Welcome to our latest instalment of our weekly pre-match updates where we analyse the weekend’s lineups, crunch the stats and see what the bookies are thinking to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this weekend! By the time you finish this article you should have all the insight you need to score big fantasy points this weekend. Make sure you come back every weekend before finalising your lineups!
A reminder that this season we have two games running for Prem this season, Fantasy Rugby Draft and Fantasy Rugby World, so sign up and get picking.
Potential mismatches
As announced earlier this week, Worcester have been suspended by the RFU from all competions, and so as a result, this weekend there will be just 5 games.
Here are the projected lines courtesy of Paddy Power…
- London Irish to beat Bath by 8 points
- Harelquins to beat Northampton by 7 points
- Saracens to beat Leicester by 6 points
- Bristol to beat Newcastle by 4 points
- Sale to beat Exeter by 2 points
Premiership Bye Situation
In order to help you plan your transfers, here’s a quick overview of the upcoming byes.
Due to the aforementioned suspension of Worcester, there will now be two teams on a bye each week for the forseeable future.
This week Wasps and Gloucester are on a bye.
Upcoming bye weeks (If Worcester remain suspended)…
- Round 5: London Irish and Harlequins
- Round 6: None (Would have been a Worcester bye week)
- Round 7: Newcastle and Bristol
- Round 8: Leicester and Bath
- Round 9: Harlequins and Leicester
- Round 10: Bristol and Sale
- Round 11: Bath and Northampton
- Round 12: Exeter and Saracens
- Round 13: Northampton and Wasps
- Round 14: Gloucester and London Irish
- Round 15: Sale and Exeter
- Round 16: Bristol and Leicester
- Round 17: Saracens and Sale
- Round 18: Harlequins and Wasps
- Round 19: London Irish and Northampton
- Round 20: Wasps and Harlequins
- Round 21: Newcastle and Saracens
- Round 22: Northampton and Gloucester
- Round 23: None (Would have been a Worcester bye week)
- Round 24: Bath and Newcastle
- Round 25: Leicester and Bristol
- Round 26: Exeter and Bath
Expected to go well on Fantasy Rugby Draft and Fantasy Rugby World
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
FRONT ROW
- Wilco Louw (Harlequins)
- Kyle Sinckler (Bristol)
- Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
- Alec Hepburn (Exeter)
- Jamie George (Saracens)
- George McGuigan (Newcastle)
- Tom Dunn (Bath)
LOCKS
- Ben Donnell (London Irish)
- Chris Vui (Bristol)*
- Sean Robinson (Newcastle)*
- Irne Herbst (Harlequins)
BACK ROW
- Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
- Sam Simmonds (Exeter)
- Juarno Augustus (Northampton)
- Ben Earl (Saracens)
- Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)
- Archie White (Harlequins)
- Theo Mcfarland (Saracens)
SCRUM-HALF
- Danny Care (Harlequins)
- Ben White (London Irish)
- Alex Mitchell (Northampton)
FLY HALF
- Dan Biggar (Northampton)
- AJ MacGinty (Bristol)
- Owen Farrell (Saracens)
CENTRES
- Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
- Piers O’Connor (Bristol)
- Luke Northmore (Harlequins)
- Will Joseph (London Irish)
- Joe Marchant (Harlequins)*
- Tom Roebuck (Sale)*
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Henry Arundell (London Irish)
- Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish)
- Tyrone Green (Harlequins)
- Tom O’Flaherty (Sale)
- Olly Woodburn (Exeter)
- Adam Radwan (Newcastle)
- Max Malins (Saracens)
Value Fantasy Rugby Draft Free Agent Pick-ups
Please note that not all of these players may be available as free agents in your leagues, but if they are, then move quickly!
- Anthony Watson – OB – Leicester
- Gabriel Hamer-Webb – OB – Bath
- Kini Murimurivalu – OB – Leicester
- Rory O’Loughlin – M* – Exeter
- Archie White – LF – Harlequins
- Phil Cokanasiga – M – Leicester
- Matt Gallagher – OB – Bath
FRG Partners
Check out our selected partners at Canterbury and LooseHeadz for all your stash needs…
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