Hang tough. Be strong. Trust yourself. If you have never played organized sports before, these are phrases you have to say to yourself at one point or another. There are gonna be times when you want to get down on yourself. You have to look those tough tasks in the face. You have to stare down those tough opponents. Our opponent this week is a very formidable looking gameweek 25. Hang tough.
The games are not very enticing at first glance, or even fifth glance. The best game of the day is at 1230 so there’s that. Before we talk about that one, and we will, we have a minefield of suck to wade through. The good thing is 2 teams that suck have the chance to make for an exciting game. Not always but we need some hope on which to cling.
Main Event
Liverpool v Tottenham — we came for the show and, one way or another, this one won’t disappoint. Last week, Liverpool stemmed the tide a bit. They earned a draw with Chelsea after a week or so of losing everything. If you ask me, it’s about to get harder. If I had to choose, I would rather face Chelsea than Tottenham.
Tottenham boasts an offense that just won’t quit. Liverpool used to be the team that overwhelms opponents but most times yield to the physical play that the spurs bring. They will still be without Danny Rose which should yield a little more possession for Liverpool.
I’m expecting 3 or 4 total goals scored here so the usual suspects are in play but I will highlight a couple guys worth watching.
For the home side, Giorginio Wijnaldum. He has been solid for Liverpool. He usually shows up with a shot a two every week; and, in their last 3 home games, G-dub has been involved in 43% of the team’s goals, 2 of which he scored himself.
He is also accurate. If he takes 2 shots; without seeing, I’d be willing to bet he hits the target at least once. That’s 3 points off the bat. He plays the defensive mid, so he is a better DK play than Fanduel. He needs an assist or goal to make value on FD, but he does have the upside.
For Tottenham, I want to point out Son Heung-Min. He is the other attacking forward who is second on the team in shots in the last 3 away matches and much cheaper than all the other big names. Eriksen frequently sends in balls to the middle of the box and he, Harry Kane, and Dele Alli are his targets. He is another who will need to assist or score to make value.
Best of the Rest
Sunderland v Southampton — If this doesn’t highlight this slate, I don’t know what will. Neither Sunderland nor Southampton should follow the words ‘best of the rest’, but here we are.
Jermain Defoe usually starts the highlight reel for Sunderland and he is in play on a slate like this. I really want to name someone else but there are so many injuries that we need to see who starts. Ask me in slack chat if you are looking at going the Sunderland side of things.
On the Southampton side of things, there is the new hotness in Manolo Gabbiadini. He had 6 shots last week and against a “getting tougher” sunderland defense, he will still probably be decently owned. I’m not saying he’s a bad play, but I like the opportunity for Jay Rodriguez. He needs to start but he is averaging an attempt at goal every 22.4 mins and Sunderland has been allowing shots from his side of the pitch.
West Ham v West Brom — So Andy Carroll keeps popping up and will likely be a popular target. West Brom is a tough matchup but not completely insurmountable.
West ham is the favorite here and they are still settling in post-payet. They will take one more step forward and I am looking at Michail Antonio to take that step. I need to see where he lines up to see just how involved he will be, but he has been shooting despite the lack of results. He also has been involved in more shot attempts than anyone else on his team over the last 3 away matches.
On the flip side, James Morrison has been killing it, lately. He is solidified in his central attacking mid role. I’m not a huge fan of him tomorrow, though. Matt Phillips has been shooting a lot, in addition to his enabling ways. He leads the team in the last 3 away matches. I think the forwards get after it, though. We need to see who starts between Salomon Rondon and Hal Robson-Kanu.
I think you see where we have gotten to so let’s get to the keepers and wrap this preview up.
Goalkeepers
Here are my 3 top keepers for the day.
- Heurelho Gomes – Man U shoots a ton and if he can only give up 1 or maybe 2 goals, he could make some solid value.
- Victor Valdes – Home Boro defense should give Valdes clear lines of sight and make his job easier. He will still give up a goal but could make enough saves to make up for it.
- Lee Grant – Crystal Palace is bad. They should still shoot but they are bad.
Captain’s Armband
I am liking Michail Antonio this week
For the rest of everything, look at the team sheets that I provided in our #soccer-talk slack channel. It has everything you need to conquer this week. Don’t know what the #soccer-talk slack channel is? You should come on over to the DFS Army so we can teach ya some things. Maybe you can even find a new sport to scratch that fantasy itch.
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