Ah yes, it’s that time of the week already. *checks watch* No, not 2:30 pm on a Wednesday afternoon during lockdown, it’s fantasy football o’clock and Gameweek 8 is about to start!
I get out my magnifying glass and do the detective work so you beautiful people don’t have to. Simply put, make a cup of tea, pay attention to this article and you won’t even need to put on your thinking cap to utilise Chelsea’s players this weekend!
Defence is the best form of well…defence?
Yep, you did read that correctly, when it comes to Frank Lampard nowadays, you might think it is Jose Mourinho wearing a mask. Chelsea looks so defensively solid it’s actually quite unbelievable. Chelsea’s starting back four and keeper managed a combined 38 points last week, top of the table Liverpool only got 10 between theirs.
So, although Chelsea possess such incredible depth and strength in attack, defence really is the best form of defence, not attack.
It’s probably a bit late now to get on the Édouard Mendy hype train, but it’s not too late to get him on your team! He has 6 clean sheets in 6 games now (I’ll probably be copy and pasting that with the number 6 after the international break though) and is probably the most likely keeper in the league to stop the opposition scoring. He has 19 points so far in his 3 league games and is just 2 points behind Ederson despite playing 3 games less than the Brazilian.
He might not make the most saves, therefore getting you fewer points than other shot-stoppers, but if clean sheets from defenders are what you’re after then this is your man.
While we’re on the topic, get Ben Chilwell in there too, and Reece James as well, and Thiago Silva, and Kurt Zouma. Do you see where this is going? You really can take a blind pick of any of Chelsea’s current back 5 and they’ll do you well. But, seeing as you need analysis and choices being made for you, the best bets are James and Chilwell due to their attacking ability.
James already has over half the amount of points he got last season for Fantasy managers and is still only in 11.8% of teams, just find some room for him, he’ll be worth it. As for Chilwell, he’s in 23.9% of sides but in my expert view, is less likely to recoup as many assists. That’s a personal choice though really, James is 0.9m cheaper though if you needed to free up some budget to spend on Kurt Zouma.
“Come on Tim(o)!”
That one is for any tennis fans out there. For the rest of you, it’s the Timo Werner section of the preview, I did promise after all that he wouldn’t be the pick of the week all the time.
Here’s the conundrum, he’s very expensive at 9.3m, but he is also the most likely to score in Chelsea’s team so it’s a fair deal. He has also now become the team’s official penalty taker and boy does he know how to take them, another avenue that he can grab you points.
But, after 7 weeks of the season, there are five much cheaper and higher scoring forwards than Werner that you could choose, that would also free up some room to pick another of my favoured defenders.
But, if you’re part of the optimistic and hopeful 22% that have kept Werner then my advice remains the same, stick with him. He is starting to pick up the scoring, no matter which way they go in, with 6 in 6 games in all competitions.
As more and more fantasy managers are ditching the German and moving towards more trendy, home-grown points scorers such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Ings, Harry Kane, or even Callum Wilson, I am here to say that keeping Werner will bring you more long term rewards as well as looking likely to notch some points in game week 8. Chelsea could become a serious problem for the Premier League in attack and defence if their form continues to improve, Werner will not only thrive off of that, he will help to maintain it.
Gameweek 8: Pick of the Week
Ladies and gentlemen, step forward the highest points-scoring defender in the Fantasy football world, Kurt ‘Happy’ Zouma.
Not only is the lovable Frenchman top, but he is also comfortably top with 46 points so far this season including three goals and three clean sheets. He has already secured over three-quarters of the points he scored last season and if he continues to be paired with Thiago Silva then there is nothing to stop him massively outscoring himself and also other defenders in the league.
Only 5 players in the whole league can boast of having more points than Zouma at this stage of the season and he has only played six of the seven League games so far this term. With an underperforming and misfiring Sheffield United side visiting Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 8, this is a confident pick of mine. It will also more than likely jinx Chelsea and Zouma so while you really expect him to bag a goal and a clean sheet, be aware that the Blues are never too far away from an implosion of massive proportions.
To end on a serious note though, if you do take these tips and use them, triple-captain Zouma this weekend and watch what happens, if it works, I want all the credit.
Written by Tom Coley @Tomcoley49
Edited by Jai Mcintosh @jjmcintosh5