“Luck has nothing to do with it” should be your mantra as you assemble your winning Fantasy Football draft. Since all info is good info when it comes to settling on your squad, we’ve crunched the numbers, dived into the news reports, and read up on the rumors.
Here are the players we think you might need on your side to win. We’ve also not shied away from choosing a number of footballers that we think you should avoid as meticulously as dieting on Christmas.
Here are our tips ahead of Round 13 of Serie A and the fantasy football contests that accompany it.
Players to Consider
We’re no snake oil salesmen guaranteeing a winning Fantasy Football draft. What we can tell you, however, is that like Antonio Conte at Inter, no amount of tactical know-how can substitute a good roster of players. Here are the ones that have performed well and should have something to prove ahead of Serie A Round 13.
Heroes of Serie A
We call them “Heroes of Serie A“. They coud just as well be called “Players you knew were good, but of whom felt the need to remind you.” These are stars of the league. They are also playing well, anxious to prove themselves, and should bring your team plenty of points as a thoughtful Christmas present.
Do you really think that Cristiano Ronaldo will settle for another season without the capocannoniere award added to his resume? Hardly likely. He wasn’t at his best in the mid-week game against Atalanta. However, he scored braces in both of the matches before that. A match against Parma, frankly, seems like easy picking for a true serial goalscorer like CR7.
Sorry Lazio fans. The fact that Sergej Milinkovic-Savic hasn’t been snapped off by one of Europe’s elite teams seems lunacy. The Serbian commands the central midfield area whenever he plays. He’s been in top form since returning from injury. Lazio has him and Ciro Immobile to thank for not dropping even lower in the rankings these past miserable weeks. Lazio takes on Napoli at the weekend. It’s the kind of match they like. Simone Inzaghi’s men will defend and base their game on Milinkovic providing a quick turnover.
Some men got worn down by 2020, others were reborn in it. The latter is the case for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who at 31 years of age is playing some of the best soccer of his career. He’s been scoring and providing assists for the past six weeks. Roma take on Atalanta at the best possible time, one which the Bergamo team’s spirit seems to be breaking down.
Undervalued Gems
For all of you Serie A buffs, this may seem like an insult. You likely know all of these players. However, for many fans, they might be flying just under the radar and we’re anxious to shine a light on them.
Gaetano Letizia epitomizes what Benevento is all about this year. Filippo Inzaghi’s team prizes strength, concentration, and making the best of a bad situation. It’s true that the right-back hasn’t provided many assists or goals. However, he is a consistently good performer. Benevento will be leaning heavily on him in their home game against Genoa.
News reports suggest that Hellas Verona is the Serie A team most interested in Moneyball tactics of finding transfer deals through the use of data science. This may explain Davide Faraoni‘s transfer in 2019. He’s had a good season. Much like the Gialloblu, he’s overperformed. Against long-suffering Fiorentina, he could put in a good performance.
Udinese has one of the strongest defenses in the league. Goalkeeper Juan Musso is partly responsible for that. He’s kept a clean sheet against Crotone and will be hoping to do the same against Cagliari.
Players to Avoid
Being active in Serie A is proof of footballing quality in itself. With that being said, these are players that, if we were managers and leaning on a comfortable transfer budget, we would not exactly base our strategy around. Here are players you won’t want on your draft.
Overpriced Players
Paulo Dybala‘s skill on the ball is matched by only a select few in the football world. He scores the kind of goals that seem impossible. He’s a dazzling talent. And, yet, none of Juventus’ managers really seem to like him. For the moment he’s being reduced to a stand-in role for Alvaro Morata. He might play against Parma, but we wouldn’t recommend taking a chance.
Rafael Leao is an exciting talent, playing for a top team like Milan. But, he hasn’t quite grabbed his chances when being given time in the starting 11. Only pick him for now if you’re short on options.
Papu Gomez is the captain of one of Serie A’s best team. However, he’s also been involved in a high-profile clash with Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini. Gomez has promised he’ll be leaving the club soon. That doesn’t sound exactly like the right attitude going into the match against Roma.
Poor Performers
Manuel Lazzari‘s performances have been weighing heavily on our minds. No doubt Simone Inzaghi feels the same. The Italian wide-midfielder played poorly against Benevento and scored an own-goal against Verona. Cannot recommend him.
Danilo D’Ambrosio is a bit of a controversial choice here, we admit. The defender has scored three goals this season in spite of only starting four matches. But, he’s also had some quiet performances coming in as a substitute and we’re not confident he’ll play much of a role in Inter vs. Spezia.
I know we’ve been picking on Fiorentina lately. But, how can you not? The team is struggling in spite of their reputation and the quality of their players. Christian Kouamé was supposed to contribute to attacking flair. Instead, he’s contributed a single goal the whole season. His confidence must be shot. Great player, but, at the moment, we wouldn’t trust him to take a penalty into an empty goal.
3 Simple Tips When Choosing Your Fantasy Football Draft
Look for bad spending clubs and avoid them!
Clubs like Lille don’t just go into foreclosure overnight. It takes years of poor spending to get to that point and usually leaves the clubs with a bunch of expensive, underperforming players. Footballers from teams that spend too much on too few good results should be avoided.
Poor defenders can make keepers shine!
Since Fantasy Football is all about earning points, it may be good to remember that keepers not only need to keep clean sheets but also defend shots. Some of the worst defensive teams force goalkeepers to work the most. It’s bad news for the club, but good news for your draft if the keeper is managing to keep most of the shots out.
Super subs!
It doesn’t sound like a great idea to invest your attention in players that aren’t active for the full 90 minutes every game. However, some just have a knack for getting on the scoresheet or putting in a good performance on the few occasions where they’re summoned to pick up their team. These are harder to spot, but worth the effort.