Gameweek 10 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365.
Sunday’s fixtures are likely to dominate the headlines with four Premier League matches taking place, including two massive derbies. Man United v Man City is undoubtedly the game of the weekend, as the two Manchester rivals face up for a derby that’s taken on extra significance over the past few years with City establishing themselves as one of the heavyweights of English football. The away side have plenty of injury concerns heading into this game, with Kolarov, Clichy, Silva, Delph and Agüero all likely to miss out. Raheeem Sterling’s hat trick last week will propel him into many Fantasy Managers’ thoughts though, and at £8.8m he could provide value for money in your midfield. Up front, Wilfried Bony (£8.3m) will surely continue to deputise for Agüero, and after bagging 2 goals and an assist last time out he’ll be in confident mood heading into this one. He’ll find himself up against one of the stand-out defenders of the season though in United’s Chris Smalling. The centre back has been in imperious form, helping his team to 5 clean sheets and popping up with the assist for United’s opener at the weekend against Everton to take his Fantasy Football points haul to 45. At £6.3m he’s one of the more expensive defenders, but has played in every minute of United’s Premier League campaign so far, and provides a real threat from set pieces.
Earlier in the day Sam Allardyce is in line for his first home game as Sunderland manager, and it doesn’t get any bigger for the Black Cats than the derby against his former club Newcastle. Sunderland have earned the bragging rights over the past few years, winning the last 5 Tyne-Wear derbies, but both teams have had poor starts to the season. They have recorded only one clean sheet between them in 22 matches in all competitions so far in 2015-16, so it may be best to avoid any defenders in this fixture. From an attacking perspective, Yann M’Vila (£5.0m) got 2 assists in his last home match and also has a goal to his name this season, so could be worth a look. For Newcastle, Georginio Wijnaldum (£6.8m) scored 4 last time out against Norwich to add to his goal and assist from the previous 2 matches. He was Dutch Footballer of the Year last year, and if Newcastle can build on their first victory of the season he could be a shrewd addition with a kind fixture list over the coming weeks. Ayoze Pérez (£5.1m) is also worth consideration, and boasts 2 goals and 2 assists from his last 3 matches.
Another manager making his home managerial bow on Sunday is Jürgen Klopp, as Liverpool welcome Southampton to Anfield. Both Daniel Sturridge (£10.6m) and Christian Benteke (£8.2m) are in contention to return from injury for this one, and it will be interesting to see how Klopp utilises his main two attacking threats. Liverpool looked immediately more solid in Klopp’s first game in charge, securing their first clean sheet in 9 matches in all competitions. With this in mind Nathaniel Clyne and Martin Skrtel, who are both available at £5.5m, may pick up a good number of points over the coming weeks. They’re up against one of the in-form strikers in the Premier League on Sunday though in Graziano Pellè (£8.3m). The Southampton man has 56 points so far this season, scoring 5 and assisting 5 of Saints’ league 15 goals, and will be keen to add to that tally.
As a final note, be sure to keep an eye on the Premier League clubs in action in Europe over the next 3 days in case of any injuries or surprise performers who may warrant selection at the weekend.
Saturday
Aston Villa v Swansea
Leicester v Crystal Palace
Norwich v West Brom
Stoke v Watford
West Ham v Chelsea
Arsenal v Everton
(5.30pm Sky Sports 1)
Sunday
Sunderland v Newcastle
(12.00pm Sky Sports 1)
Man Utd v Man City
(2.05pm Sky Sports 1)
Bournemouth v Tottenham
Liverpool v Southampton
(16:15 Sky Sports 1)