Fantasy: Start Sanchez, Mkhitaryan?

Published on: 30 January 2018

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It's a big week in the Premier League -- we've got a full slate of fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the transfer window closing on Wednesday night as well.

Here are the top 10 things you need to know heading into Gameweek 25, from a fantasy perspective:

7 Up: The biggest game of the midweek bunch is Manchester United against Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday. And Man United's new No. 7, Alexis Sanchez, will be playing his first Premier League game for his new club.

This isn't Sanchez's Man United debut, however. He started their 4-0 win over Yeovil Town in the FA Cup on Friday. And he looked good, despite playing alongside mostly backups, with an assist and six chances created. But remember, he was playing against a League Two club.

Also remember that Sanchez is still the third-most expensive player in Fantasy Premier League at 11.7 million pounds, despite his relatively lackluster season at Arsenal. I need to see a couple of spectacular performances before I even consider bringing him in.

The big question is, who does Sanchez replace in the Man United lineup? It could be Jesse Lingard, who's currently on 18.0 percent of FPL rosters. Lingard was quiet in Gameweeks 23 and 24, but he did score a goal off the bench against Yeovil Town. However, if he doesn't start on Wednesday, it's probably time to drop him.

Close call: Tottenham nearly suffered a shocking defeat in the FA Cup on Saturday. They needed a late goal from Harry Kane for a 1-1 draw at League Two side Newport County.

Midfielder Christian Eriksen and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris missed the 1-1 draw with Southampton in Gameweek 24 due to illness, and they were not in the squad for the Newport County game, either. Their statuses should be monitored leading up to lineup lock on Tuesday.

This is a tough stretch for Spurs. After Manchester United, they face Liverpool at Anfield, followed by a home game against Arsenal. And they'll have a replay against Newport County during that time as well. I wouldn't be looking to add any Tottenham players to my FPL squad right now.

Fresh start: Arsenal will play at Swansea City on Tuesday, and we should see the debut of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who came over from Manchester United in a swap for Sanchez.

It remains to be seen what position Mkhitaryan will play in, so I'd take a wait-and-see approach with him as well. But keep in mind, this is a player who had 11 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund in 2015-16. And he's much more affordable than Sanchez in FPL at 7.6 million pounds.

Speaking of Arsenal, were you one of the lucky ones who held onto Nacho Monreal despite him missing Gameweeks 20-23 due to injury? I was -- except I kept him on my bench in Gameweek 24, when he had a goal and two assists in Arsenal's 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. Monreal accomplished all of that in less than a half, before coming off due to a calf knock. But he returned for Arsenal's 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea last Wednesday.

I'd strongly consider adding Monreal, if you don't have him. Part of the reason he erupted offensively is because, with Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi both fit, manager Arsene Wenger switched to a back four and played Monreal at fullback. Hopefully that continues!

Nacho Monreal is back after missing extended time, and he's making an impact offensively. BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Same old Liverpool: The Reds' roller-coaster ride continues -- a week after becoming the first team to knock off Manchester City in the Premier League this season, Liverpool lost 1-0 at bottom-of-the-table Swansea, followed by a 3-2 home defeat by West Brom in the FA Cup. They play at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are currently on 55.2 and 40.1 percent of FPL rosters, respectively, and I wouldn't be worried about either player, despite those two poor results. Salah scored yet another goal against West Brom. So did Firmino, and he nearly scored an equalizer at the death against Swansea, with a header off the woodwork. He also had the assist on Salah's goal against West Brom, and took a penalty kick in that game that also hit the woodwork.

I wouldn't be depending on the Liverpool defense, but it's worth noting that Alberto Moreno returned from injury and started against West Brom. Whether that means Andy Robertson's run of starts at left back in the Premier League is over remains to be seen.

Banged up: Chelsea will host Bournemouth on Wednesday, coming off a 3-0 home win over Newcastle in the FA Cup on Sunday. But they have some major injury concerns.

Forward Alvaro Morata (back), winger Willian (hamstring) and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (ankle) all missed the Newcastle game, and Morata and Courtois also missed the Carabao Cup loss to Arsenal and the 4-0 win at Brighton in Gameweek 24. Willian suffered his injury against Arsenal. You should be keeping an eye out for updates on these three players.

Teammate Marcos Alonso is now on 26.6 percent of FPL rosters, and it's getting scarier and scarier if you don't have him. Yes, he's the most expensive defender in the game at 7.3 million pounds, but he has 137 FPL points - 10 more than teammate Cesar Azpilicueta, and at least 23 more than any other defender. Alonso had another goal and assist against Newcastle, and he's posted at least six FPL points in eight straight games, including two 14-point weeks. That's fantastic.

More bad news: Manchester City are continuing to compete on four fronts. They followed up a 3-1 home win over Newcastle in Gameweek 24 with a 3-2 win over Championship club Bristol City in the Carabao Cup last Tuesday, and a 2-0 win over another Championship club, Cardiff City, in the FA Cup on Sunday. But they lost a key player in the process.

Leroy Sane suffered an ankle injury after an ugly challenge late in the first half against Cardiff, and manager Pep Guardiola estimated that Sane will be out for a while. He is currently on 11.6 percent of FPL rosters, and should probably be replaced before Man City hosts West Brom on Wednesday.

I wouldn't replace Sane with teammate David Silva, who still can't be counted on to play every week. Silva started against Brighton and Bristol City, but was not in the squad for the Newcastle game.

The other Silva, Bernardo, will probably take Sane's spot in the starting lineup, and he's worth considering at 7.4 million pounds (a million cheaper than Sane). He has two goals and four assists despite starting only six Premier League games this season. And he had an assist against both Bristol City and Cardiff.

Alarm clock: This is a message for the 13.4 percent of FPL players who still have Wayne Rooney on their roster: Wake up!!!

Rooney was on the bench for Everton's 1-1 draw with West Brom in Gameweek 24, only coming on after James McCarthy suffered a horrific double leg break. And afterwards, manager Sam Allardyce said he can't play both Gylfi Sigurdsson and Rooney in the same lineup. My money's on the younger Sigurdsson getting the nod more often than not, including against Leicester City on Wednesday at Goodison Park.

And the 7.9 percent of you that still have Dominic Calvert-Lewin on your team? He didn't even make the 18-man squad against West Brom. Need I say more?

Wayne Rooney probably won't see the pitch as much as some people expect this week. Shaun Brooks/Actionplus/Icon Sportswire

What a shame: Marko Arnautovic reinjured his hamstring in West Ham's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in Gameweek 24, and teammate Manuel Lanzini suffered a hamstring injury as well. Arnautovic was one of the hottest players in the league, with six goals and four assists since Gameweek 16, and is currently on 10.0 percent of FPL rosters.

If you're looking for a replacement, you've got a couple decent options on Stoke City, who looked rejuvenated in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town in Paul Lambert's first game as manager. Granted it was against weak opposition, but Xherdan Shaqiri (6 million pounds) and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (5.4 million) both had assists in that game. And both are significantly cheaper than Arnautovic (7.1 million).

Stoke's next five opponents are Watford (home), Bournemouth (away), Brighton (home), Leicester (away) and Southampton (away). These two could also be replacements for Lingard (6.3 million), who has 91 FPL points on the season. Shaqiri and Choupo-Moting are right behind him with 89 and 88 points, respectively.

Call me crazy: I've got my eye on another Stoke player as well -- Mame Biram Diouf, who returned to the center forward position against Huddersfield under Lambert, and scored his fifth goal of the season. If he keeps playing up top, he looks a good deal at 5.4 million pounds. In fact, he's practically the same price as Calvert-Lewin (5.3 million), if you need to get rid of him.

Another budget forward to watch is West Brom's Jay Rodriguez (5.5 million), who scored two goals in the FA Cup victory over Liverpool, and also scored a goal in the 1-1 draw with Everton in Gameweek 24. But if Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge is indeed loaned to West Brom, that could affect Rodriguez's playing time and/or production. (And they play at Man City this week, anyway, so don't rush.)

Up and down: Leicester City's dynamic duo continues to produce in a big way. Jamie Vardy won a penalty and converted the kick for his 10th league goal of the season in a 2-0 win over Watford in Gameweek 24, and Riyad Mahrez scored the other goal - his eighth of the season, to go with his 10 assists.

Vardy and Mahrez are also well rested, after sitting out Leicester's 5-1 FA Cup win over League One side Peterborough United on Saturday.

Leicester play at Everton on Wednesday, and other than a trip to Manchester City in Gameweek 27, the schedule looks very attractive for the next three months, before finishing the season with a game at Spurs.

On the other hand, I may finally have to say goodbye to Richarlison, who's still on 12.4 percent of FPL rosters. The young Watford player was so exciting early in the season, but he hasn't scored a goal since Gameweek 12. Marco Silva was sacked following their Gameweek 24 loss to Leicester, but the team still looked very poor in their 1-0 defeat at Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday, their first match under new manager Javi Gracia.

I've been very patient with Richarlison, because he's still fourth in the league in shots (76), behind only Kane, Salah and Sergio Aguero. But he had just one shot against Leicester, and two against Southampton. It was fun while it lasted, Richarlison, but it hasn't been fun for a while now.

Source: espn.co.uk

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