GW10: Dos and Don'ts

Another gameweek, another guide.

Arsenal v Swansea

It looks like the time has come for Swansea to get a spanking. Arsenal, coming from a convincing -albeit rather late in the game- victory at Goodison Park are coming home and have an opportunity to build on that win. This is a fantasy chance that you should not miss.

DOs:

• Sanchez (11.8): Stating the obvious, here. The only match the chilean tank missed, at Watford, Arsenal lost. We expect a hat trick here. He is also our Captain suggestion for this week.
• Kolasinac (6.0):  You can't give a pass to a clean sheet and a possible involvement in one of the many goals the Gunners will score

DON'Ts:

• Swansea defence and Goalkeeper
• Xhaka. Just because he had an assist at Goodison park, do not jump the bandwagon. Look someplace else.

Crystal Palace v West Ham

This is the type of matches we love analysing. Three points in nine games for Palace -and those three points where in a freak win against Chelsea. Palace's best fantasy player has a sum of (hold on...) 19 points. Total. Roy needs to turn this tide and we truly believe he can do it. They're facing the Hammers, who had a blip in their otherwise improved form and managed to lose to Brighton. This one could go either way, we believe - but lean towards a draw.

DOs:

• Kouyate (5.0): With Chicarito dissapointing us once more, we will concentrate on West Ham's midfield in Kouyate. 
• Zaha (6.7): He's back and will be the cornerstone of Palace's attack.

DON'Ts:

• Ayew. The perfect anti-Mata in anti-football terms. Stay away.
• Palace defence. No clean sheets so far, so Palace's defenders are in a quarantine this season.

Bournemouth v Chelsea

Back to their impressive wins, for Chelsea after a two-week break. Against gritty Watford nonetheless! Bournemouth is capable of upsetting the londoners, but with Conte's team have had their blip and should with this one -not easily mind-. We predict a 1-2.

DOs:

• Stanislas (5.9): Looks like he's gained Howe's trust and won't be affected much by any goals they might concede. We'd wager on him getting involved if Bournemouth do score.
• Morata (10.3): He's coming back and we expecting him to bang one or two.

DON'Ts:

• Daniels. Do not get carried away by his fantasy points. He will concede so there's not much he can deliver this gameweek.
• Willian. We've said before that he's had his chance and blew it somehow. He's been rather average fantasy-wise so we suggest you refrain from getting him.

Burnley v Newcastle

Keepers

Tough matchup, this one. This blog is an admirer of Rafa, so our heart lies there, but you cannot deny Burnley's excellent season so far. They have 8 points against the top-6 already, but seem to struggle a bit at home. We will not make a score prediction here, but we can see both teams scoring.

DOs:

• Ritchie (6.0): Our statisticians have discovered that there is a pattern, if you watch Ritchie's output throughout the gameweeks, and that pattern tells us that he is about to have a double-digit output this week. Trust math.
• Pope (4.5): A very good keeper overall, who even when is not keeping a clean sheet can provide you some valuable points. We are betting on him -and if he does get a clean sheet, it will be all the better.

DON'Ts:

• Perez. He was been subbed off around the 60-minute mark for two games in a row, so we wouldn't risk picking him.
• Vokes. He is doubtful to start and on top of that he is on a steady decline as a player. Take his season debut of and he hasn't provided more than two points per week.

Man Utd v Spurs

Tottenham won Liverpool easily at Wembley, without even needing to hit top gear. They seem to be on top form at the moment and this can be their chance to validate their title credentials. United are totally different cup of tea, however. Coming back from a surprising defeat at Huddersfield, the red devils will be more determined than ever. Mourinho is not naive -ahem Jurgen- and will not give space to Son and company circa Liverpool at Wembley. Additionally, United have three consequent wins at Old Trafford against Tottenham, so this counts for something as well. A tactical masterclass from Mourinho will see him sneakily getting the three points.

DOs:

• Lukaku (11.7): This kind of fixtures are made for players of his caliber.
• Valencia (6.7): One of the first names on the team sheet, a very likely clean sheet for United and a chance for a goal or assist. What is there not to like? 

DON'Ts:

• Lloris. Can't see him keeping a clean sheet
• Mkhitaryan. He's been on a steady decline for the past month or so. We can see Mourinho even benching him.

West Brom v Man City

Six out of nine possible clean sheets for city and three out of four away from home. City look like the big bully at the moment and when they're passing by, it is wise to simply stand aside and not try to act tough (looking at you Stoke). Toni Pulis -as wise as he is- simply cannot win this battle, so he will focus on parking a great big bus in front of goal and concede single digits. We see an easy win for City 0-2/0-3.

DOs:

• Aguero (11.7): Back with a bang -at the expense of poor Jesus- and we see him starting again. Drive safely Kun!
• Walker (6.6): We just have a sweet spot for attacking full backs. And so should you.

DON'Ts:

• Any player wearing the West Brom shirt
• Sane. His stock price on a steady rise during the last weeks. Act wise and refrain from buying him now. After all, how much can he keep up at this rate?

 

Liverpool v Huddersfield

There is only one point separating the two teams at the moment. It is as good for Huddersfield as it is bad for Liverpool. Liverpool's defence problems where once more exposed at Wembley, where they where naive enough to play a high line against the likes of Alli, Eriksen and Kane. It would have been just as good to play with no defenders at all -something we are sure has crossed Klopp's mind-. We've been hyping Wagner and Huddersfield even before the season started, so we are very proud of their win against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The two teams play a very similar type of football, but Huddersfield need to defend and hit the Reds on the counter -everybody and his dog knows this is the way to beat Liverpool. We see a high-scoring draw in this one.

DOs:

• Salah (9.1): A consistent threat and Liverpool's best player this season by a mile
• Ince (5.8): Coming against his youth club, he has a chip on his shoulder
• Depoitre (5.2): Since becoming a starter, he's been very valuable. He scored against United and should be rewarded with a start at Anfield

DON'Ts:

• Defences. High-scoring draw, remember?
• Liverpool Midfield. Meaning, their actual midfielders: Milner, Wijnaldum, Can, Henderson. All of them waste of space.

Watford v Stoke

Watford makes history this season. They have been at their best ever position in Premier League.They have scored easily against big teams and they have only to be ashamed for the 0-6 defeat from Manchester City. They attack, they score, they win. On the other hand, Stoke misses in this game their best defenders from last year Shawcross & Martins. Stoke has the worst defence at the moment in PL, therefore we would even bet for a game with many goals and a win from Watford.

DOs:

• Richarlison (6.3): A consistent threat and Watford's best player so far
• Doucoure (5.4): Value for money! 48 fantasy points in such value, you barely find

DON'Ts:

• Stoke defence. 20 goals when Crystal Palace has only conceded 19. what else do you need?
• Allen. He doesn't seem to make much difference. You hope for an assist in 10 games

Brighton vs Southampton

We know, Brighton gets results. But we also know, we question the way they play. It is better to watch a friendly game between 2 teams from Indonesia instead of watching Brighton. Southampton plays badly this season as well. It is a game, that we will not be anticipating to watch. We'd rather have a Twilight marathon. Still, we expect a narrow win for Southampton.

DOs:

• Gross (5.8): Pity he plays for Brighton, he is a good player
• Forster (5.8): We believe Soton will keep a clean sheet against Brighton.

DON'Ts:

• Lemina: He is not contributing in any fantasy points
• Murray: he scored 2 goals in the last game. Next brace will be in a couple of years.

Leicester vs Everton 

The clash of the manager-less teams! What a feast! Everton 8 points, Leicester 9 points. Everton in the relegation zone, Leicester almost there. Everton spent 110 million in transfers, Leicester won the title 2 years ago. What is the problem? Well, Everton cannot score but their defence is ugly as well. Jagielka has been injured some games but it seems that without Barkley at the midfield, Everton looks like a castle without a knight. Leicester just is the average team that has always been and relies on a good day of Mahrez. Bad decision of him, staying there. What do we see? A draw.

DOs:

• Mahrez (8.4): If someone can make the difference at this game, it is him
• Leicester defence: We do not see Everton scoring. Everton will be looking to get a draw.

DON'Ts:

• Everton forward. Who to choose? Who is going to play? New coach, new ideas, let's wait
• Gueye. Useless fantasy player. 9 games, starting 11, no goal, no assist