Fantasy Football: The big talking points after 11 weeks – and has anyone seen Yiannis?

Fantasy Football managers do not have to worry about their teams this week, with the Premier League season halted for yet another international break.

So, this presents a good opportunity to look at how the standings are shaping up in the Insurance Times Fantasy Football League.

Last weekend was very up and down for managers, with there being plenty of movement around the table.

My colleague, Yiannis Kotoulas, was particularly affected. He only managed to secure 34 points, which meant that he dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in a while.

Meanwhile, I managed to take home a very solid 85 points, meaning that I now sit eighth in the standings and well ahead of Yiannis.

Given Yiannis forced me to upload a Q&A with himself after he topped the table in game week seven, it makes me happy to have the opportunity to highlight how the tables have turned a few weeks later.

Anyway, enough of our rivalry – we bicker enough about it in the office. Let’s see how things are at the top of the table – which, again, Yiannis is nowhere near anymore.

Hayden Williams currently leads the way with 728 points, while Bernardo Gomes is only one point behind in second.

And Benjamin Balance completes the top three, with him currently sitting on 719 points.

Talking points

As we head into the final international break of the year, I thought I’d run through the key talking points and things to consider following the first 11 game weeks.

Firstly, its fair to say things have not gone smoothly for Manchester City. The champions have been struggling defensively since Rodri went out injured, with them also losing their last four matches in a row across all competitions.

So, managers purchasing defensive assets from Manchester City for their Fantasy team could be a risky move.

And as much as it pains me to say it, Arsenal have also struggled at the back, despite starting the season in fine form. The Gunners have not been able to keep a clean sheet since game week four.

Meanwhile, Erling Haaland costs over 15m, but has only secured two returns since game week six. There is no doubting that selling him is a risk given we all know how threatening he can be in front of goal, but there are cheaper premium assets doing much better at the moment.

For example, Liverpool’s Mo Salah, who is 12.9m, has returned in all but one of his matches since game week six.

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, meanwhile, managed to secure 27 points over the last two weeks. And following a difficult run of form for the team, the upcoming fixtures may be favourable towards them.