Fantasy football
It’s almost time for Gameweek 10 in the Fantasy Premier League, with entrants into Phakaaathi’s Private Fantasy League in with a final chance of getting enough points in October to claim top spot and grab themselves a Chiro Master Queen base set worth R6 000.
At the end of this piece, we will publish the current top 10 leading into the final week of October, but first, Phakaaathi Plus’ Emmett McConnell takes a look at who you might want to add to your squad ahead of this weekend. Readers can still enter Phakaaathi’s Private Fantasy League, by following the rules in the advert at the bottom of this page.
After a booming week eight, week nine was something of a return to reality for most fantasy owners, like myself.
But with just fewer than 30 weeks left, the season still has a long way to go. For every high, there is a low, and for every low there is a wildcard.
Of the big teams, Chelsea (at Burnley), Arsenal (at Crystal Palace), and Liverpool (vs. Cardiff) have the most favourable matches.
Outside of Eden Hazard (£11.4 million ) – who, while an injury risk, is still an essential pick – Chelsea are a tough nut to crack for fantasy owners. Willian and Pedro rotate too often, Giroud and Morata are in the same position, but have the added bonus of looking as likely to score a goal as Willy Caballero. A clean sheet is the closest thing to a certainty against Burnley, so a Chelsea defender is higher priority.
This could be the last chance for fantasy owners to squeeze the sweet juice from the Arsenal fruit, as their fixtures begin to grow more difficult. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (10.8) scored four goals in the last two matches, but both as a late substitute. Should he continue to come off the bench, Alexandre Lacazette (9.7) remains a better option despite failing to score last week. Mesut Ozil (8.4) looks revitalised under Unai Emery, and along with Aaron Ramsey (7.4) provides bombarding runs into the box from midfield.
The last two weeks have proved Jurgen Klopp isn’t as consistent as once thought. Sadio Mane (9.7) is back from hand surgery and played midweek, but there are no guarantees he starts this weekend. After Roberto Firmino (9.3) was benched last week, only Mohammed Salah (below, 12.8) appears a sure starter.
Fulham versus Bournemouth is this week’s goal-fest match. Fulham’s approach to defence would impress a matador, as they’ve become experts at stepping aside and letting the opponent charge headlong at poor Marcus Bettinelli. Aleksander Mitrovic (6.9) and Andre Schurrle (6.0) are least good for a goal or two – in the rare moment when Bettinelli isn’t fetching the ball from the back of his net.
After just the second time without scoring a goal, Bournemouth are after blood. The first time it happened – a surprise 2-0 win at Chelsea – the Cherries bounced back to smash four past Leicester City.
With the way Fulham have played, Bournemouth will find it difficult to not put a few goals past the team whose highest scoring defensive player has a whopping five points after nine games this year.