LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 15: Theo Walcott of Arsenal waves to the Arsenal fans after the final whistle during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Swansea City at Emirates Stadium on October 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Gameweek 10 in the Premier League is upon us and with it comes fantasy football. Here are the top 5 transfers to target this week.
The Premier League returns for gameweek 10 this weekend with a whole host of fantasy football stars struggling and a whole host excelling. The Arsenal and Liverpool assets are firing high – two of them feature of this list – while Manchester City toil as they adapt to Pep Guardiola’s unusual tactics.
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All that I know is that fantasy football has been as exciting as ever this season. Here are five transfers to consider for gameweek 10.
BURNLEY, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 22: Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton during the Premier League match between Burnley and Everton at Turf Moor on October 22, 2016 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Dave Thompson/Getty Images)
5. Tom Heaton
Having a consistent scoring keeper is a wonderful asset to any fantasy football team. There perhaps isn’t another player that is performing so consistently as Burnley’s Tom Heaton. While he is not the flashy name of a David De Gea or Petr Cech and does not play for a notoriously defensively solid team like West Brom under Tony Pulis or Stoke City under Mark Hughes, though they have suffered their defensive struggles this year, he is racking up points at a considerable rate and for an excellent price.
In fact, priced at only £4.6, Heaton is certainly in the lower echelons of price bracket – £0.9 less than Cech for example. He does not, though, sacrifice points for price. Heaton is the top scoring keeper with 39 points.
What is really helping Heaton is his consistency. He has only blanked (that means to only record appearance points and nothing extra) once, even though Burnley have only kept two clean sheets. In fact, in his last two games against Everton and Southampton, Heaton has racked 4 and 5 points, even though he has conceded 1 and 3 goals respectively.
Heaton has made more saves than any other keeper in the Premier League, 46, to be exact, and is now facing a relatively nice run of fixtures. Heaton faces Man Utd (A), Crystal Palace (H), West Brom (A), Man City (H), Stoke (A), Bournemouth (H). While the two Manchester games are off putting the other games are lovely, and Heaton has proven to score points regardless the opponent. That is a major plus.
Next: 4. Simon Francis
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 28: Romelu Lukaku of Everton and Simon Francis of Bournemouth compete for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between A.F.C. Bournemouth and Everton at Vitality Stadium on November 28, 2015 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
4. Simon Francis
Highlighting cheap defenders in defences lower down the Premier League that are still capable of picking up points is a task that can win you your fantasy football leagues. Throughout the years, there have been a whole host of examples where cheap defenders are very quickly added by everyone to save money in more advanced areas.
The best way to excel in this strategy is to chop and change between various cheap options depending on form and fixtures. Consequently, the perfect option for the coming weeks is Simon Francis. While many managers are looking at the slightly more expensive Adam Smith or Charlie Daniels – the latter is understandable because of his potential attacking returns – when you are trying to pinch the pennies, then rather than simply jumping on any old bandwagon, jump on the team and find the cheapest option that is playing every week.
For Bournemouth that man is Francis. They proved with a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur that they can rack up the clean sheets even against the big boys and not they face a run of fixtures that is certainly worth investing in. In their next three games, Bournemouth face Middlesbrough (A), Sunderland (H) and Stoke (A). They are the perfect trio of fixtures for defensive returns and many have seen the benefit with Smith and Daniels in the top four for transfers in this round. However, I’m saying ignore them, save the money and go get Francis. Your team will be the better for it.
They are the perfect trio of fixtures for defensive returns and many have seen the benefit with Smith and Daniels in the top four for transfers in this round. However, I’m saying ignore them, save the money and go get Francis. Your team will be the better for it.
Next: 3. Theo Walcott
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 22: Theo Walcott of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Middlesbrough at The Emirates Stadium on October 22, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
3. Theo Walcott
There are only two players that have been transferred in more this week than Theo Walcott. They are Philippe Coutinho and Romelu Lukaku. That is impressive in and of itself. It’s even more telling when you consider that Theo is coming off a week where not only he failed to record any points, but his whole team couldn’t score at home, against a lowly Middlesbrough.
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Walcott has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season and is top scoring midfielder on 58, one clear of his teammate Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez, while another excellent option is priced at an extortionate £11.3. Theo? Well, in comparison he’s cheap as chips. At only £8.1, Walcott might well be one of the very best fantasy football players out there.
He also has some intriguing fixtures that, while at first glance may not be too appealing, are not all that bad. Arsenal play: Sunderland (A), Spurs (H), Man Utd (A), Bournemouth (H), West Ham (A), Stoke (H). Out of the six games, only two are difficult, and actually, for an Arsenal attack that has looked viciously potent in recent weeks, barring last week’s blip, even the likes of Spurs and United would struggle to keep a clean sheet.
What has been most impressive about Walcott, though, has been his consistency. Walcott has always been a wonderful fantasy football option when fit and in form, but he has never been as consistent as he has been this season. Theo has only blanked three times, two of which Arsenal failed to score altogether. He is scoring goals and racking up assists and is an absolute slam dunk fantasy option. Go and get him in.
Next: 2. Calum Wilson
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Callum Wilson of AFC Bournemouth reacts after missing a chance during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and West Bromwich Albion at Vitality Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
2. Calum Wilson
Many of our fantasy teams are beginning to establish a similar makeup in their strikeforce. Sergio Aguero or Zlatan Ibrahimovic – sometimes both if you have cheapened the team in other areas – another relatively high priced attacker, Romelu Lukaku for example, and then a cheap third option. It has been that last option that has been so hard to pin down.
Perhaps there are now a few possibilities seeping out of the cracks of despair. Charlie Austin is now starting and scoring but has Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton in his next three, Jermain Defoe looked like he could be a solid option but has now blanked in the three consecutive games while Solomon Rondon plays for West Brom and it’s always a bad idea investing in Tony Pulis’ attackers. Trust me, I did it last season.
Calum Wilson, though, could be a sustained option. While he did not score last week against Spurs, he scored in both games before that and now has Middlesbrough (A), Sunderland (H) and Stoke (H) in his next three games. The two F’s of fantasy football are form and fixtures, and Wilson has both. All of that at a very modest price of £6.5? Thank you very much.
Next: 1. Saido Mane
SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 01: Liverpool player Sadio Mane in action during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Liverpool at Liberty Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
1. Saido Mane
Just read these upcoming fixtures for Liverpool:
Crystal Palace (A), Watford (H), Southampton (A), Sunderland (H), Bournemouth (A), West Ham (H), Middlesbrough (H), Everton (A), Stoke (H).
That takes you all the way until 27th December. I mean, I hardly have to write anything else to convince you to go and invest in all of the Liverpool assets possible. Not only are they the equal top scoring side in the Premier League, they face one of the most beautiful runs of fixtures I have ever seen.
Why should you invest in Saido Mane over the other Liverpool assets? Well, it has been difficult to predict which of the many talented Liverpool midfielders will perform well each and every week. Consequently, while selecting Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino may well bring greater returns in individual weeks, I tend to prefer the consistency of Mane.
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Mane also has a greater goal threat as he is given the freedom to stretch defences in behind off that left wing by Jurgen Klopp and while he is more expensive at £9.0, he is still perhaps the best option. Having said all that, I have both Mane and Coutinho in my team, and I’d recommend you go and buy every Liverpool player you possibly can.
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