Fantasy Football: Brightside hoping Aguero gamble will pay off

We’re another week closer to Christmas and the race is on to be top of the festive Fantasy Football charts and create a little slice of history.

At least, that’s how our lot are viewing their very own personal battle with bragging rights still very much up for grabs.

Of our famous five, it’s Generous John who still leads the way in the aptly named Ladbrokes Life League.

But Mr. Brightside is chasing hard. The chirpy chappie is now just 32 points behind the leader and he believes he’s got an ace up his sleeve heading into gameweek 17.

Here’s how the gang have been tinkering with their teams…

#GenerousJohn

Not the best of weeks if I do say so myself. Leaving Aguero and Kompany in my starting XI certainly backfired!

However, Mahrez was exceptional in Leicester’s Monday night game against Chelsea, a delightful assist to Vardy (who bagged himself seven points) and a brilliant individual goal rewarded him with 13 points.

Arsenal were dominant against a poor Villa side and Koscielny’s strong display and the Gunners’ clean sheet added a valuable eight points. Yet again Mesut Ozil put it on a plate for one of his team-mates to finish and continues to be a consistent earner for my team. That assist takes his tally to 13 for the season and it hasn’t even hit Christmas!

I wont be making the same mistake as last week, I’ve decided to give Kompany and Aguero the chop.

Firstly, in comes Scott Dann. The Palace defender is proving to be a strong performer at both ends of the pitch. Lukaku also comes in to join a strikeforce that’s already among the goals and this will be pivotal in ensuring my lead over the others widens.

They say ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and at the moment Ighalo can do no wrong. He’ll continue as my captain for yet another week. The Hornets striker bagged his tenth goal of the campaign and I’m hoping he continues his great season with a few on Sunday when Watford host Liverpool.

#MrBrightside 

It’s like a game of cat and mouse between John and myself but we still haven’t done enough to reach top spot despite a strong week. I’m taking a risk this week in a bid to finally take the lead. Whether it pays off or not we’ll see…

For me Butland is the most in-form ‘keeper in England at the moment. He racked up another 11 points this week and is one of the first names on the team sheet.

Two clean sheets out of three isn’t bad so the back three stays as it is. Another week, another assist for Ozil who is leading by example in the midfield, De Bruyne and Willian need to do more this week otherwise their positions could be under threat.

And finally, ‘the big risk’. I’ve been waiting to get him back in for a while and I feel like now’s the best time to take the gamble.

Aguero comes in for Kane for his big Monday Night clash with title challengers Arsenal. He’s got previous against big teams and I’m hoping Arsenal will bottle it and Sergio will do the business.

#GutTruster

It seems the more I tinker, the more damage I do to my team. So this week, I’m being bold and not making any transfers. The football gods will decide if I’m going to get back in to this at all.

The only change I’m forced in to is Smalling dropping to the bench and Arnautovic taking his place moving into midfield.

With Everton facing Leicester at home, I’m hoping my change to bring in Barkley over Mahrez pays off this week, with the Toffees getting the better of the Foxes.

I’m still within touching distance of The Professor, so the return of Aguero couldn’t come at a better time for me.

#TheProfessor

A pretty poor week in points for Statletico but after moving up one place in the table, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Once again Romelu Lukaku and Riyad Mahrez contributed the bulk of the team’s points. This week should be interesting with both of their teams facing off against each other.

Following Liverpool’s high-scoring draw against West Brom I’ve decided to sacrifice Martin Skrtel as I expect his Reds outfit to concede against a Watford side who’ve now won three consecutive games.

In terms of transfers, I’ve replaced the injured Manuel Lanzini with Yohan Cabaye. Crystal Palace have been impressive of late with Cabaye in particular starring.

Meanwhile, Lukaku’s scoring streak continues and I expect him to hit the target against a Leicester side who have conceded 22 times this season.

#TheBeliever

Why did I ever think about taking Newcastle players out of my team? Ever since I dropped Wijnaldum, Janmaat and Mitrovic, the Toon Army have recorded back-to-back victories and have Villa on Saturday, which should be an easy three points.

That man Mitrovic comes into the side in place for Kone, He turned the game around on Sunday and ‘Super Mac’ would be making a massive error not to start him.

In other news, my ‘keeper conundrum continues with Butland yet again returning to my side after his impressive performance at the weekend. Chelsea’s Courtois is benched as his manager continues to go through a mid-life crisis.

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