Weekly Wildcards: Gameweek Twelve
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 11)
Three players rose up from the wildcards last week, seven turned out as flat pancakes. Surprisingly two of those three players were defenders, and in this season of FPL mystery the big question mark is over where points are coming from in defence and Manchester United and Southampton continue to show good returns. Marcos Rojo impressed yet again after coming into the squad full of confidence, and Cedric Soares on the right flank scored big and picked up a bonus point too. Aside from that the gamble to go with a Spurs player at White Hart Lane paid dividends as Erik Lamela set up Harry Kane’s late strike against Aston Villa. The only major disappointment from last week was West Ham blowing their wonderful away form; Victor Moses who was chosen had come off at half time and couldn’t add to his already fantastic record this season.
Gameweek Eleven Average Points: 56pts Gameweek Eleven Wildcard Points: 33pts
James Milner: 2pts
Marcos Rojo: 8pts
Wilfried Bony: 2pts
Ayoze Perez: 2pt
Jefferson Montero: 2pts
Victor Moses: 1pt
James McClean: 2pts
Ramiro Funes Mori: 1pt
Cedric Soares: 7pts
Erik Lamela: 6pts
TEAM OF THE WEEK WILDCARDS
A mixed bag of treats for gameweek eleven, there were six familiar faces on show in the dream team, and five not so recognisable figures on the points board. The Hype Train has lost count how many times Mahrez has been on the dream team, so it is up to ten others to make their presence known. Also, if Jamie Vardy isn’t in the dream team then it is unsurprising to see Lukaku and Ighalo back on the act after strong seasons from the strikers. Odion Ighalo looks like a striker that Martinez would appreciate at Everton, so that is worth watching out for towards the transfer market. Defensive wildcards from the dream team include Nicolas Otamendi and Ryan Bertrand who both suffer from the same syndrome: price. Otamendi has been cruelly priced out of managers teams and at the moment nobody wants to spend money in defense with no solid returns which leaves Ryan Bertrand in the shadows. Bertrand’s colleague Steven David continued his good form in the attacking role Ronald Koeman has entrusted him with, whilst Gerard Deulofeu sits alongside him after having a good day in the office supporting Lukaku and Kone in the demolition of Sunderland. Speaking of Arouna Kone he was owned by 4.9% of players during the game, so he is a surprising wildcard.
Wildcards: Otamendi, Bertrand, Deulofeu, Davis, Kone (5)
Non-Wildcards: Ighalo, Lukaku, Mahrez, Coutinho, Koscielny, Butland (6)
Points achieved by Wildcards: 66pts
Points achieved by Non-Wildcards: 82pts
THIS WEEKS WILDCARDS
For gameweek twelve 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 Monday 02/11/2015.
GLENN MURRAY, BOURNEMOUTH VS NEWCASTLE
Player Name: Glenn Murray
Club: Bournemouth
Position: Forward
Price: £5.6mil
Ownership: 0.3%
If there was a word to describe Glenn Murray it would definitely be goal-scorer. There are big doubters as to his ability but that is what he is, a threat to any defence. Murray has scored big in the FPL during his time at Crystal Palace and looks like he is continuing that at Bournemouth. His strike against Manchester City was something of true class and an ode to why he shouldn’t be underestimated. Let’s set the scene, Bournemouth are at home and struggling to muster a win currently, what they need is a break in front of their home crowd and find a solution to the problem that Callum Wilson dumped on them after he picked up his injury. Well, there might be something heading over the horizon: Newcastle United. Undoubtedly in trouble themselves the Toon face similar circumstances with the Cherries. Expect this to be a fiery encounter with lots going for it, as the season is going on these games are defined as six pointers and both managers will want their goal-scorers to shine. Newcastle has faltered defensively so far this season, and with the potential to have an academy goalkeeper (Freddy Woodman) come into the mix it might be Glenn Murray’s time to hit a crippling blow against the Toon.
Last Three
9 – MCI (A) – 6pts
10 – TOT (H) – 2pts
11 – SOU (A) – 1pt
Next Three
12 – NEW (H) – 7th November, 12:45pm
13 – SWA (A) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – EVE (H) – 28th November, 15:00pm
MARC ALBRIGHTON, LEICESTER VS WATFORD
Player Name: Marc Albrighton
Club: Leicester
Position: Midfielder
Price: £4.9mil
Ownership: 4.9%
After weeks of uncertainty with Marc Albrighton he served justice to himself after being dropped by countless FPL managers by setting up both goals scored by Riyad Mahrez in the feisty encounter against West Brom. Albrighton has earned himself the status of becoming a wildcard, after rubbing salt in the wounds to FPL managers he could now be coming back into his own. If you are new to the Albrighton craze he is also cheap, very cheap after falling in price. Leicester are currently scoring so many goals that they have to be supplied from somewhere, and if Vardy is to break the consecutive scoring record then he needs someone like Albrighton to help him on his way. Perhaps FPL managers moved too soon to wave goodbye to the winger.
Last Three
9 – SOU (A) – 2pts
10 – CRY (H) – 3pts
11 – WBA (A) – 10pts
Next Three
12 – WAT (H) – 7th November, 15:00pm
13 – NEW (A) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – MUN (H) – 28TH November, 17:30pm
JONNY EVANS, MANCHESTER UNITED VS WEST BROM
Player Name: Jonny Evans
Club: West Brom
Position: Defender
Price: £4.8mil
Ownership: 1.1%
Tony Pulis is the king of taking defenders from top clubs and making them better defenders. Jonny Evans is the latest in that list, and he visits his old stomping grounds when his side face Manchester United at Old Trafford. On paper you’d fancy Manchester United to walk away with a win, but think back to last season and it was West Brom who walked away victors, whilst maintaining a clean sheet. In that game Boaz Myhill became an FPL legend and denied Van Persie from the penalty spot and picked up three bonus points. Bring yourself back to today and you see a different picture, but one that may bring some comfort to those that have faith in West Brom’s unbelievable defensive options. Manchester United are making a hash of scoring goals in any fashion, there could not be a team more suited to easy defending than West Brom. Jonny Evans has the experience of playing with most of the players and in Van Gaal’s team so he will have already a game plan for the weekend to stop one of the tamest attacks in the Premier League. History may repeat itself, and what a shock would it be if Evans had a part to play.
Last Three
9 – SUN (H) – 6pts
10 – NOR (A) – 6pts
11 – LEI (H) – 1pt
Next Three
12 – MUN (A) – 7th November, 15:00pm
13 – ARS (H) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – WHU (A) – 29th November, 14:05pm
KYLE NAUGHTON, NORWICH VS SWANSEA
Player Name: Kyle Naughton
Club: Swansea
Position: Defender
Price: £4.9mil
Ownership: 1.4%
Swansea have tumbled, but in recent weeks so have Norwich. Both teams have lots to prove to the world, both want to stay clear of the relegation tumble, both need a win. The real question is who has the most quality to force this, and by comparisons it is a Swansea win every day in this moment of time. Swansea need to get back to being a solid unit, Norwich are having issues in the goals department in recent games so a Swansea defender is actually not a bad shout all things considered. The good thing about Naughton is that even if they buckle their line and concede there is a chance he can make things happen in attack, as his assist in the game against Aston Villa in gameweek ten. There are no real obvious options in this game so it is time to stick with someone that you know very well, and in the Swansea squad the attacking potential of Kyle Naughton can’t be looked past.
Last Three
9 – STK (H) – 0pts
10 – AVL (A) – 4pts
11 – ARS (A) – 1pt
Next Three
12 – NOR (A) – 7TH November, 15:00pm
13 – BOU (H) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – LIV (A) – 29th November, 16:15pm
MAARTEN STEKELENBURG, SUNDERLAND VS SOUTHAMPTON
Player Name: Maarten Stekelenburg
Club: Southampton
Position: Goalkeeper
Price: £5.0mil
Ownership: 1.5%
A goalkeeper hasn’t featured in the wildcards for quite some time, now one that has been here before returns. Picking up eight points in his last two gameweeks is impressive, he didn’t feature against Leicester due to an injury but has done well since his return, the Dutchman will be hoping that the Saints good run against Sunderland continues and their shaky attack won’t cause his goal too many problems. Sunderland looked all over the place against Everton, and now they have a much tougher game from a team that punished them by shipping eight goals at St Mary’s last season in one of the highlights of the season. Defensively Southampton look strong, real strong if you consider the absolute chaos of where value lies in defence, so Maarten Stekelenburg is a natural choice for this game. The only doubt is that without Wanyama they look a tad weaker, but Southampton are the masters of having someone come in and do an equally as good of a job, so there isn’t really a concern defensively in this fixture.
Last Three
9 – LEI (H) – 0pts
10 – LIV (A) – 2pts
11 – BOU (H) – 6pts
Next Three
12 – SUN (A) – 7th November, 15:00pm
13 – STK (H) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – MCI (A) – 28th November, 15:00pm
GERARD DEULOFEU, WEST HAM VS EVERTON
Player Name: Gerard Deulofeu
Club: Everton
Position: Midfielder
Price: £6.2mil
Ownership: 0.3%
Curses are real, and ask any Hammers fan what that means to them and they will tell you of the story they have with Everton. Last season Romelu Lukaku scored in injury time to further add to this tragic story between the two clubs. What must be raising alarm bells is that West Ham hit a dip in form after missing out on continuing their away form against Watford and on the flipside Everton got into a scoring mood against Sunderland. The Toffees have wet their appetite for further success and that comes at a bad time for the Hammers. One man that they will be watching closely is Gerard Deulofeu who scored a goal and assisted two in the demolition of Sunderland last gameweek. If there is anything to pick up from that match is that the young Spaniard holds the keys too many locks and will be a menace for any defence to cope with. Money is on Everton pinching this one, and Gerard could be instrumental in upholding this curse.
Last Three
9 – MUN (H) – 1pt
10 – ARS (A) – 5pts
11 – SUN (H) – 13pts
Next Three
12 – WHU (A) – 7th November, 15:00pm
13 – AVL (H) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – BOU (A) – 28th November, 15:00pm
BOJAN KRKIC, STOKE VS CHELSEA
Player Name: Bojan Krkic
Club: Stoke City
Position: Forward
Price: £5.3mil
Ownership: 2.0%
Mark Hughes promised no respite for Jose Mourinho when Chelsea visits the gloomy and hard-to-visit Britannia Stadium. If Mark Hughes wants a war then he will have looked at the soldiers who have previously conquered Jose’s team, the likes of Coutinho, Jefferson Montero, Kun Aguero, Bakary Sako, Ayoze Perez, Sadio Mane, Dimitri Payet, and even Steven Naismith. Bar the last player the list just given are players who have been influential in Chelsea’s demise: quick footed, skilful speedsters. Apparently the tactic of taking out Chelsea is to give them something unexpected and the tower will come crumbling down to the ground. Fortunately for Mark Hughes he has Bojan at his disposal, along with Xherdan Shaqiri who fit the mould of player that seems to cherish playing against the Blues. The Hype Train believes that the victory in the Champions League midweek was a trap, and that this could be a slippery slope for Chelsea.
Last Three
9 – SWA (A) – 9pts
10 – WAT (H) – 2pts
11 – NEW (A) – 1pt
Next Three
12 – CHE (H) – 7th November, 17:30pm
13 – SOU (A) – 21st November, 15:00pm
14 – SUN (A) – 28th November, 15:00pm
NICOLAS OTAMENDI, ASTON VILLA VS MANCHESTER CITY
Player Name: Nicolas Otamendi
Club: Manchester City
Position: Defender
Price: £6.5mil
Ownership: 0.6%
Despite picking up four points in his last encounters Wilfried Bony departs the wildcard section and into the realm of the somewhat chosen. Manchester City has few wildcard players to choose from, and their upcoming opponents are Aston Villa…bottom of the table Aston Villa. Nicolas Otamendi is a top quality centre back who can score goals as evidence against Norwich in the last gameweek. There is absolutely no confidence for Villa players currently in the FPL and the natural choice is to stack the deck against them as much as humanly possible. Nicolas Otamendi showed what he was made of against the Canaries, and with Vincent Kompany alongside him things might pick up before the international break for the Citizens. This selection doesn’t need much explanation, it is an open and shut case.
Last Three
9 – BOU (H) – 1pt
10 – MUN (A) – 8pts
11 – NOR (H) – 11pts
Next Three
12 – AVL (A) – 8th November, 13:30pm
13 – LIV (H) – 21st November, 17:30pm
14 – SOU (H) – 28th November, 15:00pm
MOUSSA DEMBELE, ARSENAL VS SPURS
Player Name: Moussa Dembele
Club: Spurs
Position: Midfielder
Price: £5.3mil
Ownership: 0.3%
The North London Derby is one of the most hotly contested battles in the Premier League. Spurs fans want to stick it to their successful rivals Arsenal, and the Gunners supporters love nothing more than trying to prove their point that Spurs aren’t at their level. Last season Spurs were undefeated in this derby, drawing at the Emirates and winning at White Hart Lane courtesy of a Harry Kane header. One player who looks to make his case is Moussa Dembele who has come alive in the last few weeks in the Spurs side. Twenty one points from a midfielder is huge, and his inclusion back in the squad has been a welcome addition to Pochettino’s team. Dembele also scored against Anderlecht in the Europa League and is currently on fire, so he is one to watch out for in this usually heated encounter.
Last Three
9 – LIV (H) – 3pts
10 – BOU (A) – 9pts
11 – AVL (H) – 9pts
Next Three
12 – ARS (A) – 8th November, 16:00pm
13 – WHU (H) – 22nd November, 16:00pm
14 – CHE (H) – 29th November, 12:00
ADAM LALLANA, LIVERPOOL VS CRYSTAL PALACE
Player Name: Adam Lallana
Club: Liverpool
Position: Midfielder
Price: £7.3mil
Ownership: 0.6%
Jurgen Klopp is indeed turning doubters into believers, and one mission high on his agenda is utilising the current crop of talent as his disposal and turning it into a winning side. Coutinho and Firmino have shined, and the young Jordan Ibe has showed lots of character (get it?) since playing under Kloppo. One player forgotten, but a highly influential part of the team is Adam Lallana who has been in Klopp’s team since he arrived, he has looked better in the high press system and sooner or later he has to do something for the squad. It may be a long time ago but there was a period in time when everyone had Adam Lallana in their fantasy team during the Suarez year, nobody dropped him, and everyone played him in their first eleven. So much has changed since then, but perhaps another reassuring victory for Liverpool could mean that Adam Lallana starts turning his own doubters back into believers.
Last Three
9 – TOT (A) – 3pts
10 – SOU (A) – 3pts
11 – CHE (A) – 2pts
Next Three
12 – CRY (H) – 8th November, 16:00pm
13 – MCI (A) – 21st November, 17:30pm
14 – SWA (H) – 29th November, 16:15pm
For all GW 10 build up, check out the Weekly Hype page now.
All aboard.
