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It’s time for the January wildcard! And we’re here to tell you who to get and who to leave behind. You need to step up your game if you want Fantasy glory. So we take a look at an ideal 15 man squad for you, within your budget.
Goalkeeper
Tim Krul (Newcastle United) £5.3m
He has been in superb form lately and is relatively inexpensive as compared to a Simon Mingolet or Wojciech Szczesny. He has been keeping clean sheets in 35% of games he has played and has ensured his team keep clean sheets even when they are winning, like the game against Stoke.
He made some impressive saves in the Arsenal game and conceded only one goal. Considering how good Arsenal have been this season, that’s impressive. Coming in at £5.3m he is cheap and hasn’t been picked by most fantasy managers, making him an ideal buy.
Defence
Seamus Coleman (Everton) £6.7m
Coleman has been a free scoring full back this season and is Everton’s second highest goal scorer with 5 this season. He is a tad expensive but has proved his worth with thunderous goals against top oppositions like Southampton and a lovely goal on the opening day against Norwich often earning him valuable bonus points. Along with this, he helped Everton in keeping 8 clean sheets this season. Points are assured with this lad, though he might be a tad overpriced for a defender at £6.7m.
Michael Dawson (Tottenham) £5.2m
He has played every minute for Spurs and has helped them keep 8 clean sheets, which is tied for second best in the league. He always looks a threat during set pieces and is bound to score eventually. With Spurs beating the champions and looking dominant under new manager Tim Sherwood, he is an ideal buy because of the fact that Spurs play 3 out of the bottom 12 in their next 4 games and will be expected to keep clean sheets in those games. He is quite affordable at £5.2m and has been a solid skipper making at least two interceptions a game and almost 8 clearances a game.
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal) £5.5m
Sagna is part of the team with the most clean sheets this season(9) and has been picking up more than 5 pts in half the games he has played, which is an outstanding feat for any defender. He is an aerial threat as he showed against Cardiff and often gets on the assist column with those inviting crosses. He is very economical at £5.5m, so pick him up!
Midfield
Theo Walcott (Arsenal) £9.6m
Ever since his return from injury, Walcott has taken the Premiership by storm with 47 pts in his last 5 games (avg. 9.8), including a goal against Cardiff and braces against West Ham and Manchester City. He has been getting a point for each clean sheet Arsenal have maintained. He is expected to give more assists and score more with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil sidelined. Walcott is £9.6m and has to be on your team!
Adam Lallana (Southampton) £7.3m
He is 5th on the list of leading point scorers (Midfield) and is highly economical. The high flying skipper of the Saints has chipped in with assists and goals when his team has needed him the most, like the opener against Spurs or a late equalizer against Manchester United. He is a very valuable buy and is unbelievably inexpensive at £7.3m
Yaya Toure (Manchester City) £10.1m
He is on the dream team of the FPL and has every right to be there with fabulous free kicks and precise assists against the very best, including the likes of Newcastle, Man United and Arsenal. He has been picking up bonus points with his work rate and is a definite to have on your team. He is slightly expensive but totally worth it at £10.1m.
Oscar (Chelsea) £8.7m
Ideally Aaron Ramsey would have made it to this list due to his value and the fact that he played more than Oscar, but his unfortunate injury has helped Oscar into team. Oscar has come of the bench to help his team on several occasions, his performance against Southampton being the lastest. He has 21 pts in the last three games having played less than 200 minutes.
If Mourinho plays him every game he could keep scoring goals and help Chelsea on their merry way, just like he did against Hull in Chelsea’s first game of the season. He is billed at £8.7m
Forward:
Wayne Rooney( Man United) £11.6m
He is the complete team man, scoring goals, creating chances and leading from the front. Rooney has thrived in the absence of Robin van Persie. He has been in outstanding form with 9 goals and 11 assists. He has been scoring points regularly and has 22 in his last 3.
He has a relatively easy fixture list this month as he plays 4 out of 5 games against teams from the bottom half of the table and you can’t afford to take on the second part of the season without him. He comes in at £11.6m.Luis Suarez (Liverpool) £13.3m
You can’t, you just can’t leave him out of your team. With 9 goals in December, Luis Suarez is a beast! He has been running riot at Anfield and will be expected to score even more with the return of playmaker Steven Gerrard. Suarez has been a cut above the rest with goals from all sorts of positions.
He generally picks up 3 bonus points while on song and has picked up 164 points in just 15 games. 5 of his next 7 games are against teams in the less classier section of the table and he will definitely score. He is very expensive but is an incredibly large point scorer, priced at £13.3m
Jay Rodriguez (Southampton) £6.2m
He has scored 87 points this season and has been playing just of the central striker. He is a valuable part of the Saints side and has scored goals regularly (8) and has made 5 assists. He is very affordable and keeps the balance in the team. He is priced at £6.2m and can provide moments of magic, just like he did against Chelsea.
Subs:
Allan McGreggor (£4.5m)Joel Ward (£4.1m)Steven Whittaker(£3.9m)Tom Huddlestone(£4.9m)
The total value of this team is £102.4m. If any of you don’t have as much in the bank, then you can always make the following changes.
Oscar–> Navas
Lallana–> Barkley/Januzaj
Dawson–> Shaw/Gabbidon
Please go ahead and use that wild card! Pick up most of these stars fast, or their prices will rise further and you’ll see yourself moving higher in the FPL table!
