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!
Potential mismatches
The bookies are expecting some tight results this week, however there is one standout match that the bookmakers are expecting one major mismatch, Saracens v Worcester. The general expectations for the match results from the bookies are as follows…
- Saracens to beat Worcester by 23 points
- Gloucester to beat Sale by 8 points
- Exeter to beat Northampton by 7 points
- Bath to beat Leicester by 6 points
- Bristol to beat Newcastle by 4 points
- Wasps to beat Harlequins by 1 point
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
Please note that these picks have been published before lineups were announced, so some of these picks may not be playing. Please double check the starting XV before you commit to your teams, or check back here at 1pm BST.
FRONT ROW
Ross Harrison (Sale)
Vincent Koch (Saracens)
Josh Hohneck (Gloucester)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Leicester)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Harry Thacker (Bristol)
Jaco Visagie (Gloucester)
LOCKS
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)*
Tevita Cavubati (Newcastle)
Franco Mostert (Gloucester)
BACK ROW
Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
James Chisholm (Harlequins)
Jean-Luc Du Preez (Sale)
Sam Lewis (Worcester)
Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
SCRUM-HALF
Faf De Klerk (Sale)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester)
Ben Spencer (Saracens)
FLY HALF
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Owen Williams (Gloucester)
Rob Du Preez (Sale)
CENTRES
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)*
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
OUTSIDE BACKS
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
Alex Lewington (Saracens)
Charlie Sharples (Gloucester)
Jonah Holmes (Leicester)
Nathan Earle (Harlequins)
Value FRD 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!
Cadan Murley – M – Harlequins
Luther Burrell – M – Northampton
Francis Saili – M – Saracens
Lewis Ludlow – LF – Gloucester
Will Chudley – SH – Bath
George Worth – M – Leicester
Owen Williams – FH – Gloucester
Henry Trinder – M – Gloucester
Adam Radwan – OB – Newcastle
Tom Curry – LF – Sale
Premiership Rugby Injury News
Gaining reliable Injury news for the Premiership is extremely difficult, and while we don’t have a database of the latest injuries at Fantasy Rugby Geek, we would highly recommend The Rugby Magazine’s injuries page which remains the most exhaustive source of Premiership injury news that can be found. Details of this and many other useful Fantasy Rugby resources can be found at our Resources page.
Finally, with a new year here, here at FRG, I would like your help…
The First Annual FRG User Survey
At FRG I want to provide the best insight and resources for Fantasy Rugby players across all competitions and fantasy games around the Rugby world. Only you, the readers of FantasyRugbyGeek.com, can provide the real insight as to what is of most value. As a result I would be hugely grateful if you could spend a quick 5 minutes to complete this reader survey. It should not take long to complete and the results will help to shape the direction of the blog in 2019. It’s a chance for you to highlight any areas where you think FRG can be improved and also for you to highlight any areas that you would like FRG to focus more on.
The survey can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/IrpCmTCFFGqZOwEi1.
Thanks again for all your support!
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2018/19 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Geek Guide to Fantasy Rugby. An exhaustive collection of wisdom and experience gained from over a decade of fantasy rugby playing. Primarily aimed at less experienced players but with enough nuggets of wisdom and insight for even the most grizzled fantasy rugby veteran. There is something here for all players. The eBook is available to download now for £4.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and on Amazon in Kindle format – check it out!
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 Gallagher 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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Love Stash???
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