Kick-Off: Gameweek 20 Fantasy Preview

Dimitar Berbatov with his showy self-explanatory tee.

Fast is the theme for this week as Premier League heads into its third gameweek in the same week. Let's begin!

GAMEWEEK 19 HIGHLIGHTS

• An interesting match-up between Manchester United and Newcastle which the Red Devils displayed their strong character by coming back from behind three times before Javier Hernandez (£6.9m, 10 pts) scored the winning goal in final minutes. Great, great game.
• The lead for Manchester United is now 7 points as Adam Johnson (£6.7m, 11 pts) inflicted the dead blow to his former club Manchester City.
• Juan Mata (£9.7m, 11 pts) compensated for his lack of production in gameweek 17 after scoring the winning goal against Norwich.
• Gareth Bale (£9.8m, 21 pts) scored his first Premier League hat-trick as Aston Villa conceded 12 goals and scored none in the last 2 games. Terrible, terrible form.
• Everton and West Brom are the other two clubs to score 33 points apart from fourth-placed Tottenham as both of them also recorded wins over Wigan and Queens Park Rangers respectively.
• The roller coaster form goes on and on for Liverpool as they conceded 3 goals against Stoke City who are famous in defence but not offence.

GAMEWEEK 19 TOP SCORERS

1. Gareth Bale (£9.8m, 21 pts): Fantasy managers will cheer for his swift return of form.
2. Jonathan Walters (£6.5m, 15 pts): Considered one of the best mid-priced performers so you should consider getting him.
3. Chris Brunt (£5.5m, 13 pts): Hopefully this is an indication of better things to come. He is still some distance from his best that we once recognized.
4. Juan Mata (£9.7m, 11 pts): He is Chelsea's ace after all in Benitez's plans, so this is rather expected.
5. Adam Johnson (£6.7m, 11 pts): The lad is getting more playing time, but with no premium players around him his upside potential is limited.
6. Kenwyne Jones (£5.0m, 11 pts): The almost forgotten striker is getting regular playing time now. No harm to scout him.
7. Carlos Cuellar (£4.6m, 11 pts): With Sunderland getting tighter at the back recently, you might want to get him.
8. Kyle Naughton (£4.2m, 11 pts): If some long-term injury happens at Tottenham's best four he will get consistent playing minutes.

FEATURED: Everton v Chelsea @ Goodison Park
Both sides will have much to battle for as Chelsea visit to Goodison Park this Sunday.

The Blue Lions are now 4 points behind of second-placed Manchester City, with a game on hand. They will certainly need to get this game — not only to apply pressure to the Blue Moons, but also to avoid being chased up by the crowded pack behind, which include Everton.

Juan Mata will continue to be the focal point of Chelsea's attack if he is not rested like Eden Hazard (£9.6m, - pts) when playing against Norwich. The Belgian should really start and could be the main contributor again as usual. Fernando Torres (£9.8m, 2 pts) is the less attractive option compared to the former two but is also the most rotation prone one — he has started all Premier League games for Chelsea this season.

As for the Toffees, Marouane Fellaini (£7.4m, - pts) will serve the last of his three-game suspension so it will be up to the supporting cast such as Leon Osman (£6.3m, 10 pts) and Steven Pienaar (£6.8m, 2 pts) to craft the offence. Nikica Jelavic (£8.2m, 1 pts) had been silenced in the last three games, but Victor Anichebe (£4.3m, 5 pts) will be ready to help to provide the firepower if necessary.

I think Chelsea will continue to win, but not in an easy way.

Prediction: EVE 1-2 CHE

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester United
Manchester United will sit at Old Trafford again as they welcome the challenge of West Bromwich Albion.

Robin Van Persie (£13.9m, 9 pts) is fairly probable of being benched after two successive 90 minutes of action, though Wayne Rooney's (£11.9m, - pts) injury makes it hard for Sir Alex Ferguson to drop him. If you own him, you should continue to play him with confidence and pray for the best. Javier Hernandez (£6.9m, 10 pts) is on fire and should continue to earn SAF's trust — start him with confidence.

Unfortunately United's midfield provides little fantasy for your fantasy team with Shinji Kagawa (£7.9, - pts) just finished dating with the nurses and will only feature on the bench at best while the wingers are struggling to achieve compared to last season. Defensively their best four are quite pricey now, but Patrice Evra (£6.9m, 10 pts) has been very great offensively so far and might just earn your consideration despite his prohibitive price.

Old Trafford is always a hell for the visitors.

Prediction: MUN 2-0 WBA

PLAYER FOCUS: Suarez
The lad is having a slight injury but is expected to be fit for the match. You never know when Luis Suarez (£10.2m, 4 pts) is going to burst again and blast in some goals, but against QPR the chances are higher isn't it?

GAMEWEEK 20 DREAM TEAM

De Gea

Vidic — Huth — Zabaleta

 Michu — Cazorla — Mata  — Bale

Suarez (VC) — Van Persie (C) — Torres

Subs: Begovic — Walters —  Collins — Naughton

Can't wait to get more? Like FPLZ official Facebook page to get the latest updates regularly!

Kick-Off: Gameweek 3 Fantasy Preview

Can Carlos Tevez continue to fire?

It was Chelsea and Swansea players who bossed the gameweek again with Hazard, Torres, Rangel and Michu all scoring double digit scores. Interestingly though, fantasy managers continue to jump into Hazard and Torres' bandwagon, despite Chelsea will take no part in gameweek 3 due to European Super Cup fixture against Athletico Madrid. Will the price rises worth more than the points sacrificed? Time will tell.

Do take note that Reading will play no part in gameweek 3 as well. My advice: plan your transfer wisely.

GAMEWEEK 2 TOP SCORERS

1. Angel Rangel (£5.1m, 14 pts): Scored a rather lucky goal and secured yet another clean sheet. Not bad to own though I believe Ashley Williams (£5.0m) will be a better pick in long run with his tendency to collect higher scores in EA Sports PPI than his defensive teammates (which means higher chances to claim bonuses).
2. Eden Hazard (£9.9m, 13 pts): Recorded his sixth assist and first league goal. This lad simply dominates and is on his way to become the next C. Ronaldo — the automatic fantasy captain — in FPL.
3. Carlos Tevez (£9.6m, 12 pts): Continued to dominate in Sergio Aguero's absence. A wonderful pick as I mentioned earlier this week.
4. Fernando Torres (£10.1m, 11 pts): Hazard simply made him alive. Great great stuff from El Nino.
5. Benoit Assou-Ekkoto (£6.5m, 11 pts): Pretty good offensively, but I still cannot trust Andre Villas-Boas yet especially in defence.

TRANSFER UPDATES

• Kevin Mirallas (Olympiakos to Everton): Had a dream debut for Everton against Leyton Orient in Capital One Cup fixture. Worth scouting with his price of £7.5m.
• Cesar Azpilicueta (Marseille to Chelsea): Could challenge Branislav Ivanovic's (£6.7m) position as right-back. Priced £6.0m.
• Nuri Sahin (Real Madrid to Liverpool): Great addition for Liverpool, though it remains unknown how effective he will be.
• Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea to QPR): Available at £5.0m, he will need to deliver offensively to compensate for QPR's fragility in defence.
• Julio Cesar (Inter Milan to QPR): Another ambitious signing. Perhaps he can give more clean sheets to QPR.
• Adam Johnson (Manchester City to Sunderland): He will get good playing minutes to show his fantasy effectiveness. Good fantasy price at £7.0m.
• Ki Sung-Yueng (Celtic to Swansea): Second Asian to join Premier League this season. Hopefully his footwork is as handsome as his k-pop face.

FEATURED: Liverpool v Arsenal @ Anfield
I was wrong last week about Liverpool's chance against Manchester City. They played pretty well offensively, only to be pulled down by their defensive errors. This week they will continue to play at home against Arsenal, who are both yet to score and concede any goals this season.

Nuri Sahin is still not listed in FPL — until we know his price only can we determine his value. He is good in long pass though. Luis Suarez (£9.5m) and Steven Gerrard (£9.5m) continue to be Liverpool's main fantasy force, though their value can only be justified if Brendan Rodgers' tiki-taka starts to flourish.

As for Arsenal, their defence are reaping a lot of points for fantasy managers. Thomas Vermaelen (£7.0m) is the usual luxurious pick to own, while Carl Jenkinson (£4.6m) has provided a super value alternative to fantasy managers. Both are good picks.

While in offence, Olivier Giroud (£8.9m), Lukas Podolski (£8.4m) and Santi Cazorla (£9.0m) should be able to take advantage of the Reds' porous defence, though I believe Liverpool should also make Arsenal concede with home advantage.

Prediction: LIV 1-1 ARS

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester City and Manchester United
Both clubs in Manchester have great fixtures this week, but let's talk about City who will play at home first. Against Queens Park Rangers who are notoriously poor on defence, they have all the chance to score. You can do much worse than getting Carlos Tevez (£9.5m), David Silva (£9.9m) and Yaya Toure (£8.0m) and play them.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will travel to St. Mary's Stadium in their attempt to take 3 points from Southampton. Robin Van Persie (£13.2m) and Shinji Kagawa (£8.6m) are two obvious picks given Wayne Rooney's (£11.9m) injury which will ruled him out for 8 weeks. Not so hype on their defenders though, given their shaky performance against Fulham.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 QPR, MUN 3-1 SOU

PLAYER FOCUS: Adebayor, Ba, Cisse and Michu
Tottenham are going to face Norwich at home this week, so one would expect their attacking pack to shine. I like the prospect of Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.6m) more though, as Rafael Van der Vaart (£8.9m) and Gylfi Sigurdsson's (£8.9m) roles are still relatively unknown in Andre Villas-Boas tactics and Gareth Bale (£9.5m) is struggling to find his form.

Newcastle will deal with Aston Villa who struggle under Paul Lambert's reign, so one would expect the front duo — Demba Ba (£7.7m) and Papiss Cisse (£9.5m) — to contribute fantasy points. Hatem Ben Arfa (£7.6m) should also perform.

Michu (£7.1m) continues to be my weekly pick meanwhile, until his performance suggests otherwise.

STATUS UPDATES

• Wojciech Szcznesny (£5.5m): Unknown (75% playing).
• John Terry (£6.9m): Muscle injury (75% playing).
• Rio Ferdinand (£5.9m): Groin injury (50% playing).
• John Arne Risse (£5.5m): Knock (75% playing).
• Younes Kaboul (£5.4m): Knee injury (unknown return date).
• Lucas Leiva (£4.9m): Thigh injury (unknown return date).

GAMEWEEK 3 DREAM TEAM

Hart

Rafael — Williams — Coloccini

Michu — Kagawa — Ben Arfa — Yaya Toure

Adebayor — Van Persie (VC) — Tevez (C)

Subs: Al-Habsi — Hangeland — Kacaniklic — Figueroa

Can't wait to get more? Like FPLZ official Facebook page to get the latest updates regularly!

Gameweek 9 Fantasy Preview

Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney
Duo to reunite at Manchester in blue?

Wayne Rooney steals all the media attention this week with his intention to leave Old Trafford. It is predicted that his next destination will be out of these four: City, Chelsea, Real and Barca.

Gareth Bale
A fantastic hat-trick.

Meanwhile, Bale produced a terrific solo performance to avoid a humiliating defeat to the defending Champions League champion Inter Milan. The 21-year-old should have already rose his market price to more than £20m with that play.

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PART I: PREVIEWS

Emmanuel Adebayor
The notorious ex-Gunner will face his former employer again.

Manchester City v Arsenal
The Gunners is quite unfortunate to travel to Eastlands in such time when Manchester City is on their best.

Tevez has been in a thunderous form and it's no surprise that he is leading the golden boot hunt currently with seven goals. Meanwhile, his substitute, occasionally his strike partner, Adebayor, has just hat-tricked on a Europa League match yesterday and is set to preform his best against the club he left. Not to be forgotten of course is the Silva-Johnson competition where both are playing very well to snatch a long term starting position for themselves.

On the Gunners side, Fabregas has returned to action with a solid performance in the 5-1 rampage against Shaktar Donetsk. Walcott is ready to play this week but his form is pretty unsure. Chamakh and Nasri should be the more assuring picks than the former two.

I think Arsenal's defence will continue to pull the team down with the absence of Vermaelen and Koscielny and City will record a four consecutive victories against the London club.

Prediction: MANC 2-0 ARS


The Rest

• Tottenham v Everton (2-1) - Everton's unbeaten streak will come to an end at White Hart Lane with the magnificent Rafael Van der Vaart on the score sheet again.
• Birmingham v Blackpool (1-1) - Blackpool will have another solid performance to snatch a solid point.
• Chelsea v Wolves (3-0) - Heavily one-sided on the paper but Chelsea's form has not been that good recently.
• Sunderland v Aston Villa (0-0) - Houllier will play it patiently to find a chance but the game will end with nothing.
• West Brom v Fulham (2-1) - Odemwingie is struggling to fit but Premier League veteran Chris Brunt should be able to sort things out.
• Wigan v Bolton (1-0) - N'Zogbia has been spectacular and that form should continue.
• West Ham v Newcastle (2-2) - Things have not been right for the Magpies recently.
• Stoke City v Man Utd (2-2) - The Red Devils is still struggling to defend when they are leading.
• Liverpool v Blackburn (0-1) - Liverpool sucks a big time under Roy Hodgson.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Charles N'Zogbia
Will he become the superstud again?

Captain Picks

• Drogba/Malouda - Who wouldn't take advantage against Wolves?

Buy-Ins

• Chelsea players - Round two of long easy fixtures for them.
• Arteta/Cahill - Quite an easy going fixtures for long term hold.

Squad of XV

GK: Kirkland

DF: A Cole, Alcaraz, Elmohamady

MF: Malouda, Nani, N'Zogbia, Van der Vaart, Brunt

F: Drogba(C), Tevez

Subs (in order): Robinson, Dann, Varney, Jara

Captain: Drogba

Emergency Captain: Value

Starting XI Value: £83.4m

Total Team Value: £101.2m