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| Victor Obinna Made four for his team mate on a stylish 4-0 victory against Man Utd. |
Arsenal is on the driving seat to claim Carling Cup trophy following Manchester United's surprise defeat against West Ham. Luck has finally on the Hammers side and fellow fantasy managers should be well alerted to start to look for Avram Grant's players - Parker, Obinna, Piquionne, Carlton Cole etc..
Meanwhile, on Europa League we see Manchester City edging Red Bull Salzburg at ease with Mario Balotelli providing two goals. Liverpool on the other hand secured a draw to ensure both English clubs getting through the next round.
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| Expect more snows to come. |
The more important news for fantasy managers, however, is the weather condition in United Kingdom. Santa Claus is coming soon, with snow his first gift. Games may be postponed at last minute so do drag your transfer decisions to the final minutes. Good luck.
PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES
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| Tim Cahill To rub salt into Chelsea's wound? |
Chelsea will want to end their torment of winless streak at Stamford Bridge but that won't be easy with Everton visiting this weekend.
The Blue Lions are suffering from possibly the worst form since Roman Abramovich's reign. The condition further worsened by its chain reaction which causes the players like Drogba and Kalou to lose their touch of confidence. They certainly looked awful in finishing despite creating numerous chances.
But Everton isn't in a good shape as well. A 1-4 defeat to West Brom at Goodison Park wasn't something that I had imagined. Nevertheless, Tim Cahill continued his fantastic form to score in three consecutive league games.
Despite Chelsea's poor form, I will have to back them to win this as a victory is much needed to prepare them to face the next three league opponents - Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal. Essien is back, and that makes the difference.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Everton
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| Raul Meireles Should have score more fantasy points with his kind of performance. |
Injury-plagued Liverpool will be hoping to snatch three points against under-par Aston Villa at Anfield.
The Reds lost their last game against Tottenham despite being the better side. What's worse? They had also lost their vice captain Jamie Carragher. Kyrgiakos is set to take up his position until Carra's return and he is the best bargain in Liverpool's defence.
The bigger question though is whether Joe Cole (4-2-3-1) or David N'gog (4-4-2) will partner Torres. The former is still struggling to find his form at Anfield while the latter might had his confidence stripped after conceding a penalty during his last league game.
On the other side, the Villans were knocked out from the League Cup by their derby rivals Birmingham. Contrary to Liverpool, they are escaping from the injury crises with Gabriel Agbonlahor finally found his boots to score against Birmingham during the tourney. His speed alongside with Ashley Young's and Downing's will give a lot of trouble to Liverpool's slow defenders.
Houllier will be eager to prove himself in front of his former club, but I think the Reds' at home with stamina advantage will stop him to do so.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa
The Rest
- Arsenal v Fulham (3-0) - No reason to lose.
- Birmingham v Tottenham (0-2) - I don't think Birmingham has the stamina to hold up Bale, Defoe and Lennon after a Carling Cup fixture.
- Blackburn v Wolves (2-0) - The Rovers to get tough at home and send Wolves home.
- Man City v Bolton (3-1) - City on form with Balotelli leading the strike.
- Wigan v Stoke City (1-2) - The tougher side wins.
- Blackpool v Man Utd (1-5) - Blackpool is poor at home. Expect the trio of Berbatov, Nani and Rooney to shine.
- West Brom v Newcastle (2-2) - Pretty tight match-up but it should be a leaky one.
- Sunderland v West Ham (2-2) - The Black Cats are still unbeaten at home but on-from Hammers should be able to get something away.
PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS
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| Maruonne Chamakh Gets a captain tick. |
- Nani/Berbatov/Rooney - Ready to open up a big score line against Blackpool.
- Chamakh - Strong home advantage against the Cottagers.
Buy-Ins
- Liverpool players - Solid fixtures ahead.
- Gamst Pedersen - Nice fixtures as well. Check his injury status first anyway.
Sell-Outs
- Nolan - Tough games oncoming.
- Van der Vaart - Injured.
- Arteta - Suspended.
- Chelsea players - Hellish fixtures ahead. You might want to delay until the next gameweek though.
Squad of XV
GK: Fabianski
DF: Kyrgiakos, Samba, Richards, Vidic
MF: Bale, Nasri*, Nani(C), Brunt
F: Berbatov, Chamakh
Subs (in order): Robinson, Carroll, Etherington, Shawcross
Captain: Nani
Emergency Captain: Value
Starting XI Value: £75.5m
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