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18th Aug 2016

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

Conor Heneghan

We’re backing the big man to shine on the big stage.

The J-League

The inclusion of Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved a prudent approach in the first week of the new Fantasy Football season.

Every single manager in the top five of the J-League selected the pair up front and every single one of them gave Aguero the armband, which meant a handy 27-points to kick off the new campaign.

Craig Keenan’s The Pique Blinders and Conor Hogan’s Scouting for Goals led the way on 89 points apiece, followed by Conor Mullins’ Dubs United in third, John Daly’s TurnCoatXI in fourth and Eoin McIntyre’s SheWasOnlyX1.

Here’s how the best teams in the league looked this week…

The Pique Blinders – Craig Keenan

gw2

Scouting for Goals – Gerard Hogan

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J-League Top 5

  1. The Pique Blinders – Craig Keenan
  2. Scouting for Goals – Gerard Hogan
  3. Dubs United – Conor Mullin
  4. TurnCoatXI – John Daly
  5. SheWasOnlyX1 – Eoin McIntyre

Gameweek 2

Leicester’s clash with Arsenal at the King Power Stadium is the standout tie of the weekend and takes on even greater significance following defeat for both on the opening day.

Having turned down the Gunners during the summer, Jamie Vardy will be looking to rub salt into Arsenal wounds, although he could do with being more accurate than he was at Hull last Saturday.

Manchester United’s Friday Night Football meeting with Southampton means that the deadline for this week falls on Friday night at 7pm, so get your business done good and early to avoid disappointment.

Manchester City and Liverpool are away to Stoke and Burnley respectively, while West Ham’s clash with Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon will mark the first Premier League game at the Olympic Stadium.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 07: A general view of the out side of the stadium as fans make their way to the game during the Pre-Season Friendly between West Ham United and Juventus at The Olympic Stadium on August 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

This week’s picks

Safe bet: Philippe Coutinho (£8.1 million). The Brazilian is always a handy man to have in your midfield, especially as he tends to score a lot of points when he’s on one of his hot streaks.

His two goals against Arsenal would suggest he’s on one right now and his appeal is increased by Liverpool’s fluid front line and the fact they’re up against Burnley this weekend.

during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on August 14, 2016 in London, England.

Dark horse: Alvaro Negredo (£6.6 million). We were going to go for Paul Pogba but José Mourinho has already said that the world-record signing won’t play for 90 minutes against Southampton.

Instead, we’re going to go for Alvaro Negredo, who proved his quality on his league debut for Middlesbrough with a goal and a nine-point haul against Stoke.

Captain’s choice: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.5 million). It’s hard to take it off Sergio Aguero after a hat-trick (and two missed penalties) in midweek, but we’re going to give it to Zlatan on the basis that we expect him to make a big impressions on yet another debut, his Premier League bow at Old Trafford.

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