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The international break served up plenty of questions for Fantasy Premier League managers, the predominant one being who to replace Hector Bellerin with.
Below are not one but three alternatives to the Frenchman and also a look at why you should captain Jermaine Defoe this week.
But first, a shout out to these tactical geniuses who top our Sport360 fans league going into this week!
WHO TO PICK AS CAPTAIN
Sergio Aguero [13.1m] was the pick last week and he predictably came through with a goal and a bonus point against Middlesbrough. The Argentine makes a good case to retain the armband this week as Manchester City travel to Crystal Palace.
He’s certainly the safe choice but for the braver lot playing catch-up or looking to pull away from the chasing pack, Jermaine Defoe is a great option as he’s owned by only 14.9% of managers.
Some players are just born to score goals and Defoe is one of them. He doesn’t bring much else to the game but he finds the net with supreme consistency and has proved that he can continue to do so even as a part of a struggling Sunderland side.
He’ll be well rested after the international break as well and scored 12 points in the Black Cats’ first league win of the season last time out. David Moyes’ side will be keen to secure another win at home against Hull City.
If not, Romelu Lukaku is another option given that he took his goal-scoring form into the internationals and that Everton are at home to Swansea City.
"Jermain Defoe writes his name in Wear-Tyne derby folklore!"@SunderlandAFC fans, you'll like this one… #GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/o9XcFqcx6R
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 10, 2016
THREE DEFENDERS TO REPLACE BELLERIN
MARCOS ALONSO [Chelsea – 6m]
Several players have thrived under Antonio Conte’s new system at Chelsea and Marcos Alonso is no exception. A regular starter since Gameweek seven, the wing-back has been one of the most in-form players in FPL.
Since his first start, his scores have read: 6,6,8,6 and 13. That’s an incredible return for a defender. In fact, his tally of 39 in five weeks is just eight short of Bellerin’s over the whole season [11 gameweeks].
Furthermore, he’s 0.6m cheaper than the Frenchman as well and Chelsea have a very inviting run of fixtures once they get past Tottenham and Manchester City in the following weeks.
Marcos Alonso vs Everton (2-0)
— Kingsley Oyero (@koyero) November 5, 2016
His first Chelsea goal! pic.twitter.com/IXkvQRHM3G
LAURENT KOSCIELNY [Arsenal – 6.5m]
If you’re hell-bent on keeping an Arsenal player in your back-line, Laurent Koscielny is the way to go. The straight swap would see you recover 0.2m and the centre-back is certainly one of the best in the league.
With four clean sheets and two goals in 10 appearances this season, he’s one of the more reliable options in defence.
Retweet , for @6_LKOSCIELNY 's this goal 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/5DNjuV3bGB
— King Of Highbury (@kingofhighhbury) November 7, 2016
MICHAEL KEANE [Burnley – 4.9m]
If recouping some of your budget is what you’d like to do, there are decent options in the likes of Bournemouth’s Charlie Daniels [5.1m] or Middlesbrough’s George Friend [4.5m] but the less-fancied Michael Keane of Burnley could be the way to go.
Out of the top-10 most threatening defenders in the league, Keane is ranked second behind Daniels and is only one of two centre-backs -the other being Daley Blind – who has the added advantage of taking set-pieces.
He also has a great run of fixtures coming up as six of Burnley’s next nine games have a Fixture Difficulty Ranking [FDR] of either one or two [five being the highest].
It's about time you keep an eye on @BurnleyOfficial & @England's Michael Keane pic.twitter.com/FgGUpKlXQ3
— KICK (@KICK) November 10, 2016
Fancy pitting your wits against us? Join the “Sport360 Fans'” league using the code 118790-38575.
