Full-Time: "THE CRAZY" Gameweek 3 Fantasy Review

Wayne Rooney killed the match with 3 set pieces. Ultimate performance at
Old Trafford.

CRAZY! With just 11 goals produced from 6 matches at Saturday, the game between Manchester United and Arsenal alone produced 10 goals (MUN 8-2 ARS)!!! Prior to that Manchester City also thrashed Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane! A super duper unbelievably insane Premier League Sunday. Supreme feast for fans.

Man Utd 8-2 Arsenal
MUN: Complete dominance by the Red Devils as they thrashed the Gunners perhaps too easily. Defence was too easy to pass through as Rooney and co fully capitalised the spaces available to them. Ruthless.

Rooney is spectacular. 2 easy free kicks plus another penalty ensures that Dzeko will not distant himself away in his pursuit of golden boot. Ashley Young is even more productive in fantasy, providing 2 cheap assists by setting up both Rooney's free kicks before completing his third to Park beside scoring 2 entertaining goals. Nani also broke his duck with 1 goal and 1 assist in this reaping game.

Welbeck scored the opener but was unfortunate to get injured during the first half. Anderson and Cleverly continues to boss the midfield and are both cheap and decent picks from the team. Still I would put Rooney and Young plus a defender (Jones, Evans, Smalling) from United as the wisest fantasy picks from United.

De Gea saved a penalty but was at fault for letting Walcott's attempt went in - still not convincing.

Pick: Rooney, Young, MUN defence
Potential Pick: Nani, Cleverly, Anderson


ARS: Horrendous display throughout the game. Midfield was non-existent, defensive positioning was even worse than relegation candidates, and chances were wasted as if they came for free.

Ramsey was perhaps one of the worst players on field - he only knew how to hold the ball and turn around as he received them instead of making some penetrative passes. Jenkinson got yet another red as Wenger perhaps has broken his career record of conceding red cards in 3 straight league games. The way Arshavin wasted a one-on-one effort was also terrible - how did he managed to score 4 at Anfield years ago with this kind of performance?

To sum it up it's probably all Wenger's fault for not altering his tactics with the absence of Fabregas and Nasri. They looked even worse than a League One team when defending against Manchester United.

Drop: ARS players


Tottenham 1-5 Man City
TOT: The team looked totally not on form despite the fact that Modric started the game. They got some good chances but several of them were denied by the woodwork. Rather unfortunate but yet they still don't deserve to win this one.

I would say wait for one or two gameweeks to reassess them when the fixtures are slightly easier.

MCI: Dzeko is simply incredible. Four goals which clearly illustrated how all-rounded he are - left tap, right tap, difficult header of pure class and long-range shoot. He's bringing the best of him after he left Wolfsburg.

Nasri performed a hat-trick of assists on his debut game for City, suggesting that Wenger's tactics are limiting his potential. With so many talent upfront he could as well bang in a lot of fantasy points through his beautiful assists.

Other players like Aguero, Yaya Toure, Barry and Silva all performed well as well in this most expensive offensive package, and it will be difficult to choose who to lead your line.

Pick: Dzeko, Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Yaya Toure


Liverpool 3-1 Bolton
LIV: A masterclass display by Liverpool with all those free-flowing passes. Suarez continues to carry the team forward with all his creativity but he will need to improve his one-on-one skills after missing two golden chances. Still one of the must own fantasy player despite that.

Henderson was a completely different person than the first two games as he blended perfectly with others and definitely owned the first half of the game. His opener was very important and he is fairly rewarded with 3 bonus points.

Adam also scored after assisted the corner for Skrtel and is looking more and more deserved to be price £9.0m in fantasy. Skrtel's introduction was a "perfect accident" for me and he played really well as right back.

Carragher made a silly mistake which costed 4 points from each of the defenders (especially Enrique). It does wonder me whether Coates will push the vice-captain out of starting XI.

Pick: Suarez, Adam
Potential Pick: Henderson, Downing, Skrtel

BOL: Owen Coyle's squad were completely outmatched. Nothing much to say but Klasnic's third goals in three games certainly suggest that he's the king of all third-choice strikers.

Pick: Klasnic


Aston Villa 0-0 Wolves
AST: They were wasting quite an amount of chances here and there against the disciplined Wolves. Something for them to reflect.

WOL: Another solid display by them suggesting that you can trust on Wolves defence now with R Johnson leading the line.

Potential Pick: WOL defence


Wigan 2-0 QPR
WIG: Two medium-range strike by Di Santo suggest that he can outshine Rodallega this season. Moses failed to deliver fantasy points yet again. It's testing your patience.

Potential Pick: Di Santo


QPR: The defeat is rather expected. Hopefully Joey Barton will pull them up a level in next game.

Blackburn 0-1 Everton
BLA: Offensive productivity is a concern as they failed to score any after committed around 20 shots and 2 penalties. That was bitterly penalized through Arteta's penalty.

A strong relegation candidate in my opinion.

Drop: BLA players


EVE: Not very convincing on the field. They'll need to play better against oppositions like Blackburn to fetch a better ranking. Baines collected 3 bonus points - an encouraging sign to own him.

Potential Pick: Baines


Chelsea 3-1 Norwich
CHE: Not really convincing for the win, but AVB won't be unhappy as long as his side claimed 3 points. Drogba fall was the fall of the century anyway. Bosingwa should sit firmly as AVB's first choice right back after yet another fantastic display especially the opening goal.

Mata was the difference between 1 point and 3 points with his good footwork. Something Chelsea's had been missing since the departure of Arjen Robben.

And finally, drop Torres until he broke his duck.

Pick: Bosingwa, Mata
Potential Pick: Lampard
Drop: Torres


NOR: Brave display by the Canaries. Holt finally scored but was at my bench (unfortunately). Didn't look shy to attack. Good game.

Potential Pick: Holt


Swansea 0-0 Sunderland
SWA: Sinclair hit the woodwork once with his thunderous shot - bad news. Not too bad although they failed to register their first goal in the Premier League.

Potential Pick: Sinclair


SUN: Mediocre. Wes Brown claimed 2 bonus points apart from clean sheet points, and is a great £4.5m defender to pick.

Pick: Brown


Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
NEW: The best day for Best to score two impressive goals. Cabaye is showing more and more significance through his midfield leadership and set pieces. It's just a matter of time to see a fantasy boom from him.

Potential Pick: Cabaye, Best


FUL: Senderos was dropped this time for Briggs - he's not that sure as a starter. Dempsey scored his first goal, but it remains to be seen whether he fits his price tag.

West Brom 0-1 Stoke City
WBA: Been dominated for the whole game and yet lost due to one silly mistake by Foster. Long could have make it 3 goals in 3 games but was prevented to do so by Begovic. Brunt continues to look solid in the offensive department.

Potential Pick: Long, Brunt
Drop: Foster


STO: Easy goal by Shotton but it was Walters who deserve more attention in fantasy with his assist.

Potential Pick: Walters

Barton to QPR: How Will He Affect Taarabt?

Joey Barton is the first move by the ambitious Tony Fernandes.

The most important signing by QPR in my opinion. The bad boy, Joey Barton, has joined QPR for a lucrative £80,000 a week contract.

Barton had been a strong fantasy force last season with his precision crosses. His skill and experience will definitely help QPR in their survival battle?

He will compete with Taarabt for the ace position. Will Barton's addition make Taarabt more competitive? We shall see.

Kick-Off: Gameweek 3 Fantasy Preview

Robin van Persie saved Arsenal from Champions League slump, but can
he lead the Gunners to conquer Old Trafford?

Overview
Several midweek games caught my eyes this week, with Arsenal qualified for the Champions League thanks to sparkling effort of Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott against Udinese at Italy. Back at England we see Suarez ultimate influence who scored one and created the other two to defeat Exeter by 3-1. Carroll scored his first goal of the season, but whether is it the opening of floodgate remains a question. Take note that Meireles injured his collarbone and should be out for a long period.

Champions League Draw
Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli
Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, Otelul Galati
Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk
Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund


Lucky draw for Manchester United. Chelsea's games are pretty tricky. Arsenal are in hell of the luck to be drawn in the group of death. Superbly tough for Manchester City too.


On Wild Card Usage
You might be tempted to use that, but I'll say NO. Do you copy? NO. Gameweek 4 will be played on 10th of September, which is two weeks from now, with international games being played after gameweek 3. You surely do not want to see your reshuffled players were injured during their international duties do you? Just wait for another gameweek if you really have to use it.

Will Dzeko score again?

Game of the Week: TOTTENHAM v MAN CITY

Man City will visit to North London in their quest to maintain a perfect start this season.

Tottenham's defence in totally exposed last game, with Friedel made a whopping 13 saves last game and still conceded 3 goals. A big thing for Harry Redknapp to consider as they face the squad who scored the most goals this season.

Meanwhile, Mancini's team is overflowed with gunpowder this season, with Silva, Dzeko and Aguero all making it two in two. Nasri's arrival will further excite City's offence, though it remains a mystery how will he be deployed.

I believe Tottenham will play better at home, but still I think Man City has too much quality to be beaten at the moment. Away win looks highly possible.

Prediction: TOT 1-2 MCI

Pick: Silva, Dzeko

Wazza Roo is hopeful to make
it three in three.

Fantasy Game of the Week: MAN UTD v ARSENAL

It will be another busy weekend at Old Trafford as Manchester United take on weakened Arsenal.

The Gunners can hardly field up a good squad following injuries and suspensions of numerous players. It will be a tough challenge for Arsene Wenger to travel to Manchester with such thin squad, especially after a midweek clash against Udinese at Italy. Fatigue will seriously affect them in my opinion.

On the other hand, the young Red Devils are on a high after a 3-0 demolition against Tottenham last week. Players such as Rooney, Cleverly, Young and Nani will all be ready to open a big wound at Arsenal's cracks. Do take note that Chicharito is back into action - this will affect Welbeck's playing time.

Expect another solid victory by Manchester United. Do captain Rooney if you own him.

Prediction: MUN 3-0 ARS
Pick and captain: Rooney
Pick: Young, Nani, Cleverly
Drop: ARS defence

Suarez is owned by over 40%
of fantasy managers.

Pick and Drop

Pick and captain:

1. Suarez - The Uruguayan is crowning himself as the emperor of Anfield.
2. Moses - A big gamble to consider but I don't see how QPR is going to escape from conceding goals if Wigan can capitalise their home advantage.

Pick:

1. Torres - Not so hype about him after a big disappointment last week, but still I think it reasonable to keep him for another game against Norwich.
2. Tim Cahill  - I am still sticking with him after seeing his potential despite Everton's 0-1 loss against QPR. Blackburn has weak defence.
3. Long - In incredible form and should score at home.

Drop:

1. BLA players - Their current squad and form simply looks to weak to convince me.
2. NOR defence - Chelsea has too much talents to score.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Suarez, Long, Jarvis, Silva - Follow the bandwagon to get some extra cash.
2. Vorm - A keeper that you can consider to keep for whole season.
3. Rooney - Arsenal is for him to crush this week.
4. R Taylor, S Taylor - A stream of moderate fixtures for them to produce some clean sheets.

Yellow light (buy/sell later):

1. Torres - Norwich is a good them to produce goals, so just give him one last chance.
2. Malouda - With Mata joining you need to see how he is going to be affected.
3. Tim Cahill - He is still playing in an advanced role so there is some good scoring prospects from him.

Red light (sell):

1. ARS players - Too much of instability in the club at the moment.

Gameweek 3 Dream Team

Hilario
Bosingwa -- R Taylor -- Smalling
Silva -- T Cahill -- Young -- Moses
Rooney(C) - Suarez(VC) -- Long

Subs: Vorm -- Sinclair - Enrique -- Figueroa

Sebastian Coates Set to Join Liverpool - Liverpool Are Really Serious

Coates with his trophy of Best Young Player of Copa America 2011.

It's still not official, but I think there's hardly anything to stop that from happening. Sebastian Coates, the best young player of Copa America 2011, is set to join his compatriot Luis Suarez to hunt trophies for Liverpool.

The 20-year-old centre-back has caught a lot of attention following his fantastic tournament last month. Coates is expected to be bought with £12m and will fill up the void left following the departure of Sotirios Kyrgiakos.

He will be Dalglish's sixth signing of the summer and Liverpool looks more and more likely to battle for a ranking better than fourth.

Meanwhile, Aquilani is now at Milan and is close to completing a one-year loan deal with AC Milan.

Nasri Left for Manchester City - What's Left At Arsenal?

Nasri to follow the footsteps of his ex-captain Fabregas to quit Arsenal.

Done deal. Nasri is going to Manchester City following a £24m bid from the Eastland club.

The attacking midfielder is having a great season last year with Arsenal, but a contract breakdown with the club has angered the French to head for an exit. Not really a good news for fantasy managers though, as he will disrupt the current "comfortable" midfield order at Manchester City. Who will become the scapegoat of bench with Nasri's arrival? Or will he be benched as supersub instead? We'll know that for the coming weeks.

His departure will further worsen Wenger's squad crisis. With players including Song, Wilshere, Rosicky, Diaby, Frimpong, Gibbs, Koscielny, Djourou and Gervinho all either unavailable or doubtful, it seems impossible for them to escape from a defeat at Old Trafford on this coming Premier League weekend. Manchester United players should become super stud picks.

Chelsea Welcomes Mata - Malouda's Position At Threat

Juan Mata to come and conquer the Premier League.

A strong reinforcement for Andre Villas-Boas. Mata, 23, has joined Chelsea following a successful £24m-26m bid for the Valencia's ace.

It is clearly the first big deal by Chelsea this season and the arrival of the Spanish should help AVB to settle better in the Premier League after a not so good start at England for him.

It is clear that Malouda's position will be in the most threat as Mata is a natural left-winger. Replacing an M by another M?

Now Chelsea can completely focus on Modric's deal to complete an M&M move. The Croatian refused to play during the game against Manchester United in order to force through a transfer.

I believe Mata will be priced around £9m-10m in fantasy.

Brilliant Welbeck Thrashed Tottenham

Absolutely brilliant assist by Danny Welbeck as Anderson scored the second goal for Manchester United during their 3-0 thrash against Tottenham Hotspur.

Welbeck actually scored the opening header before backheeled to Anderson for the second. Fantastic game by him.

Will he still start the game with Chicharito close to return? Manchester United simply has too much talent in the house.

It's surprising as well for United to pick up a clean sheet with second string defence.

Pick: Rooney

Potential Pick: Welbeck

Full-Time: Gameweek 2 Fantasy Review

Raul Meireles with his middle finger got excited after creating the second goal for Liverpool.

Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle
SUN: Disappointing performance at home. They were lucky to escape with a penalty when Seb Larsson blocked Barton's going-in header with his arm. Sessegnon does look to be a good fantasy bargain with his advanced position anyway.


Potential Pick: Sessegnon
Drop: Bardsley (suspended)


NEW: It's surprising to see Newcastle being able to pick up consecutive clean sheets. That makes defenders like Simpson and Ryan Taylor (both at £4.0m) superb fantasy bargains. But before the window closes at the end of August, you can't be sure whether the Ryan Taylor will lock his place at the left.

In terms of offence, Cabaye is showing more and more potential with his set pieces.


Pick: Simpson
Potential Pick: R Taylor, Cabaye


Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
ARS: Awfully bad luck for the Gunners. They didn't play as bad as predicted. Frimpong had a good game actually if not for the red card, while Nasri had a one-man show dribbling for 70-yards before unleashing a wide shot. Both goals they conceded were arguable, but Wenger did signed one or two star players before this, they could have already won the game before Ramsey's own goal.

Nasri is expected to be a superb fantasy bargain if he stays.

Potential Pick: Nasri
Drop: Frimpong (bad gamble eh?)


LIV: Still don't look organized as a squad. It's surprising that Suarez was benched, but with Frimpong's red, his introduction from the bench along with Meireles was superbly effective. Enrique-Kelly flank defence combo is very solid. In fact, I rate Kelly higher than Glen Johnson in terms of defensive ability.

Downing continued to show great potential and I believe it will be sooner rather than later for him to harvest some good fantasy scores. As for Meireles, I hope he will start instead of Henderson for his great vision of short passing and teamwork with Suarez. Before that happens, it's hardly justified to own the Portuguese.

Pick: Suarez, Downing, Enrique
Potential Pick: Meireles, Kelly
Drop: Henderson


Aston Villa 3-1 Blackburn
AST: Looks like McLeish will stick with his current three-pronged attack - Agbonlahor, Bent and Heskey - as each of them scored once. The rusty Agbonlahor seems to have gone away after a fine display at Saturday. At £6.5m he is a superb acquisition so hopefully he doesn't have any fitness problems after being subbed off during half-time last game.

Darren Bent scored despite not looking really sharp - that's what he is anyway. You'll never be disappointed with his goal rate. What that is differing him with other premium forwards is his lack of participation in creating chances and also his lack of bonus points.

It's a shame that they didn't get a clean sheet, but that doesn't erase the fact that Aston Villa is a good team to invest in defence.

Pick: Agbonlahor
Potential Pick: Bent


BLA: A very courageous header by Gamst Pedersen, but their defence has been horrible. Salgado is increasingly a liability in Rovers' defence - look how easily Agbonlahor teased him before going for a goal. If they don't get some good additions to the squad, I can see relegation coming near towards them.

Drop: BLA defence


Everton 0-1 QPR
EVE: Another story of bad luck. They played good, yet they failed to score. Cahill had a couple of chances to equalise or even win for Everton - he still is the heart of the Toffees' attack.

Meanwhile, youngster Barkley looked very lively throughout the game and should come into your consideration should he get regular starts.

Potential Pick: Tim Cahill


QPR: Nothing much to tell here, as their first choice pair upfront - Bothroyd and DJ Campbell - were both not playing due to virus infection. Certainly needs more observations to evaluate about their defence.


Swansea 0-0 Wigan
SWA: Vroom~! Vorm is looking more and more like the next fantasy keeper of the season with his crazy number of saves. With a penalty saved, he now stands comfortably on the top of keeper's table for this gameweek.

Pick: Vorm


WIG: Moses was unlucky to get two shots on bar. Has a lot of potential with him.

Pick: Moses


Chelsea 2-1 West Brom
CHE: Long way to go for AVB. Their play was sloppy, and Torres seems to return to his last season's form after one game of brilliance.

I like the way Malouda changed the game, but it looks like he is not an absolute starter. With Mata rumoured to be joining soon, things might get worse.

Bosingwa is one of the culprit for the early surprise from Long, but he does look great with his forward runs and crosses.

Potential Pick: Bosingwa, Malouda

WBA: Long made himself famous after scoring back-to-back against Manchester United and Chelsea. Certainly a good fantasy bargain with a price tag of £6.0m. Should have no trouble in pairing up with Odemwingie as well - the latter is both good at scoring and feeding.

Pick: Long

Norwich 1-1 Stoke
NOR: De Laet scored, surprisingly. Too bad he couldn't keep the clean sheet though. Holt still fails to find his form.

Pick: De Laet

STO: Nothing really caught me up here except for Pennant's injury and Shotton's ability for long throw.

Wolves 2-0 Fulham
WOL: Jarvis is the bright star here as Wolves is now currently one of the two teams who got six points. Forward duo Fletcher and Doyle were both influential in the victory again. A much promising team than last season especially in defence which is now led by Roger Johnson.

Pick: Jarvis
Potential Pick: Doyle, Fletcher


FUL: The weak at away syndrome doesn't seem to change under Martin Jol. Senderos looks to be a steal as Fulham's defensive line remains the same as last game.

Potential Pick: Senderos


Bolton 2-3 Man City
BOL: Klasnic on fire! The Croatian continues his fine form by scoring two in two. Kevin Davies also got his first goal of the season with a fine header. Both are expected to carry Bolton to the survival bank along with Eagles and Petrov. But I would still avoid them until next month, where their extremely difficult fixtures end.

Potential Pick: K Davies, Klasnic


MCI: Solid display at offence. Silva continues to look spectacular. Surprisingly James Milner was very productive during the match. Still I don't think he will do that every week.

Dzeko continues to fire as well, and with his style relatively much unique than his teammates, I think his striker position is the safest.

Pick: Silva, Dzeko

Nemanja Vidic Out for Five Weeks

Looks like both Ferdinand and Vidic won't be available until September ends.

Big blow. Manchester United's captain, Nemanja Vidic, has a more serious injury than expected and will out for up to five weeks.

Both Vidic and Ferdinand were injured during the victory against West Brom last Sunday. This may cause serious difficulties to Ferguson's side for winning games, especially when the young De Gea is still unsettled at Old Trafford.

Nevertheless, the injury of the duo will pave way for youngsters such as Chris Smalling (£5.5m), Phil Jones (£5.5m) and Johnny Evans (£4.5m) to step up as fantasy bargains, though it remains intriguing whether they can fill up their seniors' boots.

Kick-Off: Gameweek 2 Fantasy Preview

One for two: Joey Barton (right) will be hated by all Arsenal fans following his great
"performance" for making both Alex Song and Gervinho match-banned for three games.

Overview
Only three games ended with difference on gameweek 1 and that was a rather boring season opener for Premier League. It was also a very turbulent fantasy season opener as well due to the massive technical problem and also the lack of production in terms of goals.

One thing worth noting is that two Arsenal players involved in Barton's incidents will be banned for next three games, namely Song and Gervinho. Be sure to KICK THEM OUT of your squad.

Also, The Scout at FPL official website now offers some good piece of information - it is now a very helpful guide compared to past pundits which have little use. Be sure to read that apart from fantasy blogs.

And most importantly, remember that you have UNLIMITED TRANSFERS this week so utilize this to your very best.

On EA Sports Index
Still has little information about the distribution of points, but it does seem like goals have a strong weight in determining the points. My assumption is that each goal gives approximately 10 EA points or even more - otherwise Aguero won't be sitting at the top comfortably.

Is Modric suffering from a groin
injury or forcing a transfer?

Game of the Week: MAN UTD v TOTTENHAM
In any ordinary day I would put Arsenal v Liverpool as the game of the week, but I guess all of you know how much of disadvantages Arsenal is having at this time.

That's why I am more interested in Tottenham's upcoming first Premier League game of the season - a visit to Old Trafford. Spurs have been historically poor against the Red Devils, losing all 6 past meetings with the Manchester side at Old Trafford. However, following United's injury crises at the back and De Gea's dismal display, the London team starred by Van der Vaart has the chance to break the duck.

Offensively I think both sides will leak - stay away from defenders. Van der Vaart is the obvious and the safest pick from Tottenham, followed by Bale. Playmaker Luka Modric is doubtful due to groin injury - stay away from him.

As for the Red Devils, Rooney, Young and Nani are still the best selections from the team, with Cleverly the cheap access point from the defending champions. I am looking for a goals galore here, with the home side the victor.

Prediction: MUN 3-1 TOT
Pick and captain: Rooney
Pick: Young, Nani, Cleverly, Van der Vaart
Drop: Modric, ALL defence

Much expectations on Fernando
Torres after the Spaniard have a
good game finally with Chelsea.

Fantasy Game of the Week: CHELSEA v WEST BROM

After a disappointing Premier League debut at Britannia Stadium, Andre Villas-Boas is surely determined to get three points this weekend at Stamford Bridge against West Brom.

AVB made a surprising decision last week against Stoke by dropping Drogba and starting the "thought-to-be-out-of-form" Torres. More surprisingly though was the fact that Torres actually played pretty well despite not scoring any goals. If you want some fantasy differential I think he is the man for you this week. I just have a feeling that he will score.

Mikel is expected to be out following the kidnap of his father - it remains a mystery who will fill his spot. There is also a big question mark on the defending line: will AVB favour for Bosingwa for his offensive ability from the back and sacrifice Ivanovic/ David Luiz for him? I expect this to be answered this week with Ivanovic deemed to be fit (Luiz is still unavailable by the way). As for the moment, stick with Ashley Cole or Terry if you have money to splash or wait for another gameweek to determine which player has the cheapest access to Chelsea's clean sheet points. Malouda continues to be the safest selection with no competitor to challenge his LW/ LAM spot.

UPDATE: Cech injured himself during training and is expected to out for 4 weeks. Stay away from him as Hilario and Turnbull (both at £4.5m) look to be decent fantasy picks for the next few weeks.

West Brom had an okay game against Manchester United last week, but I don't think the worst defence last season can hold the marching Blues - bench the Baggies if you happen to own them.

Prediction: CHE 2-0 WBA
Pick and captain: Torres
Pick: CHE defence, Malouda
Drop: WBA players, Cech

It seems like McLeish's rather
unnatural formation is limiting
Bent's goalscoring potential.

Pick and Drop

Pick and captain:

1. Bent - Looks good on paper against Blackburn, but be wary after his disappointing first game.
2. Carroll - Yes it's at Emirates, but I found it hard to resist him due to the fact that the Gunners have been very poor in dealing with tall players.

Pick:

1. Holt - The leadscorer of the Canaries has a point to prove with traditionally poor at away Stoke City to "help" him.
2. Saha, Tim Cahill  - With QPR shadowed by a 4-goal defeat, they could add salt to their pain.
3. Larsson - A home game will help Sunderland's new ace to extend his supremacy.
4. Sinclair - If he fails to impress this game, you can drop him for the rest of the season.

Drop:

1. BLA players - Villa's defence is fundamentally solid, which is the opposite of Blackburn's.
2. ARS defence - I expect the naked Arsenal squad to be oppressed by Liverpool throughout the game. Expect leaks with Song not around as the first defensive line.

Transfer Traffic

GW 2 special: recommended squad revamp

Given -- Al-Habsi

Kompany -- De Laet -- Enrique -- Hughes -- Brown

Young -- Silva -- Larsson -- Moses -- T Cahill

Torres -- Suarez -- Holt

Budget: £100.0m

Good alternatives

GK: Hart, Vorm

DF: Luiz, Simpson, Shawcross

MF: Van der Vaart, Downing, Adam, Malouda, Sinclair, Yaya Toure

F: Aguero, Rooney, Carroll, Bent, Fletcher

Gameweek 2 Dream Team

Given

A Cole -- De Laet -- Jagielka

Malouda -- T Cahill -- Larsson -- Sinclair

Torres (C) -- Rooney (VC) -- Bent

Subs: Vorm -- Jarvis -- J Evans -- Ward

Tony Fernandes Takes Over QPR As AirAsia Continues to Make Its Name In Premier League

Now we fly in Premier League.

Say hi to Tony Fernandes. The Malaysian tycoon of low-cost carrier airline AirAsia has bought all Bernie Ecclestone's 66% stake in Queens Park Rangers, effectively making him the owner of the newly promoted Premier League club.

The director of AirAsia has been constantly involved in Premier League since years ago through sponsoring the flight of Manchester United and also sponsoring the English referees.

Now he is ready to involve in a bigger scale through the acquisition of the club which grounded at Loftus Road. Will QPR get a good transfer kitty immediately? We shall see.

Kun On Fire: City Displaying the Aura of Title Favourites

Easy victory for Manchester City. They were so dominant throughout the game against Swansea. If not for Vrum's saves Swansea would had lost the game completely during the first half.

Check for Aguero - he played for less than 30 minutes from the bench, and recorded 2 goals and 1 assist in such a limited time for his Premier League debut! No adapting problems - good signal for fantasy managers.

Also doing well are Dzeko, Silva and Yaya Toure. Who will lead City's fantasy offence apart from Aguero? Though I believe it should be Silva, the other two are not too far behind.

Be sure that you own Manchester City players, one each at offence and defence department. It is crucial for your fantasy destiny.

Pick: Aguero, Silva, Yaya Toure, MCI defence
Potential Pick: Dzeko

Official Apology by FPL Committee - Unlimited Transfers Until GW 2 Deadline

A great news to all fantasy managers. Due to the technical problems users experienced last Friday and Saturday, the Fantasy Premier League committee has released an official statement on the Premier League official website to apologize for the problem.

As a solution for the logging in problem, fantasy managers can now do UNLIMITED TRANSFERS until the deadline for gameweek 2! Yes, UN-LI-MIT-ED!!! A compensation for those who suffer and a free wildcard for those who has locked in their teams before the disruption of fantasy system. For those who have used the wildcard? No worries, as they will be restored to you. Fair and square.

To read the official statement of Premier League, click here.

Good luck on your revamp, managers.

Goodbye Fabregas: A Big Loss for Fantasy Premier League

Fabregas is happy as his move to Barcelona is close to completion.

The prolonged saga has finally ended. Arsenal's ex-captain, Francesc Fabregas, is ready to join La Liga champion FC Barcelona after the club reached an agreement with Arsenal (finally).

The record holder for Arsenal's first team youngest appearance and youngest first team goalscorer wants to return to his mother club since last year, and after an extended war with Arsenal, Wenger has no choice but to let him go.

The Spaniard's departure is a big loss for FPL managers as he is one of the fantasy commodity with "big gun" status, capable to score over 200 points provided he is fit to play for 90% of the season. Hopefully players such as Ramsey and Wilshere will be able to step up and replace Fabregas' role in providing ammunition to Van Persie.

You will not be forgotten, Fabregas.

Full-Time: Gameweek 1 Fantasy Review

Sebastian Larsson (no. 7) punished Liverpool's chance wastages with a wonderful  bicycle kick.

Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland
LIV: A lot of upside potential, as we can see from first half. Suarez's superb interception and run to earn a penalty (he missed it!), Adam's £10m worth of set piece which helped Suarez to score Premier League's first goal of the season, and Downing's fantastic 40-50 yards run before finding his shot rattling the bar have all shown how dynamic and unstoppable Liverpool's attack can become.

Unfortunately, Dalglish have gone all wrong about his tactics in this game. Henderson is awful playing at the right side. With Flanagan playing, Kuyt should play at the right to provide defensive cover for the young right back. Because of that mistake, 2 points gone.


Pick: Suarez, Downing, Adam, Enrique
Potential Pick: Carroll
Drop: Henderson (if you somehow picked him)


SUN: The Black Cats are pretty shaky in the first half, but fortunately Steve Bruce fixed the problem during half-time. Brown had done a good job in locking Carroll, making the latter hardly able to make a good shot.

Offensively it's all about the almighty Seb Larsson. A very, very solid performance by the ex-Birmingham player. A good direct replacement for Taarabt if you are fed up about the latter's performance against Bolton.


Pick: Larsson, Brown


Blackburn 1-2 Wolves
BLA: Debutant Formica scored a good first goal for the Rovers, but that was not enough for them to claim any points. The defeat is quite a good indication for them - they will be roaming at the bottom third of the league for most part of the season.

Potential Pick: Roberts, Formica, Dunn


WOL: Doyle missed a penalty which in no way was good. Ward's goal was brilliant, but you don't expect a defender to score beautiful goal week-in and week-out.

Potential Pick: Fletcher


Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa
FUL: Pretty football by Martin Jol. Good stream of passes and chance creations makes Fulham players good fantasy options upfront. Still look solid in back despite more offensive approach. Could have won if not for Given's great performance.

Pick: Andy Johnson, Hughes
Potential Pick: John Riise


AVL: Created some good chances but failed to capitalise any. Was surprised to see Hesky start by sacrificing Albrighton. N'Zogbia and Bent didn't look too impressive. Given was superb - pick him.

Pick: Given


QPR 0-4 Bolton
QPR: Nightmare start for them. The Rs pretty much lost themselves after conceding the first goal. Nevertheless, it's better to lose 4-0 in your first game and realise how tough Premier League is rather than later when the season goes into the decisive part.

Drop: QPR defenders


BOL: Klasnic looks incredible in his first game of the season. He is more like a playmaker rather than a striker. Gary Cahill scored a goal, but you shouldn't be fooled to buy him - look at Bolton's fixtures!

Potential Pick: Klasnic (fixtures are too bad to consider)


Wigan 1-1 Norwich
WIG: The departure of N'Zogbia has given rise to two players - Watson and Moses. Both are decent picks considering the next two games Wigan are playing.

Pick: Moses, Watson


NOR: Good rebound by Hoolahan. They didn't look too bad at this game, but it's still too early to conclude about them.

Potential Pick: Hoolahan


Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal
NEW: Barton is easily my man of the match for taking Gervinho off the match. Doesn't have too much to comment about their game - it's so dull.

ARS: With no engines at the middle, they look like a mid-table team. Wenger better get this solved soon, or they might even fall behind of teams like Aston Villa and Everton.

Potential Pick: Ramsey
Drop: GERVINHO

Stoke 0-0 Chelsea
STO: Superb saves by Asmir Begovic. Easily the man of the match. Credits went to referee as well as he denied two penalty appeal from Chelsea. Unfortunate for Matt Etherington however for injuring his shoulder.

Pick: Begovic
Drop: Etherington

CHE: Not quite a good decision by AVB to start Torres instead of Drogba. The Spaniard looked much better than before, but still a distance away from Drogba's ultimate influence and is too expensive to hold unless his form starts to get hot. Held drawn due to some bad fortune sincerely.

West Brom 1-2 Manchester United
WBA: Great debut by Shane Long to score an equaliser as West Brom gave some hard time to Fergie's squad. Almost held United up until a moment of brilliance by Ashley Young.

Potential Pick: Long


MUN: A costly victory with Vidic and Ferdinand gone injured. Young was the decisive man, having scored one and set up another. De Gea almost costed United three points with his slow save against Long's attempt. The young team still look shaky, but fortunately the winners' mentality saved them this time.

Avoid United's defence as for now until De Gea starts to show some sharpness.

Pick: Young, Rooney
Potential Pick: Cleverly
Drop: MUN defence

Gervinho Red Carded - Say Hi to Joe Cole v2

Gervinho in red shirt card.

Much surprises in the first day of 2011/12 Premier League season, but I'll leave it for later.

Let's talk on this. GERVINHO, Arsenal's best signing so far, is set to repeat Joe Cole's tragedy - RED CARD on his first official game for his new club.

The Ivorian dived, and was successfully provoked by Joey Barton. Yellow for the latter, red for Gervinho.

The former Lille player will now face three match suspension. Hopefully he won't become a mega flop like Joe Cole when he returns.

Fantasy Nightmare?

"Error logging in. Please check your details and try again.
argggggggggggggggg
cannot login"


"I already set up my team,but dont know I choose which player as captain..
Wanna check again and website totally screwed up.. "


Two of the forum comments about Fantasy Premier League in my favourite forum, Lowyat.NET. In case you still don't know what's going on, FPL website cannot be logged in since many hours ago. And it's still unable to be logged in as for now.


This will cause some big frustration for FPL managers who want to do last minute decision. Fantasy riot in London?

Kick-Off: Gameweek 1 Fantasy Preview

North London in chaos.

Overview
Riots were all over England as Premier League begun its new season countdown. Fortunately the situation is controlled now, with only the game at White Hart Lane (Tottenham v Everton) being postponed due to its location which is very near to the origin of the riot.

9 games are expected to play this Saturday. Are you ready yet?

7-Gameweek Fixture Analysis (Published Monthly)
In heaven run:

1. Aston Villa (@FUL, BLA, WOL, @EVE, NEW, @QPR, WIG) - Apart from away game to Fulham and Everton, these are pretty easy for the Villans. Bent, N'Zogbia and Given should be a part of your team if you want a good start for the next two months.
2. Chelsea (@STO, WBA, NOR, @SUN, @MNU, SWA, BOL) - What an easy start for AVB. Apart from the visit to Old Trafford and possibly Stadium of Light as well, the rest will most probably give them easy 3 points.

In hell run:

1. Bolton (@QPR, MCI, @LIV, MNU, NOR, @ARS, CHE) - Fighting 5 of the top 6 last season in two months is definitely a crazy task for Owen Coyle. They should feel proud if they are not at the bottom of the league after these 7 games.
2. Blackburn (WOL, @AVL, EVE, @FUL, ARS, @NEW, MCI) - The opening game against Wolves is somewhat crucial for them. For the next 6 games the Rovers are either visiting tough home teams or getting visited by tough teams.
3. Tottenham ( - , @MNU, MCI, @WOL, LIV, @WIG, ARS) - Packed against title rivals in their first 7. Home games will be crucial in deciding their target for this season.
4. Stoke (CHE, @NOR, @WBA, LIV, @SUN, MNU, @SWA) - The Potters are only good at home... Their first few visitors to Britannia are damn tough.

Jordan Henderson to face
his former club this week.

Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v SUNDERLAND
Henderson will play against his old club as Liverpool plan to make a brilliant start for their new campaign.

Both clubs have splashed significant amount of money in the transfer market. However, compared to the signings of Liverpool, it is obvious that Sunderland's newcomers are one level below of Liverpool's.

I am not seeing a clean sheet here, but at Anfield, the Reds should open their season with 3 solid points.

Carroll and Downing are the safest fantasy picks for Liverpool currently; as for Sunderland, take Larsson or Gyan if you are expecting away goals.

Prediction: LIV 3-1 SUN
Pick as captain: Carroll
Pick: Downing, Larsson, Gyan
Drop: SUN defenders


Fantasy Game of the Week: MAN CITY v SWANSEA

Goals or reds from Balotelli?

A super tough game to begin the Premier League journey. Swansea, the newcomer, will visit to Manchester to fight the best defence in the Premier League.

Compared to the mega budget City, Swansea's squad is as thin as paper. It looks like a mission impossible for them to beat City on the road.

It is obvious to start all City players you have. Aguero is still lack of match fitness, so stay away from him as for now. The only man at Swansea worthy for a fantasy start this gameweek is Scott Sinclair.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 SWA
Pick as captain: Balotelli, Silva, Yaya Toure
Pick: MCI defenders, Dzeko
Drop: SWA players


Pick and Drop

Nani should get a head start in
fantasy scoreboard.

Pick as captain:

1. Rooney, Nani, Young - Man Utd visits WBA, the poorest defence unit of last season, this week.
2. Van Persie - Confirmed to be available after all the injury doubts. Fabregas and Nasri's transfer sagas should not affect him.

Pick:

1. Malouda, Lampard - Chelsea is in spectacular form throughout pre-season.
2. Taarabt, QPR defenders  - They are facing much deteriorated Bolton at home. Wait to see Neil Warnock's preferred forward selections though.
3. Rodallega - Norwich shouldn't be too tough for him.

Drop:

1. BOL defenders - Away clean sheet seems impossible.
2. Torres - AVB is more keen to use Drogba currently.
3. David Luiz, Ivanovic - Both not fit for this week.
4. Fabregas, Nasri - Goodbye soon.
5. EVE and TOT players - How to score points with no games to play?

Transfer Traffic

GW 1 special: recommended initial squad

Given -- Al-Habsi

Kompany -- Rafael -- Enrique -- Hughes -- Gabbidon

Nani -- Yaya Toure -- N'Zogbia -- Taarabt -- Sinclair

Drogba -- Bent -- Holt

Budget: £99.0m

*It is advised to left some extra money in the bank for acquisition of expensive, on form players without taking any penaltied transfers.

Gameweek 1 Dream Team

Hart

Kompany -- Alex -- Gabbidon

Malouda -- Nani (VC) -- Downing -- Yaya Toure -- Taarabt

Carroll (C) -- Balotelli

Subs: Al-Habsi ---- Rodallega -- Samba -- Briggs

Expected List of Set Piece Huggers

Leighton Baines
The free kick ace of Everton.

The title itself is pretty self-explanatory. Players are listed in the order of priority (only significant takers are listed):

• Arsenal: Van Persie, Arshavin, Wilshere (provided that Fabregas and Nasri both leave)
• Aston Villa: N'Zogbia, Bent
• Blackburn: Pedersen, Dunn
• Bolton: Kevin Davies, Martin Petrov, Holden
• Chelsea: Drogba, Lampard, Malouda
• Everton: Baines, Arteta
• Fulham: Murphy, Riise, Zamora
• Liverpool: Adam, Gerrard, Suarez
• Man City: Tevez, Silva, Kolarov
• Man Utd: Rooney, Young, Nani
• Newcastle: Cabaye, Ben Arfa
• Norwich: Holt, Hoolahan
• QPR: Taarabt, Bothroyd
• Stoke: Etherington, Pennant
• Sunderland: Larsson, Gardner, Gyan
• Swansea: Sinclair, Dobbie
• Tottenham: Van der Vaart, Bale
• WBA: Brunt, Odemwingie, Dorrans
• Wigan: Watson, Rodallega
• Wolves: O'Hara, Jarvis

Tottenham v Everton Postponed; The Rest to Play As Scheduled

Fortunately only one game delayed.

Due to the terror caused by civil unrest across England, there are doubts whether the opening day of the new Premier League season will proceed as usual. Fortunately the riots are slowly calming down and only the game of Tottenham v Everton is postponed.

Be sure to follow my gameweek 1 guides which will be posted later. Meanwhile, do spend some time to read my 2011/12 Fantasy Season Preview and also "How to Play?" to get an idea on how to be a successful fantasy manager.

Jose Enrique Is One Step Away From Liverpool Switch

Jose Enrique
Reina will finally have another Spanish teammate.

A left-back finally. Newcastle's outcast, Jose Enrique is said to have agreed personal terms with Liverpool and will move to the Merseyside club subject to medical.

The Spaniard has broken his relationship with the club owner Mike Ashley following his questioning on the latter's lack of ambition. Despite Alan Pardew's desire to keep him, Enrique favours more to the exit door.

At the fantasy price of £5.0m, the expected first choice left back of Liverpool will be a pretty good fantasy bargain.

2011/12 Fantasy Season Preview - Manchester United

Manchester United FC

Last Season Summary

League ranking: 1st (80 pts, Champ19ns)

Points per game (home: away): 2.89: 1.32

Goals scored per game (home: away): 2.58: 1.53
Goals conceded per game (home: away): 0.63: 1.32

Number of clean sheets: 15

Top league scorer: Dimitar Berbatov (20 goals, joint Golden Boot winner)

Top league assister: Luis Nani (14 assists)

Transfers

In: David De Gea, Phil Jones, Ashley Young

Out: Bebe, Ritchie De Laet, Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes, Edwin Van der Sar, Wes Brown, John O'Shea, Gabriel Obertan

Pre-Season Results

4-1 New England Revolution

7-0 Seattle Sounders

3-1 Chicago Fire

4-0 MLS All-Stars

2-1 FC Barcelona

6-0 New York Cosmos
3-2 Manchester City (Community Shield)

Predicted Season Finish: 1st

The next generation of the Red Devils is coming. It remains to be seen how the new bloods adapt themselves at Old Trafford, but the experience of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson should guide them through again with all their rivals facing different uncertainties. Not much of chewing gum advertisements from the Scot hopefully.

Defence - 9/10

The strength is still there, with Smalling and Jones covering for injury-prone Ferdinand. However, the depth of side-backs is somewhat worrying.

Midfield - 8/10

While United boast the best flanks of the league, little has been done by Ferguson to fill the void of central midfield. Although Fletcher-Carrick or Anderson-Carrick duo are not too bad, they are far from outstanding. Hopefully Wesley Sneijder will come to Old Trafford and solve the problem once and for all.

Attack - 10/10

It's crazy when golden boot Berbatov is only Ferguson's third choice forward. Rooney's work rate has consistently earned him respectable amounts of goals and assists every season, while Chicharito's astounding ability to score from the back part of his head, face and butt has made him a highly dangerous forward. Berbatov might be going to Paris-Saint-Germaine, but there are still Owen and Welbeck backing him up.

Fantasy Ace: Wayne Rooney (£12.0m)

Being the most influential player at Old Trafford, Rooney had a terrible first half of last season due to the scandals revolving around him. But a reignited him has shown great form coming towards the end of last season.

His asking price is quite high, but as long as he maintains his level of play, 200 points is highly possible for the Englishman with his versatility of play and hardworking attitude on the pitch.

Powerhouse Picks: Luis Nani (£10.0m), David de Gea (£6.5m), Ashley Young (£10.0m), Javi Hernandez (£10.0m)

As the best fantasy performer of Manchester United last season, Nani is an unstoppable figure at Old Trafford with his skillful dribbling and good crossings. He will still be a pivotal figure this season, but to a slightly lesser extent due to the arrival of Ashley Young.

Joined from Athletico Madrid, De Gea (pix) represents the cheapest sure-starter in United's defence. His performance at Community Shield has risen some voices of doubt, but I expect his performance to improve as the season progresses.

Ex-Villa's ace, Young, was bought at a good price of £16m from the Birmingham club. He should dominate the left flank position more than Nani and Valencia. Added with his set piece ability and flexibility to play in the hole, he represents a good fantasy bargain.

My king of shooting, Hernandez, has gone through an exceptional year last season, forcing the Golden Boot Dimitar Berbatov out of Ferguson's starting XI. His superb finishing ability will make him a good candidate for Golden Boot this season.

Solid Picks: Rafael Da Silva (£5.5m), Nemanja Vidic (£8.0m)

With O'Shea and Brown leaving, Rafael (pix) represents the best right-back that is now available to Sir Alex Ferguson. He should expect some competitions from Smalling and his fellow twin Fabio, but I am expecting him to play for more than 2300 minutes (out of available 3420 minutes) this season.

Priced as the most expensive defender alongside Baines, Vidic is surely very hard to be afforded. The premium on him is justified though, considering that he is the United defender that comes with the least rotation risk.

Worth Scouting: Antonio Valencia (£8.0m),  Dimitar Berbatov (£9.5m), Tom Cleverly (£5.5m)

Valencia is an adept winger who's particularly good on crosses, but I believe he is the biggest loser following the arrival of Ashley Young.

Berbatov will have limited time this season and you will need to pray that Rooney and Chicharito will take turn injuring themselves for the Bulgarian to shine.

Back from the loan spell at Wigan, Cleverly is fantastic during pre-season matches with Manchester United, especially at the match against Manchester City. He can be the next playmaker of the Red Devils, should the club fails to make a breakthrough for the transfer of Wesley Sneijder. If he gains a starting spot he will be this season's top value player.

2011/12 Fantasy Season Preview - Chelsea

Chelsea FC

Last Season Summary

League ranking: 2nd (71 pts)

Points per game (home: away): 2.37: 1.37

Goals scored per game (home: away): 2.05: 1.58
Goals conceded per game (home: away): 0.68: 1.05

Number of clean sheets: 15

Top league scorer: Florent Malouda (13 goals)

Top league assister: Didier Drogba (13 assists)

Transfers

In: Oriol Romeu, Lucas Piazon, Thibaud Courtois, Romelu Lukaku

Out: Thibaud Courtois, Jeffrey Bruma, Michael Mancienne, Michael Woods

Pre-Season Results

1-0 Portsmouth

1-0 Malaysia XI

4-0 Thailand All Stars

4-0 Kitchee

2-0 Aston Villa

Predicted Season Finish: 2nd

Pretty much the same mould as last year, the Blues now march under the leadership of Andre Villas-Boas. So far the performance by "Mourinho v2" has been good, with Chelsea winning all the pre-seasons. However, with the squad continues the ageing process, and key player Michael Essien out for a big part of the season, there are big mountains for them to climb and reach the summit again.

Defence - 10/10

Unarguably the most complete defence, the Blues' defenders are capable of doing big damages at the front third too. Their best four (A. Cole, Terry, Luiz, Ivanovic) on the back are also relatively much fitter than their closest opponents.

Midfield - 8/10

Chelsea houses one of the most stocky midfielder combinations in the league. Ageing and lack of speedy players are concerning, but they are not expected to surface yet this season.

Attack - 9/10

Drogba and Torres remain the most exciting player to be seen in this line, but their compatibility is worrying. The presence of Anelka and Sturridge keeps the front line deep.

Fantasy Ace: Didier Drogba (£10.5m)

There are plenty of uncertainties that make me hard to decide on which one is the fantasy ace of the Chelsea this season, but I guess I will stick with one of the most fantasy proven player of the team who comes with a good amount of discount. Drogba, currently 33, is still the most important Chelsea player who can strike terror into opponent's defence with his monstrous body strength and clinical finishing. His age doesn't stop him yet; instead, it gives him the maturity to become even more threatening, as shown by his 15 assists last season. Do expect rotation threat for Drogba with the presence of Fernando Torres, but at the moment, it is believed that Andre Villas-Boas will favour him over the Spaniard.

Powerhouse Picks: Florent Malouda (£10.5m), Marinho David Luiz (£6.5m)

Being the only midfielder at Chelsea who's naturally a wide player, Malouda (pix) has shown a lot of consistency in these recent seasons. Double digit goals for two consecutive seasons, coupled with lack of competition on the sideways, should guarantee the Frenchman yet another productive season with Chelsea.

The cheapest of Chelsea's expected starting back four, David Luiz is good at both ends. 56 points in only 953 minutes of league appearance suggests that he can break the 150 target in this coming season. He's currently injured, but is hopeful to make his start at gameweek 1.

Solid Picks: Ashley Cole (£7.5m), Frank Lampard (£12.0m), Branislav Ivanovic (£7.0m)

Dubbed as the best left-back in the Premier League, Cole is renowned for his surging runs to the front. The premium paid for him is quite high compared to Luiz or even Ivanovic, but his position at the left is extremely solid.

Lampard is one of the fantasy legends who has hit the 200-point ceiling for three times in the last five years. He shares free kicks, penalties and corners with Drogba, so scoring fantasy points is not a problem for him as long as he plays. But his age might just make him a little bit overpriced.

Being another member of Chelsea's back four, Ivanovic can play at both right and centre back position. He is a potent threat at corners too, which makes him as productive as Ashley Cole in terms of fantasy points.

Worth Scouting: Fernando Torres (£11.0m), Salomon Kalou (£7.5m), Yossi Benayoun (£7.0m), Romelu Lukaku (£?m)

Torres' price is judged based on his name more than his stats. Still looking a good distant away from his best form, it is still not wise to get him now. But that might change in near future.

Kalou is a decent and cheap fantasy player at Chelsea, but his playing time is not enough to make him a good bargain. He will do good if there's injury crisis around at Stamford Bridge.

Yossi Benayoun has made his name at Liverpool, yet his time at Chelsea is limited. That might change with the arrival of Villas-Boas, especially when he's looking sharp currently.

Lukaku is expected to join Chelsea shortly. Tough competition occurs at Chelsea's strike force, so he will need to wait for his chance.