We are two thirds of the way through the season. We may have certain targets set in our minds for what we would like to achieve
in our respective mini-leagues. I've been fairly lucky with the choices I have
made and I think my overall rank which is within the top 5000 of all fantasy
players (and the Battle Royal 2 championship) reflects that.
The main aim of this article is to provide
some foresight on how I see the rest of the season playing out. Most would
still favor the big hitters like Sanchez, Aguero, Di Maria and the likes but
due to their high ownership gaining much ground is increasingly becoming a
tough task.
So here is an insight into the 5 players I see
making an impact in the final third of the season:
Daniel Sturridge:
His stats don’t lie,
he’s a one goal/assist per game sort of striker who rarely disappoints. He has
an eye for goal and his creativity is what Liverpool will need to have a
reasonable chance of making their push for a top 4 spot. The only thing that
works against him in my opinion is that he faces 4 of the top 6 in the next 6
fixtures but big players rise to the big occasions and deliver when it matters
most. I expect him to be involved in the majority of the goals Liverpool will
score going forward. He has the second highest minutes per chance (19.3) in the
premium striker category only behind Aguero (16.8) and ahead of Costa (26.8),
Rooney (43), RVP (33.1) and Giroud (25.6). He definitely will have the chances
and if he converts them he might give you some great FPL returns.
Mesut Ozil:
His creativity makes him
second to none when it comes to FPL potential. Since his much awaited comeback he has been in scintillating form
providing 3 assists and 2 goals in the 3 starts he has made. He has averaged
the second highest number of shots per game (1.5) in the arsenal midfield
during the last 5 weeks and has the highest shot accuracy (66.7%). He also has
the second highest number of average final third passes per match (15.8) behind
Cazorla. All this translates into his increasing influence on the arsenal
gameplay which can be seen from his involvement in 50% of the goals scored by
them since his return. I expect him to have a great season going ahead and if
you are looking to find a low ownership player (less than 5%) with a good set of fixtures to
break the template he might just be your man.
Gnegneri Yaya Toure:
He is one player
who hasn’t been able to scale the heights of success and the high standards he
set himself last season where he scored a massive 241 points scoring 20 goals
and providing 9 assists. His absence
has hurt City so badly that they have just got 6 out of a possible 15 points in their
last 5 matches. His impact could be seen from Aguero’s dip in form before the Stoke game. He is on set pieces for city and when he comes back from the African
cup of nations, I expect him to come straight in and help City as they
make their push for the league title they so want to win.
Dame N’Doye:
I give myself no points for making a safe choice hence i want to go with this player as my wildcard pick. When I tipped Harry Kane in
GW 14 people thought I was crazy and I get a similar feeling when I tip this
man to do well in the remainder of the season. He is a proven goal scorer and
is just priced at 5.5. He faces competition from Ings, Defoe, Sakho, and
Berahino in his price category. I haven’t included Kane in this as I consider
him as an absolute must have. He has scored 27 goals in 71 appearances for
Lokomtiv Moscow and 59 in 104 for Copenhagen before arriving at the KC stadium.
We don’t have much to judge him on in terms of Premier League experience but my
gut says that if Hull have to continue their journey in the top flight beyond this season he will be a major part of their revival story.
Hector
Bellerin:
To test his credentials as a fantasy
player I put him up against the 4 best attacking full backs in the league in
terms of point returns over the last few seasons i.e. Baines, Coleman, Ivanovic
and this season’s wonder boy Clyne. The stats over the past 5 weeks were
shocking. He has the best points per million (1.1) compared to Baines (0.8),
Clyne (0.9), Coleman (0.7) and Ivanovic (1). He also has the highest shooting
accuracy (100%) followed by Ivanovic (40%). He hasn’t provided any assists but
has scored one goal but is that too bad at his meagre price of 4.5. The
question is whether he will be able to retain his place in that Arsenal back
four. Going on his form and the injury to Debuchy, it’s safe to assume he will.
I think all of this makes him an absolute must have from Arsenal's defence.
Battle Royal 2014/15 (winter) champion.
