Arsenal have once again been handed a difficult tie in the Champions League Round of 16, as the Gunners will clash with Bayern Munich for the fourth time in five seasons- despite finishing top of the group for the first-time in six years.
Bayern, unseeded for the draw, were always one to avoid and there was a sense of inevitability heading into the draw, as everybody seemed to call Bayern drawing Arsenal yet again- with some fans now suggesting the draw is fixed.
Whilst that can sound like standard complaints, it’s worth thinking about as the chances of drawing Bayern so many times in recent years must be huge but Arsenal will fancy their chances this year, despite losing 5-1 at the Allianz Arena last year.
Still unbeaten in the Champions League, Arsenal didn’t manage to beat Paris Saint-Germain and they’ll need to stand-out come the return of Europe’s elite competition in February but, for now, Arsenal fans are furious.
With three game weeks extremely close together over the Christmas period, Fantasy Premier League players will need to be on the ball more than ever.
About 18 hours separate two game weeks, which doesn’t give us much time to make any necessary changes but, if you’re paying attention, you should be able to take advantage of those that aren’t.
Picking the right captain going in to the busy festive fixture schedule is vital, and it pays to do your research and weed out those with favourite fixtures across the three relevant game weeks.
So, with that in mind, we’ve picked out five players you should be looking to give the armband to between now and 2017.
Alexis Sanchez has been incredible for Arsenal this season, netting 12 goals and assisting a further eight, leaving him with a huge 127 FPL points after just 17 game weeks – he returned just 167 FPL points for the entire 15/16 season.
The midfielder has been preferred as a striker this season, which has paid dividends with his points return, and he faces West Brom (H), Crystal Palace (H) and Bournemouth (A) over the festive period.
He is selected by 36.7% of FPL teams, which means you’re not going to get an edge over your mates with him in your side but, given his form this season, Sanchez remains a player you cannot afford to leave out.
Moreover, giving him the armband over the next few fixtures will almost guarantee you a good points return. A complete no brainer.
Like Sanchez, Kevin De Bruyne has been in incredible form for his club this season. The Man City midfielder has provided a league high 11 assists already this season, while the Belgium international has also found the net on two occasions.
With fixtures against Hull (A), Liverpool (A) and Burnley (H) over the festive period, De Bruyne should be well up there when it comes to high FPL points returns.
De Bruyne also goes in to the festive fixture schedule in good form. Two assists in his last two outings, having gone three games without making a positive contribution, means he is well placed to continue such creative influence as Man City attempt to catch Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.
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This one is a bit of a differential, but more and more FPL players are beginning to get on the Divock Origi bandwagon with every passing game week.
Philippe Coutinho’s injury gave the Belgium international his chance to get an extended run of Premier League games under his belt, and he hasn’t disappointed.
With four goals and one assist in the five games since he got his chance to impress, Origi can be considered as one of the form strikers going in to the festive period.
Only 9% of FPL teams own him, which means not everyone appears to be convinced he can sustain his current vein of form, and perhaps even believe he’ll be back on the bench the moment Coutinho is fit again.
However, at just £6.8m, Origi represents a cheap option in attack and will enable you to spend a bit more on either another striker or, even better, a midfielder, which is where most of the value currently is in FPL this season.
Liverpool face Stoke (H), Man City (H) and Sunderland (A) over the next few weeks, and expect Origi to be amongst the goals at some point between now and mid-January.
Islam Slimani has been a solid signing for Leicester City so far this season, but that doesn’t mean to say he has reached his peak capabilities. There is definitely more to come from the Algerian.
Jamie Vardy’s red card appeal was unsuccessful, which means he now faces a three match ban, so Slimani is expected to be handed a lead role in the Foxes’ attack over the festive period.
All eyes will be on Slimani to deliver the goods and lead Leicester’s charge up the Premier League table after an underwhelming defence of their title thus far.
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Slimani has four goals and three assists to his name so far and is currently averaging 5.8 FPL points per 90 minutes played. His points potential has been limited by the fact he rarely completes 90 minutes – he has only played a full game three times this season – but, if Vardy is unavailable, then Slimani’s playing time will increase as a result.
Leicester face Everton (H), West Ham (H) and Middlesbrough (A) over the next couple of weeks, which make for pretty encouraging reading for FPL players looking for a striker – who is only owned by 1% of FPL teams – to help boost their festive FPL points return.
Finally, it’s Swansea’s Fernando Llorente. The Spaniard has been somewhat inconsistent for Bob Bradley’s struggling side this season, but his price tag of just £6.3m makes him an intriguing option.
He has five goals and two assists to his name from 14 Premier League outings and he is currently averaging 5.1 FPL points per 90 minutes played.
Swansea have back-to-back home fixtures with West Ham and Bournemouth respectively, before they kick-off 2017 with a trip to Crystal Palace. All three fixtures represent the perfect opportunity for Llorente to get amongst the goals and help Swansea start climbing away from the drop zone.
With two home games out of the three, the striker also represents a good choice for the armband. He goes in to the festive period in form – rated at 6.6 by Fantasy Premier League – and is an option you shouldn’t write off just yet.
After spending a dirty weekend with our bit on the side, the FA Cup, FootballFanCast is ready to turn its attentions back to the old ball-and-chain – the Premier League.
That may seem a derogatory term and we may have enjoyed our Third Round fling, but FFC can’t wait for the return of the top flight, especially with arguably the highest-profile fixture on the Premier League calendar due on Sunday in the form of the North West derby.
Indeed, Manchester United take on ancient rivals Liverpool in a 90-minute war at Old Trafford – which is our Fixture in Focus – and although the reverse outing ended scoreless earlier this season, we’re expecting the coming instalment to deliver some fireworks – especially with the Reds firmly in the title race and the Red Devils looking to claw their way back into it.
With Liverpool on the rise under Jurgen Klopp and United still finding their feet in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, there really isn’t much to choose between the two sides these days. With that in mind, we’re asking United fans to (very, very) briefly put their anti-Anfield prejudice aside and let us know which Liverpool stars they’d like to see controversially join the ranks at Old Trafford.
No player has moved directly between the two clubs since 1964, a certain Phil Chisnall, so which Liverpool star do you want to break that 53-year spell? Let us know by partaking in the poll below, giving each player a thumbs up or a thumbs down!
Plenty of Manchester United supporters are not ready to give up on Luke Shaw just yet.
The England international has faded into the background at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho this season, starting just six Premier League games.
The left-back has made 12 appearances in all competitions so far in the campaign, but he has been plagued by fitness issues.
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In fairness to the 21-year-old, he suffered a terrible double leg break in September 2015, so it was always going to take time for the full-back to get back up to speed.
Despite that, a report by The Independent claimed that United were open to selling Shaw, three years after spending £30m to sign him from Southampton.
However, the player’s agent Jonathan Barnett has told IBTimes UK that there is no truth in the rumours that Shaw will be sold at the end of the season.
“I am angry with these reports suggesting Luke Shaw will leave Manchester United in the summer. I am angry at the irresponsible journalism. Luke Shaw is happy at Manchester United and also, Manchester United are happy with him.”
It appears that the majority of United fans are also content to keep Shaw at the club, with many tipping the 21-year-old to become an important player for the future.
Rafael Benitez is putting his foot down on Tyneside this Deadline Day as his Newcastle United side make a last-ditch attempt to bring Andros Townsend back to the club, The Daily Mail reports.
What’s the word?
Only leaving Tyneside in the summer, Newcastle United are desperately trying to bring Andros Townsend back to the North East and Rafael Benitez is demanding that the club’s hierarchy offer the £15m Crystal Palace are seeking.
Townsend has struggled to make an impression in South London and has been pursued by Newcastle throughout the January window, with Benitez frustrated that he’s still trying to force through a deal on Deadline Day.
With hours remaining in the transfer window, Newcastle will be boosted by the fact Townsend is keen on a return but Palace are proving to be shrewd negotiators.
What do Palace want?
Sam Allardyce’s side are looking to make a profit on the £15m they paid the Magpies for his services in the summer; demanding a £2m loan fee, that would secure a deal until the end of the season, and a permanent purchase option of £13m.
With Newcastle making a profit in the summer, whilst strengthening their side, Benitez wants to dip into his transfer kitty to secure a deal today and will be furious if Mike Ashley fails to cough-up for his top-target.
Crystal Palace are also looking to strengthen their ranks on the final day of the transfer window so it means all parties are open to a move, with only the price standing as the sticking point right now.
The future surrounding the men behind the scenes at Arsenal has led to reports that transfer negotiator Dick Law could leave this summer, The Telegraph reports.
What’s the word?
Whilst the speculation on Arsene Wenger’s future as Arsenal manager continues to make back-page headlines, the Gunners now face the risk of losing another influential member behind the scenes as Dick Law may leave this summer.
The trusted transfer negotiator, a staunch ally of under-fire boss Arsene Wenger, Law has occupied his position since 2007, following the loss of David Dein in 2005, and operates very much like a Director of Football in North London.
However, the Gunners run the risk of losing both Law and Wenger come the end of the season, with it not being clear whether Law would carry on his role without Wenger and vice-versa. If Law was to leave, Arsenal would have another big hole to fill.
Why is Law so important?
Dick Law has been the driving force behind numerous big Arsenal signings in the past, with his stand-out moment coming in 2014 when the Gunners secured a club-record deal for Mesut Ozil- with Law’s negotiations with Ozil’s agent keeping the interest quiet from the club’s rivals.
Prior to his current role, Dick Law worked as a scout in the South America region for the Gunners and identified the talents of both Gilberto Silva and Carlos Vela to Arsene Wenger, both of whom became hits in the first-team.
If Law was to leave, Arsenal may look to appoint an official Director of Football or seek a Head of Recruitment but it remains to be seen who that will be, as any incoming manager would likely have an influence over the position.
Manchester City have made progress under Pep Guardiola this season but there is still a lot of work to be done by the Citizens, with the full-back areas of their squad looking fairly weak.
Current options Gael Clichy, Aleksander Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna are all past their best, which makes it no surprise to see the Citizens being linked with moves in the transfer market to bolster this area in the summer.
However, what is a surprise is seeing The Daily Mail linking Dani Alves with a move to the Etihad Stadium to reunite with former Barcelona boss Guardiola and the stats show the move should definitely be avoided.
In 11 appearances this season, Dani Alves has managed just five clearances, 3 aerial duels, ten tackles and six interceptions- essentially putting his involvement for Juventus at 24 defensive acts in 11 games, working out at around two acts per match.
Alves also turns 34 in May, which means he can’t be seen as a genuine fix for the issues City already have, and eyebrows will certainly be raised if the veteran Brazilian seals a move to the Premier League this summer.
As reported by The Daily Mail, Arsenal have warned the superstar duo of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez that they won’t bow to irrational wage demands as the parties look to come to an agreement on contract renewals.
What’s the word?
Ozil and Sanchez both have deals that see them committed to the club until the summer of 2018 but their future at the Emirates Stadium appears to be in doubt with neither player having signed a new deal at the club.
Now Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick has sent out a warning shot that they will not go beyond rationality when looking to renew their contracts, despite sitting on a massive amount of money.
As quoted by The Mail, the chairman said:
Further work is required in the area of contract renewals and we will continue to invest rationally in our squad retention. As expected, increased Premier League broadcasting revenues have had a direct impact on player costs both in terms of transfer prices and player wage demands. While these are market forces that have contributed directly over time to the success of the Premier League, I would sound a note of caution in light of the very material contractual commitments to future wages that clubs are taking on.
That caution means that the reported wage demands of Ozil and Sanchez, thought to be around £250,000 per week, could well be snubbed by the club and that could spell the end of their stellar Gunners careers.
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Should Arsenal push the boat out?
Alexis Sanchez’s contribution to the Arsenal cause this season has been quite unbelievable. With 20 goals and 11 assists in 34 appearances for the club so far this term, he’s become a major contender in the end of year awards. Mesut Ozil has been no slouch either, netting 10 times and contribution 8 assists for the Gunners so far this season.
That kind of form has been absolutely vital to everything good about Arsenal this year and although their campaign has gone off the rails, they’d be in a much worse state than they are without these two.
Is that worth the kind of money reportedly being demanded? Well, if the Gunners have title ambitions any time soon then the answer to that question may be yes.
According to Jim White, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku has agreed a new five-year deal with the club, despite a myriad of links over the course of the past summer following some wonderfully impressive form on Merseyside.
This weekend saw the Belgian become the Toffees’ highest ever goalscorer in the Premier League at the tender age of 23 and there’s little doubt he’s one of the most promising young forwards on the continent right now. So, it was little surprise to see him linked with a return to former club Chelsea as a potential Diego Costa replacement of late, though talkSPORT claim a new five-year deal is imminent.
Though contracts mean little in modern day football, the Goodison Park outfit are now backed by huge investment and, with Ronald Koeman at the helm, the fact they have seemingly secured the future of one of their most important players has, naturally, caused a storm on Twitter.
With that in mind, here’s a look at how fans reacted on social media.
Currently in twelfth place and eleven points behind the playoff positions with just eight games of their campaign remaining, Aston Villa appear consigned to at least another season in the Championship.
Indeed, Steve Bruce has improved upon the mess his predecessor Roberto Di Matteo left behind, but the Villans have been unable to overcome the hangover of last season’s relegation from the Premier League.
Consequentially, not a single Villa star made the Championship’s Team of the Season for 2016/17, which was announced earlier this week.
But the Birmingham outfit boast one of the biggest transfer budgets in the second tier, splashing out a staggering £76million since the start of last summer.
So with the summer transfer window now just around the corner, Villa could do a lot worse than prising away some of this term’s Team of the Season members during the coming off-season, not only strengthening their first-team squad but also weakening those of their divisional rivals.
With that in mind, we have a curious question for Villa fans; which Team of the Season stars would you like to see Bruce swoop for this summer? Let us know by voting below, giving each player a thumbs up or a thumbs down.