da dobrowin： Wow we are already 15 games into the season… it only felt like days ago that we were pondering who to pick for our teams heading into the new campaign.
da brwin： But as Albert Einstein once said time is relative… and it went by so quickly because we were all having so much fun playing our favourite game of all time… the Fantasy Premier League!
Ok enough said. I didn’t want to go the normal intro that we’ll be looking at the current trends in the Fantasy Premier League world… even though that is essentially what the article is about anyways.
By now (15 weeks in), you trusty followers/readers should understand that the prices of players change depending on the amount of managers bringing them or selling them over the course of the week. So when a player is in-demand and is the trendy option, his price rises. This makes managers try to sign them before the rise, many times not reconsidering whether it’s the right option.
And that’s why we’re here… as you already know 😉
Here are the current Bandwagon trends and whether to BUY, SELL, or HOLD!
Ross Barkley
Ross Barkley (7.2) was heavily transferred in last week, and he has been brought in EVEN MORE after his 13 point haul against Bournemouth.
But HOLD YOUR HORSES. Again, we believe there is much more value in buying his teammate Gerard Deulofeu (6.3), despite his mere 5 points. He is almost 1.0 cheaper than the Englishman, and was a much bigger threat throughout compared to Barkley.
Verdict: He is a good option, but we recommend Deulofeu (who scored midweek in the Capital One Cup).
Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez (11.2) was heavily transferred out last week as well (with 203,000 doing so this week), but after he pulled his hamstring in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Norwich (in which he provided the assist) … it looks like he will be out for at least the next two weeks.
Verdict: Compared to last time, we now believe you better sell him. Fast!
Mesut Ozil
Many of the same trends have continued to this week, with many managers (131,000 at the time of writing) bringing in Arsenal star Mesut Ozil (9.3) probably to replace the aforementioned Alexis Sanchez.
And it happened to be a good choice, although Sanchez was extremely unlucky to be injured once again against Norwich. However, with Arsenal full of injuries in the squad… a lot of the burden will come down to the Germany midfielder and he could become jaded like the rest sooner rather than later.
Verdict: Good option to replace Sanchez, but we don’t feel he can keep this consistency much longer.
Juan Mata
It’s strange that in Man United’s best run of favourable fixtures, managers are transferring Red Devils stars out of their teams like Superman trying to throw away Kryptonite.
Juan Mata (8.7) is being transferred out by over 32,000 managers (at the time of writing) when United play West Ham (Home), Bournemouth (Away), Norwich (Home), and Stoke (Away) in their next four games. There’s bound to be a few goals and assists in those fixtures.
Verdict: HOLD!
Kevin de Bruyne
Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne (10.7) saw over 81,000 managers sell him ahead of their 3-1 win over Southampton, and they must be now kicking themselves for that decision.
The Belgium went on to bag one goal and two assists against the Saints, bringing 16 points for the week.
Now once again managers are jumping on the Bandwagon, and ahead of City’s games against Stoke City (Away), Swansea (Home), Sunderland (Home), and Leicester (Away) in their next five (with a tricky game with Arsenal in Gameweek 17), it looks to be a solid option to replace Alexis Sanchez.
De Bruyne also got two goals and an assist in the Capital One Cup win over Hull. He’s a man bang on form!
Verdict: BUY, but consider saving some cash for Sergio Aguero (13.1).