EPL Grind Down: Gameweek 2 - Page Two

by Hesh Hambazaza (hambazaza) Last Updated 2016-08-20 13:35:32

West Brom vs Everton

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	SoT A/Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	SoT A/Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
West Brom						Everton
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				3						2.66
				Last 6: W						Last 6: D
				1-0-0						0-1-0
10.24	2.68	0.00	0.00	22.24	0.00	12.92	4.50	0.00	0.00	20.63	0.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Berahino, Rondon, Gardner		Gardner, Rondon, McClean		Brunt, Gardner, McClean, Berahino		Baines, Barkley, Mirallas		Barkley, Mirallas, Baines, Deulofeu		Mirallas, Baines, Barkley, Deulofeu

With West Brom coming home after earning a win on the road at Crystal Palace, they get to host an Everton squad that let a lead against Tottenham slip after they couldn’t hold on to their 1-0 lead provided by Barkley. Rondon was exceptional in his performance last week for West Brom and should look to continue that this week. The match appears to be leaning towards a draw or a very closely contested narrow win for the home team.

West Brom Breakdown

A single goal was all that West Brom needed last week to win against Crystal Palace, the goal was provided by Rondon with an assist from the substitute James McClean. There is a question as to whether Tony Pulis will look to change the starting lineup to let McClean come in and start. If that’s the case, then Craig Gardner is in danger to lose his spot. Otherwise, the lineup is set to remain as it is.

West Brom Top Plays

Solomon Rondon, Forward $5,600 – Despite him scoring a goal last week with 6 shot, 3 crosses, an interception and a goal to top it off, his price only rose $400 leaving him still as one of the value options this week as West Brom take on Everton. If he keeps getting this level of volume for this team he should be an almost automatic option until his price rises to 7K+ levels.

Craig Gradner/James McClean, Midfielders $5,200/$5,300 – One of these two will be starting and the starter should be in line for multiple chances to cross the ball that would lead to potential assists. The price tags on the combination of Rondon and one of these two midfielders would make for an interesting mini stack in some tournaments as most people tend to overlook West Brom due to their reputation as a slow moving, conservative defensive team. However, the numbers show that there is some fantasy potential there to be taken advantage of.

West Brom Secondary Plays

Matt Phillips, Midfielder $4,500 – Last week he had 48 total touches with 36 of them in the opponents half, and even better, 22 of those touches were in the final third. He didn’t do much to deliver any fantasy stats, but he was part of the offense and he stayed up front the majority of the time. I expect that his cheap price would be beneficial in turning him into a fantasy sleeper and a value option that could be utilized this week. Phillips is new to this team, but this trend continues his previous skill set with QPR where he averaged 1.5 minutes per touch resulting in 2 goal attempts per match while in the premier league two seasons ago.

Everton Breakdown

New manager started the season with a 3-4-2-1 and the team was off to a flying start with Ross Barkley nabbing an early goal against Tottenham last week. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t able to hold their lead and ended up walking away with a tie. New signings Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie might get starts this week, but I would hold out on starting them in my teams until we see how they fit in with their new teams. There are plenty of reasons to be excited about this team this year, and a matchup with West Brom on the road won’t deter me from targeting them.

Everton Top Plays

Kevin Mirallas, Midfield/Forward $4,800 – With Deulofeu playing the false 9 and Mirallas playing the wing position, Mirallas becomes the primary target on this team. He sent in 7 crosses last weekend and combined that with 2 shots and finished with 12 points in 76 minutes. He should get the start again this week and at such a cheap price tag he takes precedence over Deulofeu and Barkley who are priced at $6,800 and $7,600 respectively.

Everton Secondary Plays

Idrissa Gueye, Midfielder $4,500 – He’s always a very underowned option in DFS because he doesn’t create any headlines, but Gueye led all of Europe’s five major leagues last season in tackles and interceptions. He’ll likely be battling for that title again this year as he will play a vital role in the midfield defense for Everton under their new manager Koeman. Moreover, he’s active enough that of his 60 touches last week he had 23 touches in the opponents half assisting the buildup of the Everton attack. Gueye makes for a cheap option to fit in your team in order to target some more expensive options.

Watford vs Chelsea

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	SoT A/Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	SoT A/Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Watford						Chelsea
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				5.54						1.729
				Last 6: D						Last 6: W
				0-1-0						1-0-0
11.74	3.58	0.00	0.00	18.53	0.00	13.82	4.42	0.00	0.00	19.26	0.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Deeney, Ighalo		Abdi		Watson, Abdi, Capoue, Holebas		Hazard, Oscar, Fabregas, Costa		Willian, Oscar, Fabregas, Matic		Willian, Fabregas

Watford played a very defensive match against Southampton on the road last weekend and ended up being out-possessed 65%-35%. At home they’re going to be expected to play a different style, but it won’t be far off. Chelsea have looked much stronger under the direction of new coach Antonio Conte. This match should feature controlled possession from Chelsea that gets them close to scoring once or twice every half while allowing Watford to execute their fast break attack. The match will be closely contested and will likely be limited fantasy-wise except for a few options which we’ll discuss here.

Watford Breakdown

Watford played a defensive 3-5-2 formation, and I don’t expect that to change this week. Deeney and Ighalo both play off each other well and the addition of Capou, Holebas and Amrabat helps the team build on their road point they achieved in Southampton last week. Chelsea will probably dominate possession in this matchup which puts Watford’s defense in play.

Watford Top Plays

Heurelho Gomes, Goalkeeper $4,400 – Gomes will be under some constant pressure from Chelsea’s attack and will have to make some saves if his team is to come away from this match with the win or even just the draw. Gomes is one of my top 3 goalkeepers this week being the home underdog team puts him in an ideal position as a goalkeeper.

Nordin Amrabat, Midfielder/Forward $3,700 – One of several value options from this team is Nordin Amrabat, he managed 7 crosses last week, I don’t expect him to get those against Chelsea this week, but he should continue to be part of whatever offense this team musters, and for his cheap price, he’s worth a look.

Jose Holebas, Defender $3,500 – The search for value defenders is always a last minute affair that depends heavily on the released starting lineups. We always end up scrambling to find any surprise starters at the full back position. Holebas is as cheap as we can identify prior to release of the lineups, which puts him as the top defender at this time. He can deliver crosses and could be part of the offense. I expect him to assist in jump starting fast breaks for Watford.

Watford Secondary Plays

Odion Ighalo, Forward $7,300 – As an extreme GPP option, Ighalo is worth looking at. Chelsea still have a lot of pressure on them to hold a clean sheet, and there is a chance that they won’t be able to keep that clean sheet this week either. Ighalo didn’t impress in the opener with zero shots and just 18 passes completed. Ighalo will improve before long and he could frustrate some of Chelsea’s slower defenders and in turn prove to be a nuisance and potentially get that first goal.

Chelsea Breakdown

Under the new coach Antonio Conte, Chelsea are playing a different style of football and with the enthusiasm of Conte’s sideline approach, the players are going to start mimicking his behavior on the field. Conte’s teams always end up being very disciplined and he demands plenty from his team. So far in the early going of the season Hazard, Oscar and Costa have all looked much improved over last season and Willian is on his way to being just as productive as he was last season.

Chelsea Top Plays

Willian, Midfielder $8,300 – He’s probably going to continue to be a good crosser all through open play and through corners. He’s also still on free kicks (along with Hazard and Oscar). Last week he managed 7 crosses (3 of them from corners). His price is higher than you would want, which puts him at lower ownership, but I think this week he excels and manages to be involved in any goal scoring opportunities for Chelsea.

Chelsea Secondary Plays

Eden Hazard, Midfielder/Forward $7,800 – He’s starting to take some free kicks away from Willian and his confidence is sky high after scoring a penalty kick against West Ham last week and will be extra aggressive this week. Hazard is looking to return to the form that saw him lead Chelsea to the title two years ago. Last week he had 3 shots to go with 2 crosses and the goal. He can exceed that this week if Chelsea get off to a good start against the weaker Watford team.

Leicester vs Arsenal

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	SoT A/Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	SoT A/Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Leicester						Arsenal
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				2.87						2.53
				Last 6: L						Last 6: L
				0-0-1						0-0-1
13.74	4.68	0.00	0.00	20.05	0.00	15.03	5.32	0.00	0.00	19.87	0.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Mahrez, Vardy		Mahrez, Drinkwater, Gray		Mahrez, Drinkwater, Gray		Walcott, Cazorla, Sanchez		Sanchez, Cazorla, Chambers, Walcott		Cazorla, Sanchez, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain

The top two finishers in the league opened their new season with losses. They’ll both look to right the ship in this matchup. Leicester appear to be in better shape than Arsenal as Arsenal are still missing some key players including Ozil, Giroud, Koscielny, Ramsay and Alex Iwobi. All of them could return, but are likely still out. Leicester in the meantime need to rediscover their form that led to their unlikely title run. While they’ve lost Kante to Chelsea, they still retained Vardy and Mahrez who’s magic led them to some unlikely victories last season.

Leicester Breakdown

Speaking of Mahrez, he recently signed a new 4 year contract which keeps him with Leicester, at least for now. Both him and Vardy were rumored to be headed to Arsenal at various points this summer. So it will be interesting to watch this matchup play out.

Leicester Top Plays

Demarai Gray, Midfielder/Forward $4,700 – Gray split corner kick duties with Mahrez last weekend and also was involved in some of the free kick opportunities. He’s a very electric player and has the potential to score goals and/or assist on goals. His pace will also be extremely useful in this matchup in which I think Arsenal will control possession forcing Leicester to rely on counter attacks. His youth may hurt him however as he hasn’t shown the cool headedness necessary to correctly execute a disciplined counter attack, so it will be interesting to see if he gets an opportunity this week.

Leicester Secondary Plays

Jamie Vardy, Forward $9,400 – Vardy is looking for his first goal of the season after a tough first outing that only saw him touch the ball 20 times, though he did get 7 touches in the penalty area but converted just one of those touches into a shot. Arsenal proved to be weak defensively when confronted with an aggressive midfielder. They’ll be looking to compensate which should open opportunities for players like Vardy who are good at taking advantage of opportunities. Vardy is in a great spot to score this week or at least put pressure on Petr Cech. Though for his price, he’s staying in my “secondary” plays section as I can’t justify paying $9,400 for a player confidently. He carries significant risk of a very low score.

Arsenal Breakdown

After coming off a 4-3 loss to Liverpool at home where the score was actually closer than the matchup appeared. The Gunners will be looking to improve their defense but will face a tough matchup with the defending champions and without the services of Welbeck, Mertesacker, Carl Jenkinson, Aaron Ramsey, and Alex Iwobi. They’re also going to be doing a late fitness test on Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil. The team will depend heavily on Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Arsenal Top Plays

Theo Walcott, Midfield/Forward $6,400 – He was their penalty kick taker last week, and will be looked to for production on the wings with all the absences that Arsenal expect. Last week he did manage to score a goal (after missing the penalty) and had 5 crosses, 4 tackles to go along with 3 fouls drawn. With Arsenal looking to pressure the home team, Walcott should get plenty of opportunities to apply that pressure on the wings for the Gunners.

Arsenal Secondary Plays

Alexis Sanchez, Midfield/Forward $9,100 – He’s a secondary option only if he doesn’t start at the striker position. Sanchez is at his best on the wings and when he gets to roam free. If he’s confined to the forward/false 9 position he is less effective and isn’t even producing all his peripheral stats that we fell in love with last season. Sanchez last week had 4 fantasy points with just a single shot and a single cross. That won’t cut it for his extremely high price tag.