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

You've missed it the last couple of weeks, haven't you?

J-League

Pairic Sheehan returned to the summit of the J-League despite failing to do what the three teams below him did: score in excess of 100 points in Gameweek 8. Crabby Joe's Spleef Queens, Allan Johnson's Comeback Kids and Paddy O'Connor's SavedByTheBellerin all had Sergio Aguero to thank for a pretty productive gameweek. Despite a terrible outing under the circumstances, meanwhile, Dylan Higgins' Van Gaal's Red Army managed to just about cling onto their place in the top five.

J-League Top 5

Gameweek 9

The biggest dilemma for many managers this weekend is how to replace Sergio Aguero, the man who rewarded patient managers with five goals against Newcastle. Wilfried Bony is a decent alternative considering that Manchester City will face Bournemouth at home, but it is worth exploring other in-form options like Southampton’s Graziano Pelle and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku. Arsenal’s demolition of Manchester United at home won’t have escaped the attention of fantasy managers, with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and particularly Alexis Sanchez all looking in decent nick for the Gunners. Time will tell whether Jurgen Klopp churns any of his Liverpool squad into Fantasy Football point-scoring machines, while Chelsea couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to kick-start their season than with a meeting with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

This week’s picks

Safe bet: Sadio Mané (£7.9 million). Southampton are beginning to return to the form of last season and Mané is a huge reason for that. The Saints have scored 11 goals in their last five games and Mané’s been directly involved in seven of them, with two goals and five assists. Dark horse: Wilfried Bony (£8.2 million). With Sergio Aguero expected to be out for at least a month, somebody’s going to have to fill his clown-sized feet (we’re talking metaphorically, of course) at the Etihad. Bony’s done nothing this season, but he does have 28 Premier League goals to his name and now is the time to remind everyone he knows where the goal is. Captain’s choice: Alexis Sanchez (£11.3 million). The Chilean has been sizzling hot in recent weeks, with nine goals in five games for club and country. With 36 points in his last two games alone, the Arsenal man is impossible to ignore.

Potential to use chips

Let’s see what Buddy the Elf has to say. Triple captaincy for Alexis Sanchez, maybe? Surely nobody else will repeat Sergio Aguero’s five-goal heroics, right? Right?