The 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.
Potential mismatches
Like last week, Round 17 offers up some fairly tight looking matches, however there is one stand out opportunity for big fantasy returns and at the Ricoh where an in form Wasps welcome the all but doomed London Irish. In the eyes of the bookies, it is the stand out fixture of Round 17 and is the only game that the bookies are offering a handicap greater than 10.
In Paddy Power’s eyes the most nailed on games this weekend with a projected winning margin greater than 10 is…
- Wasps to beat London Irish with a margin of 17 points
Elsewhere, the remaining five matches seem too close to call with the bookies struggling to separate Quins v Bath, Northampton v Sale, Gloucester v Newcastle, Worcester v Leicester & Exeter v Saracens.
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
Recommended captain pick in bold
FRONT ROW
Richard Barrington (Saracens)
Val Rapava Ruskin (Gloucester)
Schalk Brits (Saracens)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter)
Beno Obano (Bath)
LOCKS
Don Armand* (Exeter)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)
Matt Garvey (Bath)
BACK ROW
Jackson Wray (Saracens)
Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester)
Thomas Young (Wasps)
Thomas Waldrom (Exeter)
Zach Mercer (Bath)
SCRUM-HALF
Ben Spencer (Saracens)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester)
FLY HALF
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Joe Simmonds (Exeter)
Jimmy Gopperth* (Wasps)
CENTRES
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Ryan Mills (Worcester)
Ben Tapui (Bath)
Matt Scott (Gloucester)
OUTSIDE BACKS
Olly Woodburn (Exeter)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jason Woodward (Gloucester)
Christian Wade (Wasps)
If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all this year’s Aviva Premiership fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.
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