Crystal Palace and Stoke aren’t going to win any points for the aesthetic qualities of their football, but their players are winning a lot of Fantasy Football points at the moment.
Gameweek 34 review
Last week we suggested that players from Manchester City and Everton should make up the majority of most managers’ teams, but of all the teams playing twice, it was Crystal Palace who most impressed and the Eagles were rewarded with the inclusion of five players in the Dream Team this week.
Much to the frustration of your humble author – who resisted the strong temptation to introduce him at the last minute despite publicly advising his selection last week – it was Jason Puncheon who was by far and away the best performer this week with 23 points after two goals, an assist and six bonus points over Palace’s two games.
He was joined in the Dream Team by Palace team-mates Scott Dann (13), Julian Speroni (12), Yannick Bolasie (11) and Joel Ward (10), while only one player apiece from the three other teams in action twice made the cut.
Sunderland’s Connor Wickham was the pick of that bunch after earning 15 points for a most unexpected brace against Manchester City, a total matched by Cardiff’s Juan Cala after he scored the only goal in his side’s unexpected win over Southampton at St. Mary’s.
Stoke’s Erik Pieters gets the nod at the back after a goal and clean sheet in the win over Newcastle for 14 points while the Dream Team is completed by Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski with 13 points and traditional Fantasy Football heavyweights David Silva and Leighton Baines with 12 and 11 points respectively.
J-League
After coming under a bit of pressure in recent weeks, Barry Curran’s Gambitbeer responded like Champions-in-waiting with 92 points this week, a score bettered by only one team in the top five and a score good enough to increase his lead at the top to a comfortable 38 points.
Michael Roche’s Hyperloopin’ Away are the team most likely to challenge Barry at the top having moved into second after an 82-point haul this week, which puts them 16 points clear of Emmet Masterson’s Hamsterdam in third; Emmet’s charges having come from nowhere into third place after a seriously impressive 98 points.
Top five regulars, James Curran’s ^ Thank Youuuuu ^ and Adrian Marnane’s Michu at De Gea Bar have hung onto their places in the upper echelons, but it’s looking like Barry’s to lose at this stage with only a handful of weeks remaining.
J-League Top 5:
- Gambitbeer – Barry Curran: 2,322 points
- Hyperloopin’ Away – Michael Roche: 2,284 points
- Hamsterdam – Emmet Masterson: 2,268 points
- ^ Thank Youuuuu ^ – James Curran: 2,264 points
- Michu at De Gea Bar – Adrian Marnane: 2,258 points
Unfashionable but in-form sides piling up the points
Given their respective positions in the table it is little surprise that Liverpool and Everton top the Premier League form guide over the last six games, but would anyone care to hazard a guess at the teams in third and fourth place?
As is always the case with leading questions like that (you’ll never guess how old is person X is another example… obviously that means that person X is way older or younger than most people think) the answer is quite a surprise; Crystal Palace and Stoke are third and fourth in the form table with four wins and a draw apiece from their last six games.
Premier League points often translate into Fantasy Football points and that has been the case as far as both have been concerned, particularly the Palace lads on the back of their double Gameweek last time out.
As we’ve elaborated upon before, Tony Pulis has his Eagles side incredibly well-organised and if you’re looking for value at the back for the last few weeks, ‘keeper Julian Speroni (£4.8 million) and any one of Joel Ward, Damien Delaney, Adrian Mariappa and Scott Dann (all priced between £3.9 and £4.5 million, just keep tabs on the fitness of injury doubts Ward and Mariappa) are a decent shout.
Further up the pitch, the aforementioned Jason Puncheon (£5.3 million) is one of the form players in the league and seemingly can’t stop scoring right now and although Palace don’t have many more prolific points-scorers in the attacking end of the pitch, Yannick Bolasie (£4.9 million but also an injury doubt) has two assists in the last two games.
While Tony Pulis has been getting some credit of late, not much has been said about Mark Hughes’ role in quietly guiding Stoke up to the giddy heights of tenth in the table, three points off Newcastle in ninth and, in what is another damning reflection on Manchester United’s season, just 11 points behind the Red Devils.
Like Palace, with two clean sheets in their last three games Stoke are solid at the back and in Asmir Begovic (£5.4 million) they have a ‘keeper with 23 points in his last three games. Erik Pieters (£4.8 million) is the best of a decent bunch of defenders with 26 points – including a goal and an assist – in his last four outings, while up front, Peter Odemwingie had bagged four goals in three games before a mini-drought in the last two games and remains a threat.
Palace and Stoke might not exactly fashionable but it’s fine margins that make the difference at this stage and it’s not always the glamour boys who make the difference when the going gets tough.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Sergio Aguero (£12.4 million). Played for less than an hour against Sunderland in midweek but if City are to salvage any faint hopes they have of winning the title, they’ll need their Argentinean striker to step up to the plate, starting with West Brom at home this weekend.
Mid-Range: Christian Eriksen (£6.9 million). The Dane is enjoying a fine end to the season with Spurs, having been responsible for four goals, three assists, eight bonus points and 44 points in his last four outings.
Bargain Basement: Jason Puncheon (£5.3 million). With four goals, an assist, nine bonus points and 39 points in total in his last three games, the man is flying at the moment.
Irish Pick: Damien Delaney (£4.4 million): Seeing as Palace are the focus of this week’s column, we’ll go for Damien Delaney, an ever present in the heart of the Eagles’ defence, who had earned 28 points in five games prior to drawing a blank against Everton in midweek.
Captain’s Pick: Luis Suarez (£13.3 million). The Liverpool striker has a great record against most teams, but he appears to take particular pleasure in torturing Norwich, with 11 goals in his last four outings against the Canaries.
