Fantasy Football: Burns and Wilcox’s Phil Jarvis Q&A

The football season is really starting to heat up now, with players gaining match fitness, the first international break out of the way and both European and cup competitions getting into gear.

Some top performers are also starting to appear from the nearly 500 insurance professionals competing in this year’s Insurance Times Fantasy Football League.

This week, as managers start to make their changes for the upcoming GW5, we spoke to second place coach Phil Jarvis, a development underwriter at Burns and Wilcox, about the key decisions he’s looking to make. 

1. Congratulations on being second in the league for GW4, how do you rate your chances of staying up there for the season?

Thank you! I’m disappointed that I’ve been knocked off the top spot in GW4, but it’s a marathon not a sprint.

I’ve been lucky with the goalscoring form of Haaland, but the vast majority of fantasy teams have selected him as their captain, so it’s a case of looking for those hidden gems who can consistently pick you up the points while keeping your team within budget.

2. What are the key decisions to make ahead of GW5?

There doesn’t appear to have been any major injury concerns after the European games in the week.

The likes of Salah, Son, De Bruyne and Palmer didn’t pick up many points in GW4, so do you stick with them? Or do you utilise your free transfer and try to unearth a player who will get you goals or assists in GW5?

I think we are starting to see who the in-form and struggling sides are, so my team selection will revolve around the fixture difficulty ratings. I can’t see the big fixture of GW5 – Man City versus Arsenal – being a high scoring game, so it’s looking at other fixtures where there is the potential to pick up points.

3. Who would you call out as an under-rated player for everyone’s Fantasy squad?

Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth has picked up a total of 20 points in the first four weeks and always looks good for a goal or an assist whenever I’ve watched Bournemouth. He’s a bargain at £5.6m.

Another player I would pick out is Emile Smith Rowe of Fulham at £5.7m. He’s another player in good form that is picking up points week on week.

• Have you spotted yourself in the top 10 of the Insurance Times Fantasy Football League? We’d love to hear from you. Please do get in contact with deputy editor Yiannis Kotoulas at Yiannis.Kotoulas@InsuranceTimes.co.uk