Hi everyone.
Another gameweek is looming large, and you have one more day to tinker with your fantasy squad. That means looking back on the last gameweek, the fixtures to come, and assessing your best options in different areas. Starting with…
Forwards
If the last week taught us anything, it’s that Aguero is still a top forward. I have never hid my admiration for the Argentine (occasional malevolent fouls/dives aside). Pep seems to have settled on a striker duo, meaning both Aguero and Jesus will get regular minutes. For now.
City face Crystal Palace at home next, a team not only yet to garner a point, but also yet to score a goal! Interestingly enough, Palace created 10 big chances (more than Tottenham – 9), while also putting 14 shots on target over the first 5 games – more than 8 other teams. They are bound to start scoring at some point.
Luckily for us, we are more interested in City’s attacking potential for now. Aguero and Jesus against the team dead bottom of the league are bound to deliver – so go for one of them, depending on your spending capability.
Elsewhere only Lukaku looks a safe bet, though naturally he won’t be cheap. United come up against Southampton – a team which has done quite well in defence with 3 clean sheets and only 4 goals conceded. Only United themselves kept more clean sheets (4), and only 4 teams conceded fewer than Soton – Huddersfield, West Brom and both Manchester clubs. Despite a kind run, Lukaku is still joint top with Aguero in goals scored.
Unlike Harry Kane. After a brace vs Everton the Englishman drew another blank, this time against Swansea. West Ham, Huddersfield and Bournemouth are up next for Spurs. However if I had him in my squad, he’d be gone by now. Lukaku and Aguero are certainly proving to be more consistent and cheaper options.
Key man: Gabriel Jesus (10.5 mil)
Ace up your sleeve: Jamie Vardy (8.5 mil)
Midfield
Here things get decidedly more tricky. Apart from Kristian Eriksen (Spurs are facing West Ham away), David Silva (Palace at home), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Soton away) and Mohamed Salah (Leicester away), the situation is unclear. If you are able to accommodate all four in your midfield – congratulations. However having factored in Silva, Miki and Eriksen myself I know the kind of sacrifice you’ll have to make to add Salah too.
As such, you’ll probably be looking at cheaper options, and that’s exactly where things get tricky. Cesc Fabregas at just under 7 mil had one good game, with Stoke and City coming up. Richarlison also had only one good game. Tadic and Redmond may have looked better propositions last year, but this year Soton just refuse to score, plus face United next.
My pick would be Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman is a regular, he registered an assist vs Bournemouth, hit the post vs Chelsea and has a kind 5-game run consisting of West Brom, Brighton, Watford, Everton and Swansea. I’m sure he’ll score some decent points along the way. Otherwise you can try going for last week’s hero Matt Ritchie (6.0 mil, Brighton away) or Pascal Gross (5.6 mil, Newcastle at home). Both Newcastle and Brighton have relatively kind runs, with only one 3+ game, up until gameweek 11 and 12 respectively, so you’ll be able to stick with either midfielder for a while should things get hairy in other areas of the pitch.
Key man: David Silva (8.3 mil)
Ace up your sleeve: Aaron Ramsey: (7.0 mil)
Matt Ritchie – a cut-price option?
Defence
Here’s where you can score some points in the upcoming games. Maybe to an extent where you should consider playing a 4-4-2 (there’s no one convincing enough in a third striker role for now anyway).
The Marcos Alonso craze has somewhat subsided, however the concept of roving full-backs is understandably appealing. Ben Davies should make a return for Tottenham vs a toothless West Ham, Kyle Naughton’s Swansea has a good run for another 4 games, but I would hand my keys to Sead Kolasinac if you can afford the Serbian.
As noted above, Arsenal have an easy 5-game run, and Kolasinac’s attacking threat coupled with potential for clean sheets makes him a must-have. His recent week included 2 clean sheets, a goal and an assist in three games. The goal came against Cologne, however it’s not the first time Sead found the back of the net this season. His marauding runs bring tangible results.
For roughly the same period you can look at Newcastle’s defence (until GW 11), Brighton’s and Soton’s (GW 12) and Manchester City. Pep’s team has a run of 22 (!) games during which they face only 7 opponents with 3+ ratings.
Key man: Sead Kolasinac (6.0 mil)
Ace up your sleeve: Kyle Naughton (4.5 mil)
My team: Elliot – Bertrand – Davies – Naughton – Silva (c) – Mkhitaryan – Fabregas – Eriksen (v) – Atsu – Firmino – Morata
Russian Gooner. No, it’s not always cold in my home country 🙂
A staunch Arsenal supporter since 2004. Started writing about the Gunners in 2013.
Currently in London to get a degree in journalism.
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