Gameweek 2 will forever be remembered as the week where Fantasy Premier League managers realised that BOTH Sergio Aguero & Zlatan Ibrahimovic are essentials. A budget bending realisation that can only be comprehended thanks to Bet4theBest offering salary-free games on the side.
Luckily for myself, I'd backed the deadly duo in my £10 entry Bet4theBest team in the £1,500 GPP, meaning I was left with a bitter taste whilst watching my FPL rank decrease but bank balance increase.
I didn't win enough to beat my Gameweek 1 income of £221 from £20, however, I still found myself £72 up from £10. It's been a decent beginning to the season for me on Bet4theBest and one where I've really benefited from their top heavy payout structure.
Hopefully, Gameweek 3 follows in familiar fashion and I'll find myself in the green for the third week running. I'll talk more about my entry strategy during the article, but until then, onto my Daily Fantasy Football Tips for Premier League Gameweek 3.
A successful defensive stack would return 15pts (60+ Minutes x 3 = 6pts & Clean Sheet x 3 = 9pts). Assuming that your attacking defenders all player over 60 minutes, this would mean a base of 6 points, just 9 behind already.
A single goal from one of your three defenders would be enough to pull your total up to 14pts, just one behind a successful defensive stack. There's also the chance of assists and a couple of points from winning three corners (Ivanovic did for my team last week). This is all assuming that neither of your three defenders keep a clean sheet.
Which attacking defenders you opt for is down to you. There's some who have strong goalscoring potential but poor clean sheet potential, and others who have an medium chance of both scoring and keeping a clean sheet.I've therefore created a table below that shows a variety of attacking tips from nine different Premier League teams.
The clean sheet rating is based on form, fixture and the bookies odds as seen in our GW3 Defensive Potential article. The attacking rating (goals scored/assists) is based around recent form and statistics that forecast returns such as shots on target, big chances, chances created and touches in the box.
Branislav Ivanovic has a strong chance of a clean sheet this game week as Chelsea host newly promoted Burnley at Stamford Bridge. Ivanovic has emerged as one of the most attacking defenders in the league so far this season with more touches in the opposition penalty area (12) than any other defender.
Scott Dann proved a strong asset from set-pieces for Crystal Palace last season scoring five and assisting two. During their League Cup match against Blackpool he found the net with a composed, back-post, half volley to break the deadlock. This weekend he has the most rounded probability of picking up points at both ends of the park.
Leicester's clean sheet potential in Gameweek 3 looks strong as they host Swansea at the King Power Stadium. Christian Fuchs has shown positive signs of attacking play so far with a big chance falling his way in their opening match. Robert Huth will also be looking to mark his return from suspension with a goal to put Leicester back on track.
Antonio Valencia & Virgil Van Dijk have an equal rating ahead of Gameweek 3. Valencia is the safer pick as his chances of a clean sheet stand higher, however Van Dijk is more likely to bring attacking returns, proving a constant threat in the air.
It is possible to opt for a 50/50 stack with attacking defenders by pairing your goalkeeper with a defender from the same club. Ahead of Gameweek 3, here's some ideas for 50/50 defensive stacks of attacking defenders that could prove profitable:
Courtois (CHE), Ivanovic (CHE), Huth (LEI), Fuchs (LEI)
Forster (SOU), Van Dijk (SOU), Baines (EVE), Mori (EVE)
Hennessey (CRY), Dann (CRY), Valencia (MUN), Shaw (MUN)
Personally I'll be lining up with both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sergio Aguero as their both in form and their ownership will be through the roof. As for midfielders, Eden Hazard will be in my starting XI and I'm tempted by both Riyad Mahrez and Ross Barkley as their on penalties for their respective clubs. Defensively, I don't tend to focus too much on player ownership as I prefer to concentrate on forecasting a goalscoring defender.
Of course, if you have the nerve, opting for two differential strikers over Ibrahimovic and Aguero has it's perks when their ownership is so high. If both of them blank and your strikers both score, you can almost guarantee a payout spot assuming you've blocked with the likes of Hazard in the midfield. This could turn out to be a worthwhile gamble in a £5 entry league… maybe.
Good luck this weekend and look out for me (@jamieFPL) on the leaderboard.
DEFENCES: STACK OR ATTACK?
In case there is some Fantasy Premier League managers reading this out of interest, it's probably best that the terminology used in the heading is defined. More specifically, what is a stack? A stack is when you load up on one team's players in certain position (in this case defence). Stacking is a common strategy within daily fantasy football and can largely be seen as putting all of your eggs in one basket. It's not popular within FPL as you need to think further ahead, however, in daily fantasy you can take a one week punt… a gamble as such. As for attack, all this means is attacking defenders. Bet4theBest rewards defenders who find the net with a whopping 8pts; the highest return within their scoring system. Therefore, the question is, do you opt for three attacking defenders or a three-man defensive stack. Let's take a quick look at the points on offer for defenders and the scoring rules most commonly associated with each method.| Scoring Rules | Points | Method |
| 60+ Minutes | 2pts | Both |
| Clean Sheet | 3pts | Stack |
| Goal | 8pts | Attack |
| Assist | 5pts | Attack |
| 3 Corners Won | 2pts | Attack |
| Player | Team | CS Rating | GS/A Rating | Total |
| Ivanovic | CHE | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| Dann | CRY | 6 | 7 | 14 |
| Huth/Fuchs | LEI | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Valencia | MUN | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Van Dijk | SOT | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Baines/Mori | EVE | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| Van Aanholt | SUN | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Davies | HUL | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| McAuley | WBA | 3 | 4 | 7 |
ATTACKERS: GAMBLE OR BLOCK
A key part of choosing your attackers in daily fantasy contests comes down to monitoring player ownership. Certain players will have very high ownership throughout all of the contests available, therefore you need to decide whether to purchase them and block other people's points OR gamble against owning them and hope they blank. Last week, gambling against Ibrahimovic AND Aguero would have been costly as both scored a brace and were selected by way over 75% of teams. Ownership often correlates with recent form and star factor, the table below displays which three players we believe will have the highest ownership in each position.| Player | Pos | Form | Star Factor | Ownership % |
| Aguero | FWD | 10 | 10 | 80%+ |
| Ibrahimovic | FWD | 10 | 10 | 80%+ |
| Vardy | FWD | 3 | 9 | 50% |
| Hazard | MID | 8 | 9 | 75% |
| Mahrez | MID | 5 | 8 | 60% |
| Barkley | MID | 8 | 7 | 50% |
| Shaw | DEF | 8 | 7 | 40% |
| Walker | DEF | 8 | 7 | 40% |
| Bellerin | DEF | 5 | 7 | 35% |
THE EARLY FIXTURE DIFFERENTIAL
On Bet4theBest, when you enter your team there's no option to change it again. Therefore, it's common for the majority of managers to wait until the 3pm matches before entering their team. This would allow you 1 hour between 2-3pm to chose your team with the lineups on hand for 6 matches (12 teams). If you opted to do this in Gameweek 1 you will have likely missed out on points from Riyad Mahrez, but more importantly, if you missed the first fixture in Gameweek 2 you will have missed out on Ibrahimovic's brace on Friday night AND Aguero's brace in the early kick off on Saturday. Tottenham vs. Liverpool is the 12:30pm fixture this game week. Liverpool have looked strong it attack but unconvincing at the back so far this season, often looking to outscore their opposition rather than shut them out. Therefore, it's highly likely that both teams will score, so opting for their defenders would be a bold move. Daniel Sturridge could be worth a punt after his brace in Liverpool's midweek League Cup match against Burton Albion. Sadio Mane could also be a decent addition to your side after his strong debut performance against Arsenal and two assists in midweek. For the hosts, Vincent Janssen is the ultimate differential as he's still yet to score and has remained largely unnoticed. Erik Lamela provided decent returns in Gameweek 1 and could profit from Liverpool's shaky backline.MY ENTRY STRATEGY
As I mentioned in the introduction, the opening couple of weeks have been very profitable for me. I've experimented with different tactics and they've largely paid off. In case you missed it I wrote about my Late Entry Strategy & Success last week. I'm very tempted to enter a team into the £5 entry £750 GPP that fades both Ibrahimovic and Aguero. There's a lot of good strikers that are being overlooked this week due to the form of the aforementioned duo. Therefore, I assume that Sturridge, Lukaku, Benteke, Giroud and Negredo will have very low ownership… form over fixture though, right? Otherwise, I'll have a team in the £10 entry £1,500 GPP that includes the likes of Ibrahimovic, Aguero & Hazard alongside a selection of my finest differentials who can hopefully set my team apart. I'll also be monitoring the leaderboards come 5pm. If the top 5 have less than 40 points with Aguero/Ibrahimovic to go, then I'll more than likely put a late team in with players from Hull vs. Man United, West Brom vs. Middlesbrough and Man City vs. West Ham in an attempt to close the gap.
Good luck this weekend and look out for me (@jamieFPL) on the leaderboard.
