Fantasy Football: Top five
The Premier League season starts this weekend and that can only mean one thing: yes, fantasy football starts once again.
All over the country people are worrying, shaking with fear and losing sleep over who they should pick, who is going to be a bargain and who will be worth those precious double points as captain. Friends will go head-to-head against one another, colleagues will play for title of office bragging rights and family members will fall out with each other. But when it comes down to it, we all love fantasy football.
Unlike yesterday though, we will be looking at the top five players this season, the players who you should have at least one of because you know come the end of the season they will be up at the top of the points scored list.
1- Frank Lampard, Chelsea: £13million
He’s currently the second most owned player in fantasy football and for a good reason too. He was last year’s top points scorer with 284 - 42 more than any other player – and there is no reason why he shouldn’t continue to produce that kind of form again. He’s got a free role at Chelsea which means he’s always in and around the penalty area and he regularly scores long range goals. Don’t forget that he takes most of Chelsea’s set pieces so the assists are pretty much guaranteed. If you’ve set yourself one big spend this season, Frank Lampard should be your No.1 option.
2- Cesc Fàbregas, Arsenal: £12million
Fàbregas had his best season with Arsenal last year even though he only started 26 games for the Gunners. He was the second most valuable midfielder in fantasy last year accumulating 214 points and though he wanted to leave Arsenal to go to Barcelona this summer, he’s still going to be Arsenal’s main man. Everything good will go through Fàbregas and if you ever wanted a stat to prove it, Fàbregas averaged 62 touches per game in the attacking half in the PL last term, more than any other player in the league. And just to give Fàbregas some more backing, he averaged one fantasy point per every 10.2 minutes he played last season, Wayne Rooney? 12.1 minutes per point.
3- Wayne Rooney, Manchester United: £12million
Rooney scored 26 goals last season for United and it will be hard for him to beat that total but he should easily score over 20 goals again this season. That instantly makes him a top-five player and playing for United you know he’s going to get his fair share of chances. He only had six assists last season so if he improves on that stat he could easily score more than the 224 points he had last year. And scoring points at a ratio of one per every 12.1 minutes of play, it’s no wonder 38.3% of teams have selected Rooney.
4- Didier Drogba, Chelsea: £12.5million
Although he was the top striker in terms of fantasy last season, Drogba slips down the list because there are a few concerns about his fitness. He fractured his elbow in a friendly against Japan just before the World Cup and just a few weeks ago underwent surgery on his groin. At the age of 32 that’s a worrying sign but there’s no doubt that if he’s fit he will be up with the top strikers at the end of the season. He outscored Rooney by 18 points and added goals to his tally by scoring some great free-kicks. If he stays fit for the majority of the season it will be £12.5million well spent.
5- Carlos Tévez, Manchester City: £10.5million
You could have a whole host of players at the No.5 spot, such as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Nicholas Anelka, but based on the evidence from last season Carlos Tévez is the only choice. His 210 points came from playing 2862 minutes, scoring 23 goals and adding seven assists and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be reaching these numbers again this season. Consider that City are now a better team than last year, Tévez’s numbers should improve, and with David Silva in the team more scoring opportunities should come his way. And at £10.5million he is no-brainer, one in four agree.
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