To buy, to hold or to sell? That is the question facing managers ahead of a new round of Official A-Leagues Fantasy football!
The A-Leagues Fantasy Show debated long and hard on this week’s episode over which players to transfer in and out ahead of the weekend’s action – with Western Sydney Wanderers attacker Brandon Borrello facing three months on the sidelines, and a host of quality players in the mix to replace him.
Read on as aleagues.com.au takes you through the players to consider buying, holding or selling in the Isuzu UTE A-League this weekend.
NOTE – There is no Liberty A-League action this weekend due to the international break.
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MOST TRADED OUT & IN: ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
| TRADED OUT | TRADED IN |
| Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers) | Ben Halloran (Adelaide United) |
| Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) | Lachlan Wales (Western United) |
| Zinedine Machach (Melbourne Victory) | Ulises Davila (Macarthur FC) |
| Tolgay Arslan (Melbourne City) | Alexandar Popovic (Adelaide United) |
| Clayton Taylor (Newcastle Jets) | Nestory Irankunda (Adelaide United) |
| Nuno Reis (Melbourne City) | Finn Surman (Wellington Phoenix) |
| Yianni Nicolaou (Macarthur FC) | Alex Paulsen (Wellington Phoenix) |
| Oskar Zawada (Wellington Phoenix) | Jay O’Shea (Brisbane Roar) |
| Florin Berenguer (Brisbane Roar) | Bruno Fornaroli (Melbourne Victory) |
| Mikael Doka (Central Coast Mariners) | Bozhidar Kraev (Wellington Phoenix) |
BUY
Ulises Davila (Macarthur FC)
- Position: MID
- Price: $330.1K
- Ownership: 22.7%
After a slow start to the season, Ulises Davila has been on a tear as of late. The Macarthur midfielder backed up his 23-point outing against Melbourne City before the international break, with another 13-point tally in their 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory last week.
Davila – who is already a popular selection among coaches – is now priced at $330.1K going into the weekend, and is projected to rise by $73.5K this week according to the A-Leagues Fantasy Assistant Coach function.
He was also left out of the squad to face Shan United in the AFC Cup on Thursday, meaning he should be primed to start on Monday night against Adelaide United.
Aleksandar Susnjar (Perth Glory)
- Position: DEF
- Price: $283.4K
- Ownership: 3.6%
Perth Glory’s Aleksandar Susnjar has been one of the top-performing defenders over the last few weeks. Susnjar tallied a whopping 20 points (the second most of all defenders in Round 5) after scoring in Perth’s 2-1 loss to Brisbane Roar last week, continuing a run of scores that saw him put up 11 and seven points in back-to-back weeks leading in.
The former Macarthur defender has thrived as a full-back under Alen Stajcic, with the added freedom provided for him to get forward down the left-hand side.
His price has risen $128.3K already this season, and is set for another burst this weekend ($56.4K projected increase) against a Sydney FC side that has only scored once in their opening four games, albeit, they have changed coaches in the last fortnight.
However, buyers beware, Perth are currently in the midst of sticky road form, winning only once in their last 25 games outside of Western Australia.
Although, Susnjar has tallied a total of 27 points in the last fortnight, with both games played away to Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane.
Adam Taggart (Perth Glory)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $320.1K
- Ownership: 7.3%
Adam Taggart could be the perfect option to come in this week, as 12% of coaches scramble for a replacement for star attacker Brandon Borrello.
Taggart has two goals to his name already this season and has also been directly involved in five goals in his last six games (four goals, one assist). His form against Sydney is equally impressive, having been directly involved in three goals in his last four games against Sydney FC (two goals, one assist).
At $320.1K, Taggart is essentially a straight swap for Borrello and should be one of the popular options among coaches to bring in this week.
HOLD
Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $432.1K
- Ownership: 35.7%
It was a weekend to forget for Jamie Maclaren in Round 5, but coaches shouldn’t panic just yet as the all-time leading A-Leagues goalscorer comes up against Newcastle Jets this weekend.
Maclaren missed a penalty in Melbourne City’s 1-0 loss to Wellington Phoenix, yielding a score of -3, which is his second negative score this season as a result of missing a penalty. However, his scores either side of those performances have been tremendous – tallying totals of 12 and 21.
The Socceroo has an average of 12.1 points against the Jets, scoring in four of his last five appearances against Newcastle – who also have the equal-worst defence in the league (12 goals) alongside City.
Clayton Taylor (Newcastle Jets)
- Position: MID
- Price: $295.6K
- Ownership: 9.5%
Clayton Taylor only tallied four points in Newcastle’s 3-1 loss to Central Coast Mariners, his lowest score of the season so far.
However, the Jets face City who have been leaky defensively all season. The talented winger’s form warrants at least one more week to see if he can bounce back in Fantasy, before making a decision on whether to trade him.
Oskar Zawada (Wellington Phoenix)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $525.9K
- Ownership: 7.1%
The Wellington Phoenix star has made a rapid recovery to be included in their extended squad for the clash against Western United this weekend. He’s no guarantee to feature, but it’s worth giving him every chance to make the matchday squad if you kept the Polish striker after last week’s absence.
SELL
Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $328.4K
- Ownership: 12.1%
Borrello will be a great option to revisit later this season, as he’s priced at $328.4K, but for now it’s time to look elsewhere as he faces a long recovery.
Taggart – as mentioned above – is one of the options that coaches may look at, while Borrello’s teammate Nicolas Milanovic ($341.1K), Adelaide United duo Ben Halloran ($336.7K) and Nestory Irankunda ($249K), Central Coast’s Marco Tulio ($357.7K), in-form Jets striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos ($356.3K) and Brisbane Roar’s Nikola Mileusnic ($397.3K) are around a similar price range.
The likes of Melbourne Victory star Bruno Fornaroli ($440.9K), Sydney FC’s Joe Lolley ($528K), Melbourne City’s Jamie Maclaren ($432.1K) and Wellington Phoenix’s Oskar Zawada ($525.9K) are on the more expensive side and could tempt owners if they have the spare cash.
Florin Berenguer (Brisbane Roar)
- Position: MID
- Price: $408.1K
- Ownership: 9.6%
After a solid start to life in Brisbane, Florin Berenguer will miss the next two-three weeks due to a quad injury sustained against Perth Glory.
Coaches – if they have the depth – could opt to keep him as he will be back by the end of the calendar year, but straight swaps to the likes of Henry Hore, Ulises Davila, Bozhidar Kraev or even Zach Clough should be strongly considered.
Zinedine Machach (Melbourne Victory)
- Position: MID
- Price: $300K
- Ownership: 18.1%
It’s been a fun start to life in the A-Leagues for Zinedine Machach, but after a string of low scores, it may be time to trade out the Frenchman.
Machach has tallied scores of four and two in his last two weeks and comes into Round 6 with a breakeven of 10, meaning he’s set to face a drop in price for the third consecutive round.
This is a line-ball call given his ceiling is as good as any premium midfield option, but if you have the money in the bank and the trades handy, it may be time to look to upgrade him.
