Tag Archives: Nathan Ake

Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 15

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The games are coming in thick and fast in the Premier League which is the only domestic major league in Europe that continues throughout the holiday season.

There have been surprise draws like Liverpool dropping points against West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal finally won a game. Everton and Leicester are in good form. So let’s see which players made the final cut this past weekend.

Goalkeeper: Illan Meslier- Leeds 7pts

Leeds beat Burnley in a very close game that finished 1-0. Meslier was very busy having to stop six shots on target and keep very aware. He earned his 7 points and now has -5 points in total and will hope to move that into a positive soon.

Defender: Ruben Dias- Manchester City 5pts

Ruben Dias has really landed on his feet in his role as one of Manchester City’s best defenders. Dias has now helped to keep seven clean sheets and earned another 5 points at the weekend to put his total to 32 so far for this season.

Defender: Ola Aina- Fulham 5pts

Ola Aina isn’t a household name as he battles with Fulham this season but he kept his third clean sheet of the season as Fulham drew 0-0 with the in form Southampton. Aina now has 15 points and his value is 4.5m.

Defender: Ryan Bertrand- Southampton 5pts

Ryan Bertrand has earned 13 points so far and he was at the heart of a Saints defence who had to keep alert against an inform Fulham team with the game finishing 0-0.

Defender: Nathan Ake- Manchester City 5pts

New signing Nathan Ake only has seven points so far but has only started 5 games but he played very well in keeping the defence compact as Manchester City eased to a 2-0 win against Newcastle at the weekend.

Midfielder: Bertrand Traore- Aston Villa 6pts

Bertrand Traore is really in form these past few weeks and the Villa midfielder scored a goal as his club beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in a one sided game.

Midfielder: Ilkay Gundogan- Manchester City 6pts

Ilkay Gundogan scored his 2nd goal of the season and the opening one as Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-0 to move dangerously up the table after a slow start to the season.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 5pts

Fernandes keeps putting in great displays and he earned a further 5 points at the weekend as Manchester United drew 2-2 with Leicester in an absorbing top of the table clash. Fernandes scored his 10th goal of the season and has 53 points overall and he is the 2nd best ranked midfielder in the fantasy rankings.

Midfielder: Sadio Mane- Liverpool 4pts

Sadio Mane scored Liverpool’s opening goal and he now has six so far. Although the Reds could only draw 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion, Mane put in a solid display and seems to be getting better week by week.

Striker: Gylfi Sigurdsson- Everton 4pts

Sigurdsson scored a very important goal as Everton beat Sheffield United 1-0. It was only the players 2nd goal of the season, but meant all 3 points for the club at the weekend and took Everton into 2nd place.

Striker: Anwar El Ghazi- Aston Villa 4pts

El Ghazi is turning out to be the surprise striker in the Premier League this season and the player is in form. He now has 4 goals for the season and has an overall points total of 16. El Ghazi scored Villa’s final goal as they brushed aside Crystal Palace 3-0.

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Will Liverpool defend Premier League title in 2020-21?

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Liverpool won the 2019-20 Premier League title by a record margin of victory – 18 points ahead of runners-up Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp’s side all but had the title wrapped up in early 2019 and would have sealed it as early as March but for a shock defeat at the hands of Watford just before the disruption.

The Reds were efficient if not dominant on occasions, winning 26 of their first 27 Premier League games. This included late winning goals versus Leicester City (95′), Aston Villa (87′), Crystal Palace (85′), Wolverhampton Wanderers (84′) and West Ham United (81′).

Whilst Liverpool were putting win after win together, pre-season favourites Manchester City were dropping unexpected points – held 2-2 at home by Tottenham Hotspur, beaten 3-2 at Norwich City, in both matches versus Wolves, and held 2-2 at Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United.

Pep Guardiola’s side were poor at the back, clearly missing the departure of Vincent Kompany last summer as John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi certainly weren’t capable replacements, especially when Aymeric Laporte was lost for several months through injury.

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Man City could have a very different look next season

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Manchester City have made a statement of intent at the start of August with the signings of Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres as the 2019/20 Premier League runners-up look to regain their title next season.

Pep Guardiola’s side finished 18 points behind runaway champions Liverpool, with the title race all but over weeks before the coronavirus disruption back in March.

The Citizens have already landed centre-back Nathan Ake in a £40 million deal from relegated Bournemouth, and exciting right winger Ferran Torres from Valencia.

City have been linked to a number of other players too and are expected to do a lot more business before the start of the new season in September.

A new left-back is expected to arrive between now and then with Benjamin Mendy injured for the majority of the past two seasons and winger Oleksandr Zinchenko having to fill in on several occasions.

Nathan Ake may not be the only central defender that arrives at the Etihad this summer either. City are strongly being linked with Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly even after signing the former Chelsea youngster.

Ake himself is a signing City supporters will have wanted 12 months ago after they declined to find a replacement for the departing Vincent Kompany last summer. Both John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi failed to impress the manager this past season and both could be moved on as a result. Veteran midfielder Fernandinho has often been chosen to partner Aymeric Laporte over the past 12 months.

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EPL Best XI – Week 37

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townsend

The curtain is almost down. The business is almost done. With just a single round of games remaining in the Premier League, the relegation battle is finished but the title race remains very much alive. With the final game of the season being the time that this year’s Premier League champions will be identified, there is still plenty to play for at the summit of England’s top flight. With that said, let’s adopt a 4-3-3 formation this week and see which players performed the best for their clubs this past weekend.

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EPL Weekend Picks – Week 36

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eriksen

With only three or four games left in the Premier League season depending on which side you are following, things are starting to get serious! The title race looks all set to go down to the wire, while the relegation battle appears closer than many thought possible just a few weeks ago. Cardiff and Brighton appear the two sides most immediately in danger of claiming 18th and the final relegation place, though Southampton are not yet mathematically safe. Title contenders Liverpool and Man City both have games where you would fancy them to win, with City’s arguably the slightly tougher game. With that said, let’s go for a 4-3-3 again and see which players are worth keeping an eye on and including in your fantasy squads this weekend.

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EPL Weekend Picks – Week 31

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vardyWith a reduced run of fixtures in the Premier League this coming weekend owing to FA Cup Sixth Round action, there are only ten teams from which to take this week’s weekend picks. The pick of the upcoming fixtures is arguably Everton hosting Chelsea in the 4.30pm kickoff on Sunday, while Bournemouth host in-form Newcastle on Saturday. Burnley do battle with Leicester and West Ham take on Huddersfield in Saturday’s other games, while Sunday’s earlier game sees Fulham welcome Liverpool to Craven Cottage. Taking all of that into account, let’s adopt a 4-3-3 this time and see which players could be set to work their way into fantasy management consideration.

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EPL Weekend Picks – Week 30

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tielemansThis weekend’s Premier League action has one or two tasty fixtures coming at a great time, with arguably the match of the round closing out the weekend’s proceedings when Arsenal take on Manchester United at the Emirates in Sunday’s 4.30pm kickoff. Conversely, getting things underway with the Saturday lunchtime kickoff will be Crystal Palace hosting rivals Brighton at Selhurst Park. With the exception of Man City taking on Watford on Saturday and Chelsea hosting Wolves on Sunday, just about every other game sees a top-half side taking on a bottom-half side, and so there could be one or two surprises in store for fans attending a game in England’s top-flight this weekend.

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Nathan Ake should be a summer target for Arsenal

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Arsenal fans got what they wanted when Arsene Wenger left the club at the end of last season. However, what they were denied was the transfer market spending called for by the masses. Instead, the Gunners spent prudently, signing players who filled gaps in their squad, but didn’t really improve the quality of their first team.

It’s likely to be a similar story this summer. There is no suggestion that Arsenal will spend big, with Sven Mislintat leaving the Emirates Stadium at the start of the month after a different of opinion over the direction of the club in the transfer market. That isn’t to say the Gunners can’t improve their side this summer, though.

Unai Emery

Nathan Ake is one of the players who should be on Arsenal’s transfer targets shortlist. The Bournemouth defender is exactly the sort of defender Unai Emery needs and there is a suggestion that a bid of between £40 million and £50 million might be enough to prise the Dutchman from the grips of the Cherries.

The 24-year-old has been in exceptional form this season. Ake is strong on the ball, is a good tackler and maintains a high level of concentration. He is no Shokdran Mustafi, that’s for sure. Indeed, Ake would be an upgrade on what the Gunners currently have in their defensive ranks.

There’s a case to be made that Ake is among the best centre backs in the Premier League right now and Arsenal desperately need someone of his ilk to build around. It’s crucial that they look to make defensive improvements as they enter the second phase of Emery’s project at the club.

“People have more expectations of me now because of the season I had… so there is a new step, a new thing I have to overcome and cope with the expectations,” Ake said in a recent interview. “I need to learn and cope with that and after that, who knows… you always want to reach the highest levels.”

Arsenal simply aren’t strong enough at the back. Sokratis Papastathopoulos has proven himself as a decent option, but injuries have been a problem for the Greek defender. Rob Holding has also impressed at times, but consistency has been an issue. Ake would be a kingpin in the way Virgil Van Dijk is for Liverpool and Aymeric Laporte is for Manchester City.

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EPL Best XI – Mesut Ozil stars

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Mesut Ozil

Manchester City and Liverpool have 23 points after nine games of the 2018-19 Premier League season, while Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham trail them by just two points following another incident-filled weekend in England’s top flight. Let’s take a look at which players made our Best XI from the last three days…

GK: Jordan Pickford, Everton – seven points
Jordan Pickford has recovered from a slow start to the season to pick up 14 points in two of his last three games. He earned another seven in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace – a match in which he also saved a penalty.

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EPL Best XI – Aubameyang and Lacazette lead the way

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aubameyang lacazette

Unbeaten Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are only separated by goal difference at the top of the Premier League table after Week 8 of the 2018-19 season. Let’s take a look at which players made our Best XI of the weekend…

GK: Hugo Lloris, Tottenham – seven points
Hugo Lloris started his first Premier League game since August as Tottenham narrowly defeated Cardiff 1-0 on Saturday. The Frenchman earned seven points in the match — no other goalkeeper picked up more over the weekend.

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