Fantasy Premier League: On Form Robin van Persie Back Where He Belongs In Week Seven Rankings

Injuries and world cup recovery slowed the start to the season for Robin van Persie, but two goals in two weeks have seen him heading back to the man fantasy owners know and love. This week his Manchester United team play host to Everton who have leaked goals at the back, in what should be an absolute firecracker of a match between two good attacks against shaky defences. Add in that Wayne Rooney removed himself from the equation last week and those question marks about strikers for United have gone away leaving van Persie and Falcao sure fire options upfront this week.

A few weeks ago I lectured on not taking one/two week performances too seriously; James Chester and Eric Dier have been perfect examples with Chester scoring 15 points in week one and -2 points over the next 5. Dier scored 30 points in the first two weeks and hasn’t added 10 since. Meanwhile, those players you dropped to pick them up have likely remained solid and cashed in on that preseason value. The point I’m making here? Keep being patient. 30-plus game weeks is a long time and chasing one week wonders will just get you in trouble in the long run as the overall quality of your squad depletes and the rest of your league feasts on your cast offs.

Week seven is a horrible week for defensive match ups with Chelsea facing Arsenal, removing two solid defences from the likely clean sheet equation. Manchester United playing Everton and Tottenham playing Southampton as well means that there are a lot of very unpredictable match ups between middling teams. This makes selecting goalkeepers and defensive players this week extremely tough. Therefore, I suggest that you don’t invest too heavily in defence this week and use your flex spots for midfielders and forwards who could reap big rewards and have a lower risk of returning a negative.

As always, the injury advice in this article is aimed at draft leagues mainly and for salary cap leagues the general rule is not to carry a player who is out for two weeks or more. For those who play in weekly fantasy premier leagues these rankings and the injury news should give you a baseline to work off when try to set the best team possible

 

Goalkeepers

Must Starts

Names	Team	Opponent	YTD
Mignolet	Liverpool	West Brom	17
Courtois	Chelsea	Arsenal	21

 

Quality Starts

Fabianski

Swansea

Newcastle

26

 

Good Starts

Speroni	Crystal Palace	Hull	27
McGregor	Hull	Crystal Palace	21
Schmeichel	Leicester	Burnley	10
Forster	Southampton	Tottenham	25
Begovic	Stoke	Sunderland	21
Mannone	Sunderland	Stoke	25

 

The potentially high scoring game

Howard	Everton	Man Utd	12
De Gea	Man Utd	Everton	19

 

Risky Starts

Krul	Newcastle	Swansea	14
Green	QPR	West Ham	17
Lloris	Tottenham	Southampton	22
Foster	West Brom	Liverpool	21
Adrian	West Ham	QPR	12
Heaton	Burnley	Leicester	25

 

Back-up Zone

Harper

Hull

Crystal Palace

0

 

The Frustration Zone

Hart	Man City	Aston Villa	15
Caballero	Man City	Aston Villa	2

 

Avoid This Week

Szczesny	Arsenal	Chelsea	16
Guzan	Aston Villa	Man City	24

 

Injuries

McGregor (Hull) Shoulder (22^nd November): Scored 14 points in week one, but has then scored just seven in the next five games making him the worst ranked keeper to have played three or more games over that five game period. Palace have only failed to score once this year and Hull have only kept the one clean sheet, meaning that McGregor was – at best – in the 10-15 range this week, so his loss isn’t huge to your fantasy team. Long term, you should probably consider looking at secondary options with nice match ups for the next month and half.

Defenders

Quality with Great Match-Up

Names	Team	Opponent	YTD
Kompany	Man City	Aston Villa	13
Zabaleta	Man City	Aston Villa	7

 

Shaky but with Good Match-Up

Moreno	Liverpool	West Brom	17
Lovren	Liverpool	West Brom	14
Skrtel	Liverpool	West Brom	8
Manquillo	Liverpool	West Brom	11

 

Mid-Level Defences with Decent Match-Ups and Chelsea’s Defenders

Ivanovic	Chelsea	Arsenal	37
Azpilicueta	Chelsea	Arsenal	25
Cahill	Chelsea	Arsenal	17
Terry	Chelsea	Arsenal	16
Morgan	Leicester	Burnley	12
de Laet	Leicester	Burnley	14
Konchesky	Leicester	Burnley	17
Moore	Leicester	Burnley	10
Clyne	Southampton	Tottenham	34
Fonte	Southampton	Tottenham	27
Bertrand	Southampton	Tottenham	34
Alderweield	Southampton	Tottenham	8
Shawcross	Stoke	Sunderland	29
Bardsley	Stoke	Sunderland	23
Wilson	Stoke	Sunderland	22
Williams	Swansea	Newcastle	25
Taylor	Swansea	Newcastle	24
Fernandez	Swansea	Newcastle	9
Creswell	West Ham	QPR	8
Tomkins	West Ham	QPR	9
Demel	West Ham	QPR	5
Reid	West Ham	QPR	12
Jenkinson	West Ham	QPR	2

 

Small Chance of a Clean Sheet

Duff	Burnley	Leicester	24
Trippier	Burnley	Leicester	23
Shackell	Burnley	Leicester	23
Mee	Burnley	Leicester	20
Baines	Everton	Man Utd	27
Jagielka	Everton	Man Utd	20
Stones	Everton	Man Utd	12
Robertson	Hull	Crystal Palace	10
Davies	Hull	Crystal Palace	6
Dawson	Hull	Crystal Palace	3
Rosenior	Hull	Crystal Palace	3
Rojo	Man Utd	Everton	8
Rafael	Man Utd	Everton	14
Shaw	Man Utd	Everton	2
Janmaat	Newcastle	Swansea	20
Williamson	Newcastle	Swansea	16
Coloccini	Newcastle	Swansea	13
Dummett	Newcastle	Swansea	11
van Aanholt	Sunderland	Stoke	20
O’Shea	Sunderland	Stoke	19
Vergini	Sunderland	Stoke	19
Dier	Tottenham	Southampton	33
Kaboul	Tottenham	Southampton	19
Rose	Tottenham	Southampton	19
Vertonghen	Tottenham	Southampton	9

 

Do Not Starts

Mertesacker	Arsenal	Chelsea	11
Koscielny	Arsenal	Chelsea	20
Chambers	Arsenal	Chelsea	16
Gibbs	Arsenal	Chelsea	13
Dann	Crystal Palace	Hull	25
Delaney	Crystal Palace	Hull	17
Ward	Crystal Palace	Hull	16
Ferdinand	QPR	West Ham	11
Caulker	QPR	West Ham	18
Isla	QPR	West Ham	8

 

Good Options if They Start

Monreal	Arsenal	Chelsea	9
Coleman	Everton	Man Utd	14
Sakho	Liverpool	West Brom	10
Clichy	Man City	Aston Villa	12
Kolarov	Man City	Aston Villa	13
Mangala	Man City	Aston Villa	0
Demichellis	Man City	Aston Villa	16

 

OK Options if They Start

Hangeland	Crystal Palace	Hull	8
Mariappa	Crystal Palace	Hull	6
Kelly	Crystal Palace	Hull	12
Distin	Everton	Man Utd	5
Hibbert	Everton	Man Utd	2
Browning	Everton	Man Utd	1
Evans	Man Utd	Everton	15
Smalling	Man Utd	Everton	2
Blackett	Man Utd	Everton	12
Jones	Man Utd	Everton	15
Thorpe	Man Utd	Everton	1
McNair	Man Utd	Everton	2
Pieters	Stoke	Sunderland	18
Muniesa	Stoke	Sunderland	8
Brown	Sunderland	Stoke	14
Jones	Sunderland	Stoke	5

 

Potential Negatives

Cissokho	Aston Villa	Man City	20
Senderos	Aston Villa	Man City	20
Hutton	Aston Villa	Man City	20
Baker	Aston Villa	Man City	10
Dawson	West Brom	Liverpool	27
Pocognoli	West Brom	Liverpool	16
Lescott	West Brom	Liverpool	13
Gamboa	West Brom	Liverpool	6

 

Injuries

Wisdom (West Brom) Parent Club (20^th October): This isn’t a bad week forWisdom to miss as it could be an extremely negative experience for fantasy owners if Liverpool can finally click.

Rose (Tottenham) Knock (75%): I am expecting him this week.

Rangel (Swansea) Suspended (19^th October): A tempting stash for a week considering how Swansea have played so far.

Pocognoli (West Brom) Knock (75%): You’re probably not using him whatever so this doesn’t matter.

Vlaar (Aston Villa) Calf (25%): Another guy who is missing a tough week if he doesn’t come back and with it likely they will lose anyway I don’t see them rushing him back.

Jones (Man U) Hamstring (75%): United could potentially have a relative wealth of option compared to last week, so they won’t rush Jones back.

Evans (Man U) Ankle (This Weekend): I wouldn’t want to commit to any of these United central defenders considering their defensive issues.

Amat (Swansea) Knee (25^th October): A tempting stash but if Fernandez keeps performing well he may not have a place to return to.

Brown (Sunderland) Calf (75%): A decent match up against a Stoke team not known for being prolific in front of goal but it isn’t so good it is worth risking him this week.

Coleman (Everton) Knock (75%): A really tough match-up for defenders against the top loaded United but there might be a fair few chances for assists/goals. I’m not sure they rush him back so it’s really hard to risk a really good player.

Yoshida (Southampton) Knock (75%): I’m not expecting him because they have plenty of cover.

Debuchy (Arsenal) Ankle (27^th December): He is worth stashing if you have the space but defenders aren’t so hard to find week to week that he HAS to be stashed if you are short on space.

Sakho (Liverpool) Thigh (18^th October): Liverpool are constantly struggling to decide between Skrtel and Sakho and that almost makes them unusable week to week. Therefore this week Skrtel is a safe play and Sakho is droppable.

Monreal (Arsenal) Back (5^th October): The fact he is even debatable makes Gibbs a safer play but you aren’t starting any Arsenal defenders if you can avoid it against the on fire Chelsea.

Walker (Tottenham) Pelvic (Unknown): I’ve cut ties and so should you!

 

Midfielders

Elite Options:

Player	Team	Opponent	YTD
Fabregas	Chelsea	Arsenal	35
Hazard	Chelsea	Arsenal	28
Sterling	Liverpool	West Brom	35
Silva	Man City	Aston Villa	25
Di Maria	Man Utd	Everton	30

 

Near Elite:

Ozil	Arsenal	Chelsea	23
Gerrard	Liverpool	West Brom	30
Schneiderlin	Southampton	Tottenham	32
Johnson	Sunderland	Stoke	18
Sigurdsson	Swansea	Newcastle	36
Chadli	Tottenham	Southampton	36

 

Must Start:

Puncheon	Crystal Palace	Hull	24
Diame	Hull	Crystal Palace	21
Henderson	Liverpool	West Brom	21
Tadic	Southampton	Tottenham	24
Larsson	Sunderland	Stoke	27
Dyer	Swansea	Newcastle	33
Eriksen	Tottenham	Southampton	22
Lamela	Tottenham	Southampton	22
Downing	West Ham	QPR	29

 

Solid #3 Options

Jedinak	Crystal Palace	Hull	28
Bolasie	Crystal Palace	Hull	20
Elmohamady	Hull	Crystal Palace	19
Kranjcar	QPR	West Ham	13
Moses	Stoke	Sunderland	16
Routledge	Swansea	Newcastle	23

 

Safe Options with Upside

Matic	Chelsea	Arsenal	24
Barry	Everton	Man Utd	14
McCarthy	Everton	Man Utd	15
McGeady	Everton	Man Utd	18
Cambiasso	Leicester	Burnley	10
Toure	Man City	Aston Villa	8
Blind	Man Utd	Everton	7
Gouffran	Newcastle	Swansea	18
Cabella	Newcastle	Swansea	15
Fer	QPR	West Ham	14
Ki	Swansea	Newcastle	20
Shelvey	Swansea	Newcastle	18
Brunt	West Brom	Liverpool	22
Wilshere	Arsenal	Chelsea	17

 

Safe Options with Reduced Upside

Cleverly	Aston Villa	Man City	7
Richardson	Aston Villa	Man City	18
Delph	Aston Villa	Man City	15
Westwood	Aston Villa	Man City	12
Huddlestone	Hull	Crystal Palace	16
Livermore	Hull	Crystal Palace	12
Hammond	Leicester	Burnley	10
Drinkwater	Leicester	Burnley	7
Mahrez	Leicester	Burnley	8
Fernandinho	Man City	Aston Villa	6
Milner	Man City	Aston Villa	13
Sissoko	Newcastle	Swansea	12
Colback	Newcastle	Swansea	11
Sandro	QPR	West Ham	3
Davis	Southampton	Tottenham	12
Wanyama	Southampton	Tottenham	17
N’Zonzi	Stoke	Sunderland	14
Whelan	Stoke	Sunderland	11
Adam	Stoke	Sunderland	8
Arnautovic	Stoke	Sunderland	7
Rodwell	Sunderland	Stoke	17
Cattermole	Sunderland	Stoke	18
Capoue	Tottenham	Southampton	14
Gardner	West Brom	Liverpool	16
Dorrans	West Brom	Liverpool	25
Sessegnon	West Brom	Liverpool	6
Song	West Ham	QPR	4
Amalfitano	West Ham	QPR	9

 

Big Risks with Big Potential

Sanchez	Arsenal	Chelsea	23
Chamberlain	Arsenal	Chelsea	17
Cazorla	Arsenal	Chelsea	11
Schurrle	Chelsea	Arsenal	19
Oscar	Chelsea	Arsenal	19
Willian	Chelsea	Arsenal	21
Coutinho	Liverpool	West Brom	6
Lallana	Liverpool	West Brom	4
Markovic	Liverpool	West Brom	5
Navas	Man City	Aston Villa	14
Lampard	Man City	Aston Villa	12
Mata	Man Utd	Everton	24
Januzaj	Man Utd	Everton	6
Valencia	Man Utd	Everton	12
Noble	West Ham	QPR	22
Nolan	West Ham	QPR	3

 

Big Risks with Some Upside

McArthur	Crystal Palace	Hull	11
Pienaar	Everton	Man Utd	7
Atsu	Everton	Man Utd	3
Quinn	Hull	Crystal Palace	17
Ince	Hull	Crystal Palace	5
Ben Arfa	Hull	Crystal Palace	2
Mane	Southampton	Tottenham	4
Assaidi	Stoke	Sunderland	2
Walters	Stoke	Sunderland	3
Jordi Gomez	Sunderland	Stoke	4
Giaccherini	Sunderland	Stoke	4
Montero	Swansea	Newcastle	6
Townsend	Tottenham	Southampton	2
Lennon	Tottenham	Southampton	5

 

Injuries:

Ramsey (Arsenal) Hamstring (1^st November): Massive blow for fantasy owners, as he is one sure fire name on fantasy team sheets. You have to stash him.

Herrera (Man U) Rib (Unknown): Another big blow, but his performance the last couple of weeks means you need to stash him.

Sanchez (Arsenal) Ankle (75%): With Ramsey out they will want all there playmakers for a huge game against Chelsea, so I expect him this week.

Noble (West Ham) Calf (75%): I’m not sure I would risk him this week because West Ham seem to be flush with options especially with Nolan returning.

Mirallas (Everton) Hamstring (Unknown): Another significant loss for fantasy owners but he is someone you have to stash for his potential points in the future.

Ramires (Chelsea) Knee (18^th October): Obviously not a feature this week and is potentially woth stashing to see if he slots back into the midfield with a view to dropping if he becomes a bench player.

Ward-Prowse (Southampton) Foot (29^th November): More of a loss for Southampton than your fantasy team. I wouldn’t stash.

Moses (Stoke) Thigh (75%): I expect him this week and he has been hot lately. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him floating plenty of balls in for Crouch this year.

McCarthy (Everton) Knock (75%): A safe midfield option at best so hardly worth risking for me..

Capoue (Tottenham) Knock (75%): A safe 2 points every week but nothing worth clinging too and risking this week

Jones (Burnley) Thigh (18^th October): I am stone cold on Burnley with their inability to score and therefore want nothing to do with their midfield.

Nasri (Man C) Groin (2^nd November): Another huge blow for Nasri owners who will need to stash him

Kouyate (West Ham) Groin (1^st November): Only worth a stash if you have a perfect roster with no injuries and no needs.

Marney (Burnley) Knock (This Weekend): See Jones

Mutch (QPR) Hamstring (This Weekend): QPR is an ugly situation and he is a safe play at best. I’m not risking it.

Taylor (Burnley) Achilles (4^th November): See Jones

Aarons (Newcastle) Hamstring (1^st November): He was on form before the injury but he isn’t worth holding onto.

Allen (Liverpool) Knee (Unknown): Not got enough ceiling for me to hold onto him.

Barton (QPR) Hamstring (This Weekend): Creates chances but no one is finishing them so he is tough to start.

Arteta (Arsenal) Calf (1^st November): Safe option at best. Do not Stash.

Fernando (Man C) Groin (This Weekend): Another safe at best option who isn’t consistent enough to be rostered.

de Jong (Newcastle) Thigh (Unknown): Interesting potential makes him stashable if you can spare the spot.

Odemwingie (Stoke) Knee (Unknown): Not worth stashing because he will be a while.

Can (Liverpool) Ankle (25^th October): An intriguing prospect over time but for now he is likely useless this year and isn’t worth the stash.

Snodgrass (Hull) Knee (Unknown): The injury is seriousand it could be a while so stashing him is tough.

Carrick (Man U) Ankle (This Weekend): May be returning just in time with Herrera out but he isn’t forward going enough to be worth rostering.

Barkley (Everton) Knee (Unknown): You have to keep stashing him for his potential.

Walcott (Arsenal) Knee (18^th October): The excitement should be building because he could be a monster when he returns

 

Strikers

Simply The Best

Players	Team	Opponent	YTD
Costa	Chelsea	Arsenal	48

 

Proven Track Record

Aguero	Man City	Aston Villa	30
Dzeko	Man City	Aston Villa	24
van Persie	Man Utd	Everton	19

 

Top 10 options

Pelle	Southampton	Tottenham	39
Welbeck	Arsenal	Chelsea	18
Lukaku	Everton	Man Utd	25
Ulloa	Leicester	Burnley	38

 

Must Starts

Naismith	Everton	Man Utd	27
Jelavic	Hull	Crystal Palace	25
A.Hernanez	Hull	Crystal Palace	14
Balotelli	Liverpool	West Brom	13
Falcao	Man Utd	Everton	11
Adebayor	Tottenham	Southampton	24
Valencia	West Ham	QPR	17
Sakho	West Ham	QPR	21

 

#2 and Flex Options

Weimann	Aston Villa	Man City	27
Agbonlahor	Aston Villa	Man City	24
Campbell	Crystal Palace	Hull	21
Nugent	Leicester	Burnley	16
Vardy	Leicester	Burnley	24
Riviere	Newcastle	Swansea	14
Austin	QPR	West Ham	18
Crouch	Stoke	Sunderland	26
Berahino	West Brom	Liverpool	33

 

Flex Options

Cisse	Newcastle	Swansea	12
Vargas	QPR	West Ham	8
Wickham	Sunderland	Stoke	11

 

Intriguing Options

Benteke	Aston Villa	Man City	0
Remy	Chelsea	Arsenal	10
Sturridge	Liverpool	West Brom	10
Jovetic	Man City	Aston Villa	17
Gomis	Swansea	Newcastle	7
Bony	Swansea	Newcastle	9

 

Question Marks

Jutkiewicz	Burnley	Leicester	12
Barnes	Burnley	Leicester	5
Sordell	Burnley	Leicester	4
Gayle	Crystal Palace	Hull	10
Chamakh	Crystal Palace	Hull	13
Eto’o	Everton	Man Utd	7
Lambert	Liverpool	West Brom	8
Ayoze	Newcastle	Swansea	5
Zamora	QPR	West Ham	5
Long	Southampton	Tottenham	8
Bojan	Stoke	Sunderland	4
Fletcher	Sunderland	Stoke	7
Kane	Tottenham	Southampton	4
Soldado	Tottenham	Southampton	1
Samaras	West Brom	Liverpool	3
Podolski	Arsenal	Chelsea	2
Bent	Aston Villa	Man City	4
Doyle	Crystal Palace	Hull	2
Altidore	Sunderland	Stoke	4

 

Injuries

Rooney (Man U) Suspended (2^nd November): A moment of madness could prove extremely costly for Rooney and his fantasy owners. With no League Cup he must serve all three suspensions in the Premier League and that gives the likes of Juan Mata, Falcao, van Persie and Di Maria the chance to shine and make it hard for Rooney to return. You have no choice but to hold him, and he will probably come straight back, but be prepared for potential disappointment.

Diouf (Stoke) Hamstring (19^th October): Diouf has been a bit hit and miss for fantasy owners this year so his loss wont devastate your line up. However, you should still hold onto him and if you have Peter Crouch he has a real opportunity to grasp the starting striker position so get him in your line up.

Jutkiewicz (Burnley) Knock (75%): He is averaging 2 points a week and has yet to show signs that he will improve on that. However, there aren’t many options that are sure to start up front though so if you own him hold onto him because he has been a sure 2 points each week. One issue is that when Vokes returns he may struggle to hold down his place so there are big question marks here. If he is out then Barnes or Sordell become potential striking options at the flex position.

Sturridge (Liverpool) Thigh (25%): Not having Sturridge hurts fantasy owners massively and they will be desperate to see him return. However, a return too early could be extremely detrimental if he then ends up missing more time. There is no question of dropping him and if you really have no other option up front then you may as well stick him in and see if you catch a lightening bolt.

Anichebe (West Brom) Groin (20^th October): This is not a huge loss because he has scored just two points in the last 5 weeks. Drop him if you own him.

Sanogo (Arsenal) Hamstring (18^th October): Hasn’t featured for three weeks and with Welbeck on top form I cannot see him being a big feature any time soon so feel free to drop.

Giroud (Arsenal) Ankle (10^th January): If you have the bench space then you have to hold onto him because he will see time and he can be effective.

Ideye (West Brom) Ankle (20^th October): Another underwhelming West Brom option upfront. No need to hold onto him. The winner from this? Samaras

Drogba (Chelsea) Ankle (18^th October): Isn’t the first substitute option since the arrival of Remy so he is essentially unusable for fantasy until an injury to one of the two guys ahead of him.

Rodriguez (Southampton) Knee (Unknown): You are still holding him and the return is getting closer!

Vokes (Burnley) Knee (Unknown): I expect you will be able to pick him up closer to his return so is not worth stashing for now.

Carroll (West Ham) Ankle (Unknown): With the way the strikers are performing for West Ham I cannot see him walking back into the team so he isn’t a stash for me right now.

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