Welcome to AM’s Perfect XI - Week 7 player picks. This column focuses on Togga’s Perfect XI game, which you can play via their IOS and Android app. Find the apps here and make sure you update regularly to take advantage of the constant enhancements: https://www.playtogga.com
In case you missed it we’ve set up a Rotoworld PL Private League where you can challenge myself and the rest of the RW PL team over the course of the season. To join it download the app and then click the below link from your device, or find us from the Featured Leagues tab:
Each week I provide a Perfect XI of my own for the upcoming gameweek, recommending 11 players to consider along with some honourable mentions. The players listed won’t necessarily be the exact 11 selected for my own Perfect XI fantasy side. The point of this column isn’t to tell you exactly who to pick; it’s to present some ideas and get your brain whirring. I’ll be listing a combination of the must-haves and slightly riskier options, alongside the odd hunch. Hopefully you’ll find this useful whether you’re playing Togga’s game or looking at potential transfers for your official Fantasy Premier League team.
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Week 6 was a pretty rotten one for my own Perfect XI side:
Pickford, Fuchs, Dawson, Walker, Baines, Payet, De Bruyne, Coutinho, Townsend, Firmino, Aguero
The keeper and defence were a disaster with Pickford and Fuchs returning heavy negative points, while Baines was a no-show after a late injury which I failed to spot when checking the line-ups. In fact the only players to perform were De Bruyne, Coutinho, Firmino and Aguero which left me on a paltry 112 points. I’ve dropped to 28th in the Rotoworld Private League and 68th in the overall standings so it’s vital to get things back on track this weekend.
Week 7 presents us with our third Friday evening Premier League fantasy deadline of the campaign, with Everton hosting Crystal Palace at 8pm BST (British Summer Time) on Friday night. This means you need to have your fantasy side locked in early, although with Perfect XI you can swap out a player right up to one minute before their match kicks off and bring in an alternative player whose match is also yet to kick off. This flexibility will allow you to prevent the pain of a surprise benching or unreported last minute injury and a big fat zero. Ensure you keep your eyes on the RW PL Twitter account for line-ups one hour prior to matches.
Here are your fixtures ...
FRIDAY
Everton v Crystal Palace
SATURDAY
Swansea v Liverpool
Hull v Chelsea
Sunderland v West Brom
Watford v Bournemouth
West Ham v Middlesbrough
SUNDAY
Man Utd v Stoke
Leicester v Southampton
Tottenham v Man City
Burnley v Arsenal
And the picks ...
KEEPERS
David De Gea - Last week’s Pickford experiment failed miserably so I’m returning to picking the keeper who I feel has the best chance of a clean sheet in Week 7. That honour falls to David De Gea, with Manchester United hosting second-from-bottom Stoke City.
Honourable Mention: Petr Cech away at Burnley, Heurelho Gomes at home to Bournemouth
DEFENDERS
Daley Blind - With Luke Shaw out of favour it’s offered Daley Blind the opportunity to move back to the position he played during his Ajax days and for his national team, and boy did he make it count against Leicester. The Dutchman was outstanding in defence and particularly in attack, creating numerous chances and grabbing two assists. Provided he’s set to continue in the left back role then Blind is the United defender to go for in Week 7.
Seamus Coleman - It seems set-piece-penalty-taking Leighton Baines is unlikely to return in time for Friday night and so I’ll switch defensive flanks this week and go with Seamus Coleman. I was surprised to see Coleman actually has a significantly better points average than Baines in PXI so perhaps I should’ve been favouring the all-action right-back all along? We’ll see how he fares against Crystal Palace.
Laurent Koscielny - Shkodran Mustafi‘s arrival to play alongside Laurent Koscielny has certainly helped tighten things up at the back for Arsenal and so there’s a clean sheet possibility against Burnley, but I also feel the Frenchman could pop up with a goal this weekend. The last time this column had the same hunch he scored against Southampton ...
Jose Holebas - Yes, Holebas has a tendency to pick up yellow cards (four in his last five matches), but the Watford man is playing a wing-back role with a licence to get forward and has been getting a share of set piece duties. Consider him a bit of a wildcard pick which could pay off as the Hornets host Bournemouth.
Honourable Mentions: Kyle Walker at home to Man City, Gareth McAuley away at Sunderland, Nathaniel Clyne away at Swansea
MIDFIELDERS
Heung-Min Son - All players will experience a purple-patch at some point in their careers, and that’s exactly what’s happening for Son right now. Four match-winning performances and five goals in five games plus a ludicrous number of shots and chances created means he has to be in your PXI team, despite the fact Spurs line-up against Manchester City in Week 7.
Mesut Ozil - I’d initially pencilled in Theo Walcott and Raheem Sterling for this spot before remembering that both men are listed as forwards in PXI, so the next best midfield option is Mesut Ozil. The German star is dovetailing nicely with Theo, Sanchez and Iwobi and continues to swing in one of the meanest set piece deliveries in Europe. Burnley beware.
Philippe Coutinho - Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool side have been mightily impressive so far, particularly their attacking midfield quartet of Mane, Firmino, Lallana and Coutinho. We’re likely to see goals, assists and fantasy points shared between the group on a match-by-match basis, but Coutinho’s greediness should mean he’s the most valuable asset in fantasy games with complex scoring systems. The Brazilian returned a mammoth 40 point haul against Hull last week and he’s the danger-man again against Swansea.
Paul Pogba - It was no coincidence that Wayne Rooney‘s benching left Paul Pogba the space to do what Manchester United paid £90million for. The Frenchman was outstanding in all aspects of his game against the Foxes and capped off it off with a trademark headed goal. Expect Pogba to control the game against Stoke.
Honourable Mentions: Dimitri Payet at home to Middlesbrough, Nacer Chadli away at Sunderland, Eden Hazard away at Hull, Etienne Capoue at home to Bournemouth
STRIKERS
Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal are playing well, Sanchez is looking fit, sharp and has four goals in his past four games. The outstanding form actually extends to five goals and two assists in his past six appearances, and with the Gunners facing Burnley I expect that run of form to continue. Just don’t expect to see him on penalty duty.
Marcus Rashford - To Rashford or to Zlatan? A few weeks ago you’d have picked the Swede without pausing for breath, but while Ibrahimovic has continued to perform well it’s been Rashford’s movement and predatory instinct that have truly impressed. With a home fixture against Stoke I’ll definitely select a Manchester United striker and right now the lean is towards young Marcus, who seems to always be in the right place at the right time.
Honourable Mentions: Sergio Aguero away at Tottenham, Romelu Lukaku at home to Crystal Palace, Theo Walcott away at Burnley, Diego Costa away at Hull
That’s it for Week 7. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to see a whole bunch of great content to get you ready for the weekend ahead. Feel free to comment below to us know how you’re getting on so far. And of course, good luck to all managers this week.
