Game Week 15 of the English Premier League offers a chance for FPL managers to amass massive point hauls as several big clubs face relatively easier opponents.
Arsene Wenger’s injury ravaged Arsenal side take on Big Sam’s Sunderland at the Emirates stadium on Saturday. The hamstring injury suffered by Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez against Norwich has thrown a spanner into the works of thousands of FPL managers. Many will be looking to find a suitable substitute for the Chilean at the earliest. Santi Cazorla has also been ruled out of action for 3 months.
Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United side face West Ham United at Old Trafford. Although the Red Devils have found it hard to get on the score sheet in the past 2 months, their recent defensive form has been excellent. 14th place Chelsea will be looking to build on their recent results when they host a leaky Bournemouth side at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City face a tricky trip to the Britannia Stadium to face a Stoke side that has kept 5 clean sheets in their last 7 matches in the League. Unbeaten since the opening day of the season, Tottenham Hotspur will also be on the road this weekend as they travel to the Hawthorns to face Tony Pulis’ resilient West Brom side.
While high flying Leicester City travel to Wales to take on a struggling Swansea side, a resurgent Everton side will be relishing the prospect of playing infront of their fans against Crystal Palace. Free scoring Liverpool will travel to the North-East of England to lock horns with 19th place Newcastle United.
Here are 4 essential Game Week 15 picks for your FPL squad.
Goal Keeper
David de Gea, Manchester United (A?5.6)
Manchester United shot stopper David de Gea will attempt to keep out Slaven Bilic’s West Ham United side at Old Trafford on Saturday. Manchester United have kept the most number of clean sheets (8) in the league this season and will be looking to keep their excellent defensive record in tact against the Hammers.
With Marcos Rojo ruled out for weeks and Chris Smalling priced exorbitantly (A?6.8), the Spanish International represents the cheapest and the most assured route into the Manchester United backline. Furthermore, West Ham are not the same attacking force as they were at the start of the season. The absence through injury of star play maker Dmitri Payet has contributed significantly to that.
With a favorable upcoming schedule (West Ham (H), Bournemouth (A), Norwich (H), Stoke (A)), it is the right time to hop onto the David de Gea bandwagon.
Defender
Kurt Zouma, Chelsea (A?5.4)
After suffering an astonishing 7 defeats in their first 12 matches in the Barclays Premier League, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea have put in an improved showing in their last two matches. After beating Norwich 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, the Blues backline put in a resolute defensive display against high flying Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane to churn out a 0-0 draw.
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With Chelsea having tightened up at the back, the highly rated French centre-back Kurt Zouma represents an excellent option in defence for FPL managers. Priced at a reasonable A?5.4, Zouma has started all but one of Chelsea’s fixtures this season and offers an assured route into the Blues backline.
With 3 plump home fixtures in the next 4 (Bournemouth (H), Sunderland (H), Watford (H)) for Chelsea, investment in their backline is almost essential and Zouma is the best candidate.
Midfielder
Mesut zil, Arsenal (A?9.4)
With Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla ruled out of action for a period of 3 weeks and 3 months respectively, the onus will be on German playmaker Mesut zil to carry Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side over the festive period. Ozil has been in great form for the Gunners over the past 2 months having amassed 71 points in 8 Gameweeks. He currently leads the table for most assists (11) this season in the Barclays Premier League.
Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will most likely come into the Arsenal first team in place of Sanchez and Cazorla. With Arsenal having 4 very favorable clashes in their next 6 (Sunderland (H), Aston Villa (A), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (H)), FPL managers will be well advised to create space for the German International in their starting lineups.
Forward
Romelu Lukaku, Everton (A?9.0)
Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku is the hottest striker in the Premier League at the moment. He is the third highest points accumulator in the league with 92, lagging only behind Leicester’s attacking duo Riyad Mahrez (9.8) and record breaker Jamie Vardy (102). The A?9.0 rated Everton striker has scored 5 goals in his last 4 matches for the Toffees and will be favorite to get on the scoresheet once against when his side face Crystal Palace on Monday night at Goodison Park.
Everton have been in red hot attacking form over the past month, scoring 14 goals in their last 4 matches against Sunderland, West Ham, Aston Villa and Bournemouth. The attacking triumvirate of Lukaku, Barkley and Deulofeu have been involved in most of Everton’s attacking forays into the opposition penalty box.
With a great run of fixtures for Everton on the horizon (Crystal Palace (H), Norwich (A), Leicester (H), Newcastle (A), Stoke (H)), fantasy managers will surely be looking to snap up the Belgian striker at the earliest.
