Kick-Off: Gameweek 8 Fantasy Preview

David Silva is a major doubt for this week's Premier League.

Real Madrid suffered a large scale FIFA virus after the notorious international fixtures. Fortunately it doesn't look that bad for Premier League clubs, with David Silva the only big name on the casualty list so far. Let's get back to business then, fellow fantasy managers.

GAMEWEEK 7 TOP SCORERS

1. Aleksandar Kolarov (£5.7m, 20 pts): A super productive gameweek for him, just like what we saw frequently last season. He don't play regular minutes though, which makes it hard to persuade myself to get him.
2. Jose Fonte (£4.0m, 15 pts): Not so sure how he managed to get in here. Averaging not even a point for the past 6 gameweeks before the last one, you will need incredible courage to get him. Not recommended.
3. Steven Caulker (£4.7m, 15 pts): So defenders top the list of last gameweek. Good price, good offensive stats so far, but needs a few more gameweeks to observe his playing minutes, his offensive consistency and Tottenham's defensive resolution.
4. Jonny Evans (£5.8m, 14 pts): If Manchester United can regain their tight back line, then he is the man to own. Evans is currently the cheapest access to the Red Devils' list of fantasy defenders following Nemanja Vidic's 8 weeks injury.
5. Patrice Evra (£6.8m, 13 pts): A much more solid performance. Still not recommended however with Branislav Ivanovic (£7.2m, 12 pts) and Leighton Baines (£7.5m, 6 pts) both performing much better with just a little bit of premium.
6. Wayne Routledge (£5.2m, 13 pts): Played a big part in ending Swansea's consecutive defeat streak. Taking the inflation of Nathan Dyer (£5.7m, 2 pts) into consideration I believe Routledge is the more valuable pick of the duo should you need some Swansea exposure.

FEATURED: Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea @ White Hart Lane
A big showdown will happen at London this Saturday as Andre Villas-Boas hopes for a redemption against his former club Chelsea.

Though the Mourinho protege had an awful career at Stamford Bridge, he is having a much better time at White Hart Lane, grabbing 12 points out of possible 12 in his last four Premier League games after a slow start. It could hardly get any better to face his former employer at such a timing.

Much of his hopes will depend on Gareth Bale (£9.5m, 43 pts in total) — who has been superior in both club and country level and earned numerous praises after a fantastic feat for Wales earlier this week.

Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.0m, 1 pt) should be fit for action, but I don't think that will refrain Jermaine Defoe (£7.8m, 5 pts) from going into action — a 4-4-2 is quite likely for Villas-Boas' side.

On the other side, Fernando Torres (£10.0m, 12 pts) will be looking forward to extend his fine form, with Eden Hazard (£10.3m, 9 pts) and Juan Mata (£8.9m, 8 pts) providing strong support from the flanks. Great exciting offensive match in anticipation.

I don't expect clean sheets, so it is not advisable to get any of their defenders hoping for 4 clean sheet points. Close call, but I am more inclined to a Tottenham victory after their wonderful feat at Old Trafford two weeks ago.

Prediction: TOT 3-2 CHE

TEAM FOCUS: Liverpool
Arsenal will play at Carrow Road against leaky Norwich City, but in my opinion Liverpool's home game against Reading is as delicious as the Gunners in fantasy terms, if not better.

Just like Norwich, Reading are still struggling to earn their first Premier League of the season, and the road to Anfield — which is set for an expansion plan — won't be kind to them.

While the Reds have just won one Premier League game so far, they have the tendency to bully defensively weak teams. Luis Suarez (£9.6m, 2 pts) is the only match fit senior forward of the team, and is surely the man to invest following Fabio Borini's (£7.3m, 0 pts) injury for Italy.

Fernandez Saez (£5.0m, 2 pts), better known as Suso, is another Liverpool man on fine form and could start and score some good returns this gameweek, while Andre Wisdom (£4.5m, 9 pts) will hope to start again after claiming 9 points which include 3 bonus points last gameweek.

It's too long to not win at Anfield, and I think that will end on Saturday.

Prediction: LIV 3-1 RDG

PLAYER FOCUS: Cazorla
Arsenal will play Norwich this week, so it's very hard to ignore the likes such as Santi Cazorla (£9.4m, 8 pts). The Spanish playmaker is expected to bring lots of troubles to the Canaries' defence.

Lukas Podolski (£8.6m, 5 pts) is another man you should consider from Arsenal, while Everton's match against QPR presents several fantasy opportunities such as Steven Pienaar (£6.9m, 8 pts) and Nikica Jelavic (£8.4m, 5 pts).

GAMEWEEK 8 DREAM TEAM

Manonne

Johnson — Evans — Baines

Cazorla (VC) — Nolan — Sahin — Bale

Suarez (C) —  Podolski — Jelavic

Subs: Schwarzer— Routledge —  McCartney — Rangel

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FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool F.C.

The Reds with their kit by new sponsor.

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

Password: http://p-fplz.blogspot.com/

Last Season: Worst Yet
It was indeed quite surprising that Liverpool had undergone their worst ever Premier League season last term under the management of the legendary Kenny Dalglish. Terribly overpriced purchases, coupled with stubborn tactical approach (reluctance to start in-form Maxi Rodriguez regularly) has led to such a catastrophic season. Luck did not go in their favour neither, as they hit the posts and bars so regularly as if they were the "goals".

This Summer: New Manager, New Hope
Brendan Rodgers becomes the new Liverpool manager after such a successful Premier League debut season with Swansea City. There are more outs (Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez, Fabio Aurelio and the latest, Alberto Aquilani) than ins (Fabio Borini) currently, with the negotiation to buy Clint Dempsey fails to reach a consensus.

Upcoming Season: Tiki-Taka Transformation?
It is expected to see Rodgers blending his trademark continental football style into the team. However, things can be tough with majority of Liverpool team so used to English style of football. Nonetheless, tiki-taka should be rolled on easier with one or two more additions to the squad.

Suarez: Ajax vs Liverpool.

Hoping for A Better Year: Suarez (FI: 0.421)
Not quite a fine season for Luis Suarez (£9.5m) with only 11 goals - I would have expect the Uruguayan who has just signed a new contract with Liverpool to have at least a 15-goal season.

Still, fantasy committee are putting good faith on him by tagging him £9.5m this season. He should improve though, as I believe the tiki-taka approach should fit him better. Hopefully he can achieve a 15 goal o even 20 goal season then.

Gerrard's historical P90.

Back to His Best?: Gerrard (FI: 0.347)
Steven Gerrard (£9.5m) has been mediocre for the past few seasons due to a series of injuries and tactical failures, but signs do indicate that he is returning to his best.

Gerrard's P90 last season wasn't that bad actually - 5.54 was his third best over the last 6 seasons. Sure, injuries are limiting his playing time, but if he can stay fit this season, you can be hopeful of a solid season from the skipper, especially when he has done so well in the Euro tournament.


Rodgers' Choice: Borini (FI: N/A)
It was quite a long time before Rodgers acquired his first signing at Liverpool, and that lad is Fabio Borini (£8.0m), someone Rodgers had known long enough. The gaffer first worked with the Italian when he was an youth team coach at Chelsea, then at Swansea where Borini joined on loan.

The understanding is there between the two, so one would expect Borini to click instantly into Rodgers' system. Still, it remains to be seen whether Rodgers has the players to unleash Borini's potential.

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