Rich pickings for two of the league’s in-form strikers
J-League
By the looks of it, most of the leading lights of the J-League made good use of the chips at their disposal in Gameweek 34.
In fact, not a single member of the top 20 failed to register a score in excess of 100 points. Well played all.
At the top, there was plenty of fighting for places and the shake-up worked out in favour of leader Allan Johnson, with his side, Comeback Kids, extending their lead at the top to 16 points.
Ciaran Tracey’s Bacuna Mata-ta, who looked for a long time like they wouldn’t be caught at the top, are well back in the hunt in second place, three points ahead of a new challenger, Brendan Nohilly’s Odds are against me!
Tremendous Tom Mulholland’s The Turbo Terrific are ten points further back in fourth, while the big loser this week was Pairic Sheehan, who saw his outfit, Klippity Kloppity, fall from second to fifth.
J-League Top 5
1) Comeback Kids – Allan Johnson: 2,162 points
2) Bacuna Mata-ta – Ciaran Tracey: 2,146 points
3) Odds are against me! – Brendan Nohilly: 2,143 points
4) The Turbo Terrific – Tremendous Tom Mulholland: 2,133 points
5) Klippity Kloppity – Pairic Sheehan: 2,126 points
Gameweek 35
After the joys of the double gameweek just gone, there’s a reduced programme this weekend owing to the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
Six teams will be absent from Premier League duty – Manchester United, Everton, Watford, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Norwich – so, while you might need to do a little bit of rejigging, it’s not the end of the world either.
No fixture really jumps off the page but there are a few important things for managers to remember.
First of all, Jamie Vardy is suspended, meaning that a Leicester side who haven’t exactly been banging in the goals will be without their chief goal threat.
In the early game on Saturday, an in-form Manchester City side host a Stoke side who look like they’re already thinking of summer holidays and that can be dangerous when Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne are in the mood.
Two other form sides, Liverpool and Spurs, are also at home against opposition (Newcastle and West Brom) and you would expect them to have too much for them. So, reduced programme or not, there are points up for grabs if you play your cards right.
This week’s picks
Safe bet: Alexis Sanchez (£11.0 million). In typical Arsenal style, it’s probably too late to have a meaningful impact, but the Chilean is on a hot streak with six goals, an assist and 58 points in his last six league games.
Dark horse: James Milner (£6.6 million). He’s often a target for abuse, but Milner is playing very well lately and has registered four assists and 21 points in his last two league starts.
Captain’s choice: Harry Kane (£10.2 million). It really is a toss of a coin between the Spurs striker and Sergio Aguero, so we’re giving Kane his turn this week.
And, with eight goals (including three braces), an assist and 58 points in his last six games, it’s not as if he doesn’t deserve the armband.
Potential to use chips
Many of you probably have none left after last week, but for those of you who do, you’re best advised holding off until another substantial double gameweek in Gameweek 37.
Listen to James Franco on this one…
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