Welcome to the AM’s Players To Watch for Gameweek 30. As long-time readers of my columns will know, my advice in seasons gone by had revolved around games that would allow you to make unlimited transfers each gameweek, selecting an entirely new 11 players if you so wished. Unfortunately Yahoo Fantasy Premier League is a glorious but distant memory, while Togga, sadly, was not able to return for this campaign which put an end to the Perfect XI column I’d been penning for the past two years.
This season I’ll be a bit more general in my advice. Whether you’re playing Official FPL, FPL or Fantrax Draft, Fantrax Salary Cap, Sky Sports, The Sun, The Telegraph or any number of other the fantasy games available to fans each season, I’ll be offering my top five picks for the week ahead, mixing “must-haves” with hunch picks and players flying under the radar. Hopefully this will offer something for everyone, whether you’re considering captain options, looking to make a transfers or pick up a free agent in draft.
It was a mixed bag last weekend. We got the captain choice of Raúl Jiménez spot on and Gonzalo Higuaín also returned as expected to provide some cheer. At the other end of the spectrum it was a disastrous showing from Paul Pogba, and not much better from Luke Shaw, Raheem Sterling or Glenn Murray. C-; must do better. On to the Gameweek 30 fixtures.
Saturday 09 March
Crystal Palace V Brighton
Cardiff V West Ham
Huddersfield V Bournemouth
Leicester V Fulham
Newcastle V Everton
Southampton V Spurs
Man City V Watford
Sunday 10 March
Liverpool V Burnley
Chelsea V Wolves
Arsenal V Man Utd
This weekend our focus should be on Manchester City players at home to Watford, Liverpool at home to Burnley and Leicester at home to Fulham. Crystal Palace hosting Brighton is worth a look, as are Chelsea at home to Wolves and Bournemouth attackers at Huddersfield. With that in mind, here are the players ....
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Wilfried Zaha (MF/FW - Crystal Palace v Brighton) - Goal droughts are a strange thing. Wilfried Zaha went an extraordinary 19 gameweeks without a goal between September and February, before finally getting himself on the scoresheet against Southampton in Gameweek 24. As is often the case, the breakthrough opened the floodgates. The Eagles talisman now has five in his last six starts and is back to his dazzling best, full of confidence and looking likely to create something every time he has the ball at his feet. Brighton visit Selhurst Park this weekend and I’m backing Zaha to be the match-winner to pull his team further away from the scrap at the bottom.
Ricardo Pereira (DF - Leicester v Fulham) - Ricardo Pereira‘s fantasy form has dipped considerably recently, with the fullback returning just eight FPL points over the past seven gameweek. However, much like this week’s captain choice (see below) the arrival of Brendon Rodgers should see an uplift in performances across the field for Leicester and the fullbacks/wingbacks (both Pereira and Ben Chilwell) should be two of the biggest benefactors, encouraged to overlap and get crosses in to the box for the midfielders and strikers to feed on. Fulham beware.
David Brooks (MF - Bournemouth @ Huddersfield) - I’m a season-long Ryan Fraser owner, but if I had an FPL transfer so spare he would be replaced by David Brooks for this weekend. Brooks is fit again after a month on the side-lines and has performed superbly in his debut Premier League season, scoring six goals and providing four assists. Bournemouth face a Huddersfield, who have conceded more chances from their left flank over the last six gameweek’s than any other side (hat-tip to FantasyFootballScout for this statistic) – something the young winger could exploit if he takes up his usual attacking position on the right hand side.
Gabriel Jesus (FW - Manchester City v Watford) - This is a huge punt, but I have a feeling that Pep Guardiola will give Gabriel Jesus the nod to lead the line this weekend. Manchester City’s manager recently admitted Sergio Agüero is showing signs of fatigue and with the Champions League 2nd Leg against Schalke coming up on Tuesday, a bench appearance for his star striker could be in order. Jesus has done a perfectly decent job when given his chance this season and if the Brazilian does get the opportunity to start I’d expect him to notch a goal or two for himself. But to reiterate, it’s a huge punt.
Mohamed Salah (MF - Liverpool v Burnley) - Not for the first time this season, Mohamed Salah is looking a little tired. The Egyptian had numerous chances to steal the 3 points against Everton last Sunday but wasted them due to some heavy touches and rusty finishing. And yet, a home match against Burnley feels like the perfect opportunity for Salah to get himself back in to the groove ahead of the tense title run. Liverpool thrashed Watford 5-0 at Anfield a couple of weeks back without a goal or assist from him. We could see a similar score-line this weekend, with Moh far more involved.
Captain Choice: Jamie Vardy (FW- Leicester v Fulham) - If there’s one man who will be particularly happy with the departure of Claude Puel, it’s Jamie Vardy. The 32-year old endured a frustrating 12 months under the former Leicester manager, with the possession-based style of play failing to bring out his best, and also endured a couple of fallings-out. In stark contrast, Brendan Rodgers has reportedly held detailed talks with Vardy and told the striker he will be the main man in his Foxes revolution. Vardy will be delighted and feeling confident after three goals in his past four appearances. Vardy is on penalties. Vardy faces Fulham at home in Gameweek 30. Vardy will almost certainly take the armband for my own FPL team.
That’s it for Gameweek 30. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to access a host of fantastic content to get you ready for the new season. If you have any questions about a specific player or your own fantasy team then feel free to post them in the comments below or hit me on Twitter (@nikarg) and I will get back to you.
Thanks for reading - good luck to all managers this weekend.
