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
While the big international names are away, plenty of surprises can happen, Sale certainly seemed to be missing something when they found themselves on the end of a hiding at the hands on Northampton and Saracens where held to a close matchup (in the first half at least!). The bookies have consequently made some very interesting calls ahead of the weekend. The general expectations for the match results from the bookies are as follows…
- Exeter to beat Newcastle by 16 points
- Harlequins to beat Bristol by 10 points
- Wasps to beat Sale by 6 points
- Gloucester to beat Saracens by 4 points
- Worcester to beat Leicester by 4 points
- Northampton to beat Bath by 2 points
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
Vincent Koch (Saracens)
Alec Hepburn (Exeter)
Elia Elia (Harlequins)
Tom Cruse (Wasps)
Josh Hohneck (Gloucester)
Zurabi Zhvania (Wasps)
Jack Yeandle (Exeter)
LOCKS
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
Jonny Hill (Exeter)
Calum Green (Newcastle)
Will Rowlands (Wasps)
BACK ROW
Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
Zach Mercer (Bath)
Dave Ewers (Exeter)
Nizaam Carr (Wasps)
Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
SCRUM-HALF
Faf De Klerk (Sale)
Nic White (Exeter)
Joe Simpson (Wasps)
FLY HALF
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Lima Sopoaga (Wasps)
Gareth Steenson (Exeter)
CENTRES
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester)
Olly Devoto (Exeter)
Ryan Mills (Worcester)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
OUTSIDE BACKS
Alex Goode (Saracens)*
Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
Santiago Cordero (Exeter)
Ollie Thorley (Gloucester)
Olly Woodburn (Exeter)
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!
- Mark Atkinson – M – Gloucester
- Rhys Priestland – FH – Bath
- Jack Willis – LF – Wasps
- Callum Sheedy – FH – Bristol
- Ruaridh McConnochie – OB – Bath
- Ben Tapuai – M – Harlequins
- Ollie Devoto – M – Exeter
- Dave Ewers – LF – Exeter
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.
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 £3.99 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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