Bantasy Football: Gameweek 12 Review

The diminutive Brazilian is in danger of becoming an elite fantasy player. With 5 goals, 12 bonus points and an assist so far, Oscar has provided a decent return for those who backed him early. Going forward, though, he looks a great shout. Having started all but 2 games and bagging 6 points in his second sub appearance against Cardiff, he appears to be a key cog in the new Mourinho machine. Chelsea face Southampton (H), Sunderland (A), Stoke (A) and Palace (H) in their next four games. Oscar isn’t just a top selection, he’s a viable choice of captain for those who can’t afford RVP or Aguero.

A whopping 16 points against his old club assuaged any fears that Lampard will be a 60 minute, 3 points per game fantasy let-down. He takes free kicks, corners and pens, Jose loves him and, well, he’s still Frank Lampard, as hard as that is to believe. There are more exciting options for Chelsea coverage like Oscar and Hazard but anyone wanting to climb the table might be encouraged by the fact that Frank’s only owned by 7.7% of teams.

Long’s take for his first goal was exquisitely composed and three goals in his last two games will no doubt garner some interest from fantasy managers. With faith seemingly lost in Anelka, Long, owned by 1.1% of managers, looks to be the Baggies’ main man going forward. At 6.0 he is a decent replacement for Fraizer Campbell (5.4), who is still somehow owned in 5.9% of teams despite failing to score between weeks 2 and 12, or Dzeko (6.8), owned in 4.4% of teams, whose playing time has been decimated by the emergence of the dazzling Negredo.

I scoffed at those who put in Chelsea’s Lukaku at the beginning of the season. “He’ll never get the starts”, I wryly smarmed as gleefully I put in Jelavic, who was practically guaranteed 7 points a game. Well luckily for those misinformed people, Mourinho didn’t know what he had in Lukaku and shipped him off to Merseyside, where he’s now a goal machine. I remain right but, well, also a bit wrong. You don’t need to worry about that really, though. You just need to put Lukaku in your fantasy team.

Regularly starting defenders priced this low are almost always worth having in your team. Palace have kept their first two clean sheets of the season in back to back games against Everton (oooh, impressive) and Hull. They will concede goals again, of course, but perhaps it won’t be against the struggling Norwich, West Ham and Cardiff, who make up Palace’s next three fixtures. Chuck him in for Baines (out for 6 weeks) or another spenny defender and free up some mullah for that marquee signing (Aguero, Suarez et al.) who can bag you the big points.

Currently, putting an “attacking” Lillywhite in your lineup is like buying a cheap banger from a second-hand dealer; it seems like a bargain at the time but there’s a decent chance it won’t start and if it does it will likely underperform. Midfield maestro Eriksen is out for at least a few weeks with an ankle sprain, Paulinho has averaged 2.4 points over the last 7 weeks and star striker Soldado hasn’t found the net since his first open play goal against Hull four weeks ago.

Even England’s man of the moment Townsend, ostensibly good value at 6.0, was benched this weekend against City. Some favourable fixtures against Sunderland, Fulham, West Brom and Palace are on the horizon but given that AVB’s boys are struggling to find the onion bag against even meagre opposition, Spurs forwards and midfielders are currently high risk, low reward. Steer clear.

If swapping around goalkeepers mid-season is your thing (not a tactic I recommend until the January wildcard but hey – do what you want, what am I your Mum or something?), you could do worse that trading Mignolet for a cheaper ‘keeper. The three goals conceded against Everton are almost anomalous (derbies are always mental like) but one clean sheet in 9 for the Reds is worrisome and between gameweeks 16 and 19, Liverpool play Spurs Man City and Chelsea, all away from home. So if you like to plan ahead, which you should unless you plan on losing interest midseason like all my friends, pick up a more reliable stopper and save some cash while you’re at it.

Another week, another scintillating performance for Aguero in their 6-0 demolition of Spurs. Pellegrini, who compared the Manchester City frontman to Messi and Ronaldo yesterday, will be almost as delighted with the Argentine’s performance as the 46,528 fantasy owners who dug deep into the club coffers to sign the 12.0 priced striker. He returned their faith with 2 goals, an assist and 2 bonus points for a total of 15 points. City face Swansea at home next week and, with the Swans having conceded 5 goals in their last 3, it will be hard to find a more appealing option to captain your side.

Rodgers benched Sturridge, who has been struggling with a thigh problem, for the Merseyside derby, meaning the focus was on Suarez to provide and he did not disappoint. His return of 73 points in 7 games is phenomenal. Sell your granny if it means you can get him in your team. There’s always a risk he’ll get hungry again and try and taste a linesman but you’ll have one less Christmas present to buy and you can stop trying to convince yourself Berbatov is going to come good.

Some short-sighted managers might see big point scores and have a knee-jerk desire to put in “the next big thing”. This section helps you sort the prodigies from the Steve N’Zonzis.

You might think that starting every game, getting an assist, a goal and man of the match against Sunderland as well as 14 points makes Steve a legitimate fantasy option. Let me tell you a story –

The Speedy Spaniard has been a bit part player for the Citizens this year but played the full 90 against Tottenham on Sunday. His deft chip of Lloris (let’s be nice and assume he meant it – it’s nice to be nice) was a catalyst for one of the biggest decimations of the season. He went on to bag a brace, an assist and the full 3 bonus points for a massive 19. Those who gambled on Navas were repaid in spades but the threat of rotation is a real one with the plethora of quality at Pellegrini’s disposal and with Silva bound to come straight back in once he's fit again, Navas could be the biggest fantasy mirage of the season.

“A goal and two bonus points against West Brom?” I hear you cry. “And only 4.9? Well that’s just terrific. I’ll put him in my team at once.” “Nooooooooo!” I yell from behind your sofa “Don’t click that buttooooon – he plays for Aston Villa and remains rubiiiiiish”.