Gameweek 2 – Tips

So there we have it, gameweek 1 has already come and gone! The double gameweek’s for Chelsea and Villa made it a little difficult to plan for the weeks ahead and already there is quite a lot of talk about playing wildcards. Now we’re not going to tell you not to play your wildcard but we would advise you to hold out until the international break, at least by that stage all clubs will have played 3 games and you will not be basing your decisions on one round of fixtures. Below we have come up with a few players whom we feel can deliver over the coming weeks. But before we move on, just remember one thing, don’t panic!!

Goalkeepers

Simon Mignolet couldn’t have hoped for a better debut for his new club as he stopped Jon Walters’ 89th minute penalty to help Liverpool defeat Stoke 1-0 on the opening day of the season. The Belgian international got off to a shaky start but he grew into the game and made some outstanding saves as the game progressed. As a result of his penalty save there has been quite a lot of interest in Mignolet this week and at this stage it appears as though his price could rise before gameweek 2. With a number of games on the horizon from which Liverpool will hope to gain several more clean sheets we’re confidently tipping Mignolet to continue to endear himself to the Anfield faithful over the coming weeks.

Southampton didn’t exactly set the world alight in their season opener against West Brom, but any team will be happy with a one nil away win on the opening day of the season. Artur Borucdidn’t have a great deal to do, but when he was called into action he was more than up to the challenge. With their new signings, Lovren & Wanyama, both impressing on their league debuts it would certainly appear that the saints will be difficult to beat this season and therefore we get the feeling that Boruc could prove to be great value at £4.5m. As we highlighted in our latest fixtures article, Southampton have some decent fixtures coming up and as a result we expect Boruc to pick up a few more clean sheets over the coming weeks.

A couple of other keepers who are worth considering at this very early stage of the season areHugo Lloris and Jussi Jaaskelainen. As expected Lloris had very little to do against a newly promoted Crystal Palace, however Spurs looked quite well organised and from what we saw on Sunday they will be quite difficult to break down this season. At £6.0m the Frenchman isn’t cheap but for those of you who decide to go with him you won’t need to worry about rotating him. It appears that just like last season West Ham will yet again be a tough nut to crack at home and with a relatively kind fixture list over the opening months of the season the Finn could be a good bet for a number of clean sheets.

Defenders

If the opening weekend of the new season is anything to go by, Manchester City are certainly the team to beat this season. Clearly Newcastle were quite poor and they undoubtedly didn’t make things easy for themselves and this resulted in Joe Hart being nothing more than a spectator. If you have read our most recent fixtures article you will have noticed that City’s next 3 games are against Cardiff, Hull & Stoke and therefore it might be a good idea to invest in one of their defenders and our tip is unsurprisingly Pablo Zabaleta. The Argentine linked up very well with Jesus Navas on the right flank and was unlucky not to come away with more than one assist against Newcastle. For those of you unwilling to part with the £6.0m required to get Zabaleta then you might want to consider Joleon Lescott, who is likely to feature in the coming weeks with both Kompany and Nastasic likely to be missing for a couple of games. The English international could prove great value at £5.5m.

Most of us can agree on the fact that in real life the primary job of a defender is to help his team keep a clean sheet. However in fantasy football things are a little different as we’re always on the lookout for a defender with attacking instincts and in Seamus Coleman that’s just what we’ve got. The Irishman turned in a virtuoso performance against Norwich that saw him pick up a goal, an assist and 3 bonus points. Now clearly he is not going to score every week but his performance suggested that we are likely to see quite a bit of him in the opposition’s half over the coming weeks and months, against Norwich he played more like a winger rather than a fullback. Everton have a couple of fixtures in the coming weeks from which they will hope to pick a clean sheet or two and this will make Coleman an even more attractive proposition at £5.1m.

A number of other defenders who deserve a mention after the opening gameweek are Luke Shaw, Michael Dawson & Kolo Toure. While Shaw is not going to pick up an assist and 3 bonus points every week he did show enough against West Brom to suggest he could be excellent value at £4.6m. Unlike Shaw, Dawson is unlikely to pick up many attacking points but he is likely to pick up quite a few clean sheets over the season and Spurs have a nice run of fixtures over the coming weeks. Simon Mignolet grabbed the headlines at Anfield on the opening day of the season but Kolo Toure went about his business in a very professional manner and was unlucky not to score, he could prove to be quite a threat from set pieces for Liverpool this season.

Midfielders

Manchester City’s passing against Newcastle was slick & done at pace and central to this was the silky David Silva. When City won the title the season before last Silva played a starring role, scoring 6 and creating 17 but last season just like a number of his colleagues his standards slipped. On Monday night the Silva of City’s title winning side was back as he constantly took up excellent positions in which to receive the ball and on another night he could quite easily have had a couple of assists to go with his goal. City looked up for it against Newcastle and with their next two fixtures against two of the promoted sides we foresee quite a few goals as they endeavour to impress their new manager. Pellegrini is likely to rotate his team over the season but we anticipate that Silva will feature more often than not and at £9.0m he could prove an excellent addition to your midfield.

It appears we may have our first bandwagon of the season, because at the time of writing just over 150,000 managers had transferred Ross Barkleyinto their side, which is roughly 40,000 more than any other player and this has seen his price rise to £4.6m. With only 34 first team appearances to his name prior to this season Barkley was hardly a household name, but his display against Norwich will have forced many to sit up and take notice as he displayed maturity beyond his years, finding space with ease and linking up to great effect with his teammates. Obviously with Darren Gibson a doubt due to injury and Marouane Fellaini attracting interest from United it’s difficult to say how long Barkley will remain in the first XI, but his manager has spoken about him in glowing terms this week which suggests he could be set for a run of games. Remember Raheem Sterling last season? Well sometimes it’s best to get on board the bandwagon before its left the station.

While quite a few of the so called midfield big hitters failed to fire in gameweek 1 the ever dependable Kevin Nolan didn’t disappoint with a goal and maximum bonus points. West Ham have quite an easy run of fixtures over the coming weeks and at £7.0m we have a feeling that Nolan could prove to be the best value for money midfielder over the first 6 gameweeks of the season. As long as he is fit Nolan is guaranteed to start every game and with big Andy Carroll nearing a return to full training, Nolan will be looking forward to the big man’s knock downs.

A couple of midfielders who failed to pick up a goal or an assist in the opening gameweek but still caught our eye were Michu and Phillippe Coutinho. Swansea may have been beaten 4-1 by United and at times in the first half Michu looked a little isolated up top but once Michael Laudrup introduced new signing Wilfried Bony at half time the Spaniard became somewhat more involved in the game. Bony and Michu showed signs in the second half that they will link up well as the season progresses. Liverpool may only have beaten Stoke 1-0 but that was solely down to a man of the match display from Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic. Coutinho showed glimpses of the form he displayed towards the end of last season and we fully expect him to be among the fantasy points over the coming weeks.

Forwards

We imagine that all those managers who included Robin Van Persie in their squads from the beginning are currently feeling quite smug, while some of those who didn’t include him have asked the IMF for a bailout to secure the funds they now need to get him in! United may have beaten Swansea 4-1 but it was the Dutchman who was the real difference between the sides as once again he reminded us all just what he is capable of. All summer long people have written off United’s chances of securing yet another title but with RVP in such form they will be there or thereabouts come next May and with him in your fantasy team you’re all but guaranteed goals, but at £14m you’d want to be guaranteed something!!

Edin Dzeko may not have scored against Newcastle on Monday night, but it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying and if were not for a couple of excellent saves from Tim Krul, the Bosnian could have had at least two goals. As we have already alluded to, City played some attractive football and Dzeko looked quite comfortable leading the line. Obviously with an attacking quartet of Dzeko, Aguero, Negredo & Jovetic there is going to be a certain amount of rotation but with Dzeko only costing £7.5m it leaves you with money to invest elsewhere so you can cope if and when Dzeko is rotated out of the team.

With two away games against Arsenal and Chelsea in gameweek 1 there’s no denying that Aston Villa were handed a tough start, but they needn’t have worried as in Christian Bentekethey have a striker who can score against anyone. With 3 goals and 6 bonus points from his first two games the giant Belgian has certainly picked up from where he left off last season. The great thing about Benteke is that you don’t have to worry about him being rested or rotated because as long as he’s fit he will be the first name on Lambert’s team sheet. Obviously Villa do not feature in gameweek 3 so you may want to hold off on getting him into your team but after the start he has made to the season we felt as though we were left with little option but to tip him.

A couple of other strikers who looked lively on the opening weekend were Daniel Sturridgeand Olivier Giroud. Sturridge scored one and on another day would have had a hat-trick if it weren’t for the heroics of Begovic and a goal line clearance from Pieters. Liverpool attacked with fluidity throughout the game and Sturridge is likely to be presented with numerous scoring opportunities over the coming weeks. Ok so Giroud and Arsenal didn’t really impress against Villa but the Frenchman did take his goal well and against Fenerbache on Wednesday night his penalty suggested he was full of confidence and therefore we fancy him to get on the score sheet a couple of times in the coming weeks.