Football
Fantasy Football Scout 8y

Toby Alderweireld and Divock Origi shine for fantasy managers

Leicester are almost there, while Villa and Newcastle are almost down and a massive double dose of fixtures is almost upon us.

Gameweek 33 of ESPN FC Premier Fantasy had more than a hint of the holding pattern about it, with all the major issues remaining unresolved.

But the 15-fixture GW34 could change much of that.

Here's what we gleaned from a high-scoring but low-impact weekend.

WEEKLY WONDERS

Everton and Crystal Palace's double Gameweek match on Wednesday means there are still points up for grabs, but the big-hitters so far had just one match.

The season's leading points scorer among defenders, Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld (£7.4m), eased further ahead at the top of the table with a 15-point performance against Man United.

The Belgian recorded his 12th clean sheet and fourth goal of the campaign, while Liverpool's Alberto Moreno (£5.8m) opened his goalscoring account for the season, and threw in his second assist for good measure, to tally 14 points.

In midfield, Tottenham's Erik Lamela (£6.6m) hit a goal and an assist -- and should have had more -- for a 13-point haul.

West Ham's Andy Carroll (£4.9m) was the pick of the strikers. His nine-minute hat trick against Arsenal earned him 14 points and reminded everyone what a potent weapon he is when fit.

TEAMSHEET TALK

The Premier League's last two European survivors could be excused for changing things around with major matches facing them in midweek. Both responded with wins.

Man City scraped past West Brom 2-1, and did it without nearly half the team that impressed away at Paris St Germain in the Champions League.

In came Aleksandar Kolarov (£5.8m), Samir Nasri (£6.2m), Fabian Delph (£5.8m) and Wilfried Bony (£5.9m).

Nasri was the pick of the crop, scoring the winner to go with his assist off the bench from the previous week. The France international is making a strong case for lots of late-season action.

Injuries, suspensions and the upcoming second leg of their Europe League tie with Dortmund meant big changes for Liverpool too.

Oluwaseyi Ojo (£5.0m), Kolo Toure (£5.2m), Martin Skrtel (£6.3m), Kevin Stewart (£5.0m) and Roberto Firmino (£8.0m) were all given starts in the 4-1 win over Stoke.

But Divock Origi (£6.4m) stole the show, coming on at half-time and scoring twice to add to his vital away goal in Germany.

The Belgian striker is in just 0.5 percent of ESPN FC Premier Fantasy squads but is proving a productive asset in the latter stages of the season.

Carroll's headline-grabbing performance for the Hammers came at the expense of Diafra Sakho (£6.2m), who didn't even make the squad.

James Tomkins (£6.1m) returned to the team after a six-match injury layoff, freeing up Michail Antonio (£6.6m) to play in a more advanced role -- until Tomkins was withdrawn at half-time, that is.

With City, Liverpool and West Ham having double fixtures in GW34, second-guessing their managers' selections looks like being a tough task, but a necessary one.

THE NUMBERS GAME

With half of all Premier League teams playing twice in GW34, the potential for points-scoring is huge.

A look at the GW33 performances of some key players -- and the matches they have coming up -- should help ESPN FC Premier Fantasy managers recognise some must-have assets.

Carroll has a lot going for him. He had an astonishing 10 goal attempts against Arsenal -- four more than his nearest challenger.

Matches at Leicester and home to Watford are a mixed bag, but the Hammers have failed to score only four times in 16 away matches while the Hornets are winless in six and haven't kept an away clean sheet since Dec. 12.

Sergio Aguero (£10.4m) scored for the second consecutive week in an all-action display against West Brom during which he had four attempts, three of which were on target, and created four chances.

Two away matches await City now, at Chelsea and Newcastle. Both look winnable for a side that has bounced back impressively from the 1-0 loss in the Manchester derby.

Origi packed a lot into his 45 minutes against Stoke. He had two big chances, three attempts, created a chance and scored twice. All eyes at Anfield are on Thursday's Europe League quarterfinal, but GW34 matches at Bournemouth and then home to Everton look like good opportunities for solid points scoring.

Alexis Sanchez (£9.5m) is in terrific form, with three goals and three assists from his last five starts.

He scored again at West Ham and home matches against Palace and West Brom look particularly well-placed for him to continue his brilliant recent run.

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