Eliteserien Fantasy: Gameweek 10 Preview

Aalesunds FK’s Sigurd Haugen has been a revelation in Fantasy Eliteserien this year with five goals and an assist in 10 games. With a game against Vålerenga, who are on a three-game losing streak and have conceded the most goals after Haugesund, tipster Jacob Silkstone is backing him to add to his tally in gameweek 10.

Eliteserien Fantasy GW9 Recap

This international break seems to have lasted a long time: back when it began, Haaland was still (officially) a Borussia Dortmund player, and England were still (apparently) a decent team with a genuine chance of winning the World Cup. How things change…

Before Eliteserien took a summer break, our Team of the Week managed to break a recent run of below-par form. Captain Veton Berisha led the way again, returning 24 points even as Viking lost to in-form Strømsgodset. We also correctly predicted attacking returns for Alioune Ndour Badou, Kristian Eriksen and Jonathan Lindseth in midfield, plus a clean sheet for Sarpsborg’s budget goalkeeper Simen Vidtun Nilsen away at Jerv. Our total score of 66 was well above the gameweek average (44).

Eliteserien Fantasy GW10 Picks

Goalkeeper

As HamKam prepare to face the league’s weakest attack, our attention turns to Guatemala’s finest keeper again. Nicholas Hagen (4.5M) comes up against a Jerv forward line that has a lower xG total than any other Eliteserien team (and a lower actual goals scored total, for anyone not convinced by the stats). It’s true that HamKam have yet to keep an away clean sheet this season, but they limited a usually free-scoring Viking side to a single goal in their last outing, and Hagen compares favourably to every other budget keeper this week.

Defence

Kristiansund are a club in crisis, with one point from their first seven games and a whole host of injury problems still to deal with. Their next fixture pits them against the defending champions. Surely there’s no better time for Bodø/Glimt to finally keep a first clean sheet of the season? Cult hero Brice Wembangomo has seen his price drop down to 5.9M, but has a higher xA total than any other Glimt defender. All the stats suggest he can still end up as one of the highest-scoring defenders in this Eliteserien Fantasy season.

Despite two blanks in his last two games, Sebastian Sebulonsen (6.4M) now sits in a third of all fantasy teams. Sebulonsen’s attacking stats are almost intimidatingly good: only five players in the entire league (all strikers) have a higher xG total, and he also outranks most of his teammates for xA. Viking’s opponents this week are Sandefjord, who have failed to score in two of their last four away games.

Predicting that Molde will be one of the top teams this season is easy enough. Predicting which of their players will shine in any given week is much trickier, though. Martin Linnes (7.3M) was their hottest fantasy prospect at the beginning of the season: it’s been a while since his last points haul, but his xA total remains higher than every Molde midfielder or striker except the much pricier Magnus Wolff Eikrem. Opponents Odd have lost their last three at home, including a 4-0 mauling against Haugesund. They’ve also scored in just two of their last six games, so Linnes has plenty of opportunities for points.

Alexander Melgalvis (5.0M) was a disappointing pick for us last week, but he leads all of his HamKam teammates for xA and should have ample opportunity to collect points at both ends of the pitch against Jerv. A big haul could be on the way soon, following a string of low scores.

Midfield

Bodø/Glimt, Mourinho’s least favourite team, haven’t quite played to their full potential domestically this season, but they’ll be expecting to hit their stride after the international break. Amahl Pellegrino (11.4M) leads the team for xG and faces his old club as Glimt travel to Kristiansund. Kristiansund continue to struggle with injuries, and have conceded eight goals in three home games so far this season.

Jonathan Lindseth (8.5M) finally delivered on his statistical promise last gameweek, recording his second double-digit haul of the season as Sarpsborg brushed aside Jerv. This week’s opponents, Strømsgodset, are on an excellent unbeaten run, but still have one of the worst xG conceded totals in the league. Lindseth should be central to Sarpsborg’s attack again.

In the continued absence of Zlatko Tripic, we still like Niklas Sandberg (8.6M) as a route into Viking’s midfield. Sandberg is third in the league for xA per 90 minutes, but has been chosen by only 1% of fantasy teams. A top differential this week.

Despite another price rise, 5.8M still looks like a bargain for Tromsø’s Sakarias Opsahl. Opsahl has more fantasy points than any of his teammates by a considerable margin (he’s on 44, with the next two tied on 28). He also ranks in the league’s top 10 for xA per 90 minutes, and faces a Haugesund team who’ve conceded eight goals in their last three away games.

Attack

Another week, another Berisha captaincy. All the stats suggest that Veton Berisha (12.2M) is operating on a different level to almost anyone else in Eliteserien this season. As Salah early in the last FPL campaign, he’s so good that he almost seems to have broken the game. As with Salah later in the last FPL campaign, the points won’t keep coming forever, but a home game against Sandefjord doesn’t feel like the right time to bet against the league’s most prolific striker.

With Vålerenga on a run of three consecutive defeats, most recently a 4-0 thumping at home against Rosenborg, we turn our attention to the key man for their next opponents. Sigurd Haugen (7.9M) is in nearly 40% of fantasy teams and ranks in the league’s top five for xG. Unless Vålerenga can turn things around very quickly, this should be a great chance for Haugen to add to his five goals so far this season (four of which, it’s worth noting, have come at home).