Another weekend of Premier League action has come and gone, and it was certainly an interesting one. Frequently, our Team of the Week is filled with players from the top six clubs, but with most of those teams struggling to find the goals this week, it’s other people’s chance to shine.
Of the 11 players to make the cut, seven come from sides not currently in European competition and that may be something worth considering as the season progresses and the fixtures - both domestic and abroad - begin to pile up for the bigger clubs. In the interim, below are the best individual performers from match week 29.
GK: Mat Ryan - Brighton - 1 Game, 4 Saves, 1 Clean Sheet = 9 Points
DEF: Kyle Walker - Manchester City - 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points
While Walker has not been the attacking force in Fantasy that he has been in years past, it does look like he is on track to break his previous clean sheet record of 15. This trend certainly continued against Bournemouth this week as the former Tottenham man failed to supply a single accurate cross for the ninth time in the last 10 matches, but helped City pick up their 14th clean sheet of the season.
Those clean sheets have obviously made sure that Walker has picked up plenty of Fantasy points - ranking in the top 10 at his position - but, considering his price, there are better options out there.
DEF: Angelo Ogbonna - West Ham - 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points
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DEF: Virgin Van Dijk - Liverpool - 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points
MID: Diogo Jota - Wolves - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points
After a slow start to the season, Jota continues to show the ability that was expected of him in the pre-season. The goal and assist against Cardiff at the weekend means the Portuguese midfielder has now been directly involved in an impressive seven goals over the last six matches.
With his form, an incredibly affordable price tag (£6.2m), and the fact that he’s been playing as a forward for the better part of the past three months, Jota is quickly working his way towards must-own territory.
MID: Andreas Pereira - Manchester United - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points
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MID: Yan Valery - Southampton - 1 Game, 1 Goal = 8 Points
MID: Wilfried Zaha - Crystal Palace - 1 Game, 1 Goal = 8 Points
FOR: Romelu Lukaku - Manchester United - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 12 Points
With Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba now turned around, interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer next turned his attention to struggling striker Romelu Lukaku, and it certainly seems to be working. The big Belgian had scored just two goals in his previous 10 league matches before Wednesday, but he has now netted four in the two games since.
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While certainly good news for Manchester United in real life, this does muddy the waters a bit in Fantasy. Lukaku and Rashford are currently separated by just one point in the Goal game, and with them likely to leech points and minutes off each other going forward, it may be wise to just avoid this situation altogether.
FOR: Raul Jimenez - Wolves - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 10 Points
FOR: Troy Deeney - Watford - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 10 Points
Deeney is rarely elegant, but he does tend to get the job done for Watford. His goal and assist helped ensure his side’s victory against Leicester on Sunday and that is becoming a bit of a trend. In fact, Watford have lost just one match all season in which Deeney has scored.
It is unlikely that the Englishman will ever again reach the heights of his incredible 2015/16 campaign in which he was involved in 22 goals, but Deeney continues to be a decent enough player and Fantasy option.
