JOE’s Fantasy Football Tips – week 22

Tom Victor

A lot has happened since our last set of fantasy football picks.

Chelsea have climbed out of trouble, Arsenal have signed a defensive midfielder. Hell, we’ve even seen Aston Villa win an actual game of football.

After a short break for Christmas and New Year, we’re back with our selections…as are you.

But first, a quick recap of how things stand after our last week before the time off.

Previous Total	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Total
JOE	41	Gomis 2	Pedro 9	Wijnaldum 2	54
Readers	77	Dann 2	Bolasie 2	Evans 0	81

The gap has narrowed, largely thanks to Pedro, as your Jonny Evans gamble didn’t pay off.

There have been some unpredictable results in the weeks since, but we’re feeling confident in our selections this time around.

David Silva – Midfield – £10.0m

Manchester City clearly lacked Silva’s impact for the opening 70 minutes of their goalless draw with Everton, and starting the Spaniard against Crystal Palace seems like a no-brainer.

Alan Pardew’s team will come into the game off the back of a surprise loss at Aston Villa, and remain without key man Yannick Bolasie.

If a well-rested Silva (who also sat out the FA Cup win at Norwich) is given free rein to take on Pape Souaré and Joel Ward, he can do a lot of damage.

https://twitter.com/Leitchy75/status/687911214228336640

Benik Afobe – Striker – £6.1m

Afobe failed to hit the ground running after his club-record move to Bournemouth, missing a presentable chance against West Ham, but he showed some promising signs on his debut.

The former Arsenal man averaged nearly a goal every two games in the Championship, and while the Premier League is a different challenge his record is comparable to Jamie Vardy’s in Leicester’s promotion campaign and not far behind Watford duo Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney.

A home game against Norwich, who conceded from all three of Stoke’s shots on target last time out, presents a perfect opportunity for the 22-year-old to get off the mark.

https://twitter.com/TotalFootballR9/status/688037236177264640

Dusan Tadic – Midfield – £6.7m

Serbian midfielder Tadic burst onto the scene in his first season at Southampton, forming a near-telepathic relationship with Graziano Pelle, but has suffered a little from second season syndrome.

The 27-year-old has had to fight for his place, and that’s helped bring out the best in him from time to time.

You don’t always know what you’ll get with him, but the former Twente wide-man can take advantage of West Brom’s less-than-mobile back four and cause real problems.

https://twitter.com/WesPoldi10/status/687964407104540672