We’re getting to the nitty gritty here now
With nine games remaining in the Premier League season, Fantasy Premier League players – and presumably actual professional footballers – are beginning to see the finishing line in sight.
Every point matters at this point, both in the actual league and on FPL, and no mistakes can be afforded if you want to win something, or – most likely – gain some bragging rights over your friends and colleagues.
With that in mind, let’s have a little look at which players will be worthy additions to your team for the matches this weekend.
1. Youri Tielemans – Leicester City, £6m
The Foxes’ on-loan Belgian midfielder has been impressive since joining from AS Monaco in the January transfer window. He excelled in his debut against Spurs and his style of play and eye for a pass will likely be given plenty of opportunities against Brendan Rodgers’ first opponent at home as Leicester manager: Fulham.
2. Wilfried Zaha – Crystal Palace, £6.9m
Crystal Palace have only lost two of their last nine games, with those defeats coming against Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. Their attack is properly firing now and against rivals Brighton they face a team utterly bereft of confidence and quickly sliding towards the relegation zone. Palace’s talisman, Zaha, will see the Seagulls as a team there for the taking, and his manager will seek to utilise his pace and skill to exploit the visitors’ defensive frailties.
3. Xherdan Shaqiri – Liverpool, £6.9m
Shaqiri appears likely to start at home to Burnley, with Jurgen Klopp no doubt looking towards the Reds’ Champions League second round second leg against Bayern Munich next week. The Swiss dynamo is probably one of the Liverpool substitutes closest to a starting berth and he will see this home game as a huge opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the starting XI at the Allianz Arena.
4. Miguel Almiron – Newcastle United, £6m
Almiron has been hugely impressive since arriving on Tyneside from MLS champions Atlanta United. He has played at least 79 minutes in each of his last three games and is likely to start against Everton. The Toffees don’t have the strongest defence and with most good things Newcastle do likely to go through the Paraguayan, he’s worth a punt.
5. Romelu Lukaku – Manchester United, £10.7m
At £10.7m he’s not cheap, but Lukaku is currently in form too good to ignore. He has scored two goals in his last three games for Manchester United; most recently against PSG on Wednesday, and he’ll be confident of adding to that number against an Arsenal side fresh off the back of a comprehensive defeat to Ligue 1’s 10th-placed side, Rennes, on Sunday.
