Fantasy football tips: 5 hidden gems who are criminally underrated
The brand spanking new Premier League season lands TOMORROW - which means, of course, so is fantasy football.
Arsenal and Leicester get the 2017/18 campaign underway at the Emirates ahead of what many expect to be one of the most exciting seasons yet.
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Dream Team 2017/18
How does the game work?
- This year's fantasy football game will be absolutely FREE for all players to play
- The total prize pot is an approximated £750,000
- Game Weeks will run from Friday to Thursday
- £50m budget on 11 eligible players
But Dream Team managers should already have their teams drilled and ready before that date because the game is officially live already.
Yes, that means you can now start thinking about how to give yourself the best chance of pocketing £150,000 at the end of the season.
And while the usual suspects - Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba, Eden Hazard and co. - will again be popular picks, what about those who might surprise a few?
We've trailed through the data from the last couple of Dream Team seasons to find you five players you might not to expect to excel in fantasy football terms...
Fantasy football tips: 5 hidden gems you may have missed
1 Nicolas Otamendi (Man City) - £4.5m
Otamendi is one of those defenders Gary Neville likes to call 'Playstation players', in that he's entertaining but completely irrational.
The City defender has a penchant for diving in and last ditch tackles - but he's strangely an algorithm favourite.
How did Otamendi perform in fantasy football last season?
- Highest scoring defender on WhoScored (7.49)
- 1 goal and 1 assist for Man City in the Premier League
- Two Star Man awards
- Fancy him to shine? Get him your Dream Team now
He was a regular Star Man merchant last season, with WhoScored giving him a rating of 7.49 - the highest for any defender in the Premier League.
Otamendi also racked up 174 Dream Team points despite netting just one goal, finishing the season as the third highest scoring defender.
2 Daley Blind (Man United) - £4m
Mr Consistent at Manchester United, Blind is a glorified version of John O'Shea having proving his versatility in a number of different positions already.
His surety on the ball and pass completion rate means he rarely puts a foot wrong; a trait recognised by the WhoScored algorithm.
Blind's 168 Dream Team points last season made him the third highest scoring Manchester United player on the game.
3 Maya Yoshida (Southampton) - £3.5m
What's this? A Southampton bench warmer?
Yes, that's right, Yoshida was a bit of a Dream Team joker in the pack last season thanks to the Saints' record in cup competitions.
Southampton played a hell of a lot of games, competing in the Europa League and reaching the League Cup final, so Yoshida saw a lot of game time.
His 130 Dream Team points was the same as Olivier Giroud and more than Kyle Walker...
4 Christian Fuchs (Leicester) - £3.5m
This applies more to Leicester's phenomenal title-winning campaign of the season before last, but Fuchs is a bit of a fantasy football gem.
He regularly receives ratings of 7 and above on WhoScored (the player earns 3 points on Dream Team when this happens) so has to be considered as a more maverick option.
123 points last season matched the total made by Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny.
5 Sam Vokes (Burnley) - £3m
Vokes went under the radar last season but his goals essentially were the reason Burnley stayed in the Premier League so comfortably.
Andre Gray's lengthy suspension at the start of the season opened the door for Vokes to start more games, which he capitalised on emphatically.
10 goals and three assists was a brilliant return - and 140 Dream Team points was more than Hugo Lloris, Willian and Cesc Fabregas.
How does fantasy football work?
The setup for Dream Team is rather simple – as a manger you get a budget of £50m to spend on your team of 11 players.
Game Weeks will run from Friday to Thursday this season and you’ll be allowed to transfer out players who have already played in that Game Week.
What will Lacazette offer on Dream Team?
- Highest rated player (7.57) in France last season
- 28 league goals in as many appearances for Lyon
- 61 points on Dream Team Europe after helping Lyon reach the semi-finals of the Europa League
- Want Lacazette in your fantasy team? Sign up here
Each manager gets a maximum of three transfers a month – so it’s important to pay attention to upcoming fixtures.
And if the incentive of beating your mates in our Mini-League system isn’t enough, there’s a whopping £750,000 prizepot at stake too.
Which fantasy football team names are the most popular?
Team names have become almost as important as picking winning sides in recent years, with the punnier the better the general perspective.
So whether it’s Lallana in Pyjamas, Giroud Sandstorm or Teenage Mutant Ninja Skrtel, take a look at our foolproof list to help you decide.
What’s different to fantasy football this season?
Well the main difference between Dream Team this season and last season is that entry is absolutely free for all managers, with the golden prize pot at the end of the shiny rainbow a whopping £750,000.
There’s also a massive shake up on the Game Week front, with Game Weeks running from Friday to Thursday in 2017/18.
Who are the best bargains?
While we'd all like to be able to pick a team of superstars, that £50m budget means you also need to have an eye for a cheeky bargain.
This season there are quite a few intriguing options available, with Vincent Kompany (£3.5m) and Ander Herrera (£3.0m) both at eye-catching prices.
In attack, West Ham new boy and Manchester United favourite Javier Hernandez is £3.5m which seems like pennies for guaranteed goals.
Why is Kelechi Iheanaco such a fantasy football bargain?
Another striker to swap Premier League clubs this summer is Iheanacho (£2.5m), who joined the Foxes for a cool £25m from Manchester City.
The Nigerian found himself out of favour in Pep Guardiola’s side last season, starting just five times in all competitions, but we’d rather cast our memories back to those 14 goals he scored during his breakout year in 2015.
Likely to be Leicester’s main man this season, he could form a deadly striker-partnership alongside Jamie Vardy.
Romelu Lukaku, Alexandre Lacazette or Alvaro Morata - which new signing should I pick?
Three of the biggest signings of the summer has seen three strikers arrive for big fees hoping to fire their sides to the Premier League title.
Romelu Lukaku (£6m) is more than a familiar face, of course, but the arrivals of Alexandre Lacazette (£5m) and Alvaro Morata (£5m) in England really has set fantasy football players' tails wagging.
So which one will you back to fire your Dream Team to glory this season?
Can you do better than Harry Redknapp’s fantasy football team?
You can stay up to date with all the latest fantasy football news with our fantasy football live blog and sign up to Dream Team for next season right here.
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