Fantasy Football – The Winners & Losers So Far!

“Big-money Chelsea strikers always flop in the Premier League”, I thought to myself in early August, as I studiously chose my all-conquering Fantasy Football team.

“There’s no way I’m picking Costa”. It’s a decision I’ve come to regret as I languish in 999,344th place out of 3,312,482 players.

Where have I gone wrong yet again this season? Well, I have a look at the top five players whose value has risen and fallen as we return to domestic action after the international break.

TOP RISERS

Gylfi Sigurdsson

The Icelandic midfielder’s value has risen by £800,000 after just seven matches, mainly due to his six assists.

This total makes him second only to Cesc Fabregas, and it’s no surprise to Swansea City fans, where he accumulated a similar amount of assists in just half a season in 2012.

Diego Costa

Apart from Chelsea’s well-documented problems with big-name strikers like Fernando Torres and Andrei Shevchenko, Costa’s scoring record at clubs in Spain besides Atletico Madrid wasn’t great.

However, he’s proved myself and other doubters wrong with nine goals already, resulting in a £700,000 rise in value.

Cesc Fabregas

Possibly the only reason I’m in the top million in Fantasy Football table is Cesc Fabregas. His inclusion was a no-brainer – as his selection in over 50% of teams would attest – and he’s justified this with a table-topping seven assists already, four of which have been laid on for Costa.

His value has risen by £600,00 but this hasn’t stopped almost one million players transferring him into their teams since the competition began.

Angel di Maria

The Argentine wasn’t available for selection at the start of the season as he only signed in late August, but over one and quarter million players have drafted him into their sides.

He’s repaid this faith with three goals and three assists, despite missing the first two league games – meaning his value has already risen by £600,000.

Leonardo Ulloa

Even Leicester City fans were dubious when their club shelled out a club-record £8 million for a 28-year-old who was unproven at Premier League level.

However, he’s been a revelation in the top flight for the promoted Foxes, scoring five goals already to leave him joint second in the top scorers table. His value has subsequently soared by half a million pounds.

TOP FALLERS

Filipe Luis

There were high hopes for the former Atletico Madrid left-back when he signed in the summer for £15.8 million. However, he’s only played eight minutes in the league with Cesar Azpilicueta playing every minute of Chelsea’s league campaign so far.

Jose Mourinho’s reluctance to play Luis has led to a £600,000 drop in his Fantasy Football value.

Rickie Lambert

Lambert’s total point over the last two seasons at Southampton have average 185 so it’s no surprise that he was considered a bargain at £7.5 million.

However, he’s only been a bit-part player for Liverpool so far and has not scored and assisted just one goal during his 129 minutes on the pitch. This has led to his value gradually falling to £7 million.

Ashley Young

Young’s ever-presence and decent enough form on Manchester United’s pre-season tour probably justified his value of £5.5 million at the start of the campaign.

However, the signings of fellow left-sided defenders Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo, the return from injury of Luke Shaw, and Young’s own injury have restricted him to just three league starts.

In those 270 minutes, he’s accumulated a paltry five points, leading to his value dropping as quickly as he does in the penalty box.

Bojan

A lot of Fantasy Footballl players thought they were signing the Barcelona Bojan, but it looks like they got the one who’s meandered around Europe for the past few seasons doing very little of note.

He’s already been transferred out by almost half a million players, having yet to score or assist for Stoke City. His value has subsequently dropped from £5.5 million to £5 million.

Olivier Giroud

The French striker’s been unfortunate in that he was injured during Arsenal’s second league game at Everton. He notched his only goal of the season in that match, but the subsequent arrival of Danny Welbeck means Giroud will not be guaranteed a first-team place upon his return.

Due to this, his value has dropped £400,000 to £8.1 million – a similar fall to that of fellow Gunners striker Joel Campbell, Petr Cech, Juan Mata and several more.