Kick-Off: Gameweek 8 Fantasy Preview

David Silva is a major doubt for this week's Premier League.

Real Madrid suffered a large scale FIFA virus after the notorious international fixtures. Fortunately it doesn't look that bad for Premier League clubs, with David Silva the only big name on the casualty list so far. Let's get back to business then, fellow fantasy managers.

GAMEWEEK 7 TOP SCORERS

1. Aleksandar Kolarov (£5.7m, 20 pts): A super productive gameweek for him, just like what we saw frequently last season. He don't play regular minutes though, which makes it hard to persuade myself to get him.
2. Jose Fonte (£4.0m, 15 pts): Not so sure how he managed to get in here. Averaging not even a point for the past 6 gameweeks before the last one, you will need incredible courage to get him. Not recommended.
3. Steven Caulker (£4.7m, 15 pts): So defenders top the list of last gameweek. Good price, good offensive stats so far, but needs a few more gameweeks to observe his playing minutes, his offensive consistency and Tottenham's defensive resolution.
4. Jonny Evans (£5.8m, 14 pts): If Manchester United can regain their tight back line, then he is the man to own. Evans is currently the cheapest access to the Red Devils' list of fantasy defenders following Nemanja Vidic's 8 weeks injury.
5. Patrice Evra (£6.8m, 13 pts): A much more solid performance. Still not recommended however with Branislav Ivanovic (£7.2m, 12 pts) and Leighton Baines (£7.5m, 6 pts) both performing much better with just a little bit of premium.
6. Wayne Routledge (£5.2m, 13 pts): Played a big part in ending Swansea's consecutive defeat streak. Taking the inflation of Nathan Dyer (£5.7m, 2 pts) into consideration I believe Routledge is the more valuable pick of the duo should you need some Swansea exposure.

FEATURED: Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea @ White Hart Lane
A big showdown will happen at London this Saturday as Andre Villas-Boas hopes for a redemption against his former club Chelsea.

Though the Mourinho protege had an awful career at Stamford Bridge, he is having a much better time at White Hart Lane, grabbing 12 points out of possible 12 in his last four Premier League games after a slow start. It could hardly get any better to face his former employer at such a timing.

Much of his hopes will depend on Gareth Bale (£9.5m, 43 pts in total) — who has been superior in both club and country level and earned numerous praises after a fantastic feat for Wales earlier this week.

Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.0m, 1 pt) should be fit for action, but I don't think that will refrain Jermaine Defoe (£7.8m, 5 pts) from going into action — a 4-4-2 is quite likely for Villas-Boas' side.

On the other side, Fernando Torres (£10.0m, 12 pts) will be looking forward to extend his fine form, with Eden Hazard (£10.3m, 9 pts) and Juan Mata (£8.9m, 8 pts) providing strong support from the flanks. Great exciting offensive match in anticipation.

I don't expect clean sheets, so it is not advisable to get any of their defenders hoping for 4 clean sheet points. Close call, but I am more inclined to a Tottenham victory after their wonderful feat at Old Trafford two weeks ago.

Prediction: TOT 3-2 CHE

TEAM FOCUS: Liverpool
Arsenal will play at Carrow Road against leaky Norwich City, but in my opinion Liverpool's home game against Reading is as delicious as the Gunners in fantasy terms, if not better.

Just like Norwich, Reading are still struggling to earn their first Premier League of the season, and the road to Anfield — which is set for an expansion plan — won't be kind to them.

While the Reds have just won one Premier League game so far, they have the tendency to bully defensively weak teams. Luis Suarez (£9.6m, 2 pts) is the only match fit senior forward of the team, and is surely the man to invest following Fabio Borini's (£7.3m, 0 pts) injury for Italy.

Fernandez Saez (£5.0m, 2 pts), better known as Suso, is another Liverpool man on fine form and could start and score some good returns this gameweek, while Andre Wisdom (£4.5m, 9 pts) will hope to start again after claiming 9 points which include 3 bonus points last gameweek.

It's too long to not win at Anfield, and I think that will end on Saturday.

Prediction: LIV 3-1 RDG

PLAYER FOCUS: Cazorla
Arsenal will play Norwich this week, so it's very hard to ignore the likes such as Santi Cazorla (£9.4m, 8 pts). The Spanish playmaker is expected to bring lots of troubles to the Canaries' defence.

Lukas Podolski (£8.6m, 5 pts) is another man you should consider from Arsenal, while Everton's match against QPR presents several fantasy opportunities such as Steven Pienaar (£6.9m, 8 pts) and Nikica Jelavic (£8.4m, 5 pts).

GAMEWEEK 8 DREAM TEAM

Manonne

Johnson — Evans — Baines

Cazorla (VC) — Nolan — Sahin — Bale

Suarez (C) —  Podolski — Jelavic

Subs: Schwarzer— Routledge —  McCartney — Rangel

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Sunday Aftermath: No Ban

A big relief for Robin Van Persie's owners after FA's decision to not take action against his elbow towards Yohan Cabaye.

So Chelsea continued to hold their 5-point lead after a handsome victory over Norwich. Here are some highlights:

• Branislav Ivanovic (£7.2m, 12 pts) continues to fire after recording yet another goal and assist. The Serbian defender has already got 3 league goals this term, and looks unstoppable at the moment.
• Meanwhile, Juan Mata (£8.9m, 8 pts) continued his supremacy but Eden Hazard (£10.3m, 9 pts) gave a timely response with his second goal of the season. Still too early to tell who is the king at Stamford Bridge.
• Fernando Torres (£10.0m, 12 pts) was the man who claimed 3 bonus points nonetheless as the Spaniard starts to show some ruthless form. Looks to have the best value among those luxurious forwards.
• Manchester City got their first clean sheet of the season as defender Aleksandar Kolarov (£5.7m, 20 pts) blasted home with 20 fantasy points. Still as efficient as always. Still not getting the required playing time to unleash his fantasy potential yet as well unfortunately.
• The London derby between Arsenal and West Ham saw Olivier Giroud (£8.4m, 12 pts) scored his first Premier League goal in his career as the Gunners inflicted a comprehensive defeat to the Hammers. Theo Walcott (£8.7m, 10 pts) made a wonderful feature from the bench — he has not started for 6 Premier League games already.
• Defenders went on rampage at Tyneside as Newcastle succumbed to a 0-3 defeat to Manchester United. Jonny Evans (£5.8m, 14 pts) represents a good buy from United's defence following Nemanja Vidic's (£6.8m) medium-term injury.
• Wayne Rooney (£11.7m, 11 pts) continues to be influential, while Rovin Van Persie (£13.5m, 4 pts) was lucky to not being suspended after an elbow to Yohan Cabaye (£6.8m, 2 pts).
• At White Hart Lane we saw Tottenham getting their clean sheet with Hugo Lloris (£5.9m, 7 pts) getting his first cap at the Premier League. A coincidence?
• 3 straight league starts for Clint Dempsey (£9.2m, 6 pts) as his assist surely further piles Glyfi Sigurdsson (£8.3m, 1 pt) on the bench.
• Miguel Michu (£7.2m, 6 pts) and Wayne Routledge (£5.1m, 13 pts) as Swansea ended their consecutive defeat streak by sharing 1 point apiece with Reading. Pavel Pogrebnyak (£4.7m, 8 pts) was the influential man from the other side.
• James Morrison (£6.0m, 12 pts) continued his fine season in style as West Brom made sure that Queens Park Rangers continue to root on the bottom of the table.
• Defender Jose Fonte (£4.0, 15 pts) scored both goals for Southampton including one last-gasp equaliser to secure 1 point for the Saints.
• Arouna Kone (£6.5m, 11 pts) was the man at DW Stadium for the home side, while Steven Pienaar (£6.8, 8 pts) had a lively combination with Leighton Baines (£7.4m, 6 pts) to secure a point from Wigan.
• Liverpool hit the frame thrice at home as they suffered a goalless draw against Stoke City, which eventually means they still have only won twice at Anfield this year.

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