Fantasy Weekly

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REVEALED PLAYERS THIS SEASON

NORTH LONDON DERBY REVIEW

THIS WEEKS DREAM TEAM THERES A FEW SURPRISES TOO!

FACING THE

DROP

9/11/15

DEBUT EDITION

VARDY FROM RAGS TO RICHES

THE FORMER FLEETWOOD MAN WHOS LIGHTING UP THE PREMIER LEAGUE.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR To introduce myself, I am Liam Jackson the Editor- in-Chief of the Fantasy Weekly. Along with Alex Hammond, Josh Grainger and James Beaumont we created this magazine with our own interests at heart, a love of football.

That love of football stretches over two decades for some of us, alongside the ever rising popularity of fantasy football teams and leagues gives the opportunity for this totally lone-standing magazine. Giving you the opportunity to tinker with your team, read all the stats and have a bit of fun too, the ability to do all of this on-the-go without having to worry about losing signal on the train or using up all your data.

Each week we will keep you up-to-date with the inform players of the week, their up and coming games, the team of the week as well as some quizzes and brain teasers on those long commutes.

This week we have a Jamie Vardy special on his goal-scoring exploits, the top 5 teams in the World and the North London derby review.

Join us weekly for all your fantasy needs.

Liam Jackson Editor-in-Chief

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FANTASY WEEKLY

CONTENTS 4. TEAM OF THE WEEK 7. MATCH REPORTS 9. SPECTACULAR SUNDAY 10. NORTH LONDON DERBY 12. JAMIE VARDY 14. FACING THE DROP 17. TOP 10 WEEKLY PLAYERS 20. TOP FIVE TEAMS 22. THE FINAL WHISTLE

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FANTASY WEEKLY

AROUND THE GROUNDS

ALL THE ACTION FROM THIS WEEK’S BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES

BY JOSH GRAINGER

STOKE 1 V 0 CHELSEA

Things went from bad to worse for Chelsea. In the midst of a torrid run of form, manager Jose Mourinho was forced to watch the game from the team’s hotel after picking up a stadium ban. The Blues appeared to struggle without their “special one”, falling to a 1-0 defeat at the Britannia Stadium. Not many will have Marco Arnautovic in their side, but it was a lucky weekend for those who did, the Austrian’s strike, early in the second half was the only goal to condemn Chelsea to defeat and leaves them 16th in the table! Jack Butland has won a lot of plaudits this season after a number of good performances and the young England goalkeeper kept another clean sheet, keeping out the out of form Diego Costa, Eden Hazard etc.

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 V 0 WEST BROM

Jesse Lingard scored his first senior goal for Man Utd with a fine curling effort from 20 yards out, in a performance that saw him named the top scorer of Week 12. The United academy graduate placed the ball past Myhill in the West Brom goal after Anthony Martial’s cross failed to be cleared by Albion’s defence. Lingard collected 11 points mainly thanks to his goal, the highest in the country as well as Norwich’s Jonny Howson. West Brom should have been level, but the usually reliable Saido Berahino embarrassingly missed from inside the penalty area. David De Gea earned himself a clean sheet as well as Chris Smalling who took his points tally to 64 so far this season. United wrapped up the game from the spot in injury time, Gareth McAuley was sent off for the challenge before Juan Mata calmly sent the ball down the middle of the Stretford End goal.

LEICESTER CITY 2 V 1 WATFORD

Jamie Vardy stretched his scoring run to nine games with his 65th minute penalty at home to Watford. Vardy is now just one game away from breaking Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s ten game record, after scoring in the last nine consecutive premier league games. Leicester took the lead shortly after half time, N’golo Kante’s tame shot was inexplicably let in by Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes in what was a nightmare afternoon for the Brazilian. Shortly after Gomes brought down Vardy inside the area and the Premier League’s top scorer smashed in his 12th goal of the season. The former Fleetwood striker has now notched up 86 points this season, the second highest scorer in Fantasy Premier League only one point behind his Leicester teammate Riyad Mahrez. If you haven’t already got him in your team at £7.4m it would be worth transferring him in before his value shoots up even more. Troy Deeney scored what was only a consolation goal for the Hornets from the spot, 15 minutes from time. The result sees Leicester move to third in the table in what has been a remarkable start to Claudio Ranieri’s reign. Watford on the other hand are 11th.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

WEST HAM 1 V 1 EVERTON

Manuel Lanzini earned himself a place in this week’s “Dream Team” as his fine performance earned West Ham a point at home to Roberto Martinez’s Everton. The Argentine’s composed finish on the half hour mark put the Hammers ahead, however the Premier League’s second top scorer Romelu Lukaku latched on to Gerard Deulofeu’s pass to bag his seventh of the season. Lukaku remains the third top scorer in Fantasy Premier League with his impressive 74 points so far this season. West Ham’s wonder boy this season, Dimitri Payet was forced off through injury early in the second half and is likely to be out for the coming weeks, it may be worth substituting or transferring him from your team for the time being.

BOURNEMOUTH 0 V 1 NEWCASTLE It was a rare day of celebration for supporters of Newcastle United as Steve Mclaren guided his team to a 1-0 away win at the Vitality Stadium. The result sees the Geordies move out the relegation zone and they now sit in 17th, two points ahead of their opponents Bournemouth. The scoreline however did not reflect the way the game played out and Eddie Howe and his team will still be scratching their heads as to how they did not take at least a point from the clash.

Rob Elliot maintained his place in the Newcastle goal and kept his second consecutive clean sheet in as many weeks, earning himself a place in the “Team of the week”, as well as a handsome ten points. The only goal of the early kick off came from Ayoze Perez when he converted one of Newcastle’s two shots throughout the game. To say Bournemouth dominated the fixture would be an understatement, not only did the hosts finish with 67% of the possession, they had 20 shots compared to Newcastle’s two! Not the sort of luck you need in your debut Premier League season.

SUNDERLAND 0 V 1 SOUTHAMPTON

After being on the end of a 6-2 thrashing by Everton last weekend, Sunderland were beaten again at the hands of Ronald Koeman’s Southampton. Sam Allardyce’s side kept the Saints at bay until the 69th minute when Yann M’vila clumsily challenged Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand inside the area. Serbian, Dusan Tadic placed the penalty past Costel Pantillimon in the Sunderland goal to leave Sunderland only one place from the foot of the table, only Aston Villa remain below them. Southampton’s impressive defence continued to gain plaudits with Maya Yoshida getting a place

NORWICH CITY 1 V 0 SWANSEA CITY Alex Neil’s side ended a six match winless streak by beating Gary Monk’s Swansea 1-0 at Carrow Road.

Former Leeds United captain Jonny Howson headed in the only goal of what was an unspectacular game.

Howson’s 70th minute goal sees Norwich move up to 15th place, one point below Swansea. Howson’s goal also earned him a place in this week’s “Dream Team” and meant he was the joint highest points scorer of the weekend as well as Manchester Utd’s Jesse Lingard.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

THE BIG MATCH A LATE KIERON GIBBS EQUALISER RESCUED A POINT FOR ARSENAL AGAINST IMPRESSIVE LOCAL RIVALS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

BY JOSH GRAINGER

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by North London neighbours Tottenham, on Sunday.

The visitors took a shock lead when Harry Kane finished well from inside the box, shortly after the half hour mark. However the Gooners levelled the match when substitute Kieran Gibbs fired home from a Mesut Ozil cross.

After losing the last North London derby at White Hart Lane back in February, Arsenal fans were hoping that Arsene Wenger could secure three points that would take them top of the Premier League.

Coming into the derby, Arsenal had won their previous five Premier League fixtures, despite losses in the Champions League and League cup. Tottenham on the other hand had only tasted defeat once all season, coming on the opening day to Manchester United.

As ever it was an affair that had North London divided, Arsenal were the favourites, but Spurs have proved in the past not to be underestimated.

Many eyes will have been on Tottenham’s Harry Kane, the £9.4million rated striker will have been in many people’s front line. England international, Kane is expected to start for his country who travel to Spain on Friday evening. The 22 year old was in good form leading up to the game, having netted five goals after a

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slow start to the season. For the hosts meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez had scored six so far this season, as had his Arsenal team mate Olivier Giroud.

Arsene Wenger’s men had won four of the last six North London derby’s on their own turf. The two sides drew 1-1 in the fixture last season, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain equalising late on, after a Nacer Chadli goal.

The hosts made one change to the side that were embarrassed midweek in Munich, Laurent Koscielny was recalled back to the side in place of Gabriel.

Tottenham on the other hand were completely unchanged after a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa last Monday.

It was Mauricio Pochettino’s side that made the brighter start. On form Moussa Dembele first saw his shot blocked for a corner before Christian Eriksen curled a shot wide from the resulting set piece.

Arsenal appeared to still be suffering from Wednesday night’s 5-1 hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Santi Cazorla particularly looked out of sorts, as he continually struggled to win and then keep possession.

Erik Dier was presented with a great chance to give Tottenham the lead, however the youngster couldn’t hit the target with his close range header, from an Eriksen free-kick.

FANTASY WEEKLY

ARSENAL 1 V 1 SPURS (GIBBS 78’) (KANE 34’) ATTENDANCE: 60,060 MAN OF THE MATCH: DELE ALLI

The visitors’ pressure did pay off after 32 minutes.

Danny Rose played a long ball through for the England striker, a pass that caught both Koscielny and Mertesacker out of position. Kane pounced on the opportunity and finished expertly past Petr Cech. The goal was Kane’s sixth of the season, all of which have come in his last four games. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, it was the 22 year old’s 10th goal in his 13th North London derby.

Spurs took their lead into the interval and Arsene Wenger brought off the tiring Cazorla for Mathieu Flamini.

Arsenal immediately threatened Hugo Lloris’ goal, Joel Campbell fired a fierce effort at the Frenchman, who made a brilliant save at the far post.

Spurs weren’t sitting back however, moments after Lloris’ save, Cech was forced into one of his own when he beat away Eriksen’s shot.

Arsenal were turning the screw however, top scorer Olivier Giroud was twice unlucky not to put the hosts level. First Giroud saw his header come back off the crossbar, while moments after a similar chance went inches wide of the post.

The Gooners were slowly growing more confident, Tottenham did have chances to double their lead though.

ARSENAL

SPURS

CECH DEBUCHY KOSCIELNY MERTESACKER MONREAL COQUELIN OZIL CARZORLA CAMPBELL SANCHEZ GIROUD

LLORIS WALKER ALDERWEIRELD VERTONGHEN ROSE DIER DEMBELE ALLI LAMELA ERIKSEN KANE

Eriksen again went close, as did Toby Alderweireld before Harry Kane screwed a huge chance past Petr Cech, as well as the post.

On the 73rd minute Arsene Wenger made the change that changed the game however. Kieran Gibbs came on in an unfamiliar left wing position for Arsenal, in place of Joel Campbell.

Four minutes after the introduction of Gibbs, Arsenal were level. Mesut Ozil picked up the ball out on the right wing, before swinging in an incredible cross that substitute Gibbs was able to turn in. Lloris got to the ball however could only turn it back across his own goal and into the back of the net.

Despite late pressure from Arsenal, the game finished with the sides drawn, with Tottenham feeling disappointed their display did not warrant three points.

Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the table after Manchester City were held earlier in the day at Villa Park. Instead Wenger’s men remain second, while Spurs unbeaten record continues as they move to 5th.

While the scoreline wasn’t as remarkable as some North London derby’s of the past, the game itself was a tight and exciting contest. Harry Kane and Tottenham’s streak continues, meanwhile Arsenal stay firmly in the race for the title.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

SPECTACULAR SUNDAY

It may not have been that spectacular but both of Sunday’s games threw up a surprise or two

By Josh Grainger

ASTON VILLA 0 MANCHESTER CITY 0 Remi Garde earned an impressive point at home to league leaders Man City on Sunday. The Frenchman sat in the stands last Monday at White Hart Lane to see his new Aston Villa side fall to a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham. Villa improved on last week’s display however and frustrated Manuel Pellegrini’s side from the first minute to the last. The visitors might have felt disappointed they hadn’t won the game after carving out numerous threats to the Villa goal. City were inches away from grabbing the three points at the death when Fernando headed the ball on to the crossbar from the six yard box. However despite this and near misses from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, the visitors could not find the back of the net. It was a good day for those who had members of either back five in their team’s. City remain top despite dropping points, however Villa are still glued to the bottom of the table.

LIVERPOOL 1 (COUTINHO 42’) CRYSTAL PALACE 2 (BOLASIE 21’, DANN 82’) Jurgen Klopp tasted defeat for the first time as manager of Liverpool after Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace earned a 2-1 win in Merseyside. Palace took the lead after 21 minutes when Yannick Bolasie fired past Simon Mignolet. The hosts were level again before the break however, Phillipe Coutinho finished well for his fourth of the season. Despite bringing on the highly rated Roberto Firmino, it was the visitors that got the late goal when Scott Dann headed home from an 82nd minute corner. After beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend this was not the result Liverpool fans were expecting and it sees them sit in 10th place, while Pardew’s Palace move up to eighth.

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

FANTASY WEEKLY

ELLIOT 10PTS

DANN WOLLSCHIED 10PTS YOSHIDA 8PTS WISDOM 9PTS

8PTS

KANTE

HOWSON

11PTS

LINGARD 11PTS

11PTS

COUTINHO 10PTS

LANZIZNI 10PTS

VARDY 9PTS

TOTAL SCORE: 107PTS

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FANTASY WEEKLY

O

TEAM OF THE WEEK

BY LIAM JACKSON

ur fantasy team of the week plays the ever popular 4-2-3-1 formation with a solid back line, creativity in the middle and pace to burn up front. The players had excellent games and fully deserve their places in this week’s line up, goal scoring defenders, magnificent assists and record breaking goal streaks to be had.

It was a tough choice who to pick between the sticks this week, it could was a close call between Newcastle United’s Rob Elliot and Stoke City’s Jack Butland both keeping a much desired clean sheet and even getting extra points due to the amount of saves they made, may mean that they’re playing for struggling sides being on the receiving end of many shots but they showed their credentials and helped their teams onto victory.

After Elliot was quoted saying that goalkeepers don’t get much of a chance to shine at a young age it’s great to see both of these young English ‘keepers doing so well. Potential dog-fight for England’s number one jersey in years to come.

Unfortunately for Elliot, next week’s home tie against Leicester City sees him come up against the inform man in England, consecutive goal record chasing Jamie Vardy.

A strong back line sees Crystal Palace’s goal scoring centre back Scott Dann join the impregPAGE 10

nable Maya Yoshida, Phillip Wollscheid and Andre Wisdom of Southampton, Stoke City and Norwich City respectively.

Each of our four defenders got a clean sheet, ensuring their side he best chance of winning.

Southampton travelled the long trip to the North East to take on struggling Sunderland winning marginally 0-1. Their goal coming through a Dusan Tadic penalty in the 69th minute after Yann M’Villa felled Ryan Bertrand in the box.

Stoke City hosted Chelsea at the Britannia and inflicted further punishment on Jose Mourinho’s men with a hard fought 1-0 win. Alex Neil’s Norwich beat underperforming Swansea at Carrow Road, in yet another 1-0 win. Our midfield boasts

Maunel Lanzini and Jesse Lingard

FANTASY WEEKLY creativity and craft along with determination and hard work. Each of our team of the week midfielders showed their prowess in front of goal and got themselves on the scoresheet each earning themselves an extra five points. Jesse Lingard bagged his first goal in Manchester United colours in their 2-0 defeat of West Bromwich Albion. He also got an extra point as United maintained their excellent defensive record making it without conceding. United host Watford in next Saturday’s early fixture, Lingard will once again hope to make an impact and put

face the table-topping Manchester City.

Jonny Howson joined teammate Andre Wisdom in the team of the week after his sides 1-0 victory, the tireless midfielder headed home for the Canaries in what was a dull affair between two teams pipped for the drop. Next week’s fixture will see the Norfolk side travel to Stamford Bridge, the home of the Champions.

Jamie Vardy took another step towards equalling Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s 13 year old record for goals in consecutive games, currently

Rob Elliot, Maya Yoshida, Philipe Coutinho and Jonny Howson all put in impressive performaces this week.

his side top of the table, until 5pm at the very least.

Phillip Coutinho scored for Liverpool in their 1-2 defeat at the hands of high flying Crystal Palace, a well taken goal by Coutinho wasn’t enough for Liverpool to take home any of the points in Saturdays fixture but it was enough to earn him a place in the Team of the Week. Next on the footballing calendar for the little Brazilian and his Liverpool teammates is a trip to the Etihad to

standing at 10 in a row. Vardy scored in his ninth consecutive Premier League game against Watford this week in a 2-1 victory at the King Power Stadium. Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes upended the England striker who duly stepped up to take the penalty himself to keep his phenomenal run going.

Next up for Vardy is an away trip up North to St James’ Park to put his wits against a struggling Newcastle United defence.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

JAMIE VARDY:

THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S NEWEST FOX IN THE BOX

BY ALEX HAMMOND

L

ineker, Heskey, Collymore, Chandler, Claridge, Smith, Worthington, Rowley, arguably some of the best forward players Leicester City have ever had. Ask any Leicester fan to pick out their favourite ever centre forward and it’s likely that at least one of the names on that list will crop up in conversation. But in 2015, there’s only one players name on everybody’s lips. A player which has defied the odds to currently stand as the Premier League’s top scorer, a player which 12 years ago was told he was surplus to requirements by his boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday, a player who just five years ago was playing none league football for Fleetwood Town.

Skip forward to November 2015 and

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Jamie Vardy’s 12 league goals set the pace in the Premier League’s goal scoring charts, seeing off competition from seasoned Premier League superstars such as Sergio Aguero, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez. A penalty in a 2-1 win over Watford cemented Vardy’s name in to Leicester City folk law, becoming the first player in Premier League history to score in nine consecutive games in a season (Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s record of ten games was achieved over two seasons). An England call up the reward and a cemented place leading the line for a side sat third in the Premier League (for the time being) stand to prove that it’s been a year to remember for the 28 year old.

Record breaking aside, Vardy still

FANTASY WEEKLY stands to divide opinion.

Heavily praised by branches of the media, however this ‘Roy of the Rovers’ tale is not to everybody’s taste. Vilified by many for an alleged racial incident taking place in a Casino earlier this year and a controversial gesture aimed towards an official in his last game against Watford, it hasn’t all been sea of praise for the striker. Yet he defies the odds and is, rightly so, the number one stand out performer of the 2015/16 season so far. Despite his sometimes seemingly unnecessary behaviour, Jamie Vardy has the opportunity to become one of the most exciting English talents that non-league football has ever produced.

While Vardy rightly does stand as an example of hope for many young players, nocked back on more than one occasion in his pursuit to achieving his goals, to becoming the top scorer in the Premier League and an England International, he looks like anything but a professional footballer. His wiry, skinny frame and his messy, unconventional haircut make him look like he’s stepped straight off of the Sunday league pitches. Yet despite Vardy being the leagues top scorer and all round ‘flavour of the month’ you just couldn’t imagine kids playing football on a Saturday afternoon looking to emulate the striker.

No matter how hard he tries I don’t think he’ll ever transcend from Premier League player to Premier League icon. Despite his heroics on the pitch this season for Leicester, he still seems as if he’s cast in the shadow of fellow England international and last seasons young player of the year, Harry Kane.

On the pitch, however, and its hard to argue against Vardy being the best player in the division so far this year.

12 goals in total, nine goals in nine consecutive games and

in the top 3 for distance covered so far are living proof of just how effective Vardy has been this season. It could be argued that Leicester’s lightening start to the season is owed, in part, to Vardy, not only for his goals but also for his lightening pace and unrelenting work rate.

Vardy has earned himself a reputation as a workhorse, a player whose determination overrides everything, something that is seldom seen in Premier League footballers of

“It just looked as if he was off the pace, as if he was a bit out of his depth” the modern era. Vardy brings a hint of the lower leagues to the Premier League, you never get the feeling that the money is important to him, he strikes you as a player who is trying to play the game that he loves to the best of his ability, and who can argue with how it’s going for him so far.

With all of this it comes as no surprise that Jamie Vardy is the first name on most Fantasy Football players team sheets so far this season. Amassing a mammoth 325 points already this season, he’s not only the top striker according to the EA Sports Player Performance Index but he’s also the top

player outright, leading fellow Leicester teammate Riyad Mahrez by 43 points.

It hasn’t, however, been the smoothest transition from Non-League to Premier League, at first glace it seemed as if Vardy would struggle to cut the mustard at league level. Leicester City Supporters Club Chairman Cliff Ginnetta believes that a lot of fans were close to loosing patients with Vardy.

“He just didn’t look good enough. He chipped in with a few goals but the first season he was at the club, it left you wondering what we’d spent £1 Million on”. “It just looked as if he was off the pace, as if he was a bit out of his depth”.

However, his second season playing Championship football for Leicester City was a lot more fruitful, the beginning of the trend which translated to Premier League level, it seems it takes the striker time to adapt to new surroundings. Finishing the season with 16 goals in a side that were promoted to the Premier League as Champions, Vardy had established himself as a key member of the Foxes squad. “That second season he was with us he was absolute magic. He turned in to the Jamie Vardy that we recognise today really” explains Cliff. It was clear to see that Vardy didn’t look completely comfortable in the Premier League last season, but just like in his second tier days, it seems like his year of experience has proved vital in his development. “He just developed this unbelievable pace out of nowhere, pace that it definitely didn’t seem like he had when he first came to Leicester. It’s such a big part of his game now though, it’s hard to explain, but it just seemed to come out of nowhere”.

The Record’s there for the taking jamie, over to you son.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

PLAYERS 10 THIS SEASON TOP

THE START OF THE 2015/2016 PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF SENSATIONAL. WE LOOK AT THE TOP TEN PLAYERS WHO HAVE SHONE THIS SEASON AND THERE ARE A FEW SURPIRSES ON THE LIST. JAMES BEAUMONT REPORTS.

1

RIYAD MAHREZ LEICESTER CITY 87 PTS

Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez has been without doubt one of the players of the season so far. The Algerian winger has so far accumulated 87 points, the highest in the Premier League, scoring 7 goals and picking up 5 assists along the way.

Mahrez, who cost Leicester City 350k back in 2014, has lit up the Premier League this season with his most notable highlight coming in Gameweek 11 when he scored a brace in a 3-2 away win against West Brom, resulting in player picking up 15 points. Since PAGE 16

the start of the season, the midfielders price has risen impressively from £5.5m to £6.7m, a direct correlation to the players scintillating form.

With struggling Newcastle up next for the Foxes, Mahrez will be looking for add to his tally and help his team continue their 5 game unbeaten run.

FANTASY WEEKLY

2

JAIME VARDY LEICESTER CITY 86 PTS

Jamie Vardy, a £1million buy from A Town in the Conference in 2012, is currently the Premier League’s leading goal scorer. After 9 goals in 9 games, he is one short of Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s all time record of scoring in ten consecutive Premier League matches.

Leicester City’s number 9 has 86 points so far, just one behind his Foxes team mate Riyad Mahrez. The striker has 12 goals this season, with all of them coming with inside the penalty box; a real fox in the box. Since week 3, the player has scored no less than 5 points resulting in his price rocAketing from

3

£6.0m to £7.4m. Vardy’s highest number of points came in Gameweek 9 when he scored 13 points after his 2 goals in the 2-2 draw with Southampton.

With Newcastle next, who have only kept 4 clean sheets this season, Leicester’s lethal finisher will be determined to make it 10 in 10 and mark his name into Premier League history.

ROMELU LUKAKU EVERTON 74 PTS

The big, Belgian striker is back to his best this season, notching up 7 goals and 4 assists in the process.

son, only 30.2% of players have selected the forward.

However, with bottom of the table Aston Villa and injury-hit Bournemouth scheduled for the upcoming Both Lukaku and Everton struggled last season with weeks, it is almost a certainty that that percentage the striker only managing 10 goals in the league and will rise with many hoping that the Everton’s target the Toffees finishing in a disappointing 11th place. man can continue his impressive form.

However, the former Chelsea striker already has 74 points this season and is the joint second on the goal scoring chart along with Odion Igahlo and Riyad Mahrez. Despite Lukaku’s blistering form this sea-

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FANTASY WEEKLY

4

DIMITRI PAYET WEST HAM UTD 74 PTS

Dimitri Payet has certainly hit the ground in his debut season in the Premier League.

The midfielder has been a major factor in West Ham’s fine start to the season after his £10.7m summer move from Marseille. The French international has scored five goals and contributed 3 assists in 14 appearances for the Hammers this season. With the player picking up 74 points already, Gameweek 5 saw Payet collect 16 points after scoring twice in a 2-0 win against Newcastle.

This unfortunately will be the midfielders highest point scoring haul for a while as he picked up an knee injury in his last game against Everton which is expected to keep out for 3 months.

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5

MESUT OZIL ARSENAL FC 72 PTS

Now in his third season at Arsenal, Mesut Özil is finally showing fans of the Premier League why he’s considered one of best player makers in the world.

The German star already has 10 assists to his name, 4 more than his closer competitor, David Silva. His influence on the Arsenal team has not gone unnoticed as his price has gone up £0.4m since the start of the season.

However, only 23.1% of players have Özil in their team even though the attacking midfielder has created 54 chances for his Arsenal team mates.

A player for the big occasion, the 27 year olds most influential game came against rivals Manchester United as he picked up 13 points for a goal, assist and a clean sheet.

ALEXIS SANCHEZ ARSENAL 70 PTS

Even with his hefty £11.6m price tag, Sanchez is a banker for the upcoming Gameweeks with West Alexis Sanchez lit up the Premier League in first season Brom, Norwich, and Sunderland scheduled to face the and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Gunners.

The midfielder currently has 70 points this season after Sanchez will want to add to his goal scoring 6 goals already this season. The Chilean interscoring exploits this season as well as continue Arsenational picked up an impressive 20 point haul against nals fine form in the Premier League this season.

Leicester City in a 5-2 away win for the Gunners with another 16 points coming the week after in the 3-0 demolition of Manchester United.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

7

ODION IGHALO WATFORD FC 69 PTS

An unfamiliar face to many before this season, Odion Ighalo is now a household name after bursting onto the Premier League scene with Watford.

Valued at a surprisingly cheap £5.5m, the striker is still only selected by 18.0% of players despite his and the Hornets impressive form this season.

Ighalo, who was a free transfer from Udinese, is currently the top scorer in English football in the year 2015 and already has 7 goals and 2 assists to his name this campaign.

With Villa, Norwich and Sunderland up next for Ighalo, he will look to keep firing for Watford and help them consolidate a respectable finish for the Premier League new boys.

The Nigerian international currently has 69 points, with 26 of them points coming from braces he scored against Newcastle and West Ham.

8

GEORGINO WIJNALDIUM NEWCASTLE UTD 66 PTS

Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum has been a shining However, his most impressive performance came light in what so far has been a unforgettable against Norwich as he bagged 4 goals in a 6-2 win season for the Magpies. culminating in a 25 point haul for the player.

Despite Newcastle’s poor start to the season, Newcastle fans will hope that the midfielder can Wijnaldum already has 66 points after contributing keep up his fine form and steer them away from the 6 goals and 2 assists to the north east side.

Premier League relegation zone.

After completing his £14.5m move for PSV Eindhoven, Wijnaldum hit the ground running by scoring on his debut against Southampton in a 2-2 draw.

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FANTASY WEEKLY

9

GRAZIANO PELLE SOUTHAMPTON 65 PTD

Italian striker Graziano Pelle is proving once again how important he is to his Southampton side.

The former Feyenoord man made a strong start to his career at St. Marys last season and has continued his good form by notching up 65 points already this campaign.

With 6 goals in 12 appearances, Southampton’s target man is once again tormenting Premier League defences, averaging 4.08 shots a game.

A real handful in the air, the big striker has scored 3 of his 6 goals with his head and the rest with the right foot. Even with his £8.5m price tag, Pelle is a great addition to your team as not only is he a goal scorer but he chips in with assists with 2 so far this season.

Not only that, with Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez suffering with injuries, he is a guaranteed starter with surely more goals coming along the way.

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10

JUAN MATA MAN UTD 65 PTS

Spanish playmaker Juan Mata is finally finding his best form once again.

A consistent startWWer in the Manchester United team, he currently has 4 goals and 3 assists in 12 appearances for the red devils. Despite playing on the left hand side of midfield, Mata is still having a great effect on Louis Van Gaal side.

The midfielder has created 20 chances for his team mates and has a pass accuracy of 89%. In addition to this, Mata is also heavily involved in taking set pieces meaning that many more assists and goals will be on the horizon for the former Chelsea maestro.

Mata’s most impressive performance came against Sunderland when he picked up 14 points after claiming a goal and an assist. In relation to other midfielder’s, £8.7m is considered a bargain for a player of Matas quality so it would be a mistake not to have him in your team.

FANTASY WEEKLY

FACING THE

DROP AS THE RELEGATION BATTLE HOTTENS UP, WE LOOK AT THE TEAMS WHO ARE FACING THE DROP.

BY JAMES BEAUMONT

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FANTASY WEEKLY

FACING THE DROP

A

s of gameweek 12, we currently see Newcastle, Sunderland, Bournemouth and Aston Villa occupy the bottom four. It seems like the relegation battle this season will be closer than ever with the four teams only separated by five points.

Each team has struggled in the early parts of the season and things won’t A any easier as the busy Christmas period is just around the corner. All four of the clubs will be hoping to produce a run similar to that of a Leicester last season to propel them away from the drop zone.

After spending over £46million in the summer, expectations were high around the north east club.

However, Newcastle’s new multi-million pound stars haven’t had they desired effect the fans had wanted.

Even though performances PAGE 22

Steve McClaren has endured a tough start a NUFC

in the last couple of weeks have seen an team. Papiss Cisse, Newcastle’s top scorer last season, has managed only one goal this campaign resulting in the player picking up a lousy 17 points. The boys in black and white need to buck up their ideas unless they want to suffer the same fate as they did in 2009.

New boys Bournemouth have had a tough time in their debut Premier League season. Staying up was their main target this season but that task got a lot harder when key players such as Callum Wilson, Max

Gradel and Tyrone Mings all sustained season ending injuries. Before his serious knee injury, Wilson was the Cherries highest point scorer with 38 points after scoring 5 goals in his first Premier League campaign.

No other player has been able to surpass that total since his injury highlighting Bournemouths lack of goals and creativity in the team.

Eddies Howes inexperienced side have also had trouble keeping the ball out the back of the net with only one clean sheet being recorded this season.

FANTASY WEEKLY

Like their north east neighbours, Sunderland have had a very poor start to the season, Sunderland have endured a terrible start to the season.

A large amount of money being thrown at the squad couldn’t change their early seasons struggles as Sunderland only managed to pick up only three points in their first eight games.

After several below par performances, Dick Advocaat was shown the door and Sam Allardyce was brought in to save their season. After a poor result against West Brom, the Mackems hammered their rivals Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby by three goals to nil.

However, even with this result, Sunderland still maintain in the relegation dog fight and will need all of Big Sam’s experience to get them out of it.

Aston Villa premier league status is severely under threat after their horrific start to the season.

After whole sale changes in the summer, the villa fans will have been feeling were probably fearing the worst after losing the likes of

“It’s a four horse face between the bottom four.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if Nowich were dragged into it.”

David Stevens Corals PR manager.

Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke .

A first day win against fellow struggler’s Bournemouth will have left them feeling more optimistic but no win since has seen the Villains rooted to the bottom

of the table.

With Brad Guzan accumulating the most points for the team with 38 points, it shows the problems they face.

Conceding too many and not scoring enough, it looks like it will be a very long and very hard season for Aston Villa.

Corals PR manager David Stevens gave us his relegation predictions. "At the moment, it’s a four horse race between the current bottom four."

"Obviously its a very long season but I wouldn’t be surprised if Norwich were dragged into it too.

Villa a favourites to finish bottom at 1/5 where as Sunderland and Newcastle are both 3/10 with the leading bookies thinking that Bournmouth are most likely to escape at 15/8."

"It will go right to the wire."

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FANTASY WEEKLY

TOP FIVE TEAMS IN THE THE WORLD BY LIAM JACKSON

H

ave a look at our top five teams in the world, so if you want to keep up in your friends leagues, take a look and take a leaf out of these playbooks.

1

TREE FELLERS UNITED RICHARD SCLATER

931PTS

Tree Fellers United bossed by Richard Sclater have a mind blowing 931 points combined and sits comfortably in first place. Keeping up to date with your team is key to ensure optimal points over the weekend. Sclater has a solid base with Cech in goal along with Kolarov and Bellerin in defence, both very capable of adding assists and goals to get major points. The popular Mahrez and Vardy are joined by Lukaku and Wijnaldum getting some key points, just have to be aware of whos playing who to take full advantage.

GK

P CECH - 68

T HOWARD - 47

DF

C SMALLING - 64 N MONREAL - 55

H BELLERIN - 54 B SAGNA - 58

A KOLAROV - 61

MF

K DE BRUYNE - 51 D TADIC - 63

A AYEW - 61 R MAHREZ - 87

G WIJNALDUM - 66

ST

J VARDY - 86

A MARTIAL - 36

R LUKAKU - 74

2

WRECKEDANGLE BYRON GILLESPIE

876PTS

Byron Gillespie’s team, Wreckedangle has a very good mix, with strong backline and high scoring forwards. The choice between David De Gea and Petr Cech gives the chance to swap for equaly capable goalkeepers, or simply because your strikers are coming up against one or the other goalkeeper, you wouldn’t want your strikers scoring a hat trick against your goalkeeper now would you. Another team with the fearsome duo of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, really showing that if you mean business in this season’s fantasy football you need to have these two point pinchers.

GK

P CECH - 68

D DE GEA

DF

L KOSCIELNY - 53 C AZPILICUETA - 37

R BERTRAND - 24 M TARGETT - 21

A KOLAROV - 61

MF

Y CABAYE - 56 A AYEW - 61

M OZIL - 72 R MAHREZ - 87

G WIJNALDUM - 66

ST

J VARDY - 86

O IGHALO - 69

R LUKAKU - 74

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FANTASY WEEKLY

3

FC BENTEKKERS LUKE FLEMING 812PTS

Luke Fleming and his FC Bentekkers squad sit on an impressive 812 points so far this season. Fleming has clearly gone Gung-ho with an impressive forward line boasting Vardy, Lukaku, Ozil and Mahrez. This can be an effective method for those in form strikers, but if they hit a dry spell you miss out on the points and could suffer as spending large amounts of your kitty on your forward line. However, Fleming has had the rub of the green so far and he will want this purple patch to continue.

4

STRUTHIOUS D DAVID RENNIE

792PTS

David Rennie’s Struthious D could have a possible 792 points, key point players being Leicester duo Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy on 87 and 86 points respectively. If you haven’t got them in your team you need to seriously consider making a few changes and putting these Foxes in your team.

Rennie may have a higher combined scored, he may just need to keep a close eye on who his players are up against in the coming weeks to take the top spot.

GK

J HART - 51

T HOWARD - 47

GK

P CECH - 58

J RUDDY - 29

DF

C DAWSON - 46 C SOARES - 38 V KOMPANY - 58

H BELLERIN - 54 B SAGNA - 58

DF

C SMALLING - 64 A CRESSWELL - 41 T ALDERWIERELD - 49

S DANN - 55 C AZPILICUETA - 37

MF

R MAHREZ - 87 M OZIL - 72

S MANE - 55 P COUTINHO - 57

MF

R MAHREZ - 87 Y CABAYE - 56

Y TOURE - 55 D PAYET - 74

ST

J VARDY - 86 G PELLE - 65

R LUKAKU - 74

ST

J VARDY - 86 W BONY - 32

O IGHALO - 69

5

THE WOMBATS RYAN GRZEGOWSKI

735PTS

Ryan Grzegowski’s The Wombatssits are sitting comfortable in 5th place after his team picked up and impressive 735 points in gameweek 12. Grzegowski has mananaged to stay in touch with with the big boys and will fancy his chances of catching up to the leading pack.

Dimitri Payet and Riyad Mahrez getting some major points for The Wombats but with the injury of Payet, Grzegowski will need to dip into the transfer market to pick out another point scoring midfielder or face falling behind.

GK

P CECH - 68

T HOWARD - 47

DF

C SMALLING - 64 N MONREAL - 55

H BELLERIN - 54 B SAGNA - 58

A KOLAROV - 61

MF

K DE BRUYNE - 51 D TADIC - 63

A AYEW - 61 R MAHREZ - 87

G WIJNALDUM - 66

ST

J VARDY - 86

A MARTIAL - 36

R LUKAKU - 74 PAGE 25

FANTASY WEEKLY

THE FINAL WHISTLE

BY ALEX HAMMOND

As we approach the halfway stage of what has already been a pulsating season, we turn our attention to the Championship and who might be joining us come August.

T

here’s a lot of debate what is “the best division in the world” these days. Many still believe the Premier League remains the pinnacle. Some believe the best football can be found elsewhere in the continent, such as Germany or Spain.

What often gets overlooked however is the sheer drama and unpredictability of the Championship. We’ve seen this season alone how big a part teams coming up from the second tier can play in the shining lights of the Premier League. It’s rare this season that Bournemouth have featured in the second half of the match of the day running order. As for fellow new boys Watford, they stand only one place out the top half of the Premier League, an impressive start from the Hornets.

It’s not just this season where promoted teams have mastered with great efficiency how to stay in the Premier League. At time of writing Leicester City stand 3rd, a remarkable achievement after only gaining promotion the season before last. The Foxes are an erratic case of gaining Premier League stability; Swansea, Stoke and Crystal Palace have all made the step up fairly comfortably over the last few years.

Already entering the festive season however, it is already time to sniff out the talent from below and who may well be joining us when August comes back around.

Dropping down from the top division is made ever easier these days by the “Parachute payments” system.

Back in August, there were a number of sides that were having money lumped on them to make the step up.

Hull, Burnley, Derby, Middlesbrough

PAGE 26

and QPR were the early favourites, nearly all of whom find themselves in the right area of the Championship table. Championship new boys Hull City currently stand at the top of the Championship pile. Under the experienced management of Steve Bruce it would be difficult to see the Tigers slip away from the promotion mix.

Every season we seem to see a surprise package spring up from the depths of the second tier and this season it has, so far, proved to be Brighton and Hove Albion. Last season the Seagulls only managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their beaks, finishing in a seriously underwhelming 20th position. Fortunes have been different this time around on the South coast however. Former Newcastle and Norwich manager Chris Hughton has waved his magic wand at the Amex Stadium and under his management, Albion currently sit second, with only Hull bettering them. Arguably the key behind Brighton’s success so far this season has been the sheer resilience of Hughton’s men. Not one team in the division has as of yet managed to inflict defeat on Brighton, if the Seagulls can keep up their current form, a playoff spot is the least they can hope for come May. Aitor Karanka’s Middlesbrough were agonizingly close to gaining promotion last season. A strong season crumbled at the death and the Teesside club were desperately unlucky to fall at the final hurdle, losing 2-0 to Norwich in the playoff final. Karanka took to the transfer market to try and go the whole way this time around.

Championship veteran David Nugent was signed from Leicester, while Diego Fabbrini, Fernando Amorebieta

and most notably Stuart Downing were all fellow summer signings at the Riverside. It was a massive game for Boro this weekend as they travelled to table topping Hull. In what was dubbed as a “six pointer”, the home side ran out clear winners, in a 3-0 victory for Hull. Despite their latest disappointment, this season is still very much in the open for Karanka.

They sit in fourth position after their defeat to Hull and the Boro faithful will hope to see a top two finish after finding out what heartbreak the playoffs can throw up.

Like Hull, Burnley were another team to be relegated at the end of last season, they gave their chances of a first time return a major boost when they captured Andre Gray from Brentford for a club record fee of £6million. Gray’s goals have already paid dividends so far this season, the 24 year old has bagged eight since moving to Turf Moor and Sean Dyche will be longing his striker’s form to continue if his side are to remain in and around the promotion hunt. The Clarets are only two points outside the top two and the experience they gained in the top flight last season may well come in handy as the months fly off the calendar.

Finally, the one other side that has staked somewhat of a promotion claim having reached November, is Derby County. After parting company with Steve McClaren after embarrassingly falling away from the playoff spots towards the end of last season, former Real Madrid assistant Paul Clement was brought in to try and bring good fortunes to Pride Park. After a slow and uneasy start, it appears

Clement has settled in to life in the Championship. Big name summer signings, Bradley Johnson, Andreas Weimann and Jason Shackell have all dropped down from the Premier League, hoping for success in the East Midlands. After being forced to wait till mid-September for a first league win, many thought Derby wouldn’t be finishing as high up the table as first thought. However a recent upturn in results has relieved a large degree of pressure off Paul Clement’s shoulders.

As we saw last season, the Championship is by no means a finished article by the turn of the New Year.

Realistically any team as low as 15th in the table can still end up bidding for promotion as Easter rears its head.

While the afore mentioned remain as favourites, the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Ipswich have all impressed in the early parts of the campaign.

Guessing games always prove to be speculative in this division and yet again an exciting finale is proving to be brewing.

EDITOR’S PREDICTION: 1st) Derby County 2nd) Hull City Play off winners – Middlesbrough.

FANTASY WEEKLY

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FANTASY WEEKLY ISSUE 01 DEBUT EDITION