Football
Fantasy Football Scout 8y

Alexis Sanchez a key pick, Dusan Tadic the man in hot form in fantasy

With most of the major Premier League issues now resolved, you could be excused for thinking that the ESPN FC Premier Fantasy season is about to end with a whimper.

But that's far from the case, with two major local rivalries stoking the final-day fires.

Tottenham's most successful season in an age could still involve them finishing below Arsenal in the table, while the two Manchester clubs have left it as late as possible to determine who will finish fourth.

Before that, a quick recap of GW37's midweek action.

Sunderland secured their top-flight status with a 3-0 win over Everton and they have Lamine Kone (£6.3m) to thank for it. He hit two goals and kept a clean sheet for 23 points -- that's nearly a third of his season's tally from one match.

One of our punts for the week, Nathan Redmond (£4.8m), hit a goal and an assist for 12 points as Norwich went down fighting, while Winston Reid (£5.3m) secured 10 points with the final, and winning, league goal at Upton Park.

Man United stars also excelled. Anthony Martial (£8.6m) hit a brace for 10 points and Juan Mata (£6.9m) finished with 16 points from a goal and an assist across two matches.

TEAM EFFORTS

There's two strong reasons to back Arsenal players -- they're at home to Villa and if they win and Spurs lose, the Gunners will finish second in the league.

Olivier Giroud (£7.6m) almost demands inclusion. He's back in form -- with a goal and two assists in his last two matches -- is nailed-on to start now that Danny Welbeck is injured and he'll be up against a Villa defence that's allowed a fourth-worst 86 headed attempts this season. Giroud leads the league with 40 headed chances.

Only Newcastle have scored fewer than Villa's 13 away goals, so investing in one (and maybe even two) of the Gunners' back line looks sound. ESPN FC Premier Fantasy's second-ranked defender Hector Bellerin (£7.9m) is your best bet, while Gabriel (£5.9m) offers the greatest value.

As for Spurs, a trip to Newcastle could be a tricky one. Only eight teams have outscored the Magpies at home and they're currently unbeaten in five, keeping three clean sheets in the process.

We detailed the woes of Harry Kane (£10.0m) when Mousa Dembele isn't in the side earlier in the week, so Christian Eriksen (£8.7m) looks to be the key man. He has five assists from his last six starts and is also due a goal, firing in 14 fruitless shots over the past four Gameweeks.

Man City need just a draw to confirm fourth place, but they'll have to travel to a resurgent Swansea to secure it.

The Swans have won their last two, scoring seven goals along the way, so investing in a City defender looks risky. Fit-again Bacary Sagna (£6.4m) is relatively cheap and offers an attacking threat, however. Kevin De Bruyne (£8.9m) hit his first league goal since early April in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal and remains a sound investment, and Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.3m) is great value for a man with four goals from three straight starts.

Man United no longer control their own destiny, but should see off a Bournemouth side that's been in standby mode since securing their Premier League spot.

As we mentioned above, Martial and Mata are in good form, while the attack minded Antonio Valencia (£5.7m) is cheap for a United defender and owned by just 1.4 percent of managers.

MUST-HAVE MEN

Alexis Sanchez (£9.8m) has had a great final two months of the season, racking up his seventh goal in nine starts at Man City last week. The chance to pip Spurs and a porous Villa defence should add up to another Sanchez starring role.

Sergio Aguero (£11.1m) has Champions League qualification and the Golden Boot to gun for. The Argentine needs two goals to surpass Kane and a Swansea side that's conceded an average of two a match over the last four Gameweeks might struggle to stop him doing just that.

Dusan Tadic (£7.2m) has been in extraordinary form, with two goals and an amazing six assists garnering him 41 points from four matches. He's still only owned by 2.8 percent of managers, despite a last-day match against a Palace side that will only have eyes for the FA Cup final.

A FINAL PUNT OF THE SEASON

Liverpool will travel to West Brom to field a side of youngsters and fringe players ahead of Wednesday's Europa League final.

That will almost certainly mean a start for Christian Benteke (£6.4m).

It will be a major surprise if the Belgian is a Liverpool man next season, but he's been a valuable bit-part player in a fractured campaign.

He's only started once in his last three appearances and has still scored twice and provided an assist.

He's also out-performed Daniel Sturridge (£9.5m), who has played 180 minutes to Benteke's 152, across all key areas, including chances created (4v2), big chances (3v1), and shots in the area (8v2).

With just 1.3 percent ownership stats, Benteke could make a major difference to ESPN FC Premier Fantasy managers in need of a last-day turnaround in fortunes.

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