Fantasy Football Week 8 - All You Need to Know

Gameweek 8 can’t come quick enough following the two week international football break. After Manchester United’s lackluster performance against Stoke City should some of their stars be relegated to the bench? Tottenham’s brilliant win over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City surely warrants some of their players a spot in the starting eleven? What about players from reigning champions Leicester City, who’s title defense isn’t exactly going as convincingly as hoped?

Read more below to see our recent winners and find out our recommendations for who to take and who to bench for the upcoming fixtures!

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Last Week’s Winner!

Last week’s winner was Si Hao Chen’s “The Chels”, who bagged himself £20 in bet365 free bets and most importantly an FST Mug!

FANTASY FOOTBALL WINNER – WEEK 7

Si Hao Chen’s “The Chels”

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— Football Super Tips (@FootySuperTips) October 12, 2016

September’s Winner!

September’s overall winner was Dan Hanson’s “Team dream”, who also scored himself an FST Mug alongside £50 in bet365 free bets! See our transfer in and out recommendations below!

FANTASY FOOTBALL WINNER – SEPTEMBER

Dan Hanson’s “Team dream”

DM us to claim your £50 bet365 Free Bets & FST Mug! pic.twitter.com/IMmkhXbcOM

— Football Super Tips (@FootySuperTips) October 12, 2016

Who to Buy

1. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) – Price: £11.3m

   Though Alexis Sanchez neither scored nor assisted in Arsenal’s 1-0 win away to Burnley last time out, he stays on our list of players worth bringing in. He may be the most expensive midfielder available, but the Chilean international is in peak form and scores five points for each goal instead of the usual four points per goal that a fantasy forward receives. Given that Arsene Wenger is currently playing him as a forward over Olivier Giroud or new signing Lucas Perez, there is a huge advantage to having him in a midfield spot.

   Sanchez has racked up a massive 44 points over his last 5 matches from 4 goals and 3 assists, an average of 8.8 per game, and only 22.4% of teams currently have him selected. His price is on the up, however, so you’d be wise to pick him up quickly, especially when considering Arsenal’s very winnable next three fixtures (Swansea, Middlesborough and Sunderland).

2. Liverpool Midfielders – Price: varied between £6.4m and £9.0m

   Jurgen Klopp is spoilt for choice when it comes to attacking midfielders at Liverpool. Coutinho, Lallana, Mane, and Roberto Firmino are all decent and viable options depending on your fantasy budget. Coutinho is currently the fifth best midfielder overall in Premier League fantasy, however, he tends to either hit or miss. He has scored or assisted in only three of his seven appearances and has only played a full 90 minutes in two matches so far so there is some risk added into the equation.

   Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino is in a similar boat to Alexis Sanchez – he too has mainly be utilised in a forward role. Firmino has played the full 90 minutes in all but one match where he has started (he missed one match to injury) and took away 12 points with one goal and one assist from Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Swansea last time out. Though Liverpool have a tricky match against Manchester United on Monday, our experts fancy the Liverpool win so these players should be sound investments.

3. Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur) and Tottenham Defenders – Price: £7.7m and varied

   Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son has been the talk of much praise in Harry Kane’s absence. Pochettino’s decision to field Son up front against Manchester City turned out to be a wise choice with the South Korean assisting in Deli Alli’s goal which put them 2-0 ahead. He has tallied 4 goals and 2 assists from his last four outings, equating to 43 points in total, an average of 10.75 per match. Despite his hot streak, however, relatively few investors have transferred him in with only 9.7% of teams selecting him.

   Son is a bargain for £7.7m considering that he will likely remain as a forward until Harry Kane’s return, especially as Tottenham’s next two fixtures are against West Brom and Bournemouth.

4. Charlie Austin or Dusan Tadic (Southampton) – Price: £6.3m and £7.2m

   Thanks to the performances of some of the “bigger name” stars over the past matchdays, players such as Charlie Austin and Dusan Tadic have flown under the radar. Charlie Austin has worked his way into Southampton’s starting eleven ahead of Shane Long and his two goals and one assist have tallied up 19 points over the last three matches, an average of 6.33 points per game. Not bad for a striker who costs just £6.3m and is only selected by 4.8% of people.

   Dusan Tadic’s slow but steady grind means he’s another player who very few people have selected. His price has fallen from £7.5m to £7.2m as more and more people transfer him out despite 1 goal and 2 assists earning him 22 points over Southampton’s last four matches, an average of 5.5 points per game. We expect this trend to continue with a match at home to struggling Burnley on Sunday.

5. Wilfried Bony or Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke) – Price: £7.3m and £6.3m

   Though neither of these players have scored or assisted since the opening match of the season, Stoke’s 1-1 draw away to Manchester United last time out is bound give them some momentum in turning their poor form around. Stoke have a “winnable” set of fixtures ahead, with six of the upcoming seven fixtures being rated 2 or lower in the “fixture difficulty rating”. Now would be a wise time to invest in some Stoke players.

   Wilfried Bony has now had plenty of time to settle in and he’ll likely benefit from the creativity of a fully fit Arnautovic, Bojan and Shaqiri trio going forward. As these players are not yet “proven” there is some risk here. However, their moderate price tags do help soften that blow, especially when Stoke start their “easy run” with a fixture at home to Sunderland this weekend.

Who to Bench

1. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

   Many thought the “old” Eden Hazard was back after his strong start to the new season under Antonio Conte. Hazard opened his account with two goals and an assist in Chelsea’s first three matches, which tallied him a massive 25 points. Since then, however, his performances have taken a turn for the worse and are heading back towards the “mediocrity” we saw last season. 8 points over his last four matches is not what you’d expect from the third most expensive fantasy midfielder at £9.9m. 19.5% of people still have him selected but we recommend investing that chunk of your budget in a more inform player.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)

   Zlatan has finally slipped away from the top 2 of all fantasy strikers for the first time after matchday 7. For a star of his caliber, Ibrahimovic’s performances haven’t been up to scratch with just one goal and one assist over his last four matches. Given the current form of some other strikers in the Premier League, we have to question whether his £11.5m price tag could actually be used better elsewhere. Especially when considering United’s wider spread of points since the recent inclusion of Marcus Rashford to the starting lineup.

3. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

   Jamie Vardy is another striker who, though we all love, simply hasn’t been earning enough points for us to warrant his £9.8m price tag. His and Leicester’s much slower start to the season is to fault, though nobody can blame a bit of burnout after they took the Premier League by storm last season. However, memories don’t make up for the lack of points when considering that Chelsea’s Diego Costa, who costs just £0.3m more, has earnt almost twice as many.

4. Alvaro Negredo or Middlesborough Players

   Alvaro Negredo’s and Middlesborough’s strong start to the season has overshadowed their disappointing performances over their last five matches. Negredo earnt 19 points over Boro’s opening two matches against Stoke City and Sunderland, scoring one and assisting two. Since then, however, the Spaniard has contributed nothing and taken just 8 points over his their last five. We find it unbelievable that 19% of people are still holding onto him when they could be trading him out for similar priced forwards such as Southampton’s Charlie Austin or West Brom’s Rondon.

5. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Leighton Baines (Everton), Scott Dann (Crystal Palace)

   All of the above are some of the latest doubtfuls ahead of Gameweek 7, though there are, of course, plenty of other current injuries to be aware of. Leaving doubtful players in your lineup in the hope that they are fit in time is a gamble, but it can sometimes have its reward. If you choose to leave a doubtful player in your lineup and take the risk, then make sure to order your benched players. That way if your doubtful player doesn’t feature, the players you want to be automatically switched for the absent player will be subbed in once all matches are finished.

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— Football Super Tips (@FootySuperTips) 8 August 2016