Fantasy Football Insider – Gameweek 31: Luiz and Luis the form choices

In this week’s insider, JOE recommends two purchases from the January transfer window who have taken to the Premier League like ducks to water.

By Conor Heneghan

Fantasy Football (In association with Champion Sports)

Gameweek 30 review

Thanks to the international break, Gameweek 30 seems like eons ago at this stage, but now that the Euro 2012 qualifiers are on the back burner for a while and meaningless international friendlies will not surface again until late May, we can look forward to seven uninterrupted weeks of Premier League (and more importantly, Fantasy) football.

Gameweek 30, if you can’t remember, included yet another late Manchester United rescue act, yet another limp performance by Manchester City against a big side and yet another horrendous Manuel Almunia goalkeeping error. As a result, the dream team was populated by some of the league’s so-called lesser lights.

We never thought, for example, that we’d see three Stoke players in the most prolific-scoring XI, but Danny Higginbotham (13 points), Jermaine Pennant (14) and our own Jonathan Walters (13) all figured prominently after a 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle at the Britannia.

JOE favourite Charlie Adam continued his unbelievable scoring exploits with two goals and 15 points despite the fact that his Blackpool side are in freefall, while a man who is fast becoming a JOE favourite, David Luiz (more on him anon) and Dirk Kuyt also made the cut after 14 and 12 points respectively.

Champion J-League

Nothing has changed at the top of the Champion J-League with Shane Halligan’s Hal’s Allstars, despite some surprisingly low scores in recent weeks, still lording it at the top of the table. Stephen Fox’s Makin Up D Numbers have sneaked into second, but still trail Hal’s Allstars by nearly 60 points, while early pace setter Donal Barrett, who changed his team's name to Sinking like a stone, makes a welcome reappearance in the top five after months in the wilderness.

The winner of the monthly prize for March, meanwhile, was Damien Martin's Rath Rovers, and Damien will receive a Premier League replica jersey of his choice.

After falling to a frankly not good enough 26th in the table under my stewardship, I have decided to hand the reins of control of Joe’s Journeymen back to Emmet Purcell, who will attempt to restore the glory days for the struggling journeymen. If he can drag himself away from his shiny new Nintendo 3DS for long enough that is.

J-League Top 5:

1.       Hal’s Allstars – Shane Halligan: 1741 points

2.       Makin Up D Numbers* - Stephen Fox: 1684 points

3.       UpDown FC – Keith Donnelly: 1675 points

4.       Sinking like a stone - Donal Barrett: 1656 points

5.       Sultans of Ping FC – Mark Dinan: 1653 points

What to look out for this week and JOE's Fantasy Football Picks

What to look out for this week

Probably the craziest transfer window in living memory was dominated by the arrival of Fernando Torres at Chelsea and Andy Carroll’s big money move to Torres’ former club, Liverpool, while a couple of astute purchases involving the same clubs that would have normally been headline news slipped under the radar.

While Torres has been firing blanks and Carroll has been injured (according to Fabio Capello, perhaps drinking a little too much), Chelsea defender David Luiz and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez have been attracting the headlines for all the right reasons.

Luiz has been far more than a sideshow

Brazilian defender Luiz has cult hero written all over him. He’s fast, he doesn’t half love a tackle, he chips in with goals at the right end of the pitch and then of course, you have the brilliant Sideshow Bob-esque haircut (I imagine that his Chelsea teammates have scattered rakes around the dressing room, expecting similar hilarious results to the video below).

In fantasy football currency, Luiz has been a revelation. He’s started four games, scored two goals, picked up six bonus points and acquired 33 points in total, an average of more than eight points a game.

Of all the title challengers at the moment, Chelsea look the strongest with 13 points from a possible 18 in their last six games and probably the easiest run-in. Certainly, their next four games, against Stoke, Wigan, West Brom and West Ham, are all winnable and it would be a surprise if Luiz, who’s relatively affordable at £6.3 million, doesn’t get on the scoresheet or keep a couple of clean sheets.

'El Pistolero'

Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has a lot in common with Luiz. He’s South American, he’s extremely confident, there’s an element of nastiness in his game and he has already developed a rapport with the Kop.

Suarez was already a renowned striker before arriving at Anfield and it didn’t take him long to confirm the suspicion that ‘the boy’s a bit special’. His assist for Dirk Kuyt’s opener against Manchester United at Anfield and his brilliant individual effort against Sunderland were the works of a master craftsman and one only has to look at Liverpool’s rudderless performances in Europe to see just how much they are lacking in his absence.

Luis Suarez has settled in extremely well at Liverpool

Since his arrival on Merseyside, Suarez has featured in five Premier League games, one as a substitute. He has scored twice, provided three assists and earned seven bonus points which all adds up to a 32-point tally, pretty impressive for a Premier League newcomer, especially when you consider what the man he has replaced, Fernando Torres, has done at Chelsea in a similar timeframe.

The fact that Liverpool go up against Manchester City and Arsenal in their next three games might put you off picking the Uruguayan, but he has already shown against United that he has the temperament for the big games and he should do alright as long as he’s not asked to defend the goalpost on corners.

JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks

Top Dollar: Robin van Persie (£10.5 million). He is a slight fitness doubt after picking up yet another injury for Holland during the week, but if he is passed fit, you’d fancy him to do damage against a struggling Blackburn side at the Emirates.

Mid-range: David Luiz (£6.3 million). His coiffured mane may take some punishment against Stoke at the Britannia this weekend, but as we have elaborated upon above, Luiz is some player and will be vital if Chelsea are to mount a late challenge for the title.

Bargain Basement: Matthew Jarvis (£5.2 million). The tricky winger was rewarded for his recent form with his first England cap against Ghana during the week and rightly so. In the last four games, Jarvis has accumulated 27 points thanks to two goals and an assist and is a constant source of bonus points.

Irish Pick: Damien Duff (£6.1 million). Duff is our Irish pick for the second time in succession after clearly carrying his club form on to the international fold against Macedonia last weekend. Blackpool will provide the opposition for Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday and with the Tangerines having the worst defensive record in the league, the potential is there for Duff to make hay.

Captain’s Pick: Robin van Persie (£10.5 million). Given that Sunderland have lost five of their last six games, Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez may seem like the logical choice, but he’s doubtful with a groin injury and hasn’t hit the net for a while anyway. Instead, we’re tipping Van Persie to do the business against Blackburn.