Player Picks Week 14

Last week before December where it gets really congested and more and more players fall to injury!

I’ve been busy so I’ll get right down to it. As you know, in the MyEG Stadium Astro game, normally you can make sure someone plays before you transfer him out for another starting player. 

Unfortunately, this week, there’s no early match, and there’ll be five matches in the first round of matches which start at 11am. That’s 10 teams, here they are:

Aston Villa v Watford

Bournemouth v Everton

Crystal Palace v Newcastle

Man City v Southampton

Sunderland v Stoke

Let’s assume you don’t have anyone in your squad who is ALREADY injured or suspended (meaning he won’t play regardless).  Are there any players involved in the first round of matches above that you could really score points from, to the point you’re willing to sacrifice potential points for any of your existing players?

Yes, there is, and only one fulfills it completely for me.  It has to be Lukaku, if you don’t already have him. The man is in form and so is Everton, whom are playing against 19^th placed Bournemouth.  Deulofeu and Barkley are also options if you have a hopeless midfielder to let go, or someone missing from the squad of 18.

Aguero? Of course he can score against anyone, but Manchester City play Southampton at home. Southampton is currently tied with West Brom and Manchester City for the least amount of goals scored against them away from home. Plus next week City plays Stoke, who have kept 4 clean sheets from the last 5 matches. Not attractive for me at 15m, especially with Silva still unlikely to play.

If you have a keeper who is extremely likely to give you a negative score this week (Fabianski or Ruddy come to mind) then you can consider Gomes of Watford, who plays away to Aston Villa, a team that has only scored THREE goals at home.  Butland (Stoke) has been excellent as well. Both he and Gomes are also cheap enough that you would get extra funds to spend elsewhere if you pick either up. You can do the same for any of the defenders too, and add Aston Villa and Sunderland defenders to the mix.

Just remember to check the lineups first of course!

Alright let’s look at the last 5 matches, by playing block:

Leicester v Manchester United

Tough one, and it’s hard to recommend anyone from here, with both teams solid in defense in rec. There’s Vardy, who’s still record-chasing at the moment.

This week’s dark horse pick is here though: Ashley Young. He came on in the CL and looked bright in comparison with his stodgy colleagues.

Spurs v Chelsea

Another tough one, Kane is in supreme confidence mode at the moment, but Chelsea have chalked up two clean sheets in a row (incl. the Champ s League), albeit against much lesser opposition. Regardless, both wins would have given them a morale boost, and Hazard looked much better in those games. Spurs have not kept a clean sheet in a while, but the only person I’d consider from Chelsea for now would be Willian (again), who scored his SIXTH free kick goal of the season for Chelsea in midweek. The man is a machine.

West Ham v West Brom

If you see Andy Carroll in the starting lineup, then stay away. If he’s not, then Sakho and Lanzini or even Zarate are strong options. It’s really up to Bilic. He must accept that Carroll does not fit into his starting eleven style of play, and should really be playing off the bench, at least where West Ham are concerned. West Ham ought to recover from the Spurs mauling though, and you could even consider their defenders (they play Manchester United next ha ha).

Finally,

Liverpool v Swansea

Norwich v Arsenal

This is the last block of matches, and honestly, you could save your three transfers this week for these two, but check if Coutinho’s fit though. I do question whether Firmino can play like last weekend without Coutinho, but he’s still a good option at a decent price of 10.9m. Benteke was in good touch. Swansea don’t look like recovering from their bad run of form anytime soon either. Moreno for the defense as he’s most likely to generate attacking returns. I was actually starting to consider Mignolet but that nonsense against Bordeaux has slammed that idea!

Despite Arsenal’s speed-bump against West Brom, Norwich should not pose a problem. There’s just not enough quality in Alex Neil’s squad to muster a defense against the Arsenal attack (and Neil is no Pulis).  Ozil, Giroud and if they start, Ramsey and Sanchez are all useful picks. Koscielny as a goal-scoring defender.

Note:  Of course, please adjust your timing accordingly if you have European players as well.

Here’s my team as it stands:

For my 2+1 transfers, I will most likely make that always planned, never executed move for Willian. Ronaldo plays at 11pm on a Sunday, so I get to see about an hour’s play before I decide whether to sell him or Lewandowski off for Giroud/Benteke (freeing up funds for next gameweek’s planned purchase of Messi). My last move will probably be for a defender, most likely Moreno.

Good luck!