MyEG Stadium Astro Fantasy Football: Overall Picture and Week 2 - Part 1

Overall Picture

Welcome back, let's get on with it shall we? We're still looking at the game overall first, then the second part goes into specific picks for the week.

The all-season powerhouses 

These are what I call those expensive attacking players who are generally expected do well regardless of match-up. Let’s look at them:

Costa (15m): Costa’s a beast, but be prepared to get regular -2pts to go along with his weekly score, which in this fantasy game feels more damaging.

Aguero (15m): Aguero’s a City have kicked off the season on a canter, and with Aguero back, you’d fancy him to score regularly, although the more cautious of you would wait until Week 3, like Costa. He’s my favourite for premium striker, and a lot less card prone then the other two.

Rooney (14.5m): Restored to his rightful position as , can he find that magic back? I’m gonna say…. No. LVG will continue to tinker and while he will be successful, Rooney will not be as prolific as he was previously. He’s also prone to the occasional card.

Alexis Sanchez (13.5m): He’s back, and raring to go as you saw from his cameo last week. Current favourite due to Arsenal’s typical attacking style.

Eden Hazard (13.5m): So he had a rusty weekend. He is Chelsea’s best player and will only get better, regardless of any team’s plans that attempt to contain him. Chelsea’s generally solid defense allows him to attack at leisure.

David Silva (12.8m): He stepped up a notch last season, and though City’s overall performance faltered, he was arguably the most improved player, which says a lot for a person already of his quality. With Sterling in, and Yaya seemingly recovered from last season’s malaise, expect Manchester City to challenge big time for the title, with Silva at the heart of every attacking move.

I would look into squeezing at least one midfielder and one striker from these powerhouses. If you can’t do it immediately, then do it progressively.

Other bits

Season reminder: Don’t forget you can only have 3 players per team, including your bench, so plan accordingly.

Bench: With only two transfers a week, you should ideally have starting players on the bench who are capable of coming into the team. There is no auto-sub function so make sure you account for any injured player in your starting 11.

The extra transfer: I will try to catch the bonus keywords on ASTRO. Feel free to share it here if you catch it. Those transfers might be very valuable.

Okay, that’s the overall view more or less out of the way, let’s look at Week 2 specifics.

Week 2: Strikers and Midfielders

Stand out fixtures this week, for attacking purposes, would be Liverpool vs Bournemouth, Southampton vs Everton, Swansea vs Newcastle, Sunderland vs Norwich, Crystal Palace vs Arsenal.

  

Strikers: 

While I wouldn’t back Liverpool to be a free-scoring entity just yet, backing Christian Benteke (11m) to score cheered on by the Kop makes this a no-brainer.  Diafra Sakho (9.3m) should get goals against leaky attack-minded Leicester, but check for updates because apparently he just got arrested for assault. If he’s not playing, then West Ham loses their focal point of attack and may not be as potent.  Jermaine Defoe (9.5m) should find space against Norwich too, despite Sunderland’s shocking defense. Southampton have started off much like last year, so back Pelle (10.7m) to do his merry dance against a creaking Everton backline.

There’s also Harry Kane (12.5m), who may be a bit under the radar against Stoke, although I don’t think it’s the easiest of matchups. He ended last season quietly, but as the main striker, with the magical Erikssen behind him, he could get into the scoresheet.

 Midfielders:  

Can Mahrez and Albrighton (only 7.5m each) repeat their feats against West Ham. Judging from West Ham’s discipline in restricting Arsenal, I’m gonna say… NO. (but you should still find space for them in later weeks because of their cheap price). So who then?


Sanchez (13.5m) screams into my teamsheet as a result of last week’s result in London. This week the Gunners are still in London and no way they’re losing two derbies in a row. However Wenger lines up, Sanchez will be involved. Walcott (11.4m) is listed as a midfielder in this game so he merits consideration as well, but will he start? Sigurdsson (10m) as the big gun against Newcastle (free-kick goal imminent).

Sadio Mane (9.6m) was not on the scoresheet last week but that should be rectified immediately at home to Everton. Although Coutinho (12m) was the MVP for Liverpool this season, I’m backing Firminho (10.9m) to be the standout performer for the season and that will begin this weekend. Payet (9m) (NOT Poyet, don’t screw up!) is also key for the Hammers but again, check on Sakho’s status.

Finally, a little dark horse, Redmond (8.2m) to score against Sunderland away.

In our next article, we’ll look at the other positions and get ready for the weekend!