These 2 matches I am about to touch on are where you are gonna want to build your core. You will need to be precise in finding the goal scorers for the other matches, as many of them figure to be played largely in the middle of the field. The possession matchups on this slate are not all that enticing, to say the least.
THE THICK OF IT
Liverpool v Arsenal — Game of the week right here. Top 6 sides squaring off are always entertaining, especially these two. That said, I expect a higher scoring affair. Do you know what to expect from Liverpool? I am not totally sure I do, but they are favored at home. Since AFCON, we realized just how necessary Sadio Mané is to Liverpool’s success. He came back and Liverpool looked whole again. Right up until the ghost of Jamie Vardy and Leicester City flipped the script on everything we knew.
Starting with the home side, I like Roberto Firmino but the scoring should involve at least 1 of the 3 starting up top. Arsenal tends to yield to quality forwards who are strong at finishing. Their defense, while quite strong, is more adept at closing you down after you penetrate their goal box than preventing you from getting in there in the first place. Sadio Mané and Coutinho should be the other 2 up top.
There are some injuries of note for Liverpool. Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge are going to miss this match. Dejan Lovren is doubtful to play. Sturridge probably was only going to be used a sub maybe anyway but Henderson being out means another start for Emre Can, most likely, who assisted on the lone goal for liverpool against Leicester city on monday.
For the Gunners, this is an away match. Alexis Sanchez shines on the road and it seems his contract negotiations are stalling. Time to showcase those talents even more than before. Not that he ever needs extra motivation, but there was a report identifying his replacement should he not re-up with the team. As an Arsenal supporter, this news doesn’t make me happy but as a DFS player, I love it.
Watford v Southampton — Southampton have been largely poor finishers on the season while taking a load of shots. They have gotten much better with the addition of Manolo Gabbiadini. You are probably gonna want shares of him. Over the course of the season, Southampton was one of the worst in the premiership in goal conversion percentage. They have improved quite a bit and actually rank 7th in this category over the last 4 gameweeks. To show it is not a matter of low shot attempts and an uptick in fortuitous circumstance, they actually rank 3rd, behind Liverpool and Man U, over this same span in minutes per shot attempt.
I’m back on Troy Deeney again. Watford seems to have found some offensive flow and it starts with him. He has put ⅔ of his shots on frame in his last 3 home games and scored on ⅓ of his total shots. Considering he tied for the team lead with 2 shots last week, the volume is low but the rate is high. Considering that southampton’s defense has been pretty solid, as of late, by only allowing an average of 4 shots inside the box in their last 2 away matches. There are other guys I am looking at for GPPs but we can get into those individual players in the #soccer-talk slack channel.
BETWEEN THE STICKS
Here are my Goalkeeper rankings.
- Lukasz Fabianski – Burnley has the highest percentage of shots on target on the main slate and they have a 8.57% goal conversion rate in their last 3 away matches. Burnley has not been shutout on the road in that span and they should get on the board tomorrow but I like that saves equity for a quality keeper.
- Victor Valdes – Middlesbrough is a defensive team and rather decent one. They will sit back and wait for the counter attack while putting Valdes in great positions to make saves. Stoke should, therefore, take the lion’s share of the possession and rattle off a few more shots.
These are the only two guys I am willing to take. If you need to go cheaper, you could maybe go with Fraser Forster. There is a chance he could have an okay day but my teams will likely have 1 of the two listed above.
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Okay, that is it for this week’s write-up. We will touch on the other games in the slack channel, so get in there. I am working on that whole short and sweet thing. It’s a process. Good luck in your research and in gameweek 27!