Gameweek 23 Fantasy Preview

Christiano Ronaldo
Could not believe that Messi won Ballon d'Or

Congratulations to Messi for winning another best player award. Quite a number of people think that Xavi or Iniesta deserves it more, but whatever the result is, it won't satisfy all.

Double-gamers failed to grab the spotlight last week as several as numerous cheap performers are on fire including Bardsley, Coleman, Simon Davies and also hat-trick hero Leon Best. However, it weren't too bad for Blackpool players with DJ Campbell scored 12 while captain Adam scored nine in which five were bonus. The only Liverpool player worth mentioning is Torres - he scored the first goal in Kenny Dalglish's reign.

David Bentley
Looking to resurrect his career at Birmingham.

The transfer market has already opened two weeks ago while the second fantasy wildcard can be used any time now until the deadline of gameweek 27. You should use it now if you have serious problems with your squad; otherwise, try to use it only after the transfer market has closed to have more possible options. Here are the list of major transfers that might interest you:

• Bentley [Tottenham to Birmingham (loan)] - Might be interesting if he gains enough playing time.
• Dzeko [Wolfsburg to Man City] - The most anticipated deal currently.
• Khumalo [Supersport United to Tottenham] - The only thing I know about him is he played in World Cup 2010. No idea on how much impact he will do.
• Bridge [Man City to West Ham (loan)] - May be the key for Hammers' survival.

Good luck on your transfers.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Rafael Van der Vaart
Vows to take down Manchester United.

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
An entertaining battle is expected this Sunday from these two sides.

United is sailing ahead of its competitors with two points above Man City and two games on hand. Their 19th looks very close now but they must settle what is in front of them first.

White Hart Lane has been a mega fortress since Van der Vaart's arrival and Bale's emergence and that's why Tottenham are still unbeaten at home this season. Redknapp has now a new defender Khumalo but the South African will most probably bring no effect to your fantasy pursuit - Tottenham is known for leaking goals.

On the away side, Rooney should be available for this game and expect him to combine with Berbatov and Nani for goals and assists.

I will go for a draw with goals - not quite a bad result for both sides as they will preserve their home-unbeaten and league-unbeaten runs respectively.

Prediction: Tottenham 2-2 Man Utd

The Rest

• Chelsea v Blackburn (2-1) - Not quite safe for Blues since they could lose to Wolves.
• Man City v Wolves (3-0) - Might be a great debut for Edin Dzeko.
• Stoke City v Bolton (1-1) - Games at Britannia are never easy.
• West Brom v Blackpool (2-3) - Expect a goal feast.
• Wigan v Fulham (2-1) - N'Zogbia's return will give immense strength for home side to attack.
• West Ham v Arsenal (1-2) - The Hammers are not good enough defensively to stop Gunners.
• Birmingham v Aston Villa (2-1) - Not just a simple derby but also a relegation six-pointer. The Brums defensive resolution will help in this game.
• Sunderland v Newcastle (2-0) - The Black Cats should have gotten their lesson and will play their best to revenge.
• Liverpool v Everton (2-1) - It is a big challenge for Dalglish to return to Anfield in such intense Merseyside derby, but thankfully the Toffees offer much less attacking threat without Cahill.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Carlos Tevez
Does not fear about Dzeko's threat.

Captain Picks

• Tevez - Dzeko may or may not merge with the squad yet so the Argentine is still the safer bet.
• Adam - The Baggies are leaky.

Sells-Out

• Gerrard - Red carded.

Squad of XV

GK: Hart

DF: Kolarov, Bardsley, Huth

MF: Adam, Fabregas, N'Zogbia, Nani, Van der Vaart

F: Tevez(C), Torres

Subs (in order): Gordon, Odemwingie, Djourou, Carr

Captain: Tevez

Emergency Captain: Value

Dalglish's Nightmare Debut

Kenny Dalglish
No luck for him for his first game in charge.

It turned out to be a disaster for the new Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish as his side crashed out of FA Cup due to some controversial judgements.

Manchester United grabbed the lead in as early as 2 minutes after Berbatov's cheap dive was cheaply awarded a penalty by the one who we call United's lucky star, Howard Webb. Great decision by England's so called best referee.

Manchester United had more to celebrate with Steven Gerrard tackled Darren Fletcher two-footedly in 33rd minute. It effectively sentenced a death to Dalglish's debut game as the Reds' manager.

But still Liverpool were able to fight their best to at least prevent any more leakage at the back and the display by the players were obviously better than Roy Hodgson's era. A sign of relief to the fans.

Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool, but the battle between Dalglish and Ferguson was certainly a draw. Two exciting old men.

Goodbye Roy Hodgson, Officially

Roy Hodgson
He's impressed by his fantastic away record.

Finally.

The pain in every Liverpool supporters thus far, Roy Hodgson, has finally left the club on mutual consent. It was unusual for this club though - they had never sacked any manager at the middle of the season so far.

Kenny Dalglish - whom many Liverpool fans chanted for during Roy's reign - is appointed for the position of temporary manager until someone else takes his place. But will King Kenny of Anfield bring Reds out of misery? Time will tell.

Even Wolves Can Defeat Chelsea Now

Carlo Ancelotti
Fearing the loss of his job?

Chelsea lost again yesterday after another disappointing display which reflected through Bosingwa's own goal. Total humiliation for Ancelotti and his squad.

Liverpool was another team which also underwent big humiliation yesterday after a 1-3 defeat to Blackburn. I wonder how long more must Liverpool fans suffer before Roy "only win once away" Hodgson is axed.

Manchester United is again the big winner this round as all four teams behind it failed to claim three points. Their 19th title is so so close.

Two fantasy hot cakes - Nolan and Coleman - scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Do you own them?

Crazy Points From Fulham Players... Again

Simon Davies
Starred the first day of gameweek 22 with 17 points.

After a 20 point haul by Baird last week, Fulham surprisingly eased another victory yesterday against West Brom with Simon Davies recorded a goal and two assists.

The big win will definitely shocked a lot of fantasy managers as there were fair amount of Fulham players such as Hangeland and Dempsey benched this week.

Also featuring on yesterday were Nani's superb return from injury with 12 fantasy points which helped United to continue Old Trafford's ultimate record and Birmingham's away win against Blackpool. Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell has already earned four and six points respectively in this gameweek double.

Crazily Rich City Agreed Fee to Buy Edin Dzeko

Edin Dzeko
What are the odds for this fellow to take down Tevez and Balotelli?

Absolutely crazy. Man City once again trying to overwhelm the transfer market as they agreed the transfer fee for Edin Dzeko.

Dzeko has been great for Wolfsburg of Germany but can he adapt himself to the quick tempo of English football?

Most importantly, can he compete with the ultimate beast Carlos Tevez and the wonder kid Mario Balotelli for a starting spot? Another extravagant spending by the Sheikh Mansour's club.

Gameweek 22 Fantasy Preview

Drogba v Terry
Both clashed as the former contributed one goal and one assist but the latter  leaked three goals.

Chelsea once again disappoint us with a 3-3 draw against out of form Aston Villa. Once a leader, Chelsea now sit on fifth, behind Tottenham Hotspur after their derby rival secured a 1-0 win against Fulham.

On the other hand, two fantasy stars missed a penalty each this week - Tevez and Odemwingie - and I owned them both! Such a catastrophe for me since December as each and every transfer I made were disastrous. This was further worsen by Kolarov - who played 58 minutes when Man City got a clean sheet!

Finally, congratulations to Rooney - who scored his first goal from open play after so many months. But now, lets have an overview for the next gameweek...

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Cesc Fabregas
Mr Fab on fire.

Arsenal v Man City
Manchester Blues are set to revenge after a humiliating defeat at home earlier this season.

This time the showdown will be much more exciting as both teams are on red hot form. The Manchester side collected 15 points from their last six games, with the London side two points less.

Compact fixtures is not a problem for both sides as they have ample talents to substitute. Arsenal have all their attackers on fire including Walcott, Arshavin, Bendtner, Van Persie, Nasri, Song, and most importantly, captain Cesc. The skipper scored 23 fantasy points from the last two games he had played. A good lead by example.

However City is by no means weaker than Arsenal. Silva has been very influential nowadays, playing a role similar to Modric at Tottenham despite lacking statistical returns. Meanwhile, Balotelli's outstanding form is a constant threat for Tevez - which will motivate the latter to give more effort on the pitch. Not to be forgotten are City's defensive midfielders who will not hesitate to play ugly tackles for the sake of victory.

A draw will not help both sides so this match should have a winner. I will lean towards the away side, as the Gunners usually fear brutal midfielders and City has a good record at away.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-3 Man City


The Rest

• Blackpool v Birmingham (2-2) - Tight and close as Birmingham strive to get away from bottom three.
• Fulham v West Brom (1-1) - Fulham is still lack of defensive resolution so I think the Baggies will sneak away with a result.
• Man Utd v Stoke City (2-0) - It's the Theatre of Dreams where United win all but one. Nani is expected to be ready for this game.
• Aston Villa v Sunderland (2-2) - Pretty unpredictable but it looks like Villans will once again get frustrated by another draw.
• Newcastle v West Ham (1-1) - Carroll might still be doubtful for this one so the Hammers has a strong chance to push themselves further away from relegation zone.
• Wolves v Chelsea (1-3) - With the attackers back on track, victory is expected for the Blues.
• Blackburn v Liverpool (3-3) - Steve Kean won't park the bus like Big Sam so expect big leakages for both sides.
• Bolton v Wigan (2-1) - N'Zogbia continues his suspension so put your chips on Elmander and co.
• Everton v Tottenham (1-3) - No more Tim Cahill, no more power.
• Blackpool v Liverpool* (1-2) - The Reds will like to pay a revenge against the Seasiders for both killing them at home and making their January fixtures ultimately compact.

*Gameweek double

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

D.J. Campbell
The best time to benefit from his service?

Captain Picks

• Gerrard/Torres - At least you won't get a two this time.
• Adam - One three points bonus is suffice to benefit from his captaincy.
• Drogba/Malouda - Wolves is always Lions' food.

Buys-In

• Drogba/Malouda - Chelsea's offence is reactivated.
• Adam/DJ Campbell - Compact fixtures. One always score bonus while the other is on form.

Sells-Out

• Wolves - Their next series of games - Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Bolton, Man Utd, Arsenal!
• Chamakh - Totally overpowered by Van Persie.
• Asian Cup participants (Park, Lee, Cahill etc) - They won't contribute anything to you this month, in any way.

Squad of XV

GK: Van der Sar

DF: Skrtel, Vidic, A Cole

MF: Gerrard(C), Fabregas, Adam, Van der Vaart

F: Torres, Drogba, DJ Campbell

Subs (in order): Jaaskelainen, Barton, Knight, Hughes