Weekly Wildcards: Gameweek Five
Every week The Hype Train analyses the best wildcard options for your Fantasy Premier League teams. Historically weekly dream team’s comprise of mostly wildcard players whose selection falls under 5% of overall players, to which there is no doubt that their influence cannot be ignored. With such an abundance of points coming from the FPL’s hidden gems The Hype Train selects one player from each match in the upcoming gameweek to decide who could be the differential for your teams.
LAST WEEKS PERFORMANCE (GW 4)
In a week that was dominated with a sea of red cards it was also another testament to the power of the wildcard, with five out of ten of the wildcards picked in gameweek four coming up big with the points. The other five dwindled on few points, with few of those five ending up with just a solitary point for either bookings or conceding goals.
Bournemouth’s Max Gradel showed up for the Cherries before his unfortunate injury, a huge blow to FPL players who were seeing glimpses of a good and cheap addition to their squads. Jermaine Lens continued his unbelievable form to start the season, and we don’t see that stopping as everything is coming from his feet for the Black Cat’s at the moment. Bacary Sagna also features after showing everyone why he left the Emirates for the Etihad with another solid performance, setting up Sterling’s goal at the weekend and picking up crucial bonus points too. World Cup Tim Howard made an appearance at White Hart Lane, proving once again that anyone can go to the Lane and get a result against Pochettino’s Spurs. Finally on the podium is the Dutchman Stekelenburg after another good performance from the Saint’s over Norwich, a quiet game but for those who took the risk on him that is good news as he walked away with the points.
Total Wildcard Points (GW4): 49 points Gameweek 4 Average Points: 37 points
Georginio Wijnaldum: 1pt Jermaine Lens: 7pts Max Gradel: 5pts Kurt Zouma: 1pt Roberto Firmino: 2pts Bacary Sagna: 12pts Xherdan Shaqiri: 2pts Tim Howard: 11pts Maarten Stekelenburg: 6pts Jonjo Shelvey: 1pt
TEAM OF THE WEEK WILDCARDS
Gameweek fours dream team, not to any surprise to The Hype Train, was made up of nine out of eleven wildcards. Some of these wildcards came from the most unlikely of sources too, with Sako taking home a monster thirteen points from Stamford Bridge and Aaron Creswell making the supposedly airtight Liverpool defence look like tracing paper at Anfield. Two Southampton midfielders made the cut as Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane got the Saint’s their first win of the season. Former Citizen Scott Sinclair also showed up for Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa as he scored twice against Sunderland. Rounding up the wildcards were Gabriel who has looked good at the back for the Gunners as they beat Newcastle, but returns are shaky especially when Per Mertersacker returns to the starting line up much to the hatred of the Arsenal community.
Olsson for West Brom made the cut after they held off a nine-man Stoke, and lastly and also not surprisingly was Tom Howard who kept the HurriKane from scoring his first league goal of the season. The only pair of players not wildcards was the duo of Andre Ayew who at one point was a wildcard player in gameweek one, and also the big Italian Graziano Pelle who completes the contingent of Saints players in this week’s dream team.
The total points achieved by non-wildcard players in GW4 was: 22 points.
The total points achieved by wildcard players in GW4 totalled: 107 points.
THIS WEEKS WILDCARDS
For gameweek five we are once again selecting ten wildcards, one for each game. Same rules apply: the players we choose must not be selected by more than five percent of the games players. We start in order of the games listed on the official Fantasy Premier League site.
The wildcard options selection percentage is accurate as of Tuesday 8th September 2015.
JOHN TERRY, EVERTON VS CHELSEA
Name: John Terry
Club: Chelsea
Position: Defender
Price: £6.8
Team Percentage: 4.9%
Having returned from his suspension the Chelsea captain will undoubtedly return to the squad for his leadership qualities against a much organised squad led by Lukaku and Kone at the tip of the Toffee’s spear. Chelsea are looking to bounce back from the international break and go to Merseyside, a place that they love collecting points from both Everton and Liverpool. Refreshed and without the commitments of international duty he should get the nod to walk back into the side. It will be interesting to see if they put Azpilicueta on the right, and new signing Baba Rahman on the left in place of Ivanovic who has looked shaky recently. Whatever the case this may be a bold move considering the team’s respective form but with away teams on the up it may have a tinge of common sense…for £6.8mil.
MARKO ARNAUTOVIC, ARSENAL VS STOKE
Name: Marko Arnautovic
Club: Stoke City
Position: Midfielder
Price: £6.0
Team Percentage: 0.4%
Choosing an Arsenal player for every week is now officially trying to find the holy grail, particularly because the only Gunner we can choose is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but his selection is actually compounded in the same reservations we have with Arsenal…they don’t start the Ox enough. With Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey, and Cazorla all available we can’t see a squad with the Ox in.
That leaves us in choosing a Stoke City player, and with the pair of red cards they picked up against West Brom at the Hawthornes that leaves Marko Arnautovic to walk into the side. He has been on penalty duty recently and can take set pieces, he also looks dangerous down the left wing and can turn a few heads when the big Austrian is having a good day. With Arsenal struggling to score at the Emirates in recent times it might be worth a gamble putting your eggs in a Stoke basket for this fixture.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE, CRYSTAL PALACE VS MANCHESTER CITY
Name: Kevin De Bruyne
Club: Manchester City
Position: Midfielder
Price: £10.0
Team Percentage: 0.5%
At nearly fifty five million pounds we expect Manuel Pellegrini to immediately drop Navas. Nobody seems to trust the Belgian’s inclusion into the team but we see this now as a matter of formality. The new Citizen will replace Jesus Navas in his position of right midfield and form one of the most interchangeable attacks in the Premier League. Crystal Palace hasn’t kept a clean sheet as of yet in the season and this is promising for a great debut for Kevin De Bruyne.
Many people have kept faith with David Silva, which we don’t blame in any way, it is just a shame that De Bruyne is £10.0 and forces you to pick between him and Silva. The Hype Train’s alternative in this match is Bakary Sako who has come into some stellar form in his first two games for Crystal Palace, but with fixture and a nervy test at White Hart Lane there are higher returns in Man City’s attach which is why we are choosing Kevin De Bruyne. That said, at nearly half the cost it wouldn’t be the worst business you will do transfer wise, Pellegrini’s men have to concede at one point and at Selhurst which is a graveyard of disappointment for top clubs why can’t it be Sako to inflict that damage.
WES HOOLAHAN, NORWICH VS BOURNEMOUTH
Name: Wes Hoolahan
Club: Norwich City
Position: Midfield
Price: £5.0
Team Percentage: 2.2%
Making his second appearance in the weekly wildcards is the Canary’s creative playmaker Wes Hoolahan. This is a fixture with a lot to read into, the Canaries look stronger at home than on their travels and Bournemouth have recently lost Max Gradel through injury which makes this anyone’s game this season. The Hype Train expects this to a game with a few goals stamped on it, and we have chosen to favour Norwich in this fixture for good reason.
Norwich were one of the few teams not to be beaten in last season’s Championship, claiming a win at what is now the Vitality Stadium, and drawing at home with the Cherries. Hoolahan should be fresh after being subbed following Whittaker’s sending off; as he is more of a creative player and not a defender we expect him to provide service to new boy Dieumerci Mbokani up top. In this game there will be goals, and the only reason we didn’t pick Andre Wisdom is that no home team is guaranteed a clean sheet anymore due the manner in which away teams are setting up to get results on the road.
TROY DEENEY, WATFORD VS SWANSEA
Name: Troy Deeney
Club: Watford
Position: Forward
Price: £5.4
Team Percentage: 4.2%
Watford have been, well, promising but plodding along so far in the Premier League. One factor is that the man up top hasn’t hit the form that helped them get promoted from the Championship last season. Swansea have looked impressive on the other hand, but have struggled keeping clean sheets, so there isn’t any excuse for Watford not to put one past Fabianski’s net.
Troy Deeney may be lurking in the shadow of Callum Wilson who is currently being ignited with rocket fuel, with Deeney being the man people are dropping to get Wilson into their teams. Karma could work in mysterious ways this weekend, as Bournemouth have a difficult trip to Norwich and Watford hope to kick-start their season on home soil. Deeney is due his first Premier League goal this season and if you feel brave then may feel karma go your way for once.
SALOMON RONDON, WEST BROM VS SOUTHAMPTON
Name: Salomón Rondón
Club: West Brom
Position: Forward
Price: £7.0
Team Percentage: 0.7%
An assist and a maiden goal from the tank from Venezuela has seen him already start paying back some of the record fee that Tony Pulis paid for the versatile forward. The Hype Train is currently not convinced with Southampton at present, and with West Brom looking dangerous at home and on a good run of form do not be surprised to see more from the former Zenit target man.
This selection was a lock for the wildcards this year, only the price tag of £7.0mil off putting, but with an array of top strikers not performing then Rondon may be the answer to that problem as Saido Berahino collections the toys he threw out the pram.
DEJAN LOVREN, MANCHESTER UNITED VS LIVERPOOL
Name: Dejan Lovren
Club: Liverpool
Position: Defender
Price: £5.0
Team Percentage: 2.3%
The second biggest game of the season so far sees two fierce rivals face off in a delicious encounter at Old Trafford. Both teams have struggled scoring; both teams have recently been exposed at the back. Questions over strikers, new signings, whether the manager is good enough to lead the club and secure Champions League football for next season, despite the grievances that Manchester United and Liverpool fans have against each other they are living parallel lives as supporters of their clubs. By the process of elimination means we have to pick wildcard players, and at the moment we don’t know who or what is starting for Man Utd, or Liverpool. Ings was a strong bet we believe Benteke to play having overcome a knock recently.
Step forward Dejan Lovren, the man who Lanzini robbed last weekend at Anfield. This choice necessarily isn’t just that of elimination due to the high selection of both these clubs players in fantasy teams, but Manchester United have only scored two goals, and this could easily be a stalemate at the moment. Liverpool look like they can defend away from home and if Lovren can even be a shade of the player he began the season as then it may actually be a wise move to have the big Croat as a sensible wildcard pick, he is also cheaper than Skrtel and Clyne too.
COSTEL PANTILIMON, SUNDERLAND VS SPURS
Name: 3 Point Panti
Club: Sunderland
Position: Goalkeeper
Price: 4.9%
Team Percentage: 4.9%
The giant Romanian makes his inevitable fall into the wildcards after players have lost faith in the new-look Sunderland defence that now includes two Spurs defenders and an outcast from Liverpool. Costal is still a class keeper, as seen with his performance against Swansea where he denied Gomis and Ayew half a dozen times to earn a draw. Their opposition is Tottenham Hotspurs who haven’t exactly got firing on all cylinders.
Having chosen Tim Howard last week as the wildcard player in the game involving Spurs there is a currently trend forming about the lack of trust in Spurs attacking threat, with Kane looking starved of service from the midfield behind him. On paper this has a Spurs win written all over it, but with the attacking threat of Jermaine Lens causing one of the worst defences in the league problems then it may be an even game on the best part of it. FPL managers may soon regret taking Three Point Panti out of their teams if the HurriKane dissipates once again.
NATHAN DYER, LEICESTER VS ASTON VILLA
Name: Nathan Dyer
Club: Leicester
Position: Midfielder
Price: 4.8%
Team Percentage: 0.5%
Riskiest pick this week by a long mile, and that is the inclusion of Nathan Dyer who has joined the Foxes on loan from Swansea. After seeing Andre Ayew enter a new dimension of ability for Swansea it was only natural that Dyer was going to miss out, Leicester gain a great player, Swansea are a better team, and as a result FPL managers get two great options for their teams.
Dyer’s inclusion into Leicester’s team will likely see him take up the right midfield slot just like at Swansea, freeing up Mahrez to take the main attacking role behind the strikers. Dyer starting won’t be surprising, it will be only be disappointing if he doesn’t play. Dyer has goals in his arsenal and can split defences apart with his blistering pace and will offer Leicester a different attacking dimension, and so the nippy Englishman may be able to add FPL points to your team at a low, low price.
PAPISS DEMBA CISSE, WEST HAM VS NEWCASTLE
Name: Papiss Demba Cisse
Club: Newcastle
Position: Forward
Price: 6.5%
Team Percentage: 2.4%
Newcastle may be heading towards Football League Tonight, but they can build towards their campaign of being on Match of the Day next year with a good result against a West Ham team that hasn’t registered any points at home. In all credit to the Toon they have looked decent against Southampton, Manchester United, and Arsenal (especially when they were a man down practically all game to the Gunners and Swansea), so there are some promising signs to take from recent performances. Wijnaldum and Thauvin have looked like bright sparks for Newcastle and they could be key in bringing the best out of Papa Cisse who will lead the attack in Mitrovic’s absence.
A proven goal-scorer for Newcastle he is one for any teams that have their eyes firmly locked on gameweek seven when Chelsea visit St James Park, and a fixture that Cisse cannot stop scoring in. Newcastle are desperate to pick up their first win of the season and Cisse will be a pivotal part of that plan to get there, and if they do manage that then the Match of the Day theme can start to be dreamed of next year.
For all GW 5 build up, check out the Weekly Hype page now.
All aboard.
