Tottenham fans got a Christmas to saviour thanks to their local hero, Harry Kane. Kane put in a number of dominating performances over the festive period including a real on the map game against Chelsea on New Year’s Day. For fantasy owners who believed and picked him up either before this run started or during it Kane has proven to be the bargain of the century for fantasy owners in all formats.
Before I go any further let me apologise to all my readers for mailing it in over the Christmas period but due to moving house I had long periods of no internet and when I did it was at a family member’s house so generating articles was next to impossible. However, I am now back for 2015 and I hope to lead you through the rest of the 2014/15 season with the aim of taking you all the way to your fantasy championships.
Now onto the first rankings of 2015!
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Unsurprisingly, Courtois tops the goalkeeper rankings now he is healthy again. He sits their alone due to Hart having a tougher match up against Arsenal and the major question marks over the Arsenal #1.
In defence the talking points are once again Chelsea and Man City. Cahill was dropped for the last match and whether he is recalled is in doubt. Whoever gets the job out him and Zouma is a lock to be in one of the top two tiers every single week but let’s hope we don’t see a lot of rotation! Talking of rotation the Man City defence is a minefield with Kompany back. There are now three legitimate options at centre back as well as being two options at either full back position meaning it’s hard to trust anyone this week. On a happier note, Clyne and Bertrand are both healthy again for a second week and with a decent match up they are elite options this week and probably will be going forward.
In midfield it is hard to not love Sanchez, Hazard, Fabregas and Silva. Sterling and Di Maria are perhaps more questionable and may drop down if they do not perform big this week. The options feel thin once you get down to #3’s and for some of you taking a risk on question marks may prove to be a winner.
Up top, Aguero only doesn’t join Costa due to the chance he will start as a substitute but that doesn’t mean I don’t love him. Austin and Kane are two really exciting English strikers who are a great bargain in salary cap leagues but once again the options start to thin when it comes to picking a flex.
As for injury updates: all of my data is gathered from prermierinjuries.com so I would direct you that way for injury news for the rest of the season.
Goalkeepers
Elite
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| Surname | Team | Opponent | YTD | FPR |
| Courtois | Chelsea | Swansea | 68 | 1.21 |
Must Starts
| Mignolet | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 64 | 1.21 |
| Hart | Man City | Arsenal | 75 | 1.37 |
| De Gea | Man Utd | QPR | 82 | 1.33 |
| Forster | Southampton | Newcastle | 87 | 1.33 |
| Lloris | Tottenham | Sunderland | 79 | 1.14 |
Good Match-ups
| Speroni | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 69 | 0.86 | |
| Begovic | Stoke | Leicester | 61 | 0.86 | |
Low End #1’s
| Robles | Everton | West Brom | 7 | 0.25 |
| Krul | Newcastle | Southampton | 47 | 1.00 |
| Adrian | West Ham | Hull | 65 | 1.19 |
Worrying match-ups/Untrustworthy teams
| Guzan | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 77 | 1.19 |
| Heaton | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 77 | 1.10 |
| McGregor | Hull | West Ham | 58 | 0.75 |
| Hamer | Leicester | Stoke | 29 | 1.14 |
| Pantilimon | Sunderland | Tottenham | 59 | 1.42 |
Bad Match ups
| Green | QPR | Man Utd | 68 | 0.95 |
| Foster | West Brom | Everton | 68 | 1.10 |
Stay Away! (and Cech)
| Ospina | Arsenal | Man City | 6 | 2.00 |
| Cech | Chelsea | Swansea | 19 | 2.00 |
| Fabianski | Swansea | Chelsea | 78 | 1.40 |
Lost his job?
| Szczesny | Arsenal | Man City | 47 | 1.06 |
Defenders
Elite
| Names | Team | Opponent | YTD | FPR |
| Ivanovic | Chelsea | Swansea | 102 | 1.52 |
| Terry | Chelsea | Swansea | 102 | 1.52 |
| Baines | Everton | West Brom | 87 | 1.10 |
| Clyne | Southampton | Newcastle | 92 | 1.53 |
| Bertrand | Southampton | Newcastle | 102 | 1.55 |
Great Match-ups and fun full backs
| Luis | Chelsea | Swansea | 17 | 0.78 |
| Jagielka | Everton | West Brom | 62 | 0.85 |
| Coleman | Everton | West Brom | 63 | 1.00 |
| Stones | Everton | West Brom | 16 | 0.86 |
| Skrtel | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 65 | 1.00 |
| Sakho | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 30 | 1.11 |
| Shaw | Man Utd | QPR | 29 | 1.10 |
| Fonte | Southampton | Newcastle | 87 | 1.40 |
Good Match-ups
| Dann | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 63 | 1.16 |
| Ward | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 51 | 0.85 |
| Kelly | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 40 | 0.88 |
| Delaney | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 30 | 0.79 |
| Clichy | Man City | Arsenal | 77 | 1.25 |
| Jones | Man Utd | QPR | 36 | 1.60 |
| Smalling | Man Utd | QPR | 29 | 0.75 |
| Gardos | Southampton | Newcastle | 16 | 1.00 |
| Vertonghen | Tottenham | Sunderland | 45 | 0.82 |
| Rose | Tottenham | Sunderland | 46 | 0.93 |
| Creswell | West Ham | Hull | 73 | 1.25 |
On the Border
| Cissokho | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 67 | 1.14 |
| Hutton | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 60 | 1.24 |
| Okore | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 27 | 0.80 |
| Trippier | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 60 | 0.90 |
| Mee | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 39 | 0.88 |
| Keane | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 23 | 0.67 |
| Shawcross | Stoke | Leicester | 64 | 0.95 |
| Fazio | Tottenham | Sunderland | 24 | 0.83 |
| Walker | Tottenham | Sunderland | 6 | 0.40 |
| Tomkins | West Ham | Hull | 53 | 1.07 |
| Jenkinson | West Ham | Hull | 49 | 1.13 |
| Collins | West Ham | Hull | 25 | 0.71 |
Bad Match-ups
| Mertesacker | Arsenal | Man City | 62 | 1.05 |
| Koscielny | Arsenal | Man City | 50 | 1.18 |
| Monreal | Arsenal | Man City | 44 | 1.00 |
| Bellerin | Arsenal | Man City | 12 | 1.00 |
| Chester | Hull | West Ham | 66 | 1.20 |
| Davies | Hull | West Ham | 45 | 1.00 |
| Morgan | Leicester | Stoke | 41 | 0.75 |
| Wasilewski | Leicester | Stoke | 28 | 0.80 |
| Simpson | Leicester | Stoke | 19 | 0.88 |
| O’Shea | Sunderland | Tottenham | 62 | 1.10 |
| Vergini | Sunderland | Tottenham | 57 | 1.05 |
| Brown | Sunderland | Tottenham | 50 | 1.00 |
| van Aanholt | Sunderland | Tottenham | 26 | 1.09 |
| Wisdom | West Brom | Everton | 66 | 0.90 |
| Lescott | West Brom | Everton | 60 | 1.00 |
Awful Match-up
| Janmaat | Newcastle | Southampton | 73 | 1.14 |
| Dummett | Newcastle | Southampton | 47 | 0.85 |
| Coloccini | Newcastle | Southampton | 51 | 0.65 |
| Williamson | Newcastle | Southampton | 29 | 0.69 |
| Caulker | QPR | Man Utd | 50 | 0.85 |
| Dunne | QPR | Man Utd | 25 | 0.43 |
| Hill | QPR | Man Utd | 20 | 1.17 |
| Isla | QPR | Man Utd | 48 | 0.87 |
| Williams | Swansea | Chelsea | 73 | 1.19 |
| Taylor | Swansea | Chelsea | 63 | 1.25 |
| Rangel | Swansea | Chelsea | 51 | 1.16 |
| Fernandez | Swansea | Chelsea | 41 | 1.45 |
Question Marks
| Chambers | Arsenal | Man City | 57 | 0.76 |
| Gibbs | Arsenal | Man City | 46 | 0.82 |
| Senderos | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 22 | 1.13 |
| Baker | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 19 | 0.86 |
| Lowton | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 10 | 1.00 |
| Shackell | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 52 | 0.86 |
| Duff | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 35 | 0.92 |
| Azpilicueta | Chelsea | Swansea | 72 | 1.35 |
| Cahill | Chelsea | Swansea | 73 | 1.40 |
| Zouma | Chelsea | Swansea | 9 | 0.50 |
| Hangeland | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 30 | 0.91 |
| Mariappa | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 23 | 1.14 |
| Bruce | Hull | West Ham | 23 | 0.89 |
| Dawson | Hull | West Ham | 20 | 0.73 |
| Figueroa | Hull | West Ham | 2 | 1.00 |
| Moreno | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 53 | 1.00 |
| Lovren | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 30 | 0.87 |
| Manquillo | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 22 | 1.00 |
| Enrique | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 8 | 1.00 |
| Johnson | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 37 | 1.09 |
| Demichellis | Man City | Arsenal | 47 | 1.00 |
| Mangala | Man City | Arsenal | 41 | 1.15 |
| Zabaleta | Man City | Arsenal | 55 | 1.07 |
| Kolarov | Man City | Arsenal | 31 | 1.00 |
| Sagna | Man City | Arsenal | 13 | 1.00 |
| Kompany | Man City | Arsenal | 44 | 1.31 |
| McNair | Man Utd | QPR | 25 | 1.00 |
| Rafael | Man Utd | QPR | 20 | 0.88 |
| Rojo | Man Utd | QPR | 22 | 1.00 |
| de Laet | Leicester | Stoke | 30 | 0.69 |
| Moore | Leicester | Stoke | 13 | 0.50 |
| Evans | Man Utd | QPR | 34 | 1.56 |
| Haidara | Newcastle | Southampton | 22 | 0.88 |
| Onuoha | QPR | Man Utd | 10 | 0.29 |
| Bardsley | Stoke | Leicester | 31 | 0.93 |
| Cameron | Stoke | Leicester | 27 | 0.79 |
| Wilson | Stoke | Leicester | 32 | 1.00 |
| Muniesa | Stoke | Leicester | 32 | 0.92 |
| Jones | Sunderland | Tottenham | 15 | 1.60 |
| Richards | Swansea | Chelsea | 18 | 0.71 |
| Bartley | Swansea | Chelsea | 11 | 0.67 |
| Davies | Tottenham | Sunderland | 26 | 1.00 |
| Chiriches | Tottenham | Sunderland | 12 | 0.83 |
| Kaboul | Tottenham | Sunderland | 28 | 1.00 |
| Naughton | Tottenham | Sunderland | 1 | 0.75 |
| Pocognoli | West Brom | Everton | 41 | 0.93 |
| McAuley | West Brom | Everton | 24 | 1.00 |
| Dawson | West Brom | Everton | 48 | 0.73 |
| Baird | West Brom | Everton | 13 | 0.60 |
Midfielders
Elite
| Player | Team | Opponent | YTD | FPR |
| Sanchez | Arsenal | Man City | 141 | 1.60 |
| Hazard | Chelsea | Swansea | 128 | 1.76 |
| Fabregas | Chelsea | Swansea | 114 | 1.85 |
| Sterling | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 91 | 1.50 |
| Silva | Man City | Arsenal | 88 | 1.60 |
| Di Maria | Man Utd | QPR | 67 | 1.38 |
Near Elite
| Oscar | Chelsea | Swansea | 90 | 1.65 |
| Henderson | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 79 | 1.47 |
| Mata | Man Utd | QPR | 82 | 1.50 |
| Tadic | Southampton | Newcastle | 94 | 1.63 |
| Sigurdsson | Swansea | Chelsea | 102 | 1.55 |
| Eriksen | Tottenham | Sunderland | 101 | 1.38 |
| Chadli | Tottenham | Sunderland | 100 | 1.50 |
| Downing | West Ham | Hull | 105 | 1.60 |
Low end #2 Options
| Cazorla | Arsenal | Man City | 78 | 1.35 |
| Barkley | Everton | West Brom | 39 | 1.07 |
| Fer | QPR | Man Utd | 74 | 1.30 |
| Johnson | Sunderland | Tottenham | 69 | 1.50 |
| Routledge | Swansea | Chelsea | 61 | 1.42 |
Sure #3’s
| Sanchez | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 32 | 1.60 |
| Boyd | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 63 | 1.21 |
| Matic | Chelsea | Swansea | 57 | 1.35 |
| Coutinho | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 58 | 1.22 |
| Navas | Man City | Arsenal | 59 | 1.20 |
| Ward-Prowse | Southampton | Newcastle | 44 | 1.55 |
| Walters | Stoke | Leicester | 61 | 1.13 |
| Larsson | Sunderland | Tottenham | 69 | 1.38 |
| Dyer | Swansea | Chelsea | 60 | 1.06 |
Flex options
| Ramsey | Arsenal | Man City | 51 | 1.07 |
| Arfield | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 52 | 1.05 |
| Jones | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 43 | 1.26 |
| Zaha | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 37 | 1.29 |
| Mirallas | Everton | West Brom | 53 | 1.00 |
| Elmohamady | Hull | West Ham | 66 | 1.33 |
| Livermore | Hull | West Ham | 47 | 1.10 |
| Valencia | Man Utd | QPR | 49 | 1.19 |
| Colback | Newcastle | Southampton | 64 | 1.20 |
| Sissoko | Newcastle | Southampton | 56 | 1.21 |
| Davis | Southampton | Newcastle | 50 | 1.15 |
Unexciting flex options
| Westwood | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 36 | 1.33 |
| Puncheon | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 56 | 0.95 |
| Ledley | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 46 | 1.29 |
| McGeady | Everton | West Brom | 36 | 1.08 |
| Can | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 26 | 1.11 |
| Fernandinho | Man City | Arsenal | 51 | 0.89 |
| Carrick | Man Utd | QPR | 33 | 1.33 |
| Blind | Man Utd | QPR | 25 | 1.11 |
| Arnautovic | Stoke | Leicester | 30 | 0.75 |
| Gomez | Sunderland | Tottenham | 47 | 0.94 |
| Dorrans | West Brom | Everton | 56 | 1.17 |
| Sessegnon | West Brom | Everton | 57 | 1.11 |
| Brunt | West Brom | Everton | 53 | 1.17 |
| Morrison | West Brom | Everton | 51 | 1.25 |
Desperately unexciting options
| Flamini | Arsenal | Man City | 39 | 1.25 |
| N’Zogbia | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 33 | 0.88 |
| Cleverley | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 36 | 1.00 |
| Marney | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 33 | 0.94 |
| Barry | Everton | West Brom | 36 | 0.79 |
| Huddlestone | Hull | West Ham | 33 | 1.00 |
| Fernando | Man City | Arsenal | 33 | 0.93 |
| Herrera | Man Utd | QPR | 38 | 0.82 |
| Cabella | Newcastle | Southampton | 36 | 0.74 |
| Gouffran | Newcastle | Southampton | 38 | 0.79 |
| Cork | Southampton | Newcastle | 29 | 0.73 |
| Carroll | Swansea | Chelsea | 13 | 0.30 |
| Britton | Swansea | Chelsea | 12 | 0.71 |
| Capoue | Tottenham | Sunderland | 23 | 0.92 |
| Townsend | Tottenham | Sunderland | 18 | 0.63 |
| Noble | West Ham | Hull | 36 | 1.08 |
| Song | West Ham | Hull | 27 | 0.93 |
Question marks with upside
| Oxlade-Chamberlain | Arsenal | Man City | 50 | 1.00 |
| Ozil | Arsenal | Man City | 26 | 1.14 |
| Walcott | Arsenal | Man City | 4 | 0.00 |
| Cole | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 16 | 0.50 |
| Taylor | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 10 | 1.67 |
| Willian | Chelsea | Swansea | 57 | 1.20 |
| Ince | Hull | West Ham | 7 | 0.33 |
| Gerrard | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 78 | 1.20 |
| Lallana | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 58 | 1.36 |
| Markovic | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 25 | 0.55 |
| Milner | Man City | Arsenal | 53 | 1.06 |
| Lampard | Man City | Arsenal | 46 | 0.80 |
| Fellaini | Man Utd | QPR | 36 | 1.08 |
| Ameobi | Newcastle | Southampton | 39 | 1.23 |
| Adel Taarabt | QPR | Man Utd | 4 | 0.33 |
| Moses | Stoke | Leicester | 37 | 1.50 |
| Giaccherini | Sunderland | Tottenham | 8 | 0.50 |
| Lamela | Tottenham | Sunderland | 53 | 1.05 |
Striker
Elite
| Surname | Team | Opponent | YTD | FPR |
| Costa | Chelsea | Swansea | 103 | 1.50 |
Near Elite
| Aguero | Man City | Arsenal | 106 | 1.50 |
| Rooney | Man Utd | QPR | 81 | 1.47 |
| Austin | QPR | Man Utd | 107 | 1.47 |
| Pelle | Southampton | Newcastle | 95 | 1.38 |
| Kane | Tottenham | Sunderland | 88 | 1.29 |
#1 Starters
| Giroud | Arsenal | Man City | 34 | 1.10 |
| Benteke | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 34 | 1.08 |
| Ings | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 74 | 1.33 |
| Lukaku | Everton | West Brom | 73 | 1.19 |
| Berahino | West Brom | Everton | 86 | 1.14 |
| Carroll | West Ham | Hull | 47 | 1.09 |
High end #2’s
| Naismith | Everton | West Brom | 67 | 1.00 |
| Ulloa | Leicester | Stoke | 77 | 1.10 |
| Jovetic | Man City | Arsenal | 54 | 1.00 |
| Falcao | Man Utd | QPR | 44 | 1.00 |
| Krkic | Stoke | Leicester | 50 | 1.07 |
| Valencia | West Ham | Hull | 53 | 0.83 |
Low end #2’s/Flex plays
| Barnes | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 53 | 0.83 |
| Campbell | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 42 | 0.88 |
| Sagbo | Hull | West Ham | 2 | 0.00 |
| Balotelli | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 22 | 0.67 |
| Perez | Newcastle | Southampton | 60 | 0.85 |
| Vargas | QPR | Man Utd | 45 | 1.00 |
| Crouch | Stoke | Leicester | 63 | 0.84 |
| Gomis | Swansea | Chelsea | 31 | 0.47 |
| Ideye | West Brom | Everton | 21 | 0.73 |
Horrible flex plays
| Weimann | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 55 | 0.80 |
| Agbonlahor | Aston Villa | Liverpool | 49 | 0.79 |
| Gayle | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 38 | 0.50 |
| Vardy | Leicester | Stoke | 51 | 0.71 |
| Lambert | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 31 | 0.53 |
| Long | Southampton | Newcastle | 41 | 0.58 |
| Wickham | Sunderland | Tottenham | 47 | 0.85 |
| Anichebe | West Brom | Everton | 31 | 0.82 |
Question marks with upside
| Sanogo | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 8 | 1.00 |
| Vokes | Burnley | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0.00 |
| Nugent | Leicester | Stoke | 39 | 0.83 |
| Borini | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 10 | 0.33 |
| Zamora | QPR | Man Utd | 38 | 0.67 |
| Fletcher | Sunderland | Tottenham | 50 | 0.75 |
| Zarate | QPR | Man Utd | 25 | 1.29 |
Question marks with limited upside
| Welbeck | Arsenal | Man City | 68 | 1.11 |
| Drogba | Chelsea | Swansea | 38 | 0.38 |
| Remy | Chelsea | Swansea | 21 | 0.70 |
| Doyle | Crystal Palace | Burnley | 3 | 0.00 |
| Riviere | Newcastle | Southampton | 20 | 0.50 |
| Emnes | Swansea | Chelsea | 9 | 0.13 |
| Soldado | Tottenham | Sunderland | 24 | 0.58 |
| Samaras | West Brom | Everton | 5 | 0.00 |
| Cole | West Ham | Hull | 22 | 0.50 |
As always good luck this week and any questions please feel free to ask on twitter!
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