Gameweek 3 Preview for Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365.
Man Utd v Newcastle is the early kick off and managers will almost certainly be expecting Man Utd to claim another 3 points. Newcastle have strengthened over the summer but are still some way off beating Man Utd away from home. Man Utd haven’t been overly convincing either but new signing Memphis Depey (£8.5m) bagged 2 goals in the mid-week Champions League qualifier, so he’ll be raring to score his first league goal. Rooney (£10.5m) hasn’t displayed any goal-getter signs as yet but is still selected by 33.6% of all managers! It’s surely a matter of time however, especially now he’s playing in his favoured striker role. United have continued their impressive defensive form, so Romero (£5.1m) stands out as an affordable keeper option, with De Gea (£5.4m) still pushing for a 1 way ticket to Madrid, and Luke Shaw (£5.6m) is a solid option who likes to get forward.
Leicester are the surprise form team so far, putting some fantastic performances together. Mahrez (now £5.8m) is the joint-top scoring player in the league with 25 points in 2 games. Spurs have 1 point so far and face a tricky away day here; so the pressure will be on Harry Kane (£9.5m) to justify his price tag following his amazing 2014/15 campaign. Neither side will be nailed on for a clean sheet here however.
Chelsea are another London side who have struggled to get going but all eyes will be on new signing Pedro (£9.5m) following his sensational U-turn on a supposed transfer to Man Utd! He’s linked up with fellow Spaniard and ex-Barca team mate Cesc Fabregas (£8.9m) instead, but can he be the spark Chelsea so desperately need following underwhelming performances so far? Chelsea were thumped 3-0 by Man City last week and now face a tricky away day to West Brom, who were also on the receiving end of a 3-0 demolishing in game week 1, but the Blues will be backed to kick-start their season here. Hazard (£11.5m) will want to pick up points for those near-50% of all teams who have selected him also.
Man City are pushing for title-favourite status after these back-to-back 3-0 wins, which does seem ridiculous but we can see why! Aguero (£13.1m) was unlucky to not bag a hat-trick against Chelsea in the end. They face Everton away from home, and it’s difficult to see Everton attaining any points here despite a great 3-0 win away to Southampton last week. Yaya Toure is still a relatively affordable Man City option at £8.6m, and seems to be showing signs of his former self. Sterling (£8.9m), on the other hand, is yet to show his worth at £49m.
Sunderland are a side that have really struggled so far and are odds-on for the drop, conceding 7 goals in 2 games. Swansea’s Ayew and Gomis, both £7.1m, will be hoping to continue their impressive form displayed so far against a side who are leaking goals. Montero (£6m) has also been a strong singing, so he will surely contribute further in the coming weeks.
The arguable highlight of the game week’s action is Arsenal v Liverpool on Monday night. Walcott (£8.7m) has dropped £0.3m in just 2 game weeks following his absence from the starting line-up, which has left some managers out of pocket! Sanchez (£11m) will be backed to do well this season however and will continue to be a sensible choice for any manager. Benteke (£8.5m) is now Liverpool’s great hope for a more clinical and dependable goal scorer this season, and certainly showed his capabilities in a man-of-the-match performance against Bournemouth.
Saturday
Man Utd v Newcastle
(12:45pm BT Sport 1)
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Leicester v Spurs
Norwich v Stoke
Sunderland v Swansea
West Ham v Bournemouth
Sunday
West Brom v Chelsea
(1.30pm Sky Sports 1)
Everton v Man City
(4.00pm Sky Sports 1)
Watford v Southampton
Monday
Arsenal v Liverpool
(8.00pm Sky Sports 1)