- Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 30+ restarts campaign as Manchester City and Arsenal meet in double-header
- Aston Villa and Sheffield United also play twice, as Tottenham Hotspur entertain Manchester United
- Brighton host Arsenal in the first live televised Saturday 3pm game, with a Merseyside derby next Monday
PREMIER LEAGUE, ENGLAND – As Fantasy Premier League resumes on Wednesday, who do you need for Gameweek 30+ with Manchester City and Arsenal meeting in a double-header?
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With just days until the Premier League resumes in the wake of the on-going coronavirus pandemic, not only do stewards of the English top flight’s clubs prepare for action once more, but managers of a different inclination as Fantasy Premier League kicks off once more.
After three months with many a league – indeed draft competition – left on a knife-edge, midweek sees the competition for points hot up again, with March’s Gameweek 30 now being billed 30+ on resumption.
Enabled with the use of unlimited transfers at the disposal of fantasy managers, now could be the perfect time to re-jig our teams before the Gameweek 30+ deadline of 5pm UK time on Wednesday.
So who should be in your team for the resumption of the fantasy season?
Kevin De Bruyne
With little or no form to go on – not to mention the upcoming run of games behind closed doors – picks for the resuming Gameweek will be of better fortune than judgement. However in times of great uncertainty, managers should turn to the tried and tested method for an upcoming fixture double; that comes in the shape of Kevin De Bruyne.
Though Sergio Aguero will be on the minds of many, the Argentine’s potential rotation within a double week will be a concern for many – as has befallen the Manchester City striker before.
As the five-sub rule comes into play also, back-to-back home games against Arsenal and Burnley see Gabriel Jesus as a real thorn in the side of Aguero’s chances of a goal-glut.
In turning to De Bruyne then, the Belgian lies just eight points off the tally of Mohamed Salah at the top of the points tree, with an astonishing 18 assists and eight goals to his name with ten games to play.
If we look at the individual games De Bruyne played in the respective reverse fixtures this term, the 28-year-old scored twice and assisted at the Emirates in Gameweek 17 and though failing to either notch or assist at Turf Moor was again talisman-in-chief in a 4-1 romp in Lancashire.
Now with an ownership of 47.6%, De Bruyne is the most-owned player in the game. Though holding a lofty price tag of 10.6 for those still to invest, De Bruyne is ready to reward his owners on the return to action.
Bruno Fernandes
As arguably the man who could become Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s finest capture as Manchester United boss, Bruno Fernandes is primed to bring home the spoils as the Red Devils travel to the capital to face Tottenham Hotspur in GW30+.
Already a huge hit with fantasy managers, the Portuguese has risen 0.6 from his initial value of 8.0 in GW25 as the man brought in from Sporting Clube de Portugal scored in successive games against Watford and Everton, before the league went into hiatus.
The talismanic presence United have been yearning for since Paul Pogba‘s absence from the centre of the park, Fernandes has given Solskjaer’s rather faltering managerial aspirations at Old Trafford a real shot in the arm, having transformed the former league champions.
With a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, compatriot and former United boss Jose Mourinho stands in the way of further Manchester progress, and with both Harry Kane and Son Heung-min fit again after spells on the sidelines, the Lilywhites will themselves be raring to go.
That however, could play handsomely into the hands of the visitors who took home three points in a 1-0 win last season. If there is a similar tight contest in the offing – or even if its 3-3 – Fernandes may be the man for the occasion, continuing his impressive start to life in English football.
John McGinn
The emphasis remains heavily on the four teams to play twice in Gameweek 30+ and after being set to make his Aston Villa comeback from injury in March pre-pandemic, John McGinn slides onto the fantasy radar once more.
As a player who will be a driving influence in the Villan’s hopes of remaining in the top flight come August, the Scot’s return from a broken ankle back in December is a huge fillip for boss Dean Smith.
Whilst it is true that McGinn went off the boil after a strong start to his first Premier League campaign with three goals and an assist in the opening seven weeks of the campaign, those strikes against Manchester City and Arsenal proved his calibre. After injury, the midfielder will be keen to share the creative load with Jack Grealish in attack.
A swift run of home games then should do the Scottish international no harm, and welcoming both the Blades and Blues to Villa Park in GW30+ should present McGinn with ample opportunity to carry on where he began in August.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
As the Merseyside derby becomes the final narrative of Gameweek 30+ on Monday night, Trent Alexander-Arnold will be champing at the bit to cause further woe for city rivals Everton.
There’s no hiding the fact that the flying full-back’s 7.8 price is high – too much so for many fantasy budgets – but the Liverpudlian has been tearing up the history book statistically for right-backs this season, with 14 assists, 11 clean sheets and two goals to his name and is fast becoming one of the finest right-backs in Europe.
Alexander-Arnold has week in, week out been a source of fantasy points and between GW17 and GW27 recorded one of said statistics to his weekly card. With corner privileges and set-pieces also, the defender has often been a more reliable haul than any of the Reds’ front men and with 18 bonus points alone.
With a Merseyside derby to get stuck into as the season resumes, the England man will be keen to trouble the Toffees from all angles – indeed areas of the pitch – and we expect him to again bring home the spoils.
Nicolas Pepe
Our third pick of a fantasy-double-triumvirate is Nicolas Pepe, who though has flattered to deceive his £72m price tag from Lille last summer, the Ivorian could be set to make an impact for Arsenal having now bedded into a new country – albeit tenuously – during lockdown.
Even with a small period of preparation during the enforced break, boss Mikel Arteta has been able to get to grips with a Gunners side that has lost its’ way in recent times, but is now poised to again step up. That is where Pepe could play a part for the remaining ten games of the campaign.
Just a 5% ownership tells the story of trepidation in the eyes of fantasy managers, but as Arsenal plot an away-day double, they have in their locker the explosive speed of the African winger, who began to impress in the early months of the calendar year.
Four goals and six assists this term has far from justified his club record fee, but Pepe has given the North Londoners a real outlet on the right wing perhaps not seen since the form of Theo Walcott at the top of his game – even if his ability has not yet locked in to the Gunners’ style of play.
The Arsenal forward still has much to do to get the fans and his prospective fantasy managers back on side, but at a value of only 9.3 an opening sojourn to the Etihad Stadium with a trip to the AMEX three days later, could be the perfect venues for Pepe to make a much needed statement. Worth consideration.
Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 30+ deadline is Wednesday 17 June at 17:00 UK time.
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