Gameweek 4 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365.
Following last weekend’s credible draw at Old Trafford, Newcastle United are again involved in the early kick-off as they host Arsenal. Both sides were involved in goalless matches last weekend, thanks in no small part to their respective goalkeepers. Tim Krul and Petr Cech picked up 11 points each after both made 8 saves and kept clean sheets. That’s unlikely to happen again though, with encounters between these two sides generally producing plenty of goals, including a 4-4 in February 2011 and a 7-3 victory for Arsenal in December 2012. Arsenal are odds-on favourites to win this clash, and with this in mind it would be advisable to look to their attacking talents for points this week. Alexis Sánchez (£11.0m), Mesut Özil (£8.5m) and Santi Cazorla (£8.4m) could all be worth a look.
Moving onto the 3pm matches, and Bournemouth v Leicester could provide some bargain buys with points potential this week. Bournemouth won for the first time in the Premier League last weekend, as Callum Wilson bagged a hat trick at West Ham. He’ll fancy his chances of some more goals this weekend, as despite Leicester’s excellent start to the season they haven’t yet kept a clean sheet. Wilson is now the top points-scoring forward in the game, and at just £5.5m could be an excellent buy. The top-scoring midfielder in the game is on display for the away side though. Riyad Mahrez has scored 4 goals in the first 3 matches of the season, and picked up 3 bonus points in each game too. 35 points from 3 matches is an unbelievable haul, and his price has increased accordingly (now £6.0m from £5.5m at the start of the season). He’s still very cheap at that price though, especially if he can keep up his goalscoring form.
Three sides who will be confident of routine home victories are Chelsea (v Crystal Palace), Liverpool (v West Ham) and Man City (v Watford).
Chelsea got their first win of the season last time out despite being reduced to 10 men at West Brom. If you fancy Chelsea to keep a clean sheet then Kurt Zouma could be an interesting pick. John Terry’s sending off means he’s unavailable this weekend with Zouma, who is available at £5.5m, expected to fill in for the captain. In attack Pedro made an inspired start to life in England following his move from Barcelona, with a goal and an assist helping him to secure 13 points on his debut. He had an excellent goal scoring record at Barca, and will be keen to make an impression in his first game for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He’s not cheap at £9.5m, but could still be a good purchase ahead of the misfiring Hazard (£11.4m) and Fàbregas (£8.8m).
For Liverpool Philippe Coutinho has started the season in excellent form. He scored the winner on the opening day at Stoke, and was unlucky not to add to his goal tally on Monday night when he hit the woodwork twice at Arsenal. He’s priced at £8.1m, which seems reasonable given he’s the main attacking threat for one of the top sides in the Premier League, who have also secured clean sheets and extra points for their midfielders and defenders from all of their first three matches. Joe Gomez is the pick of the defenders at just £4.7m, having picked up 21 points so far.
Man City’s impressive form means they’re now odds-on for the title after just 3 matches. They’re yet to concede a goal, and not many will fancy Watford’s chances of halting this run. Aleksandar Kolarov (£5.7m) and Vincent Kompany (£6.3m) have scored 31 points each in those matches, so are well worth considering. Many will be captaining the likes of Sergio Agüero (£13.2m) and David Silva (£10.1m), with City expected to bag a few goals on Saturday.
Plenty of options to consider this week!
There’s an international break next week and the transfer window will also be closed after that time, so with no more new players coming into the Premier League it could be a good time to consider your wildcard (if you’ve managed to save it beyond week 4!).