Our
Gameweek 4 tips went extremely well with some massive scores coming in from our recommendations.
Lille, as predicted, held onto a cleansheet vs. Ajaccio and our goalkeeper/defence block worked wonders, with Enyeama producing some tremendous saves he racked in 13.8pts, Sidibe with an assist got 13.69pts and Corchia, despite giving away a couple of fouls, picked up 7.06pts. Sofiane Boufal rounded off our Lille masterclass, with 2 shots on target and 1 goal, he scored 12.86pts on
Mondogoal.
We stated that enough was enough for Lacazette and we switched onto his strike partner Nabil Fekir. This proved to be an inspired decision, as he not only scored a first half hat-trick but also notched an assist for a grand total of 35.75pts.
In the process of writing the Gameweek 4 tips, we stated that it was time for our forwards to start producing and they not only delivered, but outdid our expectations completely. Paris Saint-Germain firmly stamped their foot down on Monaco with a 3-0 victory as visitors. Our recommendation Edinson Cavani stole the spotlight from Ibrahimovich as he fired in a brace and secured 24.9pts on
Mondogoal. We advised Martin Braithwaite as our final forward tip and he also had no trouble finding the net with a quick goal and a final points total of 14.25.
Here's a quick recap of how our recommendations fared in Gameweek 4:
GOALKEEPERS
Vincent Enyeama- 13.8pts
DEFENDERS
Djibril Sidibe- 13.69pts
Sebastien Corchia- 7.06pts
Lamine Gassama- 4.91pts
MIDFIELDERS
Nabil Fekir- 35.75pts
Sofiane Boufal- 12.86pts
Remy Cabella- 6.34pts
FORWARDS
Edinson Cavani- 24.9pts
Martin Braithwaite- 14.25pts
Moving swiftly onto our Fantasy Ligue 1 Tips for Gameweek 5, we have more tips to aid you with your team selection and hopefully help you to win some great prizes at
Mondogoal.
Friday 11th September
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bordeaux
Saturday 12th September
Lyon vs. Lille
Lorient vs. Angers
Montpellier vs. Saint Etienne
Nice vs. Guingamp
Toulouse vs. Reims
Troyes vs. Caen
Sunday 13th September
GFC Ajaccio vs. Monaco
Nantes vs. Rennes
Marseille vs. SC Bastia
Cleansheet Potential
Taking a look at the bookies odds it's clear to see that PSG, Marseille and Monaco are the outright favourites to secure a cleansheet. We advise staying clear of Marseille due to the unpredictable form surrounding the teams involved in the fixture (Marseille & Bastia). However, Lorient and Lyon could prove to be great differential sides with a high possibility of fending off their opposition and protecting their own cleansheets.
Goalkeeper Tips
Following Monaco's nasty 3-0 defeat vs. PSG in front of their home fans, they must feel mentally wounded, but perhaps more motivated to get things back on track.
Danijel Subasic (8.5m) is a popular player on
Mondogoal and with Monaco facing Ajaccio, whom 9 out of 10 Ligue 1 fans would agree are the weakest team in the League, he appears a good bet. Ajaccio were promoted into Ligue 1 for the first time in the club's history this season, but are still searching for their first goal. We feel they are not up to scratch at this level and Monaco will comfortably shut them out, even as visitors.
Our second keeper recommendation is
Kevin Trapp (9.0m). He is a constant presence in our tips and with a cleansheet in all 5 of his appearances for the Champions, this pick is unarguable. We have a bold belief that PSG are capable of completing an unbeaten season while Kevin Trapp will resume his average 10+pts per game on
Mondogoal. Trapp barely had anything to do during his side's win vs. Monaco, but when called upon he was alert. Many goalkeepers and coaches overlook this concentration attribute, but often when your side dominates the game by such a large margin, it is difficult for the man between the sticks to stay on his toes.
Defender Tips
Lorient have started poorly this season, sitting just outside the relegation zone and with just 2pts. Despite this, we are backing them this week against a strong Angers side, who in contrast, are surpassing their expectation and currently in the top 4. This form appeals to
Mondogoal managers searching for a differential and
Lamine Gassama (9.6m) could be an inspired choice. If you have been following our weekly Ligue 1 articles, you would have noticed that the Lorient full-back is one of our go-to defenders. Gassama picks up foul points frequently and even as a defender, he is the second-most fouled player (14) on Mondogoal for Ligue 1 this season. Combine this with his faultless ability to avoid committing fouls (0) and the fact that Lorient have kept a cleansheet in the last three meetings between these clubs and Gassama appears a must-have.
It's worth noting that Lorient's Gameweek 4 goalscorer
Denis Bouanga (6.7m) looks set for another start on the right side of midfield. If Sylvian Ripoll decides to place his faith in the 20-year-old yet again, he could prove a steal at this price. Bouanga loves to cut inside and attack the opposition using his acceleration. Angers left back, Yoann Andreu is prone to giving away silly fouls and we feel that he can be targeted by Lorient and then exploited by Bouanga.
Last weeks ex-Newcastle recommendation was Remy Cabella and this week we advise another,
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (6.7m). His transfer to Lyon came as a surprise to many, even saying himself that "I did not expect to come, I thought it was only a rumour”, however, Mbiwa has made a name for himself in Ligue 1 before, with Montpellier and also earned a call-up to the national French team in the process. The 26-year-old has spoken out on his ambition to reclaim his place for France and will begin every match, motivated and hungry to perform. Lyon responded quickly to their 2-1 loss to Rennes, with an excellent 4-nil drubbing of Caen, in which Mbiwa was a rock at the back. At 6.7m, the mobile centre-half is a cheap route into a strong backline and when playing Lille, who have only scored 1 goal this season, cleansheet or single goal match points are almost inevitable.
Attacking Potential
This time PSG and Marseille are the favourites to score, with Monaco trailing slightly behind them. We will focus certain aspects on these odds, but don't let them tunnel vision your mind. Other sides who are capable and most likely to score 2 goals+ this week are Lyon, Monaco and Lorient.
Midfielder Tips
In Gameweek 4 it was Lyon's hat-trick hero Nabil Fekir who stole the headlines and scored an astonishing 35.75pts. Unfortunately during his first start for the France 1st team he suffered a cruciate ligament injury to his ankle, so will not be available for
Mondogoal selection for at least 6 months. A sad time for a young player with unbelievable potential, but that's just football, it can be cruel, but it's always worth fighting for at the end of the day.
Fekir's absence will be a massive blow for Lyon, but could open the floodgates for
Claudio Beauvue (15m) to make his mark. The winger/forward has been waiting patiently for his opportunity and now his time has come. We strongly advise including an offensive Lyon player in your squad as Lille will sit back and try to soak up the pressure, allowing Lyon, and Beauvue in this case, to play on the front foot. He is the most expensive player on show this weekend at
Mondogoal, but can easily match or better his score of 19.4pts from Gameweek 4.
When PSG are playing at home they typically out-pass, out-play and dominate, so who better to have on your side than the man controlling and patrolling in the centre of the park,
Marco Veratti (11.4m). The wee Italian has a high floor in
Mondogoal, meaning that he will pick up the majority of his points through open play passes, fouls won etc. This leads to Veratti being an extremely reliable choice for
Mondogoal, it's quite normal for him to complete 100+ passes in a single game, which is an easy 5 points right there. Veratti's point's history backs up this dependability case with 20, 15, 6, 10 and 8pts in his last 5 fixtures. We rate the tenacious midfielder very highly and with PSG playing on home soil it is a no-brainer.
Another miss-match in our eyes is Ajaccio vs. Monaco on Sunday. We are predicting Monaco to dominate from the off and give the Ligue 1 newcomers a hard time.
Bernardo Silva (10.8m) was a silver lining in Monaco's 2014/15 season but has failed to deliver on
Mondogoal since his return from injury. However, it is only a matter of time before he regains his creative spark and he will look to do this vs. Ajaccio. Silva will pick away at their defence in his free role position, he will not have Martial to link up with, due to obvious circumstances, but this will not dampen the young Portuguese International's eagerness to regain not just his status, but also Monaco's integrity.
Due to the lack of quality strikers to choose from this weekend, we have added an additional midfield tip in
Angel Di Maria (10.3m). You may have noticed that our midfielders are all of a high value, but this is largely down to the fact that we have recommended 2 cheap defenders and 1 bargain striker. With Javier Pastore missing out due to lack of match fitness, ex-Real Madrid favourite Angel Di Maria will fill in on the left flank. It's safe to say that he will want to put his time in Manchester behind him and get back to the form he displayed week in week out with Real Madrid. On average in the 2013/14 La Liga season Di Maria made 2.6 key passes per game, attempted 2 shots per game and crossed the ball 2 times per game. These are great stats for a
Mondogoal midfielder and coming into play after scoring 11 points per game on average in the Copa America, he definitely proves a decent differential vs. Montpellier this week.
Forward Tips
A fortnight ago we stuck our necks out and advised selecting
Edinson Cavani (9.1m) over Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which paid off most definitely and for Gameweek 5 we feel it is vital to have at least one of the pair again. Laurent Blanc has recently confirmed that Ibrahimovic will not be in the squad for the Bordeaux match, he was competing for Sweden just 48 hours ago and his manager will want to rest him ahead of their Champions League opener, on Tuesday. This means Cavani will lead the line, yet again, so is a great option for your
Mondogoal side. The Argentine put in his performance of the season in Gameweek 4 with 24.9pts to show for it. He was in and about the action areas and mustered up 7 shots on goal, 4 of these on target. 2 points are awarded for every shot on target at
Mondogoal, so it is beneficial that Cavani will let loose on several occasions and with PSG expected to pen Montpellier back, this could be the case even more. A player full of confidence and leading the line for the Champions, a solid pick overall.
With Martial's departure to England, Monaco will most likely fill the void with
Guido Carrillo (4.9m). Monaco face Ajaccio, who we mentioned earlier are perhaps the weakest side in the France top flight, so at this value Carrillo is our Bargain Buy. The 6ft 3 striker brings an aerial threat to Monaco's armoury and is a classic poacher, who sniffs around the 6-yard box waiting for scraps to feed off. If Monaco can bounce back from their embarrassing loss vs. PSG, then we feel Carrillo will have an involvement. The 24-year-old has bags full of potential and with the prospect of filling the boots left by Anthony Martial, he will be raring to go.
