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19th May 2017

The three players you need in your Fantasy Football team this week

Conor Heneghan

Fantasy Football

Almost there…

J-League

Ogie Nolan’s Tullig Panthers faced the biggest threat to their long-term leadership of the J-League in Gameweek 37 and they stood up to the challenge with aplomb, gaining six points on long-time pursuers, Alan Duggan’s Klippity Klopp.

In fact, given the amount of points on offer in Gameweek 37, it’s amazing that the top four in the J-League all remained intact and that all of the individual scores they posted this week were within five points of one another’s totals.

As a result, it means that Darragh Harkin’s Pruners Postman remain in third and Brian Haugh’s Hauzinho Harriers stay in fourth, with Michael Doyle’s Champs coming from nowhere to claim fifth after an impressive haul of 192 points this week.

J-League Top 5

  1. Tullig Panthers** – Ogie Nolan: 2,398 points
  2. Klippity Klopp – Alan Duggan: 2,372 points
  3. Pruners Postman – Darragh Harkin: 2,350 points
  4. Hauzinho’s Harriers – Brian Haugh: 2,338 points
  5. Champs – Michael Doyle: 2,330 points

This week’s leaders: Tullig Panthers** – Ogie Nolan

Bench boost

Gameweek 38

On one of the most anti-climactic final weekends of the Premier League for some time, pretty much everything goes out the window in terms of selection criteria for Fantasy Football managers.

The only teams with anything left to play for are Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, but it would take an awful lot for the Gunners to wrestle one of the Champions League places from the two teams above them in the table.

While players from those teams certainly represent sensible selections as a result, it’s often the case that the most high-scoring Premier League games come about when there is nothing to play for.

Remember Manchester United’s 5-5 draw with West Brom on the final day a few years’ back?

The real moving and shaking in Fantasy Football terms was done in Gameweek 37, when one team managed a ridiculous 223 points, but on the final day, we expect Chelsea to celebrate their title win in style and for Liverpool and Manchester City to confirm their Champions League qualification in comprehensive fashion.

And keep faith with those Spurs stars. Talk of a ‘bottle job’ when they’ve won 11 out of their last 12 league games is nonsense and considering they put six past Leicester in midweek, it could be a long afternoon for already relegated Hull City at the KC Stadium on Sunday.

This week’s picks

Safe bet: Philippe Coutinho (£8.6 million). After something of a mid-season slump, how fitting it was that, against West Ham, the Brazilian was the man to step up when Liverpool needed to win the type of game they’ve struggled in all season.

Two goals and an assist delivered 19 points last weekend; he could easily hit double figures again at Anfield on Sunday.

Dark horse: Michy Batshuayi (£8.4 million). He’s not exactly cheap for a striker who’s scored three goals all season in a title-winning team, but he has two goals in his last two games and will be in no mood to show mercy to Sunderland if given the nod ahead of Diego Costa again this weekend.

Captain’s choice: Harry Kane (£11.8 million). After four goals against Leicester and a 31-point tally in two games, how could we go for anyone but the man who, barring heroics from Alexis Sanchez or Romelu Lukaku, will finish as the league’s top scorer for the second season running?