Worth bringing him straight back in? We’d be inclined to say yes.
Gameweek 21 Review
Not for the first time this season, Alexis Sanchez was the man in Gameweek 21. The boy from Chile was far too hot for Stoke to handle and he came away with 19 points after two goals, an assist and three bonus points.
The player that came closest to Sanchez was, surprisingly enough, Leicester City defender Paul Konchesky, who collected 15 points after a goal and a clean sheet against Aston Villa.
Laurent Koscielny was next with 14, one more than Oscar and three more than his Chelsea teammate Branislav Ivanovic and Liverpool’s Lazar Markovic.
After that, there were four players – Jason Puncheon, Fernandinho, Saido Berahino and Danny Ings – locked on nine points, with Petr Cech making a rare appearance after collecting seven points in Chelsea’s win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
J-League
Four of the top five maintained their places in the top five this week, meaning that Sean Kelly’s The Honey Badgers managed to hold on to first place.
Like Sean, Joe O’Neill’s Dr. Neo Cortex returned 69 points this week, allowing Joe Hodge’s 50 Shades of O’Shea to narrow the gap in third place.
Garry Doran’s What’s Love Gotze do broke into the top four with a solid 71 points, which was enough to put them one point of John Hurley’s Club Orange back in fifth.
J-League Top 5
- The Honey Badgers – Sean Kelly: 1,289 points
- Neo Cortex – Joe O’Neill: 1,282 points
- 50 Shades of O’Shea – Joe Hodge: 1,280 points
- What’s Love Gotze do – Garry Doran: 1,275 points
- Club Orange – John Hurley: 1,274 points
Summoning Sergio for instant recall
Before an untimely injury at the beginning of December, Sergio Aguero would have been top of most people’s lists for Player of the Season up to that point and he certainly put a smile on the faces of the Fantasy managers who saw fit to have him in their team.
The Argentine had managed 14 goals in just 12 starts before crying off against Everton and even after missing all but 24 minutes of the last six games, his points total is far superior than his fellow Manchester City strikers, including new arrival Wilfried Bony.
Furthermore, it was only last week that Aguero was eclipsed as the highest-scoring striker in the league by Charlie Austin, while only four players – Austin, Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas – in the entire league have scored more points.
In short, his status has barely been affected by his absence and after a quarter of a match against Everton last time out, he could be fit to explode back into action against Arsenal on Sunday.
Often you’d be wary to place such trust in a player returning from injury against one of the bigger teams, but Aguero is probably the best big-game player in the league; he almost performs better against City’s nearest rivals than he does against the rest of the Premier League riff-raff.
After Arsenal, and Chelsea next week, Man City have a pretty forgiving-looking run of games coming up and it’s highly tempting to stick him straight back in the side.
With many managers still able to avail of a wildcard before the end of the transfer window, we have a feeling that plenty of you will be doing just that.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks
Top Dollar: Sergio Aguero (£12.4 million). We’ve said all we need to say about him above and, injury permitting, you won’t go too far wrong if you pick him now and leave him in your team until the end of the season. The man is sheer class.
Mid-Range: Lazar Markovic (£7.2 million). The Serbian has arguably been Liverpool’s best player during their recent mini-revival and he probably deserved more than the one goal he scored against Sunderland last weekend.
Bargain Basement: Danny Ings (£5.7 million). Playing well enough to attract the attention of Spurs and, apparently, Real Sociedad, Ings has two goals and an assist in his last three outings.
Irish Pick: Seamus Coleman (£6.8 million). Despite their FA Cup exit, Everton seem to be mounting a recovery of sorts and a home tie against West Brom is a chance for our Seamie to make an impact in the attacking third.
Captain’s Pick: Harry Kane (£5.8 million). There might have been doubts about the Spurs man earlier in the season but not anymore. With six goals in his last six and 55 points over the same period, the man is on fire at the moment.
