Chelsea F.C.
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| Chelsea with their trademark blue home kit. |
Being gone through a disappointing Premier League season, Roman Abramovich somehow got the grand prize he has thirsted long - the Champions League trophy. Nonetheless, the Blues should really strengthen their domestic performance, as a sixth in Premier League will not land them the Champions League ticket, and it is absurd to expect themselves to win Champions League two times in a row.
This Summer: Hazard-ous Threat
Abramovich is forking a lot of money this summer, with Eden Hazard £32m purchase the biggest move in Premier League so far. Joining the boat is his brother Thorgan Hazard, Werder Bremen winger Marko Marin and Brazil's Olympic participant Oscar. Meanwhile, Jose Bosingwa, Salomon Kalou and the Blues legend Didier Drogba were all released for free.
Upcoming Season: Di Matteo's Showtime
While Roberto Di Matteo brought the Champions League trophy to London for the first time, we must not forget the fact that Chelsea's Premier League winning percentage was actually worsened under him than his predecessor, Andre Villas-Boas. With generous support from the Russian owner, Di Matteo simply have no excuses to fail this time around. He must do all he can to avoid the fate of Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish, who succeeded as a caretaker manager but failed considerably when he led Liverpool again for one full season.
The Aces: Mata (FI: 0.536) vs Hazard (FI: N/A)
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| Mata and Hazard: In comparison. |
While both are attacking midfielder-winger hybrid type of players, they do have some distinct differences. Mata is more Silva-esque - calm, silky and is a natural playmaker; Hazard, meanwhile, is more C. Ronaldo-esque - explosive, speedy and is a great at finishing.
With both players being priced at £9.5m this season, it will be a great dilemma for fantasy managers to choose between a proven fantasy player or a next superstar in the making.
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| Torres' FPL historical data. |
Has the old Fernando Torres (£10.0m) really returned? This season should provide the clear cut answer.
Being an old-time fantasy favourite at Liverpool, the Spaniard failed to impress fantasy managers ever since he joined Chelsea, scoring only 7 goals in total out of 46 appearances.
Nevertheless, El Nino has shown signs of resurrection in the end of last season, which include a killer goal against Barcelona in the Champions League and a hat-trick against QPR in the Premier League. His return of form was further supported with a goal and an assist in EURO 2012 final, where he only featured as a sub.
With Daniel Sturridge being his only contender in the forward line currently, Torres should be able to grab more opportunity to perform this season. Hopefully the clinical and explosive Torres will be back finally.
Ageing Legend: Lampard (FI: 0.479)
It seems like the fantasy committee are negative about the prospect of Frank Lampard (£9.0m) in this coming season - he is priced at £9.0m, a £3.0m discount from this very same time of last term.
Has Fat Frank really lost the competitive edge to fight for a fruitful fantasy season? Though he might not get his tenth consecutive double-digit goal season this time, I still believe that the vice captain have the potential to deliver a solid 150+ points fantasy season, provided that he don't get benched that often this season.
Tough Battle Ahead: Sturridge (FI: 0.521)
Unsurprisingly Daniel Sturridge (£8.0m) placed second at Chelsea in terms of FPLZ Index, thanks to his consistent goal poaching and his cheap price.
His price has inevitably risen to £8.0m thanks to Drogba's departure and also his continuous improvement in terms of performance and reputation. That does not spoil his value though, as I am pretty confident that he can perform consistently as usual (P90: 5.12, third at Chelsea), provided that he wins a forward spot and gain the required playing minutes to perform.
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