Skip to content

Sky Sports Fantasy Football: Nacer Chadli features among players to consider this weekend

Fantasy Football

One of the key challenges for any Fantasy Football manager is to find the value away from the popular picks without disrupting the balance of your starting XI.

Every Premier League season throws up a few surprises and this one is no different so far, so our Sky Sports Fantasy Football scout has identified five bargain buys in deadly form.

There is advice for your defence, midfield and attack, so sit back and allow us to analyse the stats so you do not have to...

Nacer Chadli - £6.4m

Tottenham midfielder Nacer Chadli opening the scoring with a deft chip.

With three goals from three starts, Nacer Chadli is Tottenham’s top scoring player in Sky Sports Fantasy Football with 21 points. For all the talk of Erik Lamela’s upturn in form under compatriot Mauricio Pochettino, his team-mate is averaging seven points per game to the Argentine’s 4.75, yet Chadli is 0.5m cheaper to have in your XI. Granted, Lamela is playing well with two assists and one Man of the Match award, but in order to free up funds for re-investment elsewhere, those who have the former Roma playmaker should consider a straight swap with Chadli. Furthermore, just 1.83 per cent of users currently have Chadli in their squad, compared to the 9.47 per cent who have Lamela, so bringing the Belgian in could add a unique edge to your side. And there is no time like the present, with Spurs odds-on (1/2) to make light work of West Brom (11/2) this Sunday.

Graziano Pelle - £7.4m

Southampton’s new striker, Graziano Pelle, has so far continued his prolific scoring rate in English football after arriving from Feyenoord with a bit of a reputation for finding the net. Following 50 goals in two seasons for the Dutch giants, Pelle already has four goals in five appearances in all competitions for the Saints. Three of those goals have come in the Premier League, two of which were against Newcastle on Saturday, and at £7.4m he is cheaper than his not-so-prolific team-mate, Shane Long (£7.5m), who is more popular with Sky Sports Fantasy Football Managers. Southampton have a difficult trip to Swansea this weekend, but with Garry Monk’s men having shipped four goals last time out, Sky Bet give Pelle a 6/4 chance of scoring again on Saturday.

More from Fantasy Football

Abel Hernandez - £7.4m

Hull City's Abel Hernandez (left) celebrates with Nikica Jelavic after scoring his side's first goal during the Barclays Premier League match at the KC Sta

Also available at £7.4m is Hull’s new striker, Abel Hernandez, who netted on his Premier League debut against West Ham on Monday. So far, only 0.29 per cent of Sky Sports Fantasy Football users have taken a gamble on the Uruguay international, but that figure will surely rise if he adds to his tally against Newcastle this weekend, and Sky Bet make him 7/4 to do so. Although Hernandez has never been prolific at the top level, his international average of one goal in every two appearances suggests he knows where the goal is. He has already got more points than the likes of Danny Welbeck, who is £0.4m more expensive and much more popular with users, so he might be worth keeping tabs on, but perhaps see how he gets on this weekend first. He is 7/4 to score away at Newcastle.

Leonardo Ulloa - £6.7m

Leonardo Ulloa celebrates

Of all the strikers available to choose from in Sky Sports Fantasy Football, only the Premier League’s top scorer, Diego Costa (£9.5m), and Southampton’s Graziano Pelle (£7.4m) have collected more points than Leicester’s Leonardo Ulloa. The Argentine attacker has hit three goals in four games for his new club after arriving from Brighton in the summer, and is somewhat unfortunate not to have been awarded a Sky Sports Man of the Match award just yet. Even if the goals do not continue to flow, more man-of-the-match worthy displays look a certainty from Ulloa, who is available at a very, very reasonable price of £6.7m. Other strikers available at that price include Marouane Chamakh, Harry Kane and Bobby Zamora, but Ulloa has collected just as many points (23) as that trio combined. Perhaps this weekend is too soon to draft Ulloa in, as Manchester United are odds-on to beat the Foxes this weekend and 6/4 to keep a clean sheet, but the Leicester forward should nonetheless be monitored by all.

Alan Hutton - £3.8m

Enough about strikers, let us talk defenders. Every good fantasy team must have a cheap gem in its backline, and there are no shortage of obscure picks collecting points this season. Step forward Scotland international Alan Hutton, the one-time £9m full-back who is enjoying a return to form under compatriot Paul Lambert at Aston Villa. With three clean sheets and one Man of The Match award in his four outings, Hutton is the second-top scoring defender with 25 points in Sky Sports Fantasy Football. Only Tottenham's two-goal hero, Eric Dier, has collected more points (31) so far. Better yet, at just £3.8m, Hutton sticks out a mile at the lower end of the value table, with the cheapest defenders available at £3.5m. Granted, a relatively high percentage (14.5%) of managers already have Hutton on board, but a similar ratio also still have Arsenal’s injured full-back Mathieu Debuchy (£6.1m) in their side. If you are guilty of this and do not have Hutton already, then a straight swap is a no brainer, while you will also pocket a cool £2.3m to re-invest elsewhere.