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As the season enters its last quarter, team objectives are set. Unlike the league title, which is now a 2-horse race, the relegation scrum is a battle royale with up to nine teams on the ropes and at risk of the drop. Various European qualification spots are also hot commodities for which many teams are bidding.
Note: Only our first match (Manchester United vs Everton) will show us confirmed lineups in the countdown hour before the Fantrax deadline. If you care about players from those teams, then come back to NMA then for our Pre-Deadline Chat.
EPL GW-30 Fantrax Fixtures
| Date | MATCH | TIME (GMT) |
|---|---|---|
| Date | MATCH | TIME (GMT) |
| April 8 (Sat) | Manchester United v Everton | 12:30 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest | 15:00 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Brentford v Newcastle United | 15:00 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Fulham v West Ham United | 15:00 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Leicester City v Bournemouth | 15:00 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton | 15:00 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea | 15:00 |
| April 8 (Sat) | Southampton v Manchester City | 17:30 |
| April 9 (Sun) | Leeds United v Crystal Palace | 14:00 |
| April 9 (Sun) | Liverpool v Arsenal | 16:30 |
Keepers
Emiliano Martinez ( $12.43, Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest )
The World Cup’s best-goalkeeper award-winner’s form is continuing in the league. He consistently earns double-digit Fantrax points, with one recent match of 30. We expect him to continue performing when Aston Villa hosts Forest this weekend.
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Illan Meslier ( $7.31, Leeds v Crystal Palace )
Meslier is a good goalkeeper but does not find many points due to the leaky defense in front of him. He is relatively affordable among the goalkeeper pool. Whenever Leeds wins a match, he often returns double-digit points. Against Crystal Palace at home might be a good fixture to achieve that!
Defenders
Felipe ( $5.67, Aston Villa v Forest )
Felipe is affordable and consistent even when his team loses the match. With the long term absences of starting center-backs Boly and Mckennie, Felipe is expected to continue starting.
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Ben Chilwell ( $6.43, Wolves v Chelsea )
Chilwell’s salary is a bargain given his recent performances. The only concern is that Lampard might favor someone else to start at that crowded position. If you are not confident, Reece James is another Chelsea option who should have less competition for his starting spot.
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Alex Moreno ( $3.09, Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest )
If you bias your budget toward attack, Moreno is a good affordable option in the defense. He has double-digits in three of the last four matches and is expected to continue starting during Cash’s injury.
Midfielders
Jack Grealish ( $10.25, Southampton v Man City )
City is playing against bottom-ranked Southampton, so there is risk that Grealish does not start the game under Pep roulette. But that risk is mitigated by Foden’s injury at that position. Grealish is beginnng to return points from his defensive work rate, and on top of that we can hope he can contribute goals and assists against woeful Southampton.
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James Maddison ( $12.78, Leicester v Bournemouth )
Brendan Rodgers is sacked, but that should not affect Maddison’s role as primary playmaker. Leicester hosts Bournemouth, against whom center midfielders usually score (e.g. Partey for Arsenal, Perreira for Fulham, and Buendia for Aston Villa). Lets hope Maddison can follow suit under his new manager!
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Marcus Tavernier ( $8.76, Leicester v Bournemouth )
Marcus Tarvernier has finally recovered from his long injury. He was “board favorite” asset to among Fantrax manager when he was healthy. His minutes are being managed, but he still scored two goals in his past four matches. It is worth a punt to include him in your squad as Bournemouth plays inconsistent Leicester who’ve failed to keep the clean sheet in the past 15 league matches!
Forwards
Gabriel Martinelli ( $14.15, Liverpool v Arsenal )
The top team’s top scorer will match up against TAA at Liverpool on the wing this weekend, and we expect him to put up attacking numbers against the out-of-form opponent. Martinelli is versatile with both feet which makes him difficult to handle.
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Ollie Watkins ( $15.84, Aston Villa v Forest )
Watkins is in superb form since Unai Emery’s arrival. The Villans have increased their chances to secure a European qualification spot with a run of five wins and a draw. Home against Forest which has an injury crisis in defense is a major plus.
Stats and info for this article were sourced from premierleague.com and fantrax.com.
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How are your Fantrax rosters managing the swings between DGWs? Are you remaking your team each week or finding a steady squad? And are you still in the NMA-11 Cup? It’s an even-numbered game-week, so you survivors should beware! Please log in and tell us in the comments what’s on your mind.
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