Tricky week this week as there seems to be a couple of apparent certainties like Villa moving to 11 goalless hours when they host Chelsea and City shipping at least 10 past a hapless Hull. At the same time we’ve got two derbies on which are almost impossible to predict.
P.S. This weekend is the wildcard deadline for any of you brave souls who have held tough on letting the hammer fall.
Three players to sign
Jonjo Shelvey
Fixture: Swansea v Sunderland
Price: £5.2m
Selected by: 2.7%
The cowards among you would have ditched all Swansea players from your Fantasy Football XI after Wilfried Bony’s all-expenses paid holiday to Manchester City and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s three-game suspension after being sent off in the Swans’ FA Cup defeat to Blackburn.
But out of the shadows of those bits of bad news comes the shining bald head light of Jonjo Shelvey.
The Liverpool outcast stepped up to the mark during Swansea’s last game, a visit to Southampton in which the midfielder scored the only goal. And what a goal it was.
The fact that Sunderland have conceded five goals in their last two Premier League games away from home does not bode well for the Black Cats.
Shelvey looked to be the biggest goal threat on the pitch against Saints, who are a much more dangerous outfit than Sunderland, and we fancy the marauding midfielder to get either a goal or assist, as well as keep a clean sheet.
David Silva
Fixture: Manchester City v Hull
Price: £9.4m
Selected by: 18.3%
Expensive, yes, but getting Silva into your team is a must ahead of this weekend when they host a Hull side that are coming off the back of three straight Premier League losses in which they’ve conceded seven goals.
And you’d bet your mother’s wedding ring on City to continue the woes of Steve Bruce & Co. by sending at least two past Allan McGregor.
But with Yaya Toure still on duty with Ivory Coast and Sergio Aguero still struggling to reacquaint himself with the goal, it’s hard to see where those goals are going to come from.
We reckon David Silva’s the best bet for points and he’ll be brimming with confidence after his goal rescued a point against Chelsea last Saturday.
Think of it like this, the money you save on bringing Shelvey into your team you’ll spend on Silva. SIMPLES.
Kurt Zouma
Fixture: Aston Villa v Chelsea
Price: £4.6m
Selected by: 0.8%
OK, we’ll admit that this one could come back to bite us in the ass but the third golden rule of Fantasy Football is that fortune favours the brave (the first two are that you don’t talk about Fantasy Football).
Kurt Zouma seems to have been given the nod over Gary Cahill in recent weeks and the fact that he partnered John Terry in Chelsea’s vital game against City last week would suggest that Jose Mourinho fancies him.
His pace is something that sets him apart from a lot of central defenders and Mou tends to use the young Frenchman against sides who are most dangerous at speed.
Villa’s biggest (only) goal threat comes from the speedy Gabriel Agbonlahor and Scott Sinclair getting in behind the Blues but Zouma can keep pace with either of them so we believe Mourinho might just start the 20-year-old for the second week in a row.
Add to that the fact that Villa apparently haven’t scored a goal since Martin O’Neill left the club back in 2010 and a Chelsea clean sheet is pretty likely. The only risk comes in whether or not Zouma starts but we’ll take that chance.
Three players to sell
David de Gea
Fixture: West Ham v Manchester United
Price: £5.9m
Selected by: 23.4%
I see you’re chuckling fiendishly at us for scrapping one of the best goalkeepers in the league but we really don’t see David de Gea keeping a clean sheet at Upton Park.
Andy Carroll is injured for Big Sam which means that Diafro Sakho will likely partner Enner Valencia up front to reunite a deadly striking duo who played together when the Hammers claimed the scalps of both Liverpool and Man City in the first half of the season.
They’re genuine dangers against any side and Manchester United have won just once in their last four Premier League away ties.
Meanwhile West Ham haven’t failed to score at home since November 8 so a de Gea clean sheet would be more surprising than you might expect and, as the second most expensive goalkeeper,we think your money could be better spent this week.
Danny Ings
Fixture: Burnley v West Brom
Price: £5.7m
Selected by: 4.5%
Controversy abounds Ings’ omission in SportsJOE HQ as we all have a fondness for the lovable striker but we reckon now is the optimum time to give him a break from the line-up.
Tony Pulis’ defensive magic must surely be starting to filter through to his West Brom players now and this game has 0-0 written all over it.
Joleon Lescott and Gareth McAuley will be well drilled by the capped-one to restrict Ings from causing a nuisance of himself in the box but, when we look ahead at Burnley’s future fixtures, it makes even more sense to click that X next to Ings’ name.
After Sunday’s clash with the Baggies, Sean Dyche takes his side to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge so it could be quite some time before we see another Ings goal.
Per Mertesacker
Fixture: Spurs v Arsenal
Price: £6.0m
Selected by: 4.2%
The results of derbies are often down to the flip of a coin as motivation takes over from talent when bragging rights are at stake.
But we see this North London derby being a bit of a goalfest (2-2 is our prediction) which means that all defenders are going to struggle to pick up points.
Spurs have scored in every game, in all competitions, in 2015 and Arsene Wenger’s defence will almost positively be breached tomorrow afternoon by an 88th and 89th minute Christian Eriksen brace.
Add to that the increased likelihood of defenders picking up bookings in derby games and, unfortunately, the Big Full-of-Fun German gets the chop due to the fact that he’s the most expensive defender from either side.
