Gameweek 22 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365.
Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off provides a potential captain choice in Harry Kane (£9.9m). Tottenham face a Sunderland side who have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 8 games in all competitions, and recorded just one shut-out in 12 away matches this season. Despite registering a blank on Wednesday night Spurs are still the fifth-highest scorers in the league, and with Kane as their only viable striking option plenty of managers will be putting their faith in him against the league’s worst defence (41 goals conceded in 21 league games).
Later in the day Man City’s game against Crystal Palace is another that looks to be a home banker. Palace have lost their way recently, failing to score in their last 4 Premier League matches. This run of games has produced draws with Bournemouth and Swansea and defeats to Chelsea and Aston Villa, all sides in the bottom half of the table. A visit to the league’s top scorers is the last thing they want, and the likes of Sergio Agüero (£13.2m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£10.9m) will be at the forefront of many managers’ thoughts when picking their captain this week. In defence, Bacary Sagna (£5.5m) could be a great addition to your team. With Palace struggling for goals a clean sheet is likely, Sagna likes to get forward to help out the attack too. He has 2 assists from his last 5 league matches and he’s picked up bonus points in 3 of those, racking up 31 Fantasy Football points from them.
The big game of the weekend, and arguably still the biggest fixture in English football, takes place on Sunday with Liverpool welcoming Manchester United to Anfield. Both sides played out thrilling 3-3 draws in midweek but are out of form, with Liverpool winning just 2 of their last 7 league games and Man United fairing even worse with 1 win in 8. Two players who caught the eye in midweek may be worth another look this weekend though. Roberto Firmino (£7.7m) bagged a brace against the league leaders and will fancy his chances of more goals, while Wayne Rooney (£9.9m) starred with 2 goals and assist at St James’ Park. He’s a player that has always tended to score in bursts, so another goal on Sunday would be no surprise.
Following on from that it’s Stoke City v Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium. This is a ground on which Arsenal have struggled over the years – they haven’t won here on any of their last 5 visits (2 draws and 3 defeats) and last season found themselves 3-0 down before half time. Marko Arnautovic (£6.7m) has 7 goals and 4 assists this season and has 4 goals from his last 5 home matches, so he could be a good addition to your midfield this week. For Arsenal, Aaron Ramsey (£8.1m) has 3 goals and 2 assists from his last 7 matches, and got one of each in the draw with Liverpool. He scored on this ground last season too, and there’s every opportunity that he gets on the scoresheet on Sunday against a team who haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 5 matches in all competitions.
Saturday
Tottenham v Sunderland
(BT Sport 1, 12.45pm)
Man City v Crystal Palace
Newcastle v West Ham
Southampton v West Brom
Bournemouth v Norwich
Chelsea v Everton
Aston Villa v Leicester
(Sky Sports 1, 5.30pm)
Sunday
Liverpool v Man Utd
(Sky Sports 1, 2.05pm)
Stoke v Arsenal
(Sky Sports 1, 4.15pm)