Week 27: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

The final week of the Premier League season also sees the final gameweek of the IEFSA Premier division with two relegation spots still to be decided. Add in a Promotion Playoff between 2^nd and 3^rd in the IEFSA Championship, and you have a very tasty Sunday in store. It seems like an age since the last preview where I signed off by saying it looked like the title would go down to the wire. Well that prediction crashed and burned after @FuzzyWarbles lost four games in a row, while @TRKingston romped home with four wins. The only black-spot during the title run-in for Todd was the loss in the IEFSA Cup final to @jforquer11. Joel faces @jasonuk17 this week in the final game of the IEFSA Championship. The winner of that tie will earn promotion along with @BenDinnery who went up as champion.

With the title wrapped up all the action is at the other end of the table where any two from five could still find themselves facing the dreaded drop. The bottom two sides, @nikarg and @FantasyYIRMA, face each other, with the loser certain to go down. The winner of that match-up is not guaranteed safety, but because they both have a high amount of fantasy points scored, it would take three highly improbable results to relegate them. @TAMc10, @EPL_MOstradamus and my own side simply need to win their own ties to assure their place in the top eight. The IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer has been tough on my side all season and this week is no different. To stay up my side will have to beat champion @TRKingston. #IEFSpiracy

@TRKingston’s Team

Not many holes in this squad. All the players average over ten points, with eight players who average over 15 points. David Silva alone chips in with 21.5 points every week. He has a rather good 8 goals and 11 assists from 28 games played. He also has assisted 61 shots for teammates. Teammates like four other players on @TRKingston’s roster. Otamendi, Fernandinho and Gundogan have scored 4 goals each this season; while Oleksandr Zinchenko may not have any goals so far, but he is a good bet to start the remaining game against Southampton after playing against Huddersfield last weekend.

Zinchenko, another shrewd signing from @TRKingston

@TRKingston has only lost five times all season (never to my side I might add) and on those occasions my side would have been the victors against Todd on a losing week only once. He has soundly beaten my team twice already. If he makes it a hat-trick on Sunday, then I’m sure to be relegated.

What I Need To Happen

If Todd could head off to the beach early this year that would be great. With the league wrapped up perhaps a lot of his Manchester City players will be thinking of the beach too, or at least the World Cup. His side is tantalizingly close to scoring 4000 points for the season though and he perhaps will be gunning for that target this week. He needs 125 points.

If my side were to reach 4000 points I’d need to score 1257. I’m not sure Luka Milivojevic can take that many penalties. But like Swansea this weekend, I just have to cross my fingers and hope.

The Palace midfielder has been one of my better players this season. He has top scored with ten goals (the same as Todd’s topscorer!) and been crucial in my side not been totally embarrassed some weeks. The other star player has been Nick Pope of Burnley. 11 clean sheets this season have helped the Clarets to seventh in the league, and perhaps a European place.

That's two more goals than Zlatan has...

Looking through my squad…… well…. It’s a depressing sight. Big money was spent to bring in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who now (occasionally) plays with the LA Galaxy. Serge Aurier was another big signing but failed to cement a place in the Spurs defence. At the start of the season, most of the budget went on the Newcastle pair of Gayle and Shelvey, but by the time they came into form for their club, I had them shipped off to waivers. I even bought back Dwight Gayle for a couple of games, just when he lost his goal scoring touch for a second time. Victor Lindelof was my most expensive defender back then but has only managed to feature in 16 games this season. Tom Ince was due to light up the Premier League this year. Two goals and barely over 9 points per game prove only that I wasted 40m of my budget. Cue the winger being dropped for next season only to be picked up by @TRKingston and go on to win the golden boot.

Predictions

All I can predict at this stage is that there will be no fingernails left on the five managers hovering over the drop zone come five o’clock on Sunday afternoon. In the Championship promotion playoff, perhaps @jforquer11 is the slight favourite after winning the IEFSA Cup final. All the other match-ups this weekend will go exactly against my team, just as they have done most of the season. Just as they have been engineered to, by the dreaded IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer!

It’s been another great season in IEFSA, with the new format I believe going down well. Only 9 points separated third from tenth in the Premier, and only 3 points the difference between all the bottom five. The top of the Championship was a tight run thing too, with only 8 points the difference between @BenDinnery on top and (unluckiest team of the season?) @SportsByGotti in fifth.

 Whatever happens this weekend. Good Luck Everyone, and see you next season. Oh, and go and follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter, you know you want to.

Week 24: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

My unbeaten run came to a screeching halt against @EPL_MOstradamus last gameweek. Two goals from Spurs’ Son Heung-Min (and he only played 70 minutes) did the majority of the damage. His other players also chipped in with three assists and three clean sheets. My side tried their best in accumulating a healthy-ish 119 points. That was never going to trouble the near 150 points that @EPL_MOstradamus ended up achieving.

Carry on...

The IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer really turns the screw on my team this week with a game against second placed @FuzzyWarbles. I did manage to get one over him in our last encounter, so hopefully I can catch his squad cold again.

@FuzzyWarbles’s Team

Going forward the team is very strong. Sergio Aguero has 21 goals this season and Sadio Mane has eight. Eric Dier averages over 15 points per game; while Aaron Lennon appears to be getting a new lease of life at Burnley. He doesn’t have many slouches at the back either. Hegazi, Christensen, Hoedt and Janmaat, all average over ten points a game.

Can Lloris and Spurs bounce back from their Champions League disappointment?

In goals he has the Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris. 13 clean-sheets in 26 games is an excellent return, and he will get a chance to add to those figures in a fixture away at Bournemouth on Sunday.

What I Need To Happen

My side may not have any star names, but at the moment they seem to be getting minutes on the pitch and that’s all I need. My side are third from bottom of the table and miles behind when it comes to fantasy points scored. The 119 points I scored last weekend, even in a loss, was the highest score I’d achieved since Gameweek 11. If I can post something like that for the rest of the season, I’m sure I’d be fine. Would it be enough this weekend though?

Newcastle have a good home record. But will Gayle keep his starting place?

I swapped out Ayoze Perez for Dwight Gayle last weekend after the Newcastle United team sheet was announced. Either, both, or none could play this weekend for the Toon in a game against Southampton. Hopefully Gayle will keep his place and justify it with a goal.

Predictions

Lots of upheaval last weekend with 17 teams scoring in the triple digits. The highest number of teams doing that since Gameweek 9. Because of this my predictions were a paltry four correct from nine match-ups. Here are this week’s predictions. Don’t forget to check out @THE_IEFSA on Twitter as the league looks to be going down to the wire between @TRKingston and @FuzzyWarbles.

Good Luck Everyone

@TAMc10 over @EPL_MOstradamus

@jwl_15 over @nikarg

@RotoZdroik over @FantasyYIRMA

@TRKingston over @wrigavin

@jasonuk17 over @FPL_MNOP

@BenDinnery over @RotoWireAndrew

@jforquer11 over @TomSunderland_

@SportsByGotti over @nealjthurman

@cjradune over @DFS_Hambazaza

Week 23: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

No fixtures for several weeks thank to FA Cup and League Cup action. While I would usually be glad of the break in order for my side to heal up all those injuries, I would probably have been better off if games were being played! Because, barring we’ve entered some bizzaro-fantasy league, it looks like I have the most in-form side in the league with four wins in a row. I ended @jwl_15’s outside change of the league title last time out thanks to two goals from Tom Davies and Luka Milivojevic. Davies is new to the side as I picked him up before kick-off, along with Swansea Defender Mike van der Hoorn. With 18.9 points the Swansea player could well be one to hold onto for a couple of weeks. Swansea play at home to West Ham this Saturday.

Can Tom Davis continue scoring and help Everton away at Burnley?

The IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer doesn’t dole out any easy fixtures, and Gameweek 23 is no different. This week’s opponents are @EPL_MOstradamus. A side that has an identical 9 wins and 13 loss record. @EPL_MOstradamus does have a big advantage in fantasy points scored though. He averages over 110 points per game, my side on the other hand averages a league low 103. The last time we met was before Christmas, and I managed to get the win thanks to a Joe Allen (who else!) goal and assist against West Brom. Chris will be super determined to get the three points this week as he tries to climb away from relegation, and he definitely doesn’t want to fall below my side. (There’ll be no catching me!)

@EPL_MOstradamus’s Team

Chris’s top scorer is Heung-Min Son with seven. Next on the goal-scoring charts is Laurent Depoitre who has netted five times. To help his stuttering Forward line, where Benteke has returned a paltry two goals, Everton’s new Turkish signing Cenk Tosun was brought in for $20. Tosun has struggled for game time under Sam Allardyce in the first two months of the year and could turn out to be an expensive signing who rots deep in the bench. He is not @EPL_MOstradamus’s highest salaried player though, that honour belongs to Nathan Redmond. Like Benteke, he is another player who has failed to reproduce any sort of consistent form this season.

It's all becoming a little too easy for Man City and Danilo.

The player who bags Chris the most fantasy points per game at the moment is Manchester City Defender Danilo. The Brazilian has two goals and an assist from 15 games. @EPL_MOstradamus’s Defence is put together on a budget seeing as big signing ($39) Benjamin Mendy, also of Man City, is a long-term injury absentee. Danilo only cost $1, as did Erik Pieters and Matthew Lowton. The only cash splashed was on Charlie Daniels of Bournemouth, $13. In goals Chris has Ben Foster of West Brom. And as a bit of a trick card, he has Scott McTominay in his squad. If our match-up is pretty close, he could throw the Manchester United youngster into the OF roster slot and hope he and Benteke bring home the points needed for a win on Monday night.

What I Need To Happen

If it does go down to the wire of Monday night, I would think, going on form, McTominay would outscore Milivojevic. It would perhaps be in my best interest in getting as many players who are starting games out early, rather than waiting on the line-ups for that fixture. I wouldn’t want to be leaving a spot for Victor Lindelof for instance. Most of my team are playing away from home this weekend. And on top of that, most of my squad will be facing teams inside the top 10 in the league. Can Tom Ince score away at Spurs? Will Ayoze Perez score away at Liverpool? Nine times out of ten, the answer to these questions has to be a no.

Thankfully there are hardly any throw-ins in the modern game.

In some good news, it does seem that Serge Aurier will be returning to the Tottenham back-line again. Thankfully, Fantrax don’t track foul throws……. do they??? With Aurier against Huddersfield, van der Hoorn against West Ham, and my goalkeeper Nick Pope hosting Everton. It could be the defensive side of that game which gives me a platform in order to have a chance at victory.

Predictions

A lot of big money moves over the last few weeks as a few sides get desperate in their bids to either gain promotion or avoid relegation. @SportsByGotti sweet talked @DFS_Hambazaza into giving him Mo Salah in exchange for Jordan Ayew and some scrubs. @FuzzyWarbles beat @TRKingston in the previous gameweek, meaning both are now tied on 17 wins, with Todd claiming first place in the IEFSA Premier on fantasy points scored.

Five correct from nine last time out once again, so let’s try and at the very least beat that this time out. Here are this week’s predictions. Don’t forget to check out all the action on Twitter from @THE_IEFSA.

Good Luck Everyone

@RotoZdroik over @nikarg

@jwl_15 over @TAMc10

@TRKingston over @FantasyYIRMA

@FuzzyWarbles over @wrigavin

@jasonuk17 over @cjradune

@SportsByGotti over @jforquer11

@RotoWireAndrew over @nealjthurman

@TomSunderland_ over @FPL_MNOP

@BenDinnery over @DFS_Hambazaza

Week 22: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Another Win! And finally, my side is actually off the bottom of the table! @FantasyYIRMA had a week to forget as some of his new signings failed to come alive (Mangala, Sturridge), while a goal from Milivojevic and six saves from Nick Pope was enough to see my side over the line. In an effort to scrape enough points and in order to give my team a chance at victory, Tammy Abraham was sent to Free Agency after he failed to start another game for Swansea. Dan Gosling of Bournemouth was brought in, and he contributed an acceptable 9.8 points. Gosling may have to be offloaded this week though as I try my best to get eight players onto the pitch. My side might be off the bottom, but they are lagging well behind in fantasy points scored, if I’m tied on wins at the end of the season with someone, I’ll be in big trouble. I need to try and address this imbalance.

Every game is a relegation six pointer now it seems

Abraham might have been one of my top scorers this season, but I had run out of patience with the striker, as I can’t afford to have too many players who are not guaranteed starters in my squad. My impatience is @FuzzyWarbles gain though, as he picked up Abraham midweek for a paltry $5. He was not the only big mover midweek, as a number of teams picked up players on big fees. @TAMc10 put $100 down on Lucas Moura of Spurs. @BenDinnery hopes the $19 spend on Alex Sorloth at Crystal Palace will help fire him to promotion. @TomSunderland_ spent his money on Joao Mario of West Ham, Defender Laporte of Manchester City, and Guido Carillo who now plays with Southampton. $68 for all these players could well be a bargain. The big money though was splashed by @cjradune. In order to secure the services of Arsenal new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang he bid $176. My opponent this week is @jwl_15, and he invested his budget on Gerard Deulofeu at Watford. Spending $25 to claim him for the remainder of the season. I refused to get drawn into any transfer bidding shenanigans after being left with a terrible squad beset with injuries and woeful form after the last signing window. A philosophy of scouting the dregs no one else is interested in, is how my side will play out the next few weeks.

@jwl_15’s Team

Deulofeu will slot straight into the Forward position for Jake. If needed he could put in Brighton’s Jose Izquierdo, who has three league goals this season (none of which were scored when he was in my squad by the way). In Midfield is where @jwl_15 gets most of his points. N’Golo Kante tips along with nearly 15 points per game. His two Arsenal players have been in fine form recently. Aaron Ramsey has six goals and six assists on the season, while his new teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan has eight assists, three of which came last week. Both of these players face a tricky trip to Wembley to face Tottenham in the early Saturday kick off this week.

Deulofeu could worm his way into the Spain World Cup squad

In goals is Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski. Since the appointment of Carlos Carvalhal, things have been looking up at the Liberty Stadium. The Swans have not lost in eight games in all competitions. They may only have gotten two clean sheets in that time, but Fabianski has been racking up the saves. 99 on the season so far. Now if Carvalhal would only find a place for Renato Sanches…

What I Need To Happen

This tie could go one of two ways as early as the first game of the weekend, which as mentioned is the game between Tottenham and Arsenal. If Ramsey and Mkhitaryan inspire a Gunners victory, it could be a long couple of days for my side. If on the other side of the coin Serge Aurier starts and Spurs keep a clean sheet, I could try and ride out the upper hand that gives me.

I'll be heading to bed early if Ramsey and Mkhitaryan are on song this weekend

Unfortunately, it looks like I will have five injured players this week and not a lot of room to move people around in order to get the magic eight starters playing. As I alluded to before, Gosling could be sacrificed for a Defender or a Forward if need be.  If Dan is to keep his place, I’ll need to see starts from players like Tom Ince, Marcos Rojo, Ayoze Perez and Victor Lindelof. But I wouldn’t be holding my breath on too many of those.

Predictions

A poor five correct from nine last week, in what was a surprisingly low scoring round overall. My opponents this week, @jwl_15 were the highest scorers of course, hence why the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer ‘threw’ us together. The big game this gameweek is the clash of the top two in @TRKingston and @FuzzyWarbles. To follow all the transfers, scores, and general mayhem in the league, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone

@RotoZdroik over @EPL_MOstradamus

@TRKingston over @FuzzyWarbles

@TAMc10 over @FantasyYIRMA

@wrigavin over @nikarg

@BenDinnery over @SportsByGotti

@cjradune over @TomSunderland_

@jasonuk17 over @RotoWireAndrew

@jforquer11 over @FPL_MNOP

@DFS_Hambazaza over @nealjthurman

Week 21: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

A hard-fought victory in Gameweek 20 over @nikarg was my side’s seventh win of the season. We are still the bottom side in the table but *whisper it* we are now only a few points from safety. It was a Joe Allen goal that did most of the damage that week and hopefully the Welshman can rediscover his goal scoring touch which seems to have abandoned him these last few,  um, 18, months.

I don't need to caption a picture of Joe Allen surely. Speaks for itself.

Last weekend was a break from the hectic league action as most sides were playing in the FA Cup. That meant midweek fixtures and the return of the IEFSA Cup. We were sitting at home for those of course; but they were entertaining nonetheless and after two high scoring contests, @TRKingston and @jforquer11 will compete in the IEFSA Cup Final. My side had gone out to @TRKingston in the previous round. The round before that I did manage to beat this week’s IEFSA League opponents. Therefore, this is going to be a huge revenge game for @FantasyYIRMA. If YIRMA and my side had been counting scores for the midweek fixtures with our players, he would have squeezed past me by less than two points. On paper I’m coming into this game on the back of two victories and YIRMA two defeats. If you look closer though you’ll see that his team has actually outscored mine in the last three gameweeks. The IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer is once again out to get me.

@FantasyYIRMA’s Team

With the January transfer window now firmly shut a lot of sides were looking to strengthen coming into this gameweek. @FantasyYIRMA has brought in new Everton loanee Eliaquim Mangala. He has also brought in Luke Shaw as cover in his Defence. A couple of players in his squad seemingly got a new lease of life this past week also, as Mesut Ozil signed a new contract at Arsenal, and Daniel Sturridge opted to head to West Bromwich Albion in order to get some game time.

If he scores a hat-trick on his debut, he'll be West Brom's third highest scorer

His top scorer is Jamie Vardy with 11 goals this season. Wayne Rooney who is also in @FantasyYIRMA’s side is not far off with 10. Perhaps Vardy at home to Swansea is the better option in the Forward position this weekend. Rooney does have a good goal scoring record against Arsenal (14 goals) though, so could perhaps be a flex option. Nacho Monreal has four goals this season and is in a great run of form for the Gunners. If there is going to be a goal in the Arsenal Everton game, you wouldn’t put it past Monreal to get it. Oh he also has Dele Alli, Ashley Young, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Ibe and David De Gea in goals…

What I Need To Happen

I need all those players to have an off day. No shots on target, no clean sheets, no goals. I would probably have a better change doing the lottery this weekend I’d say though. My squad has scored a total of 19 goals this season. @FantasyYIRMA on the other hand has 43. Luka Milivojevic is my top scorer with five. One ahead of Tammy Abraham of Swansea. The Swans have been playing better and scoring more goals recently. Not much of that has been down to Abraham though.

Nick Pope saves a penalty against Newcastle's Joselu midweek

Two players I could normally rely on to maybe get me 20 points, or at least double figures would be my goalkeeper and the already mentioned Welsh wizard Joe Allen. Nick Pope has to try and get a clean sheet against Manchester City this weekend though. Something that has only happened once this season in the league. The last time Burnley played Man City back in October they lost 3-0. Joe Allen has to try and work his magic away at one of the most in-form sides in the league, Bournemouth. Burnley against Man City is the early game on Saturday, this week’s fixture against @FantasyYIRMA could get ugly very quickly.

Predictions

Six correct and three incorrect for the last gameweek. @TRKingston still leads the way in the IEFSA Premier, while @BenDinnery also remains atop the IEFSA Championship. Don’t forget to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to get the latest goings on in the league. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone

@FuzzyWarbles over @RotoZdroik

@TRKingston over @EPL_MOstradmus

@TAMc10 over @nikarg

@jwl_15 over @wrigavin

@SportsByGotti over @FPL_MNOP

@cjradune over @RotoWireAndrew

@BenDinnery over @jforquer11

@jasonuk17 over @nealjthurman

@TomSunderland_over @DFS_Hambazaza

Week 20 IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Not a massive haul of points last weekend (113) but thankfully it was enough to squeeze past @RotoZdroik. I was made to sweat towards the end though, as after a poor start @RotoZdroik had three players left to play with me thinking I was home and dry. But then, one by one, they all scored! Bellerin, Sane and Lukaku all found the net, in what I am reliably informed would have been a 44-1 treble at your local bookies.

Bellerin was one bright spot for Arsenal against Bournemouth

That win doesn’t see my side off the bottom though, as 9^th placed @nikarg also won. And against league leader @TRKingston no less. He also scored the highest number of points for the week, and his second highest points total of the season. Nik is in great form having won five of his last six in the league. Why am I telling you all this? Well, because the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer has saw fit to make sure the bottom two face off this week. All the way back in Gameweek 1 @nikarg beat my side by a whopping 46 points. I was able to extract some revenge in Gameweek 12 when I outscored him by 15 points.

@nikarg’s Team

Eriksen and Mahrez did the damage in the opening Gameweek thanks to combining for three assists, and @nikarg still has those two players in his team. James Ward-Prowse scored 18.6 points that day and the Southampton man has also remained in his side. Up front, it looks like Chicharito could be heading away from West Ham this January. Jermain Defoe is still out injured at Bournemouth. That means Nik will have to call on Shane Long to do the goal-scoring. The Irishman did score this month in the Premier League, which ended a goal drought of over 1,300 minutes. He had failed to score since February 2017, and that was against Sunderland so shouldn’t really count.

Eriksen is due on off day, or perhaps a straight up day off??

At the back @nikarg will hope the good form of Lewis Dunk at Brighton, Jonjoe Kenny of Everton, and Paulo Zabaleta of West Ham United continues. All three average a double figure points return per game. With Dunk average almost 16 points per game. His Goalkeeper is whoever gets put in between the sticks for Crystal Palace. At the moment Wayne Hennessey is winning that battle against Julian Speroni.

What I Need To Happen

Last weekend I brought in Ayoze Perez of Newcastle and Grzegorz Krychowiak of West Brom. Neither set the world on fire, they just went about their 90 minutes picking up points here and there. Unfortunately, both have tough fixtures this weekend meaning a nice 10 point haul could be beyond them. Perez has to travel to a smarting Manchester City side. While Krychowiak also has an away fixture, West Brom have to take a trip to Goodison Park. In fact, I could easily have to field a whole team (bar the goalkeeper) who will be playing away from home. Even then, my Goalkeeper Nick Pope of Burnley has to face Manchester United. Hardly a banker home fixture.

Dlaczego jest tyle spółgłosek w języku polskim?

Injuries seem to be blighting my team this new year. Maybe I will have to dip into the murky pool of Free Agency again. Zlatan is still recovering. Both of my Swansea ‘Stars’ are sidelined. Renato Sanches and Tammy Abraham. And they have been joined by Everton’s Michael Keane who has picked up a foot injury. All in all it looks like I'll need five or six of Nik’s side to have an off day, While one of my players deflects one in off his arse or something. Tom Ince more than likely. Although the smart money is on a Shane long hat-trick this weekend.

Predictions

Lots of close games last weekend. @wrigavin and @FantasyYIRMA were separated by only 1.1 pts. Games like that played havoc with my predictions as only six of nine were correct. That is an improvement on recent weeks, but let’s try and improve again this time out. To follow all these games please head over to @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone

@TRKingston over @RotoZdroik

@FuzzyWarbles over @EPL_MOstradamus

@jwl_15 over @FantasyYIRMA

@wrigavin over @TAMc10

@RotoWireAndrew over @FPL_MNOP

@BenDinnery over @TomSunderland_

@cjradune over @SportsByGotti

@jforquer11 over @nealjthurman

@jasonuk17 over @DFS_Hambazaza

Week 19: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

A battling performance in the IEFSA Cup against @TRKingston, but not enough points to score the upset. Oddly I was hanging in there in the tie until late on in the Liverpool game when Dejan Lovren assisted a Ragnor Klavan goal (both of these Defenders were @TRKingston players) against my Goalkeeper Nick Pope. That is two games in a row where Todd has got the better of my side.

As i said, if it wasn't for bad luck...

It’s back to IEFSA league action this weekend though, as I attempt to drag my side from the foot of the table. So, who has the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer saw fit to put my side up against this gameweek? Why its only third placed @RotoZdroik, who has already beaten me in gameweeks 3 and 10.

@RotoZdroik’s Team

The two highest scoring players on @RotoZdroik’s team have more goals between them than my whole squad. Both of them have nearly three times as many assists as my whole squad too. And to cap it off, they both cost less than five players in my squad. Leroy Sane of Manchester City in Midfield averages over 15 points per game. While up front, Manchester United Forward Romelu Lukaku is just back from injury and will hope to add to his ten league goals this season when he faces Stoke City on Monday night.

Lukaku back from injury, and back on the score sheet in the FA Cup

But even if those two players misfire this weekend, he can call on several other stalwarts to get him through the fixture. Hector Bellerin in Defence is a good accumulator of points. Steven Davis of Southampton in Midfield already has three goals to his name this season, as does Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson. In goals is Huddersfield’s Jonas Lossl, who has achieved seven clean sheets so far this season.

What I Need To Happen

It looks like @RotoZdroik will be able to get a full set of starters in his team and will be scoring points all over the field. My side on the other hand will be struggling once again this week. If Tammy Abraham, (my top scorer believe it or not) is absent this week, that will mean no scoring player for the Forward position. This will force me to look into the abyss of the unclaimed player pool for a goalscorer that everyone else has inexplicably passed by.

Will Joe Allen stay put, go to West Ham, or, retire and move to Celtic?

Mark Hughes has been shown the door at Stoke City. Hopefully this will free up the criminally underused Joe Allen. The Welshman has been a transfer target of West Ham United this January according to reports. Maybe a move to the Hammers would revitalise his fantasy scoring seeing as West Ham score more and concede less than the Potters. Wherever he ends up, his head better be right for Stokes vital clash against Manchester United this coming Monday.

Predictions

Only one from three for the IEFSA Cup games midweek. This was after a rather disappointing showing of five correct from nine during the last gameweek. Things are only going to get harder to predict as we enter squeaky bum time in the season. Remember to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter for all the latest action.

Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@TRKingston over @nikarg

@FuzzyWarbles over @TAMc10

@jwl_15 over @EPL_MOstradamus

@FantasyYIRMA over @wrigavin

@SportsByGotti over @RotoWireAndrew

@cjradune over @FPL_MNOP

@BenDinnery over @nealjthurman

@jasonuk17 over @TomSunderland_

@jforquer11 over @DFS_Hambazaza