Kick-Off: Gameweek 31 Fantasy Preview

Kenny Dalglish: Man in pressure.

Overview
So Chelsea continued their fine run under the lead of Di Matteo. The Blues won their first leg of the Champions League quarter finals with a 1-0 win away to Benfica. Great likelihood to progress, but they are expected to face Barcelona next.

Game of the Week: NEWCASTLE v LIVERPOOL

Can Ben Arfa get consistent
starts?

Not pretty interesting in terms of the meaning of the battle, but nevertheless this is the most balanced match-up of the week.

Newcastle are back in winning ways, winning the last two games with Papiss Cisse the man. The compatriot of Ba has scored three goals in the last two games and will be the biggest threat of Liverpool's clean sheet points.

Ben Arfa is the other man where you cannot take your eyes off. The talented winger has shown supreme performance last gameweek by getting involved in all three Newcastle's goals. Coupled with Cisse and Ba, the trio has immeasurable potential against Liverpool.

On the other side, Suarez has managed to find some consistency recently, but his explosive potential is yet to be materialized. Can he unleash that against Newcastle? Seems tough when his teammates are not up to his par except Gerrard.

Should be a comprehensive Newcastle victory as Liverpool continues to drop points horribly.

Prediction: NEW 3-1 LIV
Pick: Cisse, Ben Arfa
Drop: LIV defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v SUNDERLAND

Carlos Tevez to get a start?

City certainly is not ready to hand the title out as they host Sunderland in the quest of closing down the gap against United.

The Blue Moon's offensive power has been mediocre recently - they had only scored 3 goals in their last three when they had score 12 in their first three games of the season. David Silva seems to be out of magic as the team struggles to find chances.

Aguero is quoted as "75% playing" so maybe you should sell him considering how much better you can achieve via Van Persie and Rooney. Balotelli will be your main man to trust, as the wonder kid is never short of wonders - both on and off the field.

Defensive wise, Kompany is flagged as "50% playing" but given his importance in the team, I think he should start in order to break down Sunderland's offence which has return to its best after as Sessegnon returned from suspension.

City's superb home record should keep their trail within 3 points so put your City players on and hope for the best.

Prediction: MCI 2-0 SUN
Pick and Captain: Balotelli
Pick: MCI defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:
Dempsey/Pogrebnyak - Superb potential against Norwich.
Van Persie/Rooney - The automatic picks.

Pick:
Mata - The team are very much settled under Di Matteo.
Jelavic - Seems quite lively recently.
Bale/Adebayor - Expect them to back in form.
Valencia - Never short of magic.

Drop:
QPR defence - Too poor against Arsenal's offensive standards.
BLA defence - Nothing stops United at the moment.

Transfer Traffic
Green light (buy):
Evans - 25 points in the last two games has made him super popular.
G Cahill - Performs impressively under Di Matteo's tactics.
Walcott - Starts for more than 10 consecutive league games.
P Cisse - Cheaper and in better form than Ba.

Yellow light (hold):
Sessegnon - Returned but has back to back tough games.
Jelavic - Looks settled but needs more games to make conclusion.
Suarez - Still waiting for the explosive factor to explode.

Red light (sell):
Enrique/Skrtel - Terrible form at the moment.
Ba - Overpriced compared to his teammate Cisse.
MCI forwards - Overly crowded to get consistent minutes.

Gameweek 31 Dream Team

Hart

Assou-Ekkoto -- Evans -- G Cahill

Ben Arfa -- Dempsey -- Bale -- Valencia -- Walcott

Rooney (VC) -- Van Persie (C)

Subs: Al-Habsi -- Pogrebnyak -- Gibbs -- Hibbert

Kick-Off: Gameweek 29 Fantasy Preview

Di Matteo saved Premier League's pride by progressing to
quarter finals of Champions League.

Overview
Liverpool's 3-0 victory over Everton certainly salvaged many double gameweek gamblers. Gerrard got a whopping 22 point gameweek thanks to his hat-trick, while Suarez provided 2 assists to score 14 points. Defenders like Skrtel and Enrique got a clean sheet too. Those who bought them certainly won't be disappointed, although they might expect more.

Meanwhile, Chelsea progressed through the last eight of Champions League in the expense of Napoli after extra time. Di Matteo is certainly on the run now as the new Chelsea coach, having won all games since he took over. Chelsea's players definitely should be on your radar by now.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v CHELSEA

Frank Lampard: The
evergreen ace.

The greatest test for Di Matteo so far as they visit to Etihad Stadium to salvage their Champions League chance next season.

The former Italian international is rejuvenating the Blues at the moment, as Roman Abramovich's army won in all games under his charge. People are being reminded of Mourinho's era with him - resolute defense, strength battle and aerial advantage all reappeared under Di Matteo.

Senior players like Lampard and Drogba should lead the team again after a fantastic performance against Napoli. Huge pressure for City then, which will be without captain Kompany who is fantastic in positioning.

On the other side, City are losing grip in this concluding stage of the season, suffering two consecutive defeats at Europa League and Premier League. Aguero is unable to show us the super Aguero at the opening stage of the season, while Silva's form is also pretty woeful and has already been overtaken by Dempsey in terms of fantasy scores.

It will be a tough game to call, but as long as Chelsea continues to play Mourinho's style of football, I believe City will slip points again and hand the title to United.

Prediction: MCI 1-1 CHE
Pick: Lampard, Drogba
Drop: MCI defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: WOLVES v MANCHESTER UNITED

Rooney still has hopes
for Golden Boot.

Tottenham are facing Stoke at home but we all know how they struggled recently. Hence I will turn my head to Molineux - where league leaders Manchester United will visit to this week.

Wayne Rooney scored both goals in their victory against West Brom last week. The forward has 20 league goals now and still has chance to pressure Robin Van Persie (25 goals) in the golden boot race. Great motivation then, apart from grabbing the 20th league title for Manchester United.

Another man on form is Rooney's compatriot Ashley Young. The former Aston Villa's ace has got 26 fantasy points in his last two games and is expected to continue such fine run to demolish Wolves. Certainly a tough time for Wolves defenders to mark them both.

I am 50-50 about United's likelihood of a clean sheet, but nevertheless having at least one of the duo mentioned above is a must at this stage. Victory for Red Devils.

Prediction: WOL 0-2 MUN
Pick and Captain: Rooney, Young
Drop: WOL defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Van Persie - An automatic choice.
• Ba/ Cisse - Norwich's defensive history makes them mouth-watering choices.
• Gerrard - The captain is inspirational.
• Suarez - He will make QPR defenders look silly.
• Dempsey/ Pogrebnyak  - The partnership is impressive.

Pick:

• Bale - Still reliable, but not reliable enough to be captained.
• LIV defence - QPR's attack shouldn't be tough for them.

Drop:

• STO defence - Tottenham is not expected to disappoint their fans.
• EVE defence - No one stops RvP.
• QPR defence - To stop both Gerrard and Suarez is not easy.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Young/ Rooney - On their high.
• Gerrard - In his cheapest price in these few years and still has skills.
• Suarez - Points are assured with Gerrard around.

Yellow light (watch):

• Bale/ Adebayor - Lacking consistencies at the moment.
• Cleverley  - Returned finally and we shall see how he cope with in these few gameweeks.

Red light (sell):

• Silva/ Aguero - Not in form and subject to heavy rotation.
• Kompany - Injured.

Gameweek 29 Dream Team

Schwarzer

Evans -- Skrtel -- Assou-Ekkoto

Dempsey -- Gerrard (VC) -- Young -- Lampard

Rooney (C) -- Van Persie -- Suarez

Subs: Al-Habsi -- Moses -- Simpson -- Cuellar

Kick-Off: Gameweek 28 Fantasy Preview

Are you ready for Liverpool's gameweek double?

Overview
A pretty catastrophic last gameweek for plenty of managers with fantasy favourites Sessegnon and Dyer being sent off and Ba missing a penalty. Coupled with Kompany's recent injury, a lot of changes will be needed for owners of them. Time for precious wildcard?

At European tournaments, we saw Arsenal being knocked-out gloriously from Champions League after managed to recover three of the four goal deficit against AC Milan at their home turf before half-time but unable to add anymore after that. Meanwhile, Manchester City suffered an away defeat at Europa League and more shockingly, Manchester United conceded three goals at home to fall 2-3 against Athletico Madrid.

Game of the Week: ARSENAL v NEWCASTLE

Oxlade-Chamberlain had a
fine game against AC Milan
in Champions League.

Revenge is a must for Wenger's lads as in form Arsenal strives to take down Newcastle at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are on a superbly fine run now, killing off both Tottenham and Liverpool in their last two league fixtures. Captain Robin Van Persie is on extraordinary form now. See how he scored twice against Liverpool with such limited chances.

Walcott, Arteta and Ramsey are all quoted as doubtful (75% playing) in FPL - expect some or all of them to play anyway as they combine with in form Rosicky and Oxlade-Chamberlain to provide excellent supplies to their captain.

On the other side, the Ba-Cisse combination will continue to offer major threat, but I see a sweet revenge for Arsenal. Solid victory for Arsenal to put pressure on third-placed Tottenham.

Prediction: ARS 3-1 NEW
Pick and Captain: Van Persie
Pick: Walcott, Ba, Cisse
Drop: NEW defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL's Double (@ SUNDERLAND, EVERTON)

Time for Suarez to redeem
himself?

Liverpool will get their replacement fixture against Everton this gameweek and this make their players delicious fantasy commodities.

The away game at Stadium of Light against Sunderland will be a tricky one but Liverpool are lucky to face them at such timing. The Black Cats started their reign under Martin O'Neill brilliantly but failed to pick up any win in their last three games. Coupled with the suspension of the team's ace Stephane Sessegnon, the Reds should be able to pick up one point at least.

The Merseyside derby will take place on Tuesday at Anfield. Everton are slowly picking up as the season progresses and they have shown some good results recently. While the Toffees are as mighty as the title contenders, they are tough to be taken down.

Defenders Skrtel and Enrique are must have players as usual, while Suarez should be given the fantasy captain armband for his explosive performance. You never know if he could break the goalpost jinx this week and score a couple of goals this week.

Prediction: SUN 0-0 LIV, LIV 2-1 EVE
Pick and Captain: Suarez
Pick: Skrtel, Enrique, Adam, Bellamy


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Young/ Rooney  - Expect them to rip off West Brom.

Pick:

• Pogrebnyak  - He just don't stop scoring.
• Mata  - Time for him to lead Chelsea away from slump.
• Yakubu - Wolves defence shouldn't be a problem for him.
• Osman  - The first man you should consider for Everton's double with Pienaar being ineligible to face Tottenham.
• Holt - Should score against Wigan.

Drop:

• Kompany - Injured.
• Sessegnon/ Dyer - Suspended.
• Aguero - Rotation risk.
• WBA defence - Expect demolition by Manchester United.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Suarez/ Enrique/ Skrtel  - Good to hold for at least this week.
• Pogrebnyak/ Dempsey  - Superb form.
• Young - Replacing Valencia's importance.
• Van Persie - Captain supremo.

Yellow light (watch):

• Adam  - Not so good for long term holding.
• NEW defence  - Not so resolute recently.
• Aguero - His production hardly meets his price.

Red light (sell):

• Kompany - Injured.
• Sessegnon/ Dyer - Suspended.
• Ba - Pogrebnyak and Papiss Cisse seems to give similar production and are much cheaper.

Gameweek 28 Dream Team

Szcznesny

Enrique -- Skrtel -- Evans

Young -- Silva -- Walcott -- Mata

Suarez (C) -- Progrebnyak -- Van Persie

Subs: Mignolet -- Pilkington -- Bosingwa -- O'Shea

Kick-Off: Gameweek 27 Fantasy Preview

A bad England senior team coach debut for Stuart Pearce.

Overview
Congratulations to Liverpool to finally win a trophy after so many years. A pretty boring final to be honest, though the extra time and penalty kick sessions were heart pounding. What's the odds of two Gerrards miss penalty together?

On the other story, the England national football team looks to be on big disarray as Pearce was unable to lead England to a win against Netherlands. Scott Parker is chosen to be the squad captain surprisingly though I do not doubt the Tottenham's midfielder ability to lead.

Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v ARSENAL

Skrtel is playing his best
season ever with Liverpool.

Just championed Liverpool will face Arsenal at Anfield to salvage their chances of Champions League qualification for next season.

The Carling Cup title should definitely boost the Reds' morale, but injury figures were increased after the final tie and that could hinder their chances of winning this one. Daniel Agger will be out for several weeks with injury on his ribs, while captain marvel Steven Gerrard is likely to miss this encounter with a hamstring problem.

Defence will be on huge pressure will Agger not around as Martin Skrtel usually only plays well with the Dane beside him. Upfront Dalglish will have to rely on Suarez and Bellamy again - Carroll looks to be de-synched from the team again after a mediocre display against Cardiff.

On the other side, Robin Van Persie will continue to lead the line and should do a big part for this game in his charge of 200th fantasy points. Walcott, who did brilliantly last week, will be hopeful to continue the feat, although it's still a doubt whether the "one week brilliant, three to four weeks silent" form continues.

I don't expect a clean sheet game to be honest, and Liverpool should retain their undefeated home result while on their way to become the worst undefeated at home record.

Prediction: LIV 1-1 ARS
Drop: LIV and ARS defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v BOLTON WANDERERS

Yaya Toure is a fantastic lad.

The ruthless City is back and expect a slaughtering festival at Etihad Stadium this week.

The return of Yaya Toure certainly marked a great improvement in City's results as they beat Blackburn comfortably last week. Aguero plus one of Balotelli and Dzeko should lead the line and score, so remember to bolster up your attacking force with City's players.

At the back, Kompany will continue to cover his team with his great vision and positioning. Should be a comprehensive clean sheet victory against Bolton which only able to score once in its last four games.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 BOL
Pick and Captain: Aguero, Silva
Pick: Yaya Toure, Kompany, Balotelli, Dzeko
Drop: BOL players


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Pogrebnyak - Two eight-pointer in two games he had played.

Pick:

• Yakubu - Should be able to take a charge against out of form Villa.
• Young - On form as United faces Tottenham which has poor record against them.

Drop:

• Richards - Out of Mancini's favour.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Yaya Toure - Priced attractively.
• A Young - In form both for club and country.
• Aguero - Should be having fine games this week and the next.
• Kompany - Still the best City defender to select.

Yellow light (watch):

• Bale - Doubtful for United game.

Red light (sell):

• Richards - No starting spot for him.
• Terry - Out until April.
• Darren Bent - Injured.

Gameweek 27 Dream Team

Hart

Shawcross -- Skrtel -- Simpson

Silva -- Mata -- Young -- Dempsey

Aguero (C) -- Ba -- Pogrebnyak

Subs: Vorm -- Dyer -- Hibbert -- Senderos

The Best Partner: Gameweek 25 Fantasy Review

The duo of Adebayor and Saha worked out together incredibly.

Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
A convincing victory for the defending champion. Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand though that was forgiven by the FA.

The first half was rather boring thanks to the many passing mistakes done by both sides. In the second half Rooney scored goals in quick succession and they were enough to seal three points for United.

Rooney and Valencia were the aces as usual, with De Gea making one of his better games with two important saves. On the other side, Downing was pathetic ever since he joined Liverpool, while Enrique didn't look that sharp after making a quick return to the pitch. Suarez marked his return with a goal and that should be taken a note.

Pick: Rooney, Valencia
Watch: Suarez


Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 Newcastle
Crazy win! A comprehensive victory which recorded the rebirth of Adebayor after such a long scoring drought. 4 assists and 1 goal, that's five star performance. Credits to debutant Louis Saha too as he was the reason why Adebayor managed to give such a wonderful display. The French striker scored 2 goals in this game, which equaled his tally at Everton this season.

Assou-Ekkoto scored yet another goal this season to continue his super productive season. He is already £6.1m currently and is expected to rise again after such a fine gameweek.

Sad day for Newcastle as they were totally outclassed by Spurs.

Pick: Adebayor, Saha, Ekkoto


Blackburn 3-2 QPR
A sensational return by Yakubu as they led the game by three for a big part of the game. N'Zonzi scored a rare double digit gameweek, but he's never a fantasy pick.

Mackie scored twice as a sub as that effectively questioned the need of buying Zamora and Cisse during this transfer window when they have clinical finishers like Helguson.

Pick: Yakubu
Watch: Mackie


Bolton 1-2 Wigan
Another defeat for Bolton and I really wonder why Owen Coyle is still on the seat. At home, with a good crop of players, and yet lost to possibly one of the weakest sides in Premier League. That's unforgivable. Nevertheless, it's good to see the growth of Mark Davies.

No good fantasy prospects from Wigan despite the win, so I'll skip discussions about their players.

Watch: Mark Davies


Everton 2-0 Chelsea
All eyes will be on Steven Pienaar after this game. The South African played marvelously in his return to Goodison Park and provided the missing creativity that the side needs to score goals.

 A good game by Stracqualursi, but there remains a lot of uncertainties in Everton's frontline.

For Chelsea, it's an absolutely terrible game and the rumours about Chelsea's crises will continue to escalate after such a poor display.

Pick: Pienaar
Watch: Stracqualursi
Drop: CHE players


Fulham 2-1 Stoke City
A fine debut goal by Pogrebnyak. The forward stroke immediate impact into the team and therefore should be observed. Meanwhile, Dempsey continued his great form, assisted one and shot one on the post.

Shawcross earned three points of bonus surprisingly thanks to his set piece goal.

Pick: Dempsey
Watch: Pogrebnyak


Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
Youngster McClean scored again as Sunderland thought they will win, only to be equalised by Ramsey and then defeated by Henry's last goal for Arsenal this season.

A rare silent game by Robin Van Persie, but with Henry leaving and the Gunners Champions League on the verge of exit, he's sure to perform for the rest of the season.

Pick: McClean
Watch: Ramsey


Swansea 2-3 Norwich
It was a battle between Holt and Graham, with the former winning it with two good goals after a goal drought of eight matches. Given his inconsistency, he should not be considered as a member in your fantasy team, yet.

Graham on the other hand is a better fantasy pick. He has consistently scored in every 2-3 games and is the cheapest on the top ten fantasy forward list.

Pick: Graham
Watch: Holt


Wolves 1-5 West Brom
It's no coincidence that Wolves is now at the bottom three. The wonderful combination which led to Steven Fletcher's goal won't erase the fact that the club's performance is very woeful recently. Bassong's purchase didn't help to improve the defence at all.

Odemwingie finally ended people's waiting on his goals and it was three in a row from this game. Hopefully he can build on this and move forward towards a good fantasy season like his last one.

Watch: Fletcher, Odemwingie
Drop: WOL defence


Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester City
Cold sweat for City as they failed to break the deadlock until the late stages. They were completely dominating the game but their finishing ability has really been poor recently.

The defence continued to be solid thanks to Kompany's return. Unarguably tough to beat.

Pick: MCI defence