Kevin De Bruyne worth consideration for double game week
Friday 1 February 2019 11:32, UK
Former Sky Sports Fantasy Football champion Dan Cox highlights five players for you to consider for your side this week.
It has been a quick turnaround from the midweek fixtures. I have a much-needed returning striker and midfielder among my five picks, along with some of the usual suspects as we head ever closer to the 'Overhaul', where you can make an unlimited amount of changes, as long as you stay within the £100m budget.
Any questions or dilemmas? Ask Dan on Twitter @dancox82.
Chelsea face Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge and after the 4-0 hammering against Bournemouth in midweek they will be looking to bounce back quickly. I think Eden Hazard (£11.8m) is a great option, having been moved back to his favourite position after the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain.
I think the Belgian will flourish and add to his tally of 10 goals, 10 assists and five Sky Sports man-of-the-match (MOTM) awards. In the last five games his only contribution has been a solitary assist, but a player of Hazard's ability cannot continue on a barren run for too much longer and the 25.6 per cent of managers that own him will he hoping for a marked improvement.
Manchester United travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester and again Pogba is a great option, in my opinion. His recent goalscoring form, along with his ability to gain points from a variety of bonus fields - be it passing, tackling or shots - is second-to-none.
The France midfielder has 89 points in his last seven games from six goals, four assists and two MOTM awards. That is not forgetting passing and shots bonuses, which he has also accrued. He hobbled out of the Burnley game in midweek but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played down the injury in his pre-match news conference.
The returning Belgian is a favourite of mine. Boasting 281 points, De Bruyne was the highest point-scoring midfielder last season, more than justifying his price as the most expensive midfielder this year.
De Bruyne assisted 17 goals and scored another eight, while claiming 10 MOTM awards across the 2017-18 campaign. This season, however, has been a different story as he has faced injury. In fact he has only started two games all season and this is reflected in his lowly ownership of just 8.1 per cent.
Manchester City face Arsenal at the Etihad on Sunday - another game you can watch live on Sky Sports - and De Bruyne is a solid pick as there is always the worry about who will start between Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.
Even Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling have been benched on occasions, though you would imagine with it being Arsenal that Pep Guardiola will field his strongest line up, especially after the shock defeat to Newcastle in midweek.
It may have gone unnoticed by a few but the Everton v Manchester City fixture that was originally scheduled Saturday, February 23, which was postponed due to Manchester City progressing to the Carabao Cup final (played on Sunday, February 24), has now been rearranged for Wednesday, February 6. It is essentially a double gameweek for City, so a City asset is now key to provide a captaincy option. Again the only concern is that with three games within a week, it is unlikely many will play all three games.
Liverpool travel to the London Stadium in the Monday Night Football live on Sky Sports. With it being the only game of the day then you really want a player from both sides, and who else is there to pick apart from Mohamed Salah.
The Egypt forward has been in good form recently, with nine goals in his last nine games. In 55.9 per cent of teams, I think most of us own him already and hopefully he will add another goal or two to punish those that for some reason do not own him.
A bit late to the party on the next pick but Raul Jimenez (£7.9m) has been a great pick in Sky Sports Fantasy Football this term. The Mexico international has scored eight goals and assisted seven in his debut season in the Premier League since his summer switch from Benfica. In just 10.1 per cent of teams, he is on a remarkable 127 points for the season, not bad for a player listed at just £7.9m.
With Wolves facing Everton away this weekend and Newcastle at Molineux on Monday, February 11 (in a single game day), I think he is well worth considering until the Overhaul.
