It was ultimately a disappointing international break for Irish fans as the 1-1 draw with Denmark in Dublin on Monday night was not enough to secure a place at Euro 2020. Mick McCarthy's men will have another shot at qualifying for the continent's football jamboree next summer but that is at the end of March and we have plenty of Premier League action to keep us occupied over the coming months.
Before the football kicks off this weekend, let's have a look at the top three in the Advertiser Tribal League in association with Monroe's Tavern.
Top three
1 Reggie Red - Reginald's Reds - 759
The Reds still sit atop the table with a four point lead over their closet challengers. Reginald's Reds are wonderfully balanced with a solid back four in Jon Lundstram, Andrew Robertson, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Çaglar Söyüncü, a top quality keeper in Kasper Schmeichel, creative midfield with Sadio Mané, Heung-Min Son, and Daniel James, and arguably the most potent attack in the entire league with Sergio Agüero, Jamie Vardy, and Raúl Jiménez leading the charge. The Reds are looking good. Can anyone stop them?
2 Cian de Lamport - Chris Woodbines - 755
Making their first appearance in the top three is Chris Woodbines. Their frontline is the power base of this squad with Tammy Abraham, Jamie Vardy, and Raúl Jiménez. Midfield sees great creativity with Sadio Mané, Kevin De Bruyne, James Maddison, and Mason Mount providing the brilliant forward line with opportunities. Where manager Cian de Lamport may want to strengthen is his back-line where youth has been given the green light with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fikayo Tomori, and Andrew Robertson. If de Lamport can tighten up at the back, the Woodbines could smoke the opposition.
3 Declan Ryan - Decs Villians - 751
Decs Villians have slipped into the top three with some impressive performances recently. And like their fellow competitors, the three men up top are why Declan Ryan's charges are in their lofty position. Jamie Vardy, Raúl Jiménez, and Tammy Abraham are all in good form finding the back of the net in the most recent Premier League game week. What Ryan will be looking for is his midfield to start chipping in with efforts. If those goals come from different areas of the field then this may be a famous season for the Villians.
Top picks
The international break can be a difficult one to judge for Fantasy managers with their squad coming back from all corners of the earth. Here is our top picks to get your team moving in the Tribal League this game week.
1 Jamie Vardy (Leicester City - £9.6 million ) v Brighton
Seven years ago, Jamie Vardy was lining up non-league Fleetwood Town. Fast forward to 2019 and no player has scored more league goals than the man from Sheffield in that time period. Vardy is in excellent form with eight goals in six league outings as his Leicester City sit pretty in second place. At the weekend the Foxes travel south to face a Brighton outfit who have three of their last five games. I can't see the Seagulls' defence containing the England international. Leicester will win with Vardy scoring. Make him your captain for double the points.
2 Gerard Deulofeu (Watford - £6.1 million ) v Burnley
Whisper it quietly but it seems Watford are slowly but surely turning their season around. The Hornets earned their first win of the term with a 2-0 success over fellow strugglers Norwich City last time and have only lost once in their last five outings. A big part of their resurgence has been the performances of wing-cum-forward Gerard Deulofeu. The Spaniard has found the back of the net in the last two matches as well as providing an assist to Andre Gray to clinch the three points at Carrow Road. On Saturday, Burnley are the visitors to Vicarage Road. Sean Dyche's men are sitting pretty in mid-table and won last time out after a run of three consecutive defeats. However, I believe it will be a home win inspired by Deulofeu who got some rest over the international break due to being ignored by the Spanish set-up. Get him in your team.
3 Heung-Min Son (Spurs - £9.6 million ) v West Ham
BOOM - out goes Mauricio Pochettino and in comes Jose Mourinho. Spurs decided to part company with their Argentinian coach this week after a tough opening to the new term for the north London outfit. One player in white who has shown form in recent weeks has been Heung-Min Son. The South Korean international has a goal and two assists in his last three outings. On Saturday lunchtime, Spurs make the short trip to east London to face struggling West Ham. The Hammers have only one win in their last six outings and are having huge problems with keeping the ball out of their own net. History shows that new teams get a boost of confidence when a new manager is hired and I expect no different from Spurs. I'm going for an away victory with Son to get his name on the scoresheet.
Don't miss a minute of action with Monroe's Tavern
Remember you can catch all of game week 13's action live at Monroe's Tavern where punters can enjoy wings and a pint or burger and a pint for €10 during the matches.
Saturday:
West Ham v Spurs (12.30pm ) BT Sport.
Arsenal v Southampton (3pm ) Premier Sports.
Man City v Chelsea (5.30pm ) SKY Sports.
Sunday:
Sheffield United v Man United (4.30pm ) SKY Sports.
Monday:
Aston Villa v Newcastle (8pm ) SKY Sports.
