Gameweek 4 Fantasy Preview

Jermaine Defoe
The latest addition in the injured squad. Flirts with the physios for six weeks.

As usual, the international fixtures had drawn quite an amount of star players away from EPL for weeks including Kuyt, Dawson, Walcott and the most recent one, Defoe. This will definitely spoil a lot of managers long term plan and a wildcard might be necessary to rectify the situation. Are you one of them?

Latest news for Walcott owners: you can't keep him as he will not play for up to six weeks. How unfortunate.

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PART I: PREVIEWS

Jermaine Beckford
To slice Man Utd again in a different jersey?

Everton v Man Utd

Everton will play the earliest game this week against Manchester United at Goodison Park. Quite interesting to see:

1. The fans reaction towards Everton homegrown star Wayne Rooney after the exposure of his sex scandal (I like how the hooker compare him with C. Ronaldo);
2. Whether Jermaine Beckford will crush Man Utd again;
3. Whether Man Utd will stumble again away from home. The last away game against Fulham was a good example.

Obviously, Mikel Arteta will be the best selection from the Toffees. Everton's last fixture against Aston Villa had seen him delivered three passes whereby all were nicely received by the players and hit the post/bar. His precision has rewarded those who owned him three fantasy bonus points.

On the other side, Rooney has started to regain his form, despite disrupted by his news off the field. If you got the money, you can put him as your second striker (it's inexcusable if you don't own Drogba as your first striker). Still, Berbatov is the cheaper yet effective option.

I think Everton has the chance and while the score it's quite hard to predict, I will go for a draw.

Prediction: EVE 1-1 MANU

The Rest

• Arsenal v Bolton (3-0) - The Gunners should be invincible at home. You should get at least one of Fabregas, Arshavin or Chamakh for September fixtures.
• Fulham v Wolves (2-0) - Fulham is obviously the better team and the Cottagers will be at home.
• Man City v Blackburn (3-0) - City should convert all of their frustration into goals against Blackburn.
• Newcastle v Blackpool (4-0) - Carroll has a bright chance to lead the premier league scoreboard for at least a short period.
• West Brom v Tottenham (1-3) - Interesting to see how Van der Vaart perform. Gallas might be too slow to replace Dawson.
• West Ham v Chelsea (1-2) - I think Avram Grant will give his best to prove himself to Roman Abramovich and to ensure his job security. These motivation might be able to make Chelsea conceding their first goal.
• Wigan v Sunderland (1-0) - Two surprising victors last matchday meet this week. However, Wigan was the better team last fortnight.
• Birmingham v Liverpool (1-1) - Torres scored a brace during EURO qualifiers, but Birmingham is quite tough and the players at Liverpool are less creative than Spain.
• Stoke v Aston Villa (1-2) - Houllier became the new manager of Villa so do expect some changes in the squad. The players should be eager to prove themselves in front of their new manager so I think Villa will win.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Cesc Fabregas
Pick of the week.

Captain Picks

• Fabregas - The Gunners' skipper should score his first goal of the season this time.
• Carroll - Against Blackpool, this is a great gamble.
• Drogba - The usual captain choice.
• Bale - West Brom is another attacking team with weak defence. Just hope that Tottenham won't shock us again.

Buy-Ins

• Fabregas/Arshavin/Chamakh - Three nice fixtures oncoming. With Van Persie injured, Chamakh is a great short-term buy.

Sell-Outs

• Dawson/Defoe/Van Persie/Kuyt/Walcott - Injured.
• Blackpool players - Hellish fixtures oncoming.

Squad of XV

GK: Hart

DF: Hangeland, Williamson, Sagna

MF: Fabregas(C), Malouda, Bale, Ferguson

F: Drogba, Chamakh, Carroll

Subs (in order): Harper, Dann, Figueroa, Albrighton

Captain: Fabregas

Emergency Captain: Value

Starting XI Value: £81.9m

Total Team Value: £99.9m