Gameweek 38 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365 – the Final Gameweek of the 2015/16 Season.
There’s just one round of fixtures left, and the final fixtures throw up some interesting conundrums for Fantasy Football managers.
Arsenal’s final game of the season looks to be the standout fixture for captain choice – they’re at home to one of the worst sides in Premier League history. Aston Villa may have picked up a point against Newcastle last week, but it was only their seventeenth point of a dreadful season and they’d lost 11 in a row prior to that. They haven’t won any of their last 19 away games in all competitions, losing 15 of those, so the current bet365 odds of 1/6 for the home victory seem pretty fair. Alexis Sánchez (£11.1m) is odds-on to score, and he’s the man in form for the Gunners with 7 goals and 3 assists from his last 10 games. He’s averaged 7.7 Fantasy Football points per game over that run, and many will be putting their faith in him to finish the season on a high. If he’s firing the Villa defence will be rattled, and goals will be on the cards. With 3 clean sheets in a row prior to last week’s 2-2 draw with Man City, Arsenal’s defenders can also be looked upon for Fantasy Football points this week. Héctor Bellerín and Laurent Koscielny are both priced at £6.3m, but if you can afford to get them in they should provide value, it shouldn’t take much to keep out a Villa attack that’s been tamed by most of the Premier League this season!
Chelsea v Leicester promises plenty of goals – Chelsea have failed to score in just 1 of their last 14 home games in all competitions and champions Leicester have scored in each of their last 17 games in the league. They’ll be looking to end the season on a high, and potentially win the title by a frankly incredible 13 points. Jamie Vardy (£7.4m) bagged 2 goals on his return from suspension last week and has 5 goals from his last 3 appearances. If he outscores Harry Kane this weekend he’ll win the Golden Boot, and he’ll be desperate to do that to cap an unforgettable season. For the home side, Eden Hazard (£10.9m) looked back to his best on Wednesday night against Liverpool, and he’ll be determined to put in another good performance in what could potentially be his last game for Chelsea if rumours about a summer departure are to be believed.
Meanwhile Man United can surely be relied upon for a clean sheet this weekend. Bournemouth are Sunday’s visitors, and they’ve won only one of their last 7 games (that win coming against Aston Villa). Champions Leicester are the only away team to have scored at Old Trafford in the past 5 matches and United have conceded only 8 times in the league at home all season. United need 3 points to have any chance of Champions League qualification, so this has all the trademarks of a dour 1-0 win, seemingly a Louis Van Gaal speciality! Antonio Valencia (£5.1m) has been back in the side recently, starting the last 5 league games. He’s got 2 assists and 3 clean sheets in that run, so could be a reliable option this week.
A game for Fantasy Managers to beware of is Liverpool’s trip to West Brom. Jürgen Klopp is certain to rest players with Wednesday’s Europa League Final looming, so the likes of Roberto Firmino (£8.3m), Philippe Coutinho (£8.2m) and Daniel Sturridge (£10.2m) are not likely to get a look-in. West Brom’s players could therefore be likely to pick up some surprise points, and Craig Dawson (£5.0m) could be an astute pick. Tony Pulis will be asking his men to keep it tight at the back, and with the Liverpool changes in mind they could be up against a neutered attacking force anyway. Dawson could cash in with clean sheet points, and he’s always a threat at set pieces too, having bagged 4 goals this season.
Sunday 3pm
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Chelsea v Leicester
Everton v Norwich
Man Utd v Bournemouth
(3pm Sky Sports 1)
Newcastle v Tottenham
Southampton v Crystal Palace
Stoke v West Ham
(3pm Sky Sports 3)
Swansea v Man City
(3pm Sky Sports 2)
Watford v Sunderland
West Brom v Liverpool