THE PROPHET'S PROFIT - GW8
Gameweek 8 saw Chelsea and Man City flex their muscles at the top of the table, as well as this season’s surprise packets Southampton getting the result of the week with an 8-0 demolishment of Sunderland proving that they may just be a serious top 4 threat after all. Arsenal continues to stutter sharing the points at home to Hull, and from a fantasy standpoint a couple of their players come into the spotlight when thinking of who to trade for this week. Here are the picks of the bunch for the best buy/sell players after Gameweek 8.
Oscar
Yet another Blues’ midfielder who finds himself flourishing so far this season; Oscar is proving to be yet another asset in Chelsea’s start studded midfield. Against Crystal Palace over the weekend, the young Brazilian scored a sublime free kick and also set up the winner for Cesc Fabregas. That’s now 2 league goals from his past 3 appearances and some may be starting to believe he is about to explode and really take his game to a new level this season. Like mentioned in the Prophet’s Profit piece for Gameweek 6 in regards to Willian, Chelsea have far too many options in midfield to be able to rely upon someone like Oscar to get it done for you week in week out. Oscar was left out of the team in weeks 3 and 5, and has also found himself drifting deep, playing alongside midfield anchor Nemanja Matic and controlling the play from that part of the pitch regularly. It has been a common theme this season to see Oscar drifting deep and thus limiting his fantasy potential due to the allowance to let Fabregas move forward at times. Someone needs to pick up the cover defensively and that has been Oscar on numerous occasions. If you own Oscar you may want to consider selling high on him right now.
Verdict: Sell High
Aaron Ramsey
Gameweek 8 saw the premature return of gun Welshman Aaron Ramsey for Arsenal. Ramsey came off the bench to play 28 minutes in Arsenal’s disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Hull. After a promising start to the season where he scored in the first 2 weeks of the season; Ramsey hit a roadblock after that and suffered his own personal form loss to go along with Arsenal’s inability to win consistently. Ramsey will need to pick up where he left off last season if Arsenal is to have any chance of making the top 4 let alone winning the league. Coming off his mentioned form loss and an injury, there’s no better time than right now to target the Welshman in a trade as his value will likely improve sooner rather than later. He’s a fantasy stud that knows how to find the net when he’s on song, so if you can get him on the cheap somehow you will be doing your fantasy squad a huge favour.
Verdict: Buy Low
Emmanuel Adebayor
After a disappointing start to the season, Adebayor finally lost his starting spot for Tottenham in their 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Man City. Many would say ‘about time’ as he has been lacklustre to say the least this season with just the 1 goal from 7 league starts. As bad as Adebayor’s form has been, he does seem to be the ‘best of a bad bunch’ when it comes to the strikers at White Hart Lane. Soldado started against City and didn’t do himself any favours by seeing his penalty saved by Joe Hart which otherwise would’ve tied the game at 2-2 in the 62nd minute and hence anything could have happened from there. This topped by his poor form of last season which definitely would leave Soldado with not many chances left at Tottenham. Adebayor is proven in the English top flight and as the old saying goes ‘form is temporary but class is permanent’. It is likely it is only a matter of time until Adebayor gets the starting nod again, so I’d suggest a low-ball offer for him as his value at current isn’t great. Don’t offer too much though as he is by no means guaranteed to start, let alone flourish, but there is no doubt the upside is there if he gets it together.
Verdict: Buy Low
Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard this season has been looking like the Lampard of old with his impeccable knack for finding the net and providing opportunities for his colleagues as well. None more incredible than in Gameweek 5; where he came on as a sub to play 13 minutes and score the equaliser against his old club Chelsea. The past weekend he was at it again providing 2 assists in just the 27 minutes on the park. This season so far Lampard has 2 goals and 2 assists in just 139 minutes of league action; equating to a goal or an assist every 34.75 minutes which is a remarkable statistic in itself. As much of a legend of the Premier League Lampard is, you cannot honestly expect him to keep up such potency around goal with the limited opportunities he has on the pitch. He also is just on a loan spell from MLS outfit New York City which will have him return to New York in January and miss the 2nd half of Man City’s season. If you own him because of his reputation and current good form, sell him as soon as possible while his value is high after the weekend; as there are many more reliable options in midfield for your fantasy squad.
Verdict: Sell High
Santi Cazorla
Santi Cazorla is definitely an interesting fantasy prospect for the foreseeable future with Mesut Ozil out due to injury. Santi’s value dropped quite a bit with the additions of Ozil last season and Alexis this year; as he was no longer one of the focal points going forward and Wenger wouldn’t think twice about rotating him in and out of the side when he felt a more defensive approach was needed. A prime example of that being this season against Man City; where Cazorla didn’t feature in the game. With Ozil out for possibly a couple of months, Cazorla instantly takes his attacking position in the starting XI and with him starting every game as long as he’s fit, he’s a good shot to replicate or come close to his season 2012/13 where he scored 12 goals and dished out 13 assists to be amongst the elite fantasy midfielders of that season. Now would be a good time to target Cazorla in a trade, he’s a proven gun and will surely flourish sooner rather than later with added opportunities in the starting XI.
Verdict: Buy Low
Well those are the picks of the bunch when considering who to trade away or who to trade for before Gameweek 7. Again if you have any trade related questions or just anything fantasy football related; follow me on twitter @Duane_0343 and drop me a tweet.
Article by Duane Silva, Footy Prophet
Follow Footy Prophet on twitter: @FFProphet