Sky Sports Fantasy Football: The Differentials, Jesse Lingard at the top of the tree?
Will Thiago Silva make his eagerly-awaited return to the Chelsea starting line-up on Saturday?
Saturday 3 April 2021 10:38, UK
Billy Lumsden picks out three differential options to consider bringing into your Sky Sports Fantasy Football team for the remainder of the campaign.
The end is in sight. There are still places to fight for in the leaderboard and mini leagues, but more importantly to do just that, the fixtures are there to be taken advantage of.
With plenty of matches to go, some fixture lists for individual clubs are looking more generous than others, while the individual game days provide teasing and tempting captaincy choices.
Thiago Silva - £9.2m
Thiago Silva has accrued 121 Fantasy Football points from just 17 Premier League starts this season, racking up an impressive 7.1 points per game on average. The injury he sustained at Tottenham has kept him out for seven matches but Silva could be in line to make his return at home to West Brom.
The Brazilian centre-half has hit double figure hauls on eight occasions this season, and where there is a clean sheet, there is usually a tier two bonus points (70+ passes). With Chelsea to play West Brom, Crystal Palace, Brighton, West Ham and Fulham in their next five, now could be the time to strike, not only with the former PSG man but Chelsea defenders in general.
Currently in, wait for it, 0% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football teams, Silva provides a real differential pick for the latter stages of the season. His nonchalance and experience at the heart of the Chelsea defence could be invaluable if they are to consolidate that top four position and continue to strive towards that Champions League final.
Jesse Lingard - £7.2m
Since joining West Ham, Jesse Lingard has contributed to eight goals in only seven starts, finding the net five times and creating three goals for David Moyes' side. Off the back of these performances, the man who is on loan from Manchester United has earned another England call-up, featuring in all three of Gareth Southgate's World Cup Qualifying matches.
Lingard has tallied 66 points from his seven starts at the Hammers, notching just under 10 points per game in that spell. This includes four double-digit hauls, three Man of the Match awards and a 20-point debut against Aston Villa. Rich vein of form indeed, at only £7.2m, why not?
His percentage selection is increasing too. He is in 7.6% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football teams, but with a decent opportunity to captain down the line in West Ham's trip to Newcastle, as well as matches against Burnley, Brighton and West Brom, could Lingard fire your team to glory? Will you recruit his services?
Conor Coady - £8.1m
Conor Coady will be fresh after England duty, where he impressed once more. I suspect there will be even more joy on the horizon for him, with a view of the Wolves fixture list in mind. Clean sheets, and even a goal or two could be in the offering for the centre-back.
West Ham, Fulham, Sheffield United (captaincy day/option), Burnley, West Brom and Brighton are who Wolves will face in their next six matches. With Coady recently admitting that they are targeting set-pieces more, there could be points in abundance for the Wolves captain and any of his teammates coming up from the back.
A mere 0.3% of the top 1,000 Fantasy Football managers currently have Coady in their team. Ahead of the trend? I think so. Those fixtures are too generous to pass up on, when combining the single game days at Fulham and other noticeable captaincy days like West Ham and Sheffield United. Watch this space.
Listen to the latest Sky Sports Fantasy Football podcast
Tom Carnduff, Billy Lumsden and Aidan Smith signal the end of the international break with gameweek 30 in focus in the latest episode of the Sky Sports Fantasy Football podcast. The trio look ahead to the latest round of fixtures with potential transfers and captaincy choices to discuss.
Sergio Aguero is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season, is now the time to bring him in as he looks to get as many minutes as possible? Chelsea and West Ham have decent fixtures for the remainder of the campaign, could it be worth transferring in players from those teams starting from this week?
