Fantasy Football Insider – Gameweek 9

In this week’s Fantasy Football Insider, JOE looks at the value of a priceless commodity in any fantasy football team – the set-piece king.

By Conor Heneghan

Like any good football team, every fantasy team should have at least one man – and probably more men – that specialises in set-piece situations, whether it be penalties, free kicks, or in the case of Stoke City and Blackburn, throw-ins.

The opportunity of three points for an assist or four plus points for a goal from set-pieces are an obvious reason to include the set-piece experts, as is the fact that these players don’t really have to be in any sort of form to deliver the goods.

The value of a set-piece specialist is evident in a number of the top performers in the league so far this season. The big-hitters – the likes of Didier Drogba, Nani, Carlos Tevez and Darren Bent all take free-kicks or penalties for their respective clubs, increasing their potential for a big tally each and every gameweek.

Below them, some of the surprise packages this year are also deadly from dead balls. Blackpool’s Charlie Adam is a prime example. The talented left-footer has scored two penalties so far this campaign and has also provided three assists, such as the wicked delivery for Marlon Harewood’s goal against Manchester City at the weekend. As a result, Adam has 45 points so far and trails only Florent Malouda and Nani in the midfield stakes.

In a team so reliant on set-pieces, Stoke’s Matthew Etherington is always good for an assist – he’s provided five so far this season, while other players worth considering are Chelsea defender Alex and Everton left-back Leighton Baines, Aston Villa’s Ashley Young and Birmingham City’s Sebastian Larsson.

What to look out for this week

Looking at the fixtures before last weekend, fantasy managers would have had a good idea of where the ‘easy’ fantasy football points would come from. Picking Carlos Tevez as captain seemed an obvious choice, Nani was always likely to do something against West Brom at Old Trafford; ditto Marouane Chamakh for Arsenal against Birmingham at the Emirates.

This weekend, on the other hand, is really tough to call. Manchester City and Arsenal could well cancel each other out at Eastlands, while a Manchester United side reeling from the Wayne Rooney saga face a tough trip to the Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke City. Spurs take on a resurgent Everton side at White Hart Lane.

Chelsea, as has been the case so often so far this season, look like the best bet. The fitness of Didier Drogba is still in doubt, but Nicolas Anelka (£8.9 million) showed against Spartak Moscow during the week that he is more than capable of picking up the slack in his absence. Michael Essien (£7.2 million) has been excellent since returning from injury this season and although he is not always amongst the goals, he is a bonus points goldmine, with nine already this season.

Ashley Cole has been streets ahead of every other defender this season

You can hardly go wrong with any Chelsea defender at the moment, but Ashley Cole’s ability to get forward for assists as well as keeping clean sheets means that he is streets ahead of the rest at the moment. Even if he is a tad expensive at £8.1 million, he’s well worth a place in any squad.

JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks

Top Dollar: Nicolas Anelka (£8.9 million). Drogba’s not certain to be fit, but even if he’s not, Anelka will more than likely feature against Wolves at Stamford Bridge, where the Blues have been ruthless in front of goal so far this campaign.

Mid Range: Rafael van der Vaart (£7.9 million). Harry Redknapp’s last-gasp purchase of the Dutch midfielder has been a resounding success for the Spurs. In five games so far, he has already scored 35 fantasy points, but it's at White Hart Lane where he has been knocking up the big numbers.

In two home games so far, he has totted up three goals, one assist, five bonus points and 24 points in total. Spurs face a resurgent Everton at the Lane this weekend, but Van der Vaart should be fresh after missing out on the Inter Milan clash through suspension and could do damage against the Toffees.

Bargain Basement: Chris Brunt (£5.5 million). Possibly a tad too expensive for the bargain basement category, but we couldn’t resist giving Brunt a mention after yet another outstanding contribution against Manchester United last weekend.

After an unspectacular start in the first three games, the Northern Ireland international has been outstanding for an in-form West Brom side and his goal, five assists and six bonus points so far have helped him become the seventh highest scoring midfielder in the league on 39 points in total.   

Irish pick: John O’Shea (£5.7 million). Left out of Manchester United’s Champions League victory over Bursaspor during the week, O’Shea should return at right back against Stoke this Sunday. United have hardly been solid at the back of late, but they have a good record against Stoke at the Britannia and this may be the weekend where they sort themselves out in defence. 

Captain’s pick: Ashley Cole (£8.1 million). An odd choice as captain, perhaps, but Cole is the sixth highest scorer in the competition this season behind Drogba, Nani, Malouda, Tevez and Berbatov. ‘Cashley’ has played every minute in the Premier League so far this season and has contributed two assists and six bonus points as well as six clean sheets.

The Blues are at home to Wolves this weekend and with Drogba still a doubt and Malouda stilting a bit after a lightning start, Cole is a safe choice as skipper this weekend.