Four teams have two games to play in Gameweek 34, but will you be brave enough to roll the dice.
Gameweek 33 review
Blue is most certainly the colour when it comes to the Dream Team for Gameweek 33, with no fewer than seven of the XI representing teams with jerseys of that colour.
Leicester City, Manchester City, West Brom and champions-elect Chelsea all had two players apiece on the team, with seven players sharing the top scorer billing from an individual perspective with 11 points.
Of those seven, managers were most likely to have Eden Hazard and less likely to have a pick of the other six, who were Tom Heaton, Alex Morgan, Andy King, Chris Brunt, James Morrison and Jesus Navas.
At the back, Cesar Azpilicueta and Pablo Zabaleta also warranted a mention with eight points apiece, the same total as Stoke’s Mame Biram Diouf after his goal against Southampton.
J-League
Much like Chelsea in the Premier League, Sean Kelly’s The Honey Badgers moved a step closer to the J-League title by increasing their lead over the chasing pack to five points after a solid weekend.
Garry Doran’s What’s Love Gotze Do are hanging in there in second place but would need to kick on soon if they are going to catch the leaders, while Michael Ward’s I Gotze No Idea are the third team in the league to have broken the 2,000 point barrier.
Behind them, it’s very tight with only four points separating third from Michael Crawford’s James & Salah Sandwich in fourth and a further two points between fourth and Joe O’Neill’s Dr. Neo Cortex in fifth place.
J-League Top 5
1. The Honey Badgers – Sean Kelly: 2,035 points
2. What’s Love Gotze Do – Garry Doran: 2,008 points
3. I Gotze No Idea – Michael Ward: 2,002 points
4. James & Salah Sandwich – Michael Crawford: 1,998 points
5. Dr. Neo Cortex – Joe O’Neill: 1,996 points
All or nothing
Unless you’re comfortably nestled in top spot in your respective private leagues, then the time for conservatism has been and gone at this stage.
In Gameweek 34, four teams play twice in what is the last real chance to make up serious ground on the teams above and push away from those below and you don’t want to let the opportunity pass.
Not so long ago, for example, Aston Villa and QPR didn’t look like the most appetising teams to take a punt on until Christian Benteke and Charlie Austin returned 17 and 15 points respectively in Gameweek 31.
Of all the teams with two games, Chelsea are the biggest standout.
They’re not in vintage form, but they’re winning and the likes of Eden Hazard (72 points in 9 games) and Branislav Ivanovic (four goals and five assists this season) have been racking up some nice tallies as they’ve gone along.
Liverpool appear to be undergoing a crisis of confidence at present, but away outings against West Brom and Hull is a chance to put that right.
Of all their players, Philippe Coutinho looks the likeliest to provide some inspiration, while a few goals from Raheem Sterling would present an opportunity to end the season on a high note after a difficult few weeks.
As far as this week is concerned, Leicester City could well be where the real bargains are to be had. The Foxes have won three on the trot and suddenly look like a decent shot to beat the drop.
Only one player in Nigel Pearson’s squad – Andrej Kramaric – costs over £5.0 million and some of them have been going above and beyond the call of duty in recent weeks, particularly Esteban Cambiasso (above) with a goal, two assists and 22 points in his last three games.
Keep an eye out also for Jamie Vardy, who has two goals and two assists in his last four outings and Leonardo Ulloa, who scored his first goal since St. Stephen’s Day at the weekend.
Finally, the last team with two games in Gameweek 34 is Hull and while we’d like to recommend somebody from the Tigers, they haven’t won in six games and confidence is low so our recommendation would be to steer well-clear.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks
Top Dollar: Sergio Aguero (£12.6 million). We recommended him as captain last week and he responded with a goal. With three in two games, he’s worth persevering with.
Mid-Range: Philippe Coutinho (£7.8 million). A bit of a gamble in that Liverpool have suffered a dip in form, but he’s been their best player and is most likely to get the Reds out of their current funk.
Bargain Basement: Esteban Cambiasso (£4.8 million). Doing as much as anyone to lead the recent Leicester revival and has two games to add to the goal and assist he’s claimed in his last three outings.
Irish Pick: Damien Delaney (£4.9 million). Crystal Palace haven’t been keeping loads of clean sheets, but a home game with Hull is an opportunity to correct that and Delaney always plays 90 minutes when fit.
Captain’s Pick: Eden Hazard (£11.3 million). Unless Jose decides to rest him with the title all but sewn up, it’s pretty much a no-brainer this week. The Belgian is flying and, as mentioned above, has 72 points from his last nine games.
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