AFTER THE INTERNATIONAL break, it’s back to brass tacts with Gameweek 8 of Fantasy Premier League.
The meeting of Liverpool and Manchester United on Monday night is the highlight of the fixtures but there’s plenty more to plan for before that on the Donegal Sport Hub Fantasy Premier League, in association with Champions Travel.
1 Saints aren’t sinning
SOUTHAMPTON took a little bit of a while to get going this season under the new management of Claude Puel but in recent weeks they’ve certainly improved defensively.
They’ve not conceded in the last four games in all competitions with four of those – the 0-0 draw at champions Leicester City, the 3-0 victory against West Ham, 2-0 success over Crystal Palace and 1-0 defeat of Swansea City.
On Sunday, Southampton will fancy their chances of adding to their good run of form when Burnley are the visitors to St Mary’s. With goalkeeper Fraser Forster (pictured above) priced at £5 million and a host of reasonable defenders, it might be time to get yourself a saint.
2 Those Baggies’ baggage has just got heavier
AT the start of the season back in August, one of the sides who looked to have an appealing fixture list for the opening weeks was West Bromwich Albion.
Any team managed by Tony Pulis down the years have generally been built from the back. However, not since Gameweek 3, when the Midlanders drew 0-0 with Middlesbrough have they managed to keep their sheets clean.
Now, the fixture list looks less enticing. West Brom have Spurs at home, Liverpool away, Manchester City at home and champions Leicester City away in their next four.
3 Captain’s choice
WITH three goals in his last four outings, Christian Benteke is certainly still a reasonably priced option in the forward line.
The Belgian is certainly not extortionately priced at £7.7 million and with West Ham – a side who have certainly not hit their gallop at all this season – coming to Selhurst Park on Saturday evening, Benteke is an option for the captaincy.
This theory is probably strengthened with the likes of Liverpool facing a derby against Manchester United and table-toppers Manchester City welcoming a decent Everton side.
4 An eye on Europe – after South America
SOMETIMES teams can take some extra precaution before forthcoming midweek action in Europe.
For Manchester City, their next two outings in the Champions’ League are against Barcelona, so someone like Sergio Agureo is vital to the hopes of the Premier League side.
The Argentine was on international duty last week and although he was said to be a concern with a thigh strain, did play 90 minutes – and missed a penalty – against Paraguay in a 1-0 loss.
Therefore, although he should certainly play against Everton tomorrow, his gametime might be somewhat limited with an eye on Barcelona.
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