Weekly Picks: AM's Week 37 Player Picks

Welcome to Week 37 of my player picks for the Yahoo Fantasy game, the penultimate column of the season. Before I begin please note The 2015 Rotoworld Cup Semi Final results (from Week 35) can be found here, with the final taking place THIS WEEK. Good luck to all those involved – Cup glory awaits you!

Check in with Rotoworld.com for news, analysis and fantasy predictions all season

Thank you to Steve and Galin for covering this column over the past two weeks while I was sunning myself in Mexico. During this break AM FC continued the resurgence with two strong weeks and I now sit 160th in the overall standings. I was as high as 99th over the weekend so sights are now set on a top 100 finish.

Week 37 Fixtures
Burnley v Stoke
Liverpool v Crystal Palace
Man Utd v Arsenal
QPR v Newcastle
Southampton v Aston Villa
Sunderland v Leicester City
Swansea v Man City
Tottenham v Hull City
West Brom v Chelsea
West Ham v Everton
Arsenal v Sunderland

That’s right, it’s another double week for two teams. Arsenal and Sunderland play twice, with the Gunners travelling to play Manchester United and the Black Cats hosting Leicester this weekend, before the two sides meet at the Emirates in mid-week. All other teams play once.

You know what I’m going to say …. load up on double-gamers. We’ve had two identical situations over the past two months and I have achieved 190 and 220 points in these two weeks by cramming in 10 players playing twice. It doesn’t matter if the fixtures aren’t ideal, players can still pick up fantasy points, even in defeat, and both sides have something to play for. Arsenal are looking to finish 2nd, Sunderland are trying to avoid the drop. There is only one week to go after this so discounts mean nothing – get involved.

It helps that none of the single game fixtures really stand out. Maybe Spurs can beat Hull. Perhaps Liverpool can beat Crystal Palace in Steven Gerrard‘s last game at Anfield. Manchester City are playing well and could beat Swansea now that the pressure is off, while Chelsea have enough quality to beat West Brom, but I wouldn’t feel confident enough to put money on any of these results. It’s double gamers all the way.

With that in mind, click over to the next page to view my Week 37 recommendations.

Check in with Rotoworld.com for news, analysis and fantasy predictions all season

With that in mind, click over to the next page to view my Week 37 recommendations.

Check in with Rotoworld.com for news, analysis and fantasy predictions all season

KEEPERS
David Ospina – If you’re going for a double-week keeper it has to be Ospina in my opinion, with Pantilimon too risky in case Arsenal give Sunderland a hammering. There’s always a chance Man United put a couple past Arsenal, but a thrashing seems unlikely and Ospina should be able to gain points back in the second match.
Paulo Gazzaniga – Southampton manager Ronaldo Koeman has stated that Gazzaniga will start again against Aston Villa in Week 37 before handing the gloves back to Kelvin Davis for the final game of the season. The Italian costs 1.10million so frees up funds for double game outfielders.

DEFENDERS
Laurent Koscielny – It’s not easy picking an Arsenal defender; Gabriel could always play one game instead of Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs often vye for the left-back spot, and Hector Bellerin has Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers right behind him. Koscielny is the only absolute certainty to start both matches, barring injury or suspension. It’s a shame he’s so expensive.
Patrick van Aanholt – Sunderland’s defence is much easier to work out, with van Aanholt sure to feature at left-back. The ex-Chelsea man has had a good season and is the pick of the Black Cats back line if you can afford him.
Hector Bellerin – I know I said Bellerin was a bit of a risk, but Debuchy has been struggling for injury recently and so it would be a surprise to see the youngster dropped. Still, Koscielny is the safer bet. And I’ve just got a hunch (based on nothing) the Mertesacker will be replaced by Gabriel for one of the matches.
Sebastian Coates – Coates has started the last three matches for Sunderland (two wins and a draw) so he should start both Week 37 fixtures. John O’Shea would also be worth a look for a far cheaper price but he’s currently a major injury doubt for the first match. West Brown is too risky as it’s likely he’d drop out if O’Shea returned.
Billy Jones – We were big fans of Jones during his time at West Brom and he’s starting to show some of that old form now he’s over his injuries and been given game time by Dick Advocaat. He’ll take up the right-back spot over the double week and is well priced.
Aaron Cresswell – If you’re struggling for funds for double-game attackers and still hold Cresswell at £1million then he’s worth slotting in to your back line to allow you to spend big elsewhere.

MIDFIELDERS
Santi Cazorla – Penalty taker, taking set pieces, in good form, guaranteed two starts and able to create or pop up with a goal out of nothing from open play. Cazorla is the pick of the Gunners’ midfielders by a distance.
Jordi Gomez – Penalty taker, taking set pieces, in excellent form, guaranteed two starts and able to create or pop up with a goal out of nothing from open play. Gomez is the pick of the Black Cats’ midfielders by a distance.
Mesut Ozil – After a run of excellent performances Ozil is having a quiet spell both on the pitch and in terms of fantasy returns, but this has brought his price down to an affordable level and he’s a near certainty to start both matches.
Aaron Ramsey – Ramsey has missed a couple of matches with injury but has declared himself fit for Week 37 and he should return to his new right wing slot. The Welshman has been claiming the positon doesn’t suit him, but he’s been performing well and is always a goal threat.
Seb Larsson – With Advocaat introducing Gomez back in to the side it has meant less set pieces for Larsson, but he’s still a dangerous fantasy player and direct free kicks should remain his duty.
Francis Coquelin – One of the most surprising success stories of the impact of Coquelin since he returned from a couple of unsuccessful loan spells in the Championship. For a defensive midfielder he averages a more-than decent 6 fantasy points per game, which could equate to 12 points across the two matches for a cost of £7million.
Lee Cattermole – He’ll play twice. He’s cheap. Erm …
Steven Gerrard – It’s the last game at Anfield for Liverpool captain and legend Steven Gerrard. If you’re feeling sentimental, take a punt – but there are better options.

STRIKERS
Alexis Sanchez – If have to explain to you why Sanchez must be in your team this week then you may be beyond help. The top scoring player in the Yahoo game is playing twice – if you need to spend £21million to get him in then just do it.
Olivier Giroud – Giroud has gone off the boil and is without a goal in four matches, but Arsene Wenger doesn’t have another senior centre forward available and so the French striker will continue to lead the line. You’d fancy him to grab one against Sunderland.
Jermain Defoe – It doesn’t matter that he’s lazy, greedy and selfish, Defoe will score goals if he gets chances and another one this week could be enough to see Sunderland safe. Expect lots and lots of shots at goal, with hopefully some hitting the target.
Connor Wickham – Priced the same as Defoe, less of a goal threat but better at picking up miscellaneous fantasy points. I’m going with Defoe but Wickham could be a nice variable, with his ownership sure to be lower.
Danny Graham – One fluke goal in seven thousand matches for Sunderland. But Graham has shown he is a hard worker, a team player and he is doing his bit to try to help keep his side in the division. The ex-Swansea man should get at least 120 minutes over the two matches and is dirt cheap.
Sergio Aguero – I’m selling Aguero because I can’t justify keeping £18millio of my budget tied up in a single gamer. But he’s in his very best form and another 30 point+ showing could leave many of us with eggs on our faces.
Charlie Austin – QPR have had a catastrophic season but Austin can leave this summer with his head held high as mid-table Premier League clubs queue up for his signature. He’ll want to go out on a bang in his last game at Loftus Road, and Newcastle are the visitors.

So those are the players I’m considering for my Week 37 Yahoo team. Please make sure you check back here on Friday for Ben Dinnery’s team and injury news column where he’ll run through all the important info ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

My own team page currently looks like this …

XI: Gazzaniga, Cresswell, B.Jones, van Aanholt, Coquelin, Gomez, Walcott, Cazorla, Giroud, Defoe, Sanchez
Subs: Garbutt, Sinclair, Blackett, Schmeichel

I’ve had to accept I can’t get a double-game keeper and Cresswell @1.00 can’t be shifted, so it’s going to be nine double-gamers for AM FC. They should all be certain starters with the exception of Walcott – I could go with Cattermole instead, but Walcott could outscore him in a 15 minute appearance from the bench, so I may avoid that trade. I’d love an Arsenal defender to cover their potential clean sheet but don’t want to drop PvA, so it’ll be difficult to find space, while Ozil and Ramsey are out of range. Follow @nikarg and I’ll tweet an updated line-up on Friday.

How’s your Week 37 team looking?

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