Gameweek 11 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365.
Saturday’s early kick-off sees under-pressure Jose Mourinho up against media darling Jurgen Klopp at Stamford Bridge. Klopp is yet to taste defeat since taking over at Liverpool, and there could hardly be a better time to face Chelsea. Their season is going from bad to worse, and they currently lie in 15th position in the table having lost half of their matches. Their star man and 2014-15 Player of the Year Eden Hazard (£11.1m) is in terrible form; he missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out defeat to Stoke in midweek, and has just one Premier League goal to his name all season. They’re also in a highly unusual position for a Mourinho team in that defence is a particular weakness. They’ve kept just 2 clean sheets in the league this season and have conceded at least 2 in each of their other 8 matches, so Liverpool’s attacking options could be the way to go in this fixture. Christian Benteke (£8.2m) scored 8 points last week after coming on at half time in the draw with Southampton, and scored at Old Trafford earlier in the season, so he’ll be confident of success against Chelsea’s defence. Emre Can looks like he’s going to be an important midfielder for Klopp having been utilised in defence by Rodgers, and at just £5.3m could be a Fantasy Football bargain buy.
Manchester City’s game against Norwich will no doubt provide the majority of captain choices this weekend. The visitors have little hope of getting a result at the Etihad – they’ve lost their last 3 league matches, have only won against Sunderland and Bournemouth since their promotion to the Premier League, are yet to keep a clean sheet and were smashed 6-2 in their last away game against Newcastle (a team who’d only scored 6 goals prior to that match all season). City on the other hand are unbeaten in their last 3 league matches (including 6-1 and 5-1 home wins) and the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford last weekend was the first game in which they’ve failed to score this season. Home win seems an inevitable outcome here, and any one of Bony (£8.3m), De Bruyne (£10.6m), Sterling (£8.9m) and Touré (£8.5m) would be safe captain choices.
Two teams who have defied expectation so far this year meet at Vicarage Road, with Watford hosting West Ham. Watford have 13 points from their opening 10 matches, a very respectable haul for a newly-promoted side, and are theoretically just one wine away from seventh position. Odion Ighalo (£5.4m) got his first 2 assists of the campaign last week against Stoke, and he has 5 goals in 10 Premier League games so is certainly worth consideration. His partnership with Troy Deeney (£5.1m) is proving very fruitful and Deeney was finally back amongst the goals in the same game to add to his 3 assists so far this campaign. West Ham are undefeated in 7 in the league, and are becoming known as away specialists having dismantled Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City in that run. They’re in third position in the league, and in Dimitri Payet (£8.3m) have one of the standout performers of the season so far. He’s racked up 71 points from midfield, having scored 5 and assisted 4 so far, and he’d be a great shout if you’re wanting to drop one of the bigger-priced underperforming ‘stars’.
On Sunday Bournemouth have their first-ever top flight derby, as they make the short trip to St Mary’s to face in-form Southampton. Saints progressed to the Quarter Finals of the Capital One Cup after seeing off Aston Villa in midweek, and are undefeated in their last 6 games in all competitions. Bournemouth have drawn one and lost four of their last five matches, and conceded 10 goals in their last 2 Premier League games, so the home side will be strong favourites for this one. Graziano Pellè (£8.4m) is the main goal threat, and has 5 goals and 5 assists already this season.
Finally, the Monday night fixture sees managerless Aston Villa travel to Tottenham. The hosts haven’t lost in the league since the opening day while the away side haven’t won since the same date, so again there should be some points on offer for Spurs players. Harry Kane’s season is finally coming to life after a hat trick against Bournemouth last time out, and at £9.3m he could be worth investing in this week. Christian Eriksen (£8.4m) has scored 2 and assisted 3 in his last 5 league games, so would be an advisable option in midfield.
Saturday
Chelsea v Liverpool
(12.45pm BT Sport 1)
Newcastle v Stoke
Swansea v Arsenal
Watford v West Ham
West Brom v Leicester
Crystal Palace v Man Utd
Man City v Norwich
Sunday
Everton v Sunderland
(1.30pm Sky Sports 1)
Southampton v Bournemouth
(4.00pm Sky Sports 1)
Monday
Tottenham v Aston Villa
(8.00pm Sky Sports 1)