Fantasy Football: The haves and have nots of who’s in form

This weekend’s Premier League fixtures kick off at 8pm, with Insurance Times Fantasy Football League managers having until 6.30pm to finalise their teams for gameweek nine (GW9). 

The league is well and truly kicking into gear now, with over 700 managers from across the insurance sector competing for bragging rights. 

Gary Porter’s VAR and Away is currently leading the table with 581 total points, just three points ahead of Islam Mohammed’s Vampire XI in second. Insurance Times’ very own senior reporter Harry McNeil is not far behind in sixth, with 556 points, while publishing director Phil Davison currently tops the manager of the month charts for October, with 182 points accrued across the month. 

Before the weekend games kick off, then, here are some pointers for your team selections. 

In form players

Those managers who are most in form are, obviously, those that pick the most in form players for their teams. 

But the difficulty is identifying that form from limited minutes and, with European competitions beginning in earnest, managers must also wrestle with squad rotation to ensure bang for buck. 

The obvious form player is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who is the game’s most only player and present in over 67% of teams. The Norwegian striker is also averaging 10.4 points per match currently, putting him firmly in the ’transfer in’ pile if you don’t already have him. 

However, with such high ownership, points hauls from Haaland only really serve to keep you level with the competition, meaning it is vital to secure differential sources of points. 

Arsenal’s Brazilian centre back Gabriel is in fine form currently, only having been selected by 35% of teams. He benefits from being dangerous in both boxes, securing clean sheet, defensive contribution and attacking returns for fun in Arsenal’s defence-focused, set piece heavy set up. 

Another defensive option to consider is Chelsea’s Reece James, who has been selected by only 6.7% of managers. The Chelsea captain was been sidelined with injuries for much of last season, but is now in excellent form for the Blues – securing 18 points last week with a favourable run of fixtures to come. 

Who ever you pick to transfer in this week, seek out those players that will both earn you points and that others wont take the gamble on.