into my lines.

Forwards:

Here comes your budget relief!

Wood, 6.5 Mil.

What can I say? 10 Goals, 1 Assist. the right addition when you roll Gudmundsson.

Barnes, 6 Mil.

9 Goals last season, no Assists, a pure punt play. Pick wisely.

Team Previews: Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

Penalties: Gross, Murray, Hemed, Locadia

Free Kicks: Gross, Knockaert, March, Stephens

Direct Free Kicks: Gross, Knockaert, Suttner, March, Stephens, Bruno, Kayal

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

This is only my third preview and I am already mentioning possible relegation for the second time. If BHA cannot step up their away performance (only 11 points on the road and only 10 goals scored) it might be there last Premier League season for now. They were never really in trouble last season but in the end they were only 4 points away from the relegation zone.

Goalkeeper:

Mathew Ryan, 4.5 Mil.

I am wondering how much time of his life he has wasted on telling people "That's Mathew, one t only".

Anyway, he was the 5th best Goalkeeper on Fanteam(165 points) and FPL(145 points) last year with 10 CS and 123 Saves which is the 2nd highest amount of saves right after Fabianski.

Defenders:

4.5 Mil

Dunk, Duffy and Bong, also Bruno and newly acquired Balogun and Bernado

4.0 Mil

Suttner and Schelotto

Dunk and Duffy actually had a decent amount of SOGs, 27/24 but only managed to score 1 Goal from that. You might throw in one of them when they play at home in a decent match-up.

We yet have to monitor the new players. Bernardo seems to be more of a midfielder so if they play him as a winger and he has decent production, then his price is suddenly good value with his assist/scoring upside on top of the CS possibilities.

Midfielders

Gross, 7.0 Mil

He carried the team with 7 Goals and 8 Assists and I assume that this wont change much. He is the Nr. 1 Set Pieces taker and dictates the pace of this team.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh, 7.0 Mil

The club actually invested €19 Million into this player. I saw him first during the World Cup, playing for his country Iran. He came from Alkmaar (Netherlands) and scored 34 Goals in 85 games for them. He scored 2 hat trick's last season and finished with 21 Goals and 12 Assists. Most likely we will see him on the wing. I am careful with new players in my initial team so better not jump on him before his role has been defined and we have a better idea of how good/bad BHA is going to be this year.

Here and there Izquierdo, 6.0 Mil, Knockaert, 5.5 Mil, Stephens, 5.0 Mil, and March, 4.5 Mil, had a good game but none of them really look attractive to me, fantasy wise.

Forwards

Murray, 6.5 Mil

Old but gold? I don't think so!

He turns 35 soon and I have seen anvils moving faster. That being said, he is still a pure forward and will score...eventually. But he is nothing else than a punt in a good match-up. Half of his Goals last year came in away games on counter attacks...I guess experience beats speed?

Locadia, 5.5

He only played 6 games last season and scored 1 Goal. Before that he played 127 games for Eindhoven and scored 45 Goals for them. While he played in every underage national team for the Netherlands, he did not make it into the senior national team as of now. I want to see more of him before I put him in one of my lines.

Andone, 5.5 Mil

I already followed this guy a bit when he was still playing at Deportivo La Coruna. Nothing impressive but that is what you get for 6 Million nowadays. Marco van Basten's price was 600k Pound when he left Ajax for Milan, times have changed I guess. :)

Donnerstag, 2. August 2018

Team Previews: AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth

Penalties: Defoe, King, Wilson, Stanislas, Arter

Free Kicks: Stanislas, Arter, Fraser

Direct Free Kicks: Ibe, Fraser, Surman, Stanislas, Daniels, Arter, Pugh

Credit to: https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk

We might be looking at a team that goes down to the Championship. I know that their stats were not bad at all if you look beyond Goals, Errors leading to Goals, Assists etc. but I don't think this is enough to compete in this league. Only 11 points separated them from Swansea and I don't see them trending upwards without any significant transfers.

Goalkeeper:

Begovic had 6 CS last year and scored 137 points. I expect around the same amount for this year. There are lots of better keepers for 4.5 Mil. I can only see me playing him once or twice this season when my salary wont allow for a more expensive one and the better keepers have shitty match-ups.

Defenders:

They bought Diego Rico, 4.5 Mil. from Leganes and just like the Cherries, they weren't known for a stable defense last season.

We also have N. Ake, 5.0 Mil. S. Cook, C. Daniels and Francis(all 4.5 Mil). None of them excites me, we will find better alternatives with the same price tag somewhere else. But some Cherry fan will play them, I am sure!

Midfielders:

You might throw in some Bournemouth midfield once in a while to support their forwards. Pick your poison once it is has become more clear who is going to take the set pieces. Like this its a mess.

Stanislas, 6.0 Mil.

Yes, he is a viable pick once in a while and most likely on Set Pieces.

J. Ibe, 5.5

Talented, still Bournemouth.

R. Fraser, 5.5 Mil.

Good winger, one downside -> plays in Bournemouth.

just like Surman and Cook and Pugh or Arter. Cheap...but cheap for a reason. But sometimes you need to squeeze in a 4.5 or 5 Mil. player and you might find him here.

Forwards:

YES! finally some "quality"!

King,6.5 Mil., Wilson, 6.0 Mil and Defoe, 6.0 Mil.

All of them are decent forwards...but, you know...they play for Bournemouth.

That being said, I might consider King or Wilson for my week one line..BUT WHY SASCHA?? WHY??? First off, the match-up. They play at home vs Cardiff, bit of an unknown entity to me, but it should be possible to score a goal or two.

Second, there is not much choice "down there". I cannot go more expensive due to not wanting to drop my Studs. So what is left at the same price or slightly cheaper? Let's have a look, shall we?

Glenn Murray, away...right

Chris Wood...away

Chicharito..in Liverpool

Bente...ehm ya...I almost considered him..NOT

Perez...vs Spurs..maybe not

6. Mil

Mounie...vs Chelsea, no thanks

Fat boy Deeney...hmm I can see that vs Brighton -> possible pick week 1

Iheanacho vs Manu...naaaaah

Llorente at Newcastle, he scored well in the friendlies, possible pick if he starts

Austin...muahahahah...I'd rather play with 10 players.

Gayle...vs Spurs, that would be a desperation punt

5.5 Mil

Niasse at Wolves...maybe, but I do like me some Wolves so no.

Whoever plays upfront for Wolves might be a possible pick...did I already mention that I like the Wolves this season? If Jota plays upfront, you'd have to spend 6.5 Mil. still good I think.

As you can see, you can make some valid points for playing Bournemouth Forward(s) in week 1. And that's it from Bournemouth. not a very exciting site to me but could give you the cheap options you need here and there.