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

The momentum is very much on Merseyside right now.

J-League

Only two teams in the top five before the international break have maintained their positions after Gameweek 11, illustrating once again the cutthroat nature of one of the most brutal Fantasy Football leagues out there. Despite a relatively average return, Christy O’Neill’s The Klopp End remain in top spot and still have a healthy advantage over their nearest rivals, with a 22-point cushion over Liam Dugdale’s Game of throw ‘ins. Christopher Dooley’s The Jolly Ollocks sit in third place a point further back and a point ahead of the highest scorers in Gameweek 11, Kevin Maher’s Jack Giants, who managed a whopping 109 points. Propping up the top five meanwhile, is Paul Stirrat’s Fer Fuchs Ake… we see what you did there Paul, very well played.

J-League Top 5

1. The Klopp End – Christy O’Neill: 708 points
2. Game of throw ‘ins – Liam Dugdale: 686 points
3. The Jolly Ollocks – Christopher Dooley: 685 points
4. Jack’s Giants – Kevin Maher: 684 points
5. Fer Fuchs Ake – Paul Stirrat: 679 points

This week’s leaders: The Klopp End – Christy O’Neill

Gameweek 12

Manchester United v Arsenal is a fine way to resume Premier League activity after the international break and it’s undoubtedly the fixture that jumps off the page in Gameweek 12. United’s erratic form and Arsenal’s poor league record at Old Trafford in recent years might lead Fantasy Football managers to look elsewhere, starting with the top three, who all have very winnable away fixtures over the weekend. Chelsea, in particular, represent excellent value for managers at the moment, given that they have netted 16 goals without reply in their last five Premier League games. Deadly duo Eden Hazard (5) and Diego Costa (4) are responsible for nine of those 16 goals, but both are slight injury doubts for the clash with Middlesbrough on Sunday, so keep an eye on the fitness bulletins right up until the transfer deadline if possible. The only team capable of matching Chelsea at the moment are Liverpool, who have scored an impressive 10 goals in their last two games. We’ve said it before but it bears repeating that all managers should have at least one of the Reds’ deadly midfield quartet in their line-up. Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Adam Lallana (in that order) are all in the top eight highest-scoring midfielders in the league at the moment, no surprise given they’ve been responsible for 19 goals and 18 assists between them so far this season.

This week’s picks

Safe bet: Eden Hazard (£10.1 million). Fitness permitting, the Belgian should be the first name on a manager’s team sheet at the moment. Currently in a run of form reminiscent of his Player of the Year campaign in 2014/15, Hazard has scored five and assisted two goals in his last four games, returning 49 points in the process. Dark horse: Jermaine Defoe (£7.3 million). While the thought of recommending a Sunderland player might seem like madness, bear with us. It is a sign of both Defoe’s quality and Sunderland’s reliance on him that only two strikers (Diego Costa and Romelu Lukaku) have more points in Fantasy Football this season and that he has managed the same tally as Sergio Aguero so far. Having finally grabbed their first win of the campaign against Bournemouth, Sunderland could potentially go on a decent run and if they do, Defoe will be no doubt be at the heart of it. Captain’s choice: Roberto Firmino (£8.7 million). It was a toss-up between one of Liverpool’s prolific midfield quartet mentioned above, but we’ve plumped for Firmino thanks to three goals, four assists and 41 points in his last five outings.