Premier League: Team of Round 25
As you'd expect with two teams playing twice in Round 25 of our Premier League fantasy game, the below stats regarding community averages and best scores have increased considerably in comparison to Round 24.
This Team of the Round would have been even stronger had it not been for Pep Guardiola's squad rotation and Everton's decent performance to limit the champions to a hard-fought 2-0 win, though a high scoring win for Chelsea means there were lots of points on offer this week from big name players.
Community average score in Round 25: 70.7
Community best in Round 25: 122
TOTR score: 155
Theoretical best legal score: 151
Aymeric Laporte was this week's top defender with 17 points across his two fixtures (6 and 11). Laporte is a fairly popular pick because he's one of the few players that does play all the time under Guardiola but his attacking returns can be considered a real bonus to those who picked him as he hadn't scored before this round since August against Wolves (A). Filling in at left-back for each of this week's games, Laporte assisted City's opener against Arsenal and scored at Goodison Park to add to the clean sheet his team managed against Everton.
Alongside Laporte is David Luiz and Jeffrey Schlupp who are both defenders that offer far more attacking returns but for different reasons. Though Luiz was perhaps fortunate to be awarded his heavily deflected goal against Huddersfield who were already dead and buried when the Brazilian headed in Chelsea's fifth, there's every chance he will provide you with attacking points each week given his ability to create chances with long passes and head them home himself from set pieces.
Schlupp, on the other hand, is an interesting player in our full fantasy game due to the fact he hasn't actually been playing in defence this season. Often utilised on the left wing in front of Patrick van Aanholt, Schlupp is one of those picks that is useful because of the fact he can gain clean sheet points while playing further forward than in previous seasons - Cardiff's Callum Paterson being another great example this season. In our daily 5-a-side game where player positions can change each week, Schlupp tends to be banded as a wide midfielder which is why he received less points if you picked him there.
A similarly unsurprising name on this team sheet is Tottenham Heung-Min Son who has done incredibly well to continue the form he was showing before the Asian Cup immediately following his return. His crucial winning goal against Newcastle means he managed 8 points in this round, one less than Southampton's Nathan Redmond who scored against Burnley and completed more dribbles than the Korean this week.
Finally, Cardiff's Bobby Reid completes this TOTR midfield after bagging a brace and handing his team a vital 2-0 win over Bournemouth to end what has been another difficult week for the club on a high. When starting, Reid's 'CAM' position as a second striker makes him a very useful midfield pick, though his place in the starting XI isn't guaranteed.
Then there's Sergio Aguero who was typically excellent in this round, especially against Arsenal where he scored a hat-trick (his tenth in the Premier League!). The Argentinian is now just six points behind first-placed Aubameyang on our list of top performing strikers in our fantasy game so far this season.
An important thing to note for Aguero and all other players from City, Chelsea, Everton and Brighton is that they will not play in Round 27 due to the League Cup final so make sure you have an XI without players from those clubs. Chelsea's game against Brighton is still to be rearranged as there isn't much space on the calendar so keep an eye out for news on when that game will be played. As with all things Superbru, our Twitter page will keep you up to date with everything.
Premier League ideal 5-a-side teams by daily round during R25:
Saturday: Foster, Luiz, Dendoncker/Gomes/Kante, Hazard, Higuain (56 points)
Sunday: De Gea, Young, Pogba, Sterling, Aguero (45 points)
Monday: Fabianski, 2 pointer, Milner, Anderson/Antonio/Mane, Firmino (20 points)
Wednesday: Ederson, Laporte, D. Silva, Walcott, Jesus (31 points)
There's a quick turnaround between now and R26 with that gameweek getting underway on Saturday when Fulham face Manchester United. The round is split into three daily rounds in our fantasy game due to two matches taking place on Sunday and the Monday night football between Wolves and Newcastle.
Click here to play Premier League Fantasy at Superbru
Click here to play Premier League 5-a-side Fantasy at Superbru
This Team of the Round would have been even stronger had it not been for Pep Guardiola's squad rotation and Everton's decent performance to limit the champions to a hard-fought 2-0 win, though a high scoring win for Chelsea means there were lots of points on offer this week from big name players.
Community average score in Round 25: 70.7
Community best in Round 25: 122
TOTR score: 155
Theoretical best legal score: 151
Defence
After another clean sheet despite being put under considerable pressure by the opposition at times, David de Gea makes the TOTR once more for his performance in Manchester United's 1-0 win at Leicester. He's protected by an incredibly high scoring back three (in this Superbru team rather than at United!).Aymeric Laporte was this week's top defender with 17 points across his two fixtures (6 and 11). Laporte is a fairly popular pick because he's one of the few players that does play all the time under Guardiola but his attacking returns can be considered a real bonus to those who picked him as he hadn't scored before this round since August against Wolves (A). Filling in at left-back for each of this week's games, Laporte assisted City's opener against Arsenal and scored at Goodison Park to add to the clean sheet his team managed against Everton.
Alongside Laporte is David Luiz and Jeffrey Schlupp who are both defenders that offer far more attacking returns but for different reasons. Though Luiz was perhaps fortunate to be awarded his heavily deflected goal against Huddersfield who were already dead and buried when the Brazilian headed in Chelsea's fifth, there's every chance he will provide you with attacking points each week given his ability to create chances with long passes and head them home himself from set pieces.
Schlupp, on the other hand, is an interesting player in our full fantasy game due to the fact he hasn't actually been playing in defence this season. Often utilised on the left wing in front of Patrick van Aanholt, Schlupp is one of those picks that is useful because of the fact he can gain clean sheet points while playing further forward than in previous seasons - Cardiff's Callum Paterson being another great example this season. In our daily 5-a-side game where player positions can change each week, Schlupp tends to be banded as a wide midfielder which is why he received less points if you picked him there.
Midfield
After an excellent performance against Huddersfield, Eden Hazard is head and shoulders above the rest of this week's TOTR midfield as he picked up 17 points for scoring twice and completing an incredible 12 dribbles with a 100% success rate. A performance doesn't get much more Eden Hazard than that.A similarly unsurprising name on this team sheet is Tottenham Heung-Min Son who has done incredibly well to continue the form he was showing before the Asian Cup immediately following his return. His crucial winning goal against Newcastle means he managed 8 points in this round, one less than Southampton's Nathan Redmond who scored against Burnley and completed more dribbles than the Korean this week.
Finally, Cardiff's Bobby Reid completes this TOTR midfield after bagging a brace and handing his team a vital 2-0 win over Bournemouth to end what has been another difficult week for the club on a high. When starting, Reid's 'CAM' position as a second striker makes him a very useful midfield pick, though his place in the starting XI isn't guaranteed.
Strikers
Moving on to the striker then and as you can see, this front three contains three well-known names as Marcus Rashford, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain lead the line. Rashford continued his excellent recent form with the only goal at Leicester, while Higuain found his first Premier League goals with a brace at Stamford Bridge vs. Huddersfield. Both are fairly sure starters for their teams but do have some tricky fixtures coming up.Then there's Sergio Aguero who was typically excellent in this round, especially against Arsenal where he scored a hat-trick (his tenth in the Premier League!). The Argentinian is now just six points behind first-placed Aubameyang on our list of top performing strikers in our fantasy game so far this season.
An important thing to note for Aguero and all other players from City, Chelsea, Everton and Brighton is that they will not play in Round 27 due to the League Cup final so make sure you have an XI without players from those clubs. Chelsea's game against Brighton is still to be rearranged as there isn't much space on the calendar so keep an eye out for news on when that game will be played. As with all things Superbru, our Twitter page will keep you up to date with everything.
Premier League ideal 5-a-side teams by daily round during R25:
Saturday: Foster, Luiz, Dendoncker/Gomes/Kante, Hazard, Higuain (56 points)
Sunday: De Gea, Young, Pogba, Sterling, Aguero (45 points)
Monday: Fabianski, 2 pointer, Milner, Anderson/Antonio/Mane, Firmino (20 points)
Wednesday: Ederson, Laporte, D. Silva, Walcott, Jesus (31 points)
There's a quick turnaround between now and R26 with that gameweek getting underway on Saturday when Fulham face Manchester United. The round is split into three daily rounds in our fantasy game due to two matches taking place on Sunday and the Monday night football between Wolves and Newcastle.
Click here to play Premier League Fantasy at Superbru
Click here to play Premier League 5-a-side Fantasy at Superbru
