FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United players wearing the famous "picnic kit".

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

Password: http://p-fplz.blogspot.com/

Last Season: Close But Not Enough
So Sir Alex Ferguson almost made a miracle by taking one of his weakest United to almost win the Premier League title. It was only almost though, as the Red Devils somehow stumbled their 8-point lead over local rivals Manchester City during the last few matches of Premier League last season, as their central midfield crisis penalized them.

This Summer: An Asian for An Asian
The Red Devils acquired yet another Asian after landing Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund in their attempt to further dominate the Asian market. Nonetheless, Park Ji-Sung was picked up by QPR soon enough, and the count of Asians in Manchester United remains to be one.

Nick Powell is the only other signing that arrived at Old Trafford, while Tomasz Kuszczak, Michael Owen, Ritchie De Laet and Paul Pogba are all leaving. Fabio da Silva meanwhile has parted way with his twin brother to join QPR on loan.

Upcoming Season: The Charge for 20th
Manchester United continue to be one of the favourites to win the Premier League title, especially when they have gotten themselves a world class midfielder which they have wanted for a long time. They will still be Manchester City's biggest obstacle to become the champion once more in my opinion.

Rooney's stats last
season.

Key Man: Rooney (FI: 0.778)
Hail Wazza Roo. Despite not winning the Premiership, Wayne Rooney (£12.0m) has recorded his best Premier League season so far, scoring 27 goals. It was also his best fantasy season as well, though it is only 6 points better than his previous best (2009/10).

With 230 points already it is hard to expect him to break the record again this term. Nonetheless, with United's rock solid offensive lineup which is now further enhanced with Kagawa's arrival, to match last year's standard of performance is a reasonable expectation on the English ace. Van Persie's possibility of joining Manchester United may hurt his fantasy points though.

Complicated Battle: Nani (FI: 0.617), Valencia (FI: 0.631), Young (FI: 0.528)

The Red Devils' wingers in comparison.

Manchester United has the best wingers across the Premier League, but that is not really a good news in fantasy terms - they have three equally excellent players competing for two spots!

Luis Nani (£9.0m), Antonio Valencia (£9.0m) and Ashley Young (£8.5m) represent the sweetest dilemma for Sir Alex Ferguson, but my advice for fantasy managers is simple - stay away. Unless any of them starts consistently, it is really not a wise decision to fund about 9% of your initial £100.0m transfer kitty on a player that you are not even certain that he will start.

Good Potential: Kagawa (FI: N/A)
The next Asian football legend is here at Old Trafford, and I see no reason why he cannot achieve success at Manchester.

Shinji Kagawa (£8.5m) is bought to resolve the lack of creativity in midfield and thus fantasy managers can expect him to be one of the Red Devils' focal points in offence. It might be a tough journey for him initially, but once he click with his new teammates he really has a huge fantasy potential.

Nonetheless, rotation might be an issue for him as well, with Danny Welbeck (£8.5m) and Javier Hernandez (£8.0m) both allowing Fergie to line a 4-4-2 formation instead of playing Kagawa in the hole.

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 36 Fantasy Preview

Fired as a West Brom coach, reached UEFA CL Final.

Overview
In midweek we saw two richest clubs in the world, namely Barcelona and Real Madrid, got knocked out in Champions League semi-final. £50m Spaniard Fernando Torres actually scored the game sealing goal, and that goal alone possibly has redeemed the huge money spent by Roman Abramovich. Dramatic game by Chelsea. Salute.

Super Gameweek Double
8 teams will be on double this week, namely:

• Liverpool (@NOR, FUL)
• Fulham (@EVE, @LIV)
• Stoke (ARS, LIV)
• Everton (FUL, @STO)
• Chelsea (QPR, NEW)
• Newcastle (@WIG, @CHE)
• Bolton (@SUN, TOT)
• Tottenham (BLA, @BOL)

In my personal view, Everton has a really sound fixtures, especially when attackers like Jelavic are in fine form.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v MANCHESTER UNITED

Will Balotelli be forgiven?

Here comes the climax. Defending champion, leading by 3 points, Manchester United, travel to Etihad Stadium to challenge their #1 contender, Manchester City.

A series of shocking results saw Manchester United's 8 point lead got shrunken into just 3 points. With City at home, it's hard to say whether the title race will only be decided at round 38.

City is free of injuries at the moment so it is hard to expect who will Mancini partner for Aguero. While Tevez would be the most likely candidate, Balotelli could also get a head start despite protests from his teammates. Huge riddles to be solved for Sir Alex Ferguson then.

Another question for SAF would be the wings setup. Which two to pick from Nani, Young and Valencia? While Nani poses greater offensive threat, he also is more vulnerable in defence. What will be SAF's priority? My guess is defence.

It should be a dramatic contest, and I'm betting City to win to make create the most exciting Premier League finale ever.

Prediction: MCI 2-1 MUN

Fantasy Game of the Week: Everton's Double (FUL, @STO)

Pienaar enjoying his return
to Everton.

Everton have been in a pretty fine form at the moment, and that makes their players interesting purchases for this gameweek double.

Jelavic has been in superb form, scoring 4 goals in the last 2 games he played. Solid acquisition at interestingly cheap price.

His teammates such as Pienaar, Osman and Fellaini could also provide good offensive returns, while Hibbert will be the real value buy at the defensive line.

Prediction: EVE 2-0 FUL, STO 1-0 EVE

Pick and Captain: Jelavic

Pick: Pienaar, Osman, Hibbert, Fellaini

Gameweek 36 Dream Team

Friedel

Hibbert -- Bosingwa -- Simpson

Bale -- Dempsey -- Pienaar -- Ben Arfa (VC)

P. Cisse -- Jelavic (C) -- Suarez

Subs: Begovic -- Mata -- Kaboul -- Enrique

Kick-Off: Gameweek 29 Fantasy Preview

Di Matteo saved Premier League's pride by progressing to
quarter finals of Champions League.

Overview
Liverpool's 3-0 victory over Everton certainly salvaged many double gameweek gamblers. Gerrard got a whopping 22 point gameweek thanks to his hat-trick, while Suarez provided 2 assists to score 14 points. Defenders like Skrtel and Enrique got a clean sheet too. Those who bought them certainly won't be disappointed, although they might expect more.

Meanwhile, Chelsea progressed through the last eight of Champions League in the expense of Napoli after extra time. Di Matteo is certainly on the run now as the new Chelsea coach, having won all games since he took over. Chelsea's players definitely should be on your radar by now.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v CHELSEA

Frank Lampard: The
evergreen ace.

The greatest test for Di Matteo so far as they visit to Etihad Stadium to salvage their Champions League chance next season.

The former Italian international is rejuvenating the Blues at the moment, as Roman Abramovich's army won in all games under his charge. People are being reminded of Mourinho's era with him - resolute defense, strength battle and aerial advantage all reappeared under Di Matteo.

Senior players like Lampard and Drogba should lead the team again after a fantastic performance against Napoli. Huge pressure for City then, which will be without captain Kompany who is fantastic in positioning.

On the other side, City are losing grip in this concluding stage of the season, suffering two consecutive defeats at Europa League and Premier League. Aguero is unable to show us the super Aguero at the opening stage of the season, while Silva's form is also pretty woeful and has already been overtaken by Dempsey in terms of fantasy scores.

It will be a tough game to call, but as long as Chelsea continues to play Mourinho's style of football, I believe City will slip points again and hand the title to United.

Prediction: MCI 1-1 CHE
Pick: Lampard, Drogba
Drop: MCI defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: WOLVES v MANCHESTER UNITED

Rooney still has hopes
for Golden Boot.

Tottenham are facing Stoke at home but we all know how they struggled recently. Hence I will turn my head to Molineux - where league leaders Manchester United will visit to this week.

Wayne Rooney scored both goals in their victory against West Brom last week. The forward has 20 league goals now and still has chance to pressure Robin Van Persie (25 goals) in the golden boot race. Great motivation then, apart from grabbing the 20th league title for Manchester United.

Another man on form is Rooney's compatriot Ashley Young. The former Aston Villa's ace has got 26 fantasy points in his last two games and is expected to continue such fine run to demolish Wolves. Certainly a tough time for Wolves defenders to mark them both.

I am 50-50 about United's likelihood of a clean sheet, but nevertheless having at least one of the duo mentioned above is a must at this stage. Victory for Red Devils.

Prediction: WOL 0-2 MUN
Pick and Captain: Rooney, Young
Drop: WOL defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Van Persie - An automatic choice.
• Ba/ Cisse - Norwich's defensive history makes them mouth-watering choices.
• Gerrard - The captain is inspirational.
• Suarez - He will make QPR defenders look silly.
• Dempsey/ Pogrebnyak  - The partnership is impressive.

Pick:

• Bale - Still reliable, but not reliable enough to be captained.
• LIV defence - QPR's attack shouldn't be tough for them.

Drop:

• STO defence - Tottenham is not expected to disappoint their fans.
• EVE defence - No one stops RvP.
• QPR defence - To stop both Gerrard and Suarez is not easy.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Young/ Rooney - On their high.
• Gerrard - In his cheapest price in these few years and still has skills.
• Suarez - Points are assured with Gerrard around.

Yellow light (watch):

• Bale/ Adebayor - Lacking consistencies at the moment.
• Cleverley  - Returned finally and we shall see how he cope with in these few gameweeks.

Red light (sell):

• Silva/ Aguero - Not in form and subject to heavy rotation.
• Kompany - Injured.

Gameweek 29 Dream Team

Schwarzer

Evans -- Skrtel -- Assou-Ekkoto

Dempsey -- Gerrard (VC) -- Young -- Lampard

Rooney (C) -- Van Persie -- Suarez

Subs: Al-Habsi -- Moses -- Simpson -- Cuellar

Tidal Change: Manchester United On The Summit

Rooney smiles after taking his team to the top of the league table
with two goals.

The tide has certainly changed. In the beginning of February we expect Manchester City to start to build up some cushion against Manchester United in terms of league points: City's February fixtures are pretty easy, while United's had to play against Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in one month.

The fact is: City not only failed to increase the gap, but lost their lead today after losing 0-1 to Swansea. Impressive display by Manchester United as Rooney and Young continue to sparkle. Great team. Great players.

Now that the role has reversed, I believe Manchester Red will cruise their way to the 20th. Momentum is really important at the final stage of league battle, and United has it.

Kick-Off: Gameweek 28 Fantasy Preview

Are you ready for Liverpool's gameweek double?

Overview
A pretty catastrophic last gameweek for plenty of managers with fantasy favourites Sessegnon and Dyer being sent off and Ba missing a penalty. Coupled with Kompany's recent injury, a lot of changes will be needed for owners of them. Time for precious wildcard?

At European tournaments, we saw Arsenal being knocked-out gloriously from Champions League after managed to recover three of the four goal deficit against AC Milan at their home turf before half-time but unable to add anymore after that. Meanwhile, Manchester City suffered an away defeat at Europa League and more shockingly, Manchester United conceded three goals at home to fall 2-3 against Athletico Madrid.

Game of the Week: ARSENAL v NEWCASTLE

Oxlade-Chamberlain had a
fine game against AC Milan
in Champions League.

Revenge is a must for Wenger's lads as in form Arsenal strives to take down Newcastle at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are on a superbly fine run now, killing off both Tottenham and Liverpool in their last two league fixtures. Captain Robin Van Persie is on extraordinary form now. See how he scored twice against Liverpool with such limited chances.

Walcott, Arteta and Ramsey are all quoted as doubtful (75% playing) in FPL - expect some or all of them to play anyway as they combine with in form Rosicky and Oxlade-Chamberlain to provide excellent supplies to their captain.

On the other side, the Ba-Cisse combination will continue to offer major threat, but I see a sweet revenge for Arsenal. Solid victory for Arsenal to put pressure on third-placed Tottenham.

Prediction: ARS 3-1 NEW
Pick and Captain: Van Persie
Pick: Walcott, Ba, Cisse
Drop: NEW defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL's Double (@ SUNDERLAND, EVERTON)

Time for Suarez to redeem
himself?

Liverpool will get their replacement fixture against Everton this gameweek and this make their players delicious fantasy commodities.

The away game at Stadium of Light against Sunderland will be a tricky one but Liverpool are lucky to face them at such timing. The Black Cats started their reign under Martin O'Neill brilliantly but failed to pick up any win in their last three games. Coupled with the suspension of the team's ace Stephane Sessegnon, the Reds should be able to pick up one point at least.

The Merseyside derby will take place on Tuesday at Anfield. Everton are slowly picking up as the season progresses and they have shown some good results recently. While the Toffees are as mighty as the title contenders, they are tough to be taken down.

Defenders Skrtel and Enrique are must have players as usual, while Suarez should be given the fantasy captain armband for his explosive performance. You never know if he could break the goalpost jinx this week and score a couple of goals this week.

Prediction: SUN 0-0 LIV, LIV 2-1 EVE
Pick and Captain: Suarez
Pick: Skrtel, Enrique, Adam, Bellamy


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Young/ Rooney  - Expect them to rip off West Brom.

Pick:

• Pogrebnyak  - He just don't stop scoring.
• Mata  - Time for him to lead Chelsea away from slump.
• Yakubu - Wolves defence shouldn't be a problem for him.
• Osman  - The first man you should consider for Everton's double with Pienaar being ineligible to face Tottenham.
• Holt - Should score against Wigan.

Drop:

• Kompany - Injured.
• Sessegnon/ Dyer - Suspended.
• Aguero - Rotation risk.
• WBA defence - Expect demolition by Manchester United.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Suarez/ Enrique/ Skrtel  - Good to hold for at least this week.
• Pogrebnyak/ Dempsey  - Superb form.
• Young - Replacing Valencia's importance.
• Van Persie - Captain supremo.

Yellow light (watch):

• Adam  - Not so good for long term holding.
• NEW defence  - Not so resolute recently.
• Aguero - His production hardly meets his price.

Red light (sell):

• Kompany - Injured.
• Sessegnon/ Dyer - Suspended.
• Ba - Pogrebnyak and Papiss Cisse seems to give similar production and are much cheaper.

Gameweek 28 Dream Team

Szcznesny

Enrique -- Skrtel -- Evans

Young -- Silva -- Walcott -- Mata

Suarez (C) -- Progrebnyak -- Van Persie

Subs: Mignolet -- Pilkington -- Bosingwa -- O'Shea

Kick-Off: Gameweek 27 Fantasy Preview

A bad England senior team coach debut for Stuart Pearce.

Overview
Congratulations to Liverpool to finally win a trophy after so many years. A pretty boring final to be honest, though the extra time and penalty kick sessions were heart pounding. What's the odds of two Gerrards miss penalty together?

On the other story, the England national football team looks to be on big disarray as Pearce was unable to lead England to a win against Netherlands. Scott Parker is chosen to be the squad captain surprisingly though I do not doubt the Tottenham's midfielder ability to lead.

Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v ARSENAL

Skrtel is playing his best
season ever with Liverpool.

Just championed Liverpool will face Arsenal at Anfield to salvage their chances of Champions League qualification for next season.

The Carling Cup title should definitely boost the Reds' morale, but injury figures were increased after the final tie and that could hinder their chances of winning this one. Daniel Agger will be out for several weeks with injury on his ribs, while captain marvel Steven Gerrard is likely to miss this encounter with a hamstring problem.

Defence will be on huge pressure will Agger not around as Martin Skrtel usually only plays well with the Dane beside him. Upfront Dalglish will have to rely on Suarez and Bellamy again - Carroll looks to be de-synched from the team again after a mediocre display against Cardiff.

On the other side, Robin Van Persie will continue to lead the line and should do a big part for this game in his charge of 200th fantasy points. Walcott, who did brilliantly last week, will be hopeful to continue the feat, although it's still a doubt whether the "one week brilliant, three to four weeks silent" form continues.

I don't expect a clean sheet game to be honest, and Liverpool should retain their undefeated home result while on their way to become the worst undefeated at home record.

Prediction: LIV 1-1 ARS
Drop: LIV and ARS defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v BOLTON WANDERERS

Yaya Toure is a fantastic lad.

The ruthless City is back and expect a slaughtering festival at Etihad Stadium this week.

The return of Yaya Toure certainly marked a great improvement in City's results as they beat Blackburn comfortably last week. Aguero plus one of Balotelli and Dzeko should lead the line and score, so remember to bolster up your attacking force with City's players.

At the back, Kompany will continue to cover his team with his great vision and positioning. Should be a comprehensive clean sheet victory against Bolton which only able to score once in its last four games.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 BOL
Pick and Captain: Aguero, Silva
Pick: Yaya Toure, Kompany, Balotelli, Dzeko
Drop: BOL players


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Pogrebnyak - Two eight-pointer in two games he had played.

Pick:

• Yakubu - Should be able to take a charge against out of form Villa.
• Young - On form as United faces Tottenham which has poor record against them.

Drop:

• Richards - Out of Mancini's favour.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Yaya Toure - Priced attractively.
• A Young - In form both for club and country.
• Aguero - Should be having fine games this week and the next.
• Kompany - Still the best City defender to select.

Yellow light (watch):

• Bale - Doubtful for United game.

Red light (sell):

• Richards - No starting spot for him.
• Terry - Out until April.
• Darren Bent - Injured.

Gameweek 27 Dream Team

Hart

Shawcross -- Skrtel -- Simpson

Silva -- Mata -- Young -- Dempsey

Aguero (C) -- Ba -- Pogrebnyak

Subs: Vorm -- Dyer -- Hibbert -- Senderos

Kick-Off: Gameweek 12 Fantasy Preview

Michael Owen to out for six weeks... Little fantasy relevance, no?

Announcements
Due to personal reasons, they will be no reviews for the next two gameweeks. Previews might be squeezed into simpler version as I try my best to make them a worthy read. A deep apology to all my fellow readers.


Overview
Congratulations to Portugal, Ireland, Czech Republic and Croatia for winning the play-offs and through the Euro 2012 Finals. With all these strong teams going through, expect a intense tournament next summer.

Back to the fantasy world, here's a list of major international casualties occurred in this recent internationals week:

1. Van der Vaart
2. Suarez
3. Aguero
4. Leon Best

Also, Suarez is now charged with racism allegations so stay away from him if you do not have him yet.

All the players above are suffering from minor injuries, so you might need to monitor again on Friday/Saturday to see whether it's necessary to make a transfer or two.

Game of the Week: CHELSEA v LIVERPOOL

Frank Lampard on fire.

The rivalry that formed in the last decade since Mourinho-Benitez era. Chelsea against Liverpool.

The Blues are suffering a bit at the moment and only managed to climbed out from back-to-back defeats with a sluggish victory against Blackburn. Defence has been a serious problem for them currently as last game was their only second clean sheet of the campaign, and that's due to Blackburn's ridiculous chance wasting ability.

Surprisingly, Lampard has started to find some extraordinary form which saw him climbing fast to the second spot of the fantasy midfielders table after a slow start in this fantasy season. Definitely one for the Reds to fear.

On the other side, Liverpool are struggling to score with 11 reflected off the goal frame already this season. Their finishing certainly needs to improve significantly if they were to snatch anything away from Stamford Bridge.

Should be a close call due to Liverpool's norm of getting stronger against stronger teams, but this time I think Andre Villas-Boas should earn his first victory against Liverpool.

Prediction: CHE 2-1 LIV

Pick: Lampard

Fantasy Game of the Week: NORWICH v ARSENAL

The return of Vermaelen has
boosted Arsenal's strength
on both ends significantly.

Well Manchester United are visiting the almighty Vorm at Liberty Stadium, while their noisy neighbours are hosting formidable Newcastle... So let's switch to Gunners, who aim to get five-in-a-row victories.

Norwich has been playing some fine football in the top-flight league and is currently standing higher than their promoting counterparts. They've been providing some great offensive sparks with Morison, Holt and Pilkington leading the casts.

But their defensive fragility is all for Arsenal to take advantage of. Captain Robin van Persie is scoring goals for fun at the moment and has collected 68 fantasy points from last 7 games. 68. Fantastic form.

With the players gelling nicely and their morale on high, Arsenal should win again and get closer to the top four.

Prediction: NOR 1-3 ARS

Pick and Captain: Van Persie

Pick: Gervinho, Vermaelen

Drop: NOR defence

Pick and Drop

Pick:

1. Bendtner/ Sessegnon - Fulham's defence is much fragile than last season.
2. STO defence - Should be strong enough to hold QPR.
3. Hoilett/ Formica - They should be able to convert something against the worst team in the league.

Drop:

1. FUL defence - Not reliable especially on the road.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Van Persie - Instills fear to any defence.
2. Eagles - On form to terrorise from the flanks.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Formica/ Hoilett - Good run of fixtures for them to take advantage from.
2. Bale - Showing some kind of consistency.

Red light (sell):

1. Bosingwa - Out of starting XI.
2. A Young - Out of form with price dipping fast.

Gameweek 12 Dream Team

Begovic

Woodgate -- Vermaelen -- Kompany

Lampard (VC) -- Brunt -- Walters -- Ramsey -- Sessegnon

Van Persie (C) -- Hoilett

Subs: Vorm -- Vellios -- Jagielka -- Brown

Full-Time: Gameweek 5 Fantasy Review

Like brothers?

38 goals from 10 games this week. Great feast for Premier League fans especially the Man Utd-Chelsea encounter. Dramas here and there!

Man Utd 3-1 Chelsea
Extremely entertaining game with lots of goals, lots of dramas and most importantly, lots of MISSES! What are the odds of Rooney missed a penalty and Torres missed an open goal attempt after that? Unbelievable.


MUN: Not the most convincing victory at Old Trafford, but 3 points are 3 points and no complaints about that. Smalling's goal was offside, but he won't get that chance if he was not courageous enough to run and bang the ball with his head; Nani's goal was offside when he received the ball, but to be left so open by Chelsea's defender to score such a magnificent shot - you can only blame Terry and co for that. Phil Jones was very determined to get the ball - which he indirectly helped Rooney to get the third goal for United. Applause.

In overall the team looked very confident and determined despite the fact that it was Chelsea who were actually having the edge in the game. Clear title favourites. The central midfield is still weak, but the strength of the flanks will overcome it easily.

What interests me is when will United lose their first game, and how will the young players react with it. Big confidence hit, and the title race may be wide open; otherwise expect the young blood of Red Devils to march their way to 20th.

Pick: Nani, Rooney, Young
Watch: Smalling, Jones


CHE: Torres resurrected? Quite close. The pack of faster players really had positive impact on him. Much better runs, better courage, better skills. Too bad the miss did flaw his performance by a lot.

Ramires was good for some of the passes, but for beautiful pass by Torres - should he let it go and allow Sturridge to shoot instead of attempting a forceful shot, well much to improve on offence despite having numerous beautiful runs.

One thing to note though, Torres and Lampard are mutually exclusive players - they simply can't and won't link well. Torres needs players to play around him and Lampard's speed prohibits that.

In short, great job by AVB to dominate the play at Old Trafford - 22 shots, and I can see things to improve sooner rather than later for Chelsea to close down the leading duo.

Watch: Torres, Mata, Ramires
Drop: Lampard


Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool
Not the kind of result that fans expect, but no surprise as Liverpool played terribly bad. With or without the red cards I would still believe Tottenham will win.

TOT: Modric screamer is clearly on the list for goal of the season. Harry Redknapp will be glad that he actually kept him during the summer transfer window. Adebayor was wreaking havoc throughout the game and at £8.1m, he's a mega steal. I can see the Togolese's price to hike up to £9.0m or even £9.5m at the end of the season.

Surprisingly it seems that Adebayor's presence has powered up Defoe too, with the English scoring 19 points over the past two gameweeks when Adebayor played both games. Both are good, although I will definitely pick Adebayor on any day.

With Van der Vaart returned too, the tri-core (VdV, Modric, Parker) midfield line-up will definitely supply the front duo lots of ammunition for goals. Having at least one Tottenham attackers is simply a must for this moment.

Pick: Adebayor, Defoe
Watch: Van der Vaart, Parker, Modric


LIV: Pathetically weak throughout the game. Defence was nonsense, especially at the right flank where Skrtel was dominated totally by Gareth Bale. The red card was really, really expected with his frequent mistakes and terrible judgments. Charlie Adam way too reckless and impatient when defending - he needs to keep his cool. Lucas was helpless as Tottenham's attack was too quick - he had no backup.

Carroll still didn't find his way into the team - he acted more like a statue rather than a player. Suarez, once again, was helpless upfront. Dalglish and Comolli really shouldn't let both Meireles and Aquilani - the rare creative directors in midfield - to go.

Fans will be eager for the return of Steven Gerrard, and hopefully he will cure the current mediocre Liverpool at least by a bit.

Watch: Suarez
Drop: Adam, Skrtel, Carroll


Blackburn 4-3 Arsenal
Weird game? Arsenal led twice only to be let down by the worst defence of the league - they leaked 14 goals already.

BLA: It was Yakubu's day, really. The Everton outcast was influential he scored 2 important goals (the other 2 were own goals though). Solid striker which will also be the pivot of the Rovers' survival. He is a must if Rovers' can pick up their form and bang in some goals.

N'Zonzi had a good run which caused Koscielny's own goal, but he isn't historically productive so don't be hasty to make decisions about him.

Pick: Yakubu
Watch: N'Zonzi


ARS: Defence was once again a let down. I thought Mertesacker will turn the situation around but seriously, Koscielny is too big a tumour to be removed. He was at fault for at least 2 of the goals. Before Vermaelen's return or Wenger's decision to kick Koscielny into the reserves, avoid Arsenal defenders.


There's also problems offensively. While Arteta and Gervinho both got their first goal for their new club, Gervinho's selfishness is questionable. In fact he was scolded by captain Robin van Persie for his selfish attempt instead of feeding the ball to the Dutchman who was clearly unmarked. The ending would be much different if Arsenal led by 3-1 instead of 2-1 by half-time.

Pick: Van Persie, Gervinho, Arteta
Drop: Koscielny, ARS defence


Aston Villa 1-1 Newcastle
AST: Satisfactory performance. Given was influential again as he saved some of the tricky shots especially the long-distance cannon from Cabaye. Offensively it's yet again Agbonlahor who scored - he feet are on fire.

Pick: Agbonlahor
Watch: Given


NEW: St. James' Park has their new Carroll - Leon Best. In fact I'm torn between choosing Agbonlahor and him: Gabby is more clinical, but Leo is cheaper. Both are great third forward.

Cabaye was unlucky - he could have scored double digits on any other game with that kind of performance. Instead, it was Tiote who scored 7 points - I seriously cannot see that to repeat frequently.

Pick: Best, Cabaye


Bolton 1-2 Norwich
BOL: Klasnic got a red - that butt-hurted a lot of managers. N'gog grabbed the chance and earned the team a penalty. Unfortunately Bolton's next two games are tricky - Arsenal and Chelsea - won't bring too much good to the young French.

Martin Petrov scored through the spot, and is surely claiming the #1 fantasy spot at Bolton.

Pick: Petrov
Watch: N'gog
Drop: Klasnic


NOR: Holt started from bench - the captain is becoming less and less influential as the team won without him for majority of the playing time.

It's only the Canaries' first win, and is far too soon to deduce anything about any of their players yet.

Watch: Pilkington, Morison
Drop: Holt


Everton 3-1 Wigan
EVE: Slight disappointment from Tim Cahill as he only assisted one - not so solid captain choice. Vellios is receiving good reviews from football pundits - a superb steal if he starts.

Watch: Vellios


WIG: It's Di Santo who's the ace of the team instead of Moses who remained rather silent over these weeks.

Pick: Di Santo


Swansea 3-0 West Brom
SWA: Finally a victory. Luck was on their side this time as Sinclair fired 12 fantasy points. Those who remain loyal with him are well rewarded.

Also on the score sheet are Nathan Dyer and Leroy Lita - two cheap fantasy players. Not sure about their consistency though.

And Michel Vorm is as solid as ever. A season long hold.

Pick: Sinclair, Vorm
Watch: Dyer, Lita


WBA: Not their day. Long wasn't clinical enough to take the chances. Surprised to see both Dorrans and Brunt started on bench.

Wolves 0-3 QPR
WOL: Overwhelmed by QPR throughout the game. Form is starting to loosen out.

QPR: Faurlin's 10 points and 3 bonus points were both unexpected. As for the expected ones, Wright-Phillips (6 points) was once again influential in the win as well as Joey Barton (13 points). Both are superstuds from QPR.

Bothroyd once again failed to impress; instead it was DJ Campbell who scored for the strikers.

Pick: Barton, SWP
Watch: Faurlin, DJ Campbell
Drop: Bothroyd


Fulham 2-2 Man City
FUL: Good comeback. Good role played by Zamora. Still the ace of the team whenever he's fit.

Pick: Zamora


MCI: Overly defensive after the 2-0 lead. Silva, Dzeko, Aguero and Nasri are still the usual producers from the team.

Pick: Aguero, Silva


Sunderland 4-0 Stoke
SUN: Larsson scored 2 and created 1 as I suffered for selling him out of my team. He got only 1 bonus point though for such good stats. Instead it was Craig Gardner who got 3. The one that is more well-worthed to invest for long-term is surely Bendtner (5 points).

Pick: Bendtner, Larsson, Brown
Watch: Gardner


STO: Nothing much to say here as the team lost completely.

Full-Time: "THE CRAZY" Gameweek 3 Fantasy Review

Wayne Rooney killed the match with 3 set pieces. Ultimate performance at
Old Trafford.

CRAZY! With just 11 goals produced from 6 matches at Saturday, the game between Manchester United and Arsenal alone produced 10 goals (MUN 8-2 ARS)!!! Prior to that Manchester City also thrashed Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane! A super duper unbelievably insane Premier League Sunday. Supreme feast for fans.

Man Utd 8-2 Arsenal
MUN: Complete dominance by the Red Devils as they thrashed the Gunners perhaps too easily. Defence was too easy to pass through as Rooney and co fully capitalised the spaces available to them. Ruthless.

Rooney is spectacular. 2 easy free kicks plus another penalty ensures that Dzeko will not distant himself away in his pursuit of golden boot. Ashley Young is even more productive in fantasy, providing 2 cheap assists by setting up both Rooney's free kicks before completing his third to Park beside scoring 2 entertaining goals. Nani also broke his duck with 1 goal and 1 assist in this reaping game.

Welbeck scored the opener but was unfortunate to get injured during the first half. Anderson and Cleverly continues to boss the midfield and are both cheap and decent picks from the team. Still I would put Rooney and Young plus a defender (Jones, Evans, Smalling) from United as the wisest fantasy picks from United.

De Gea saved a penalty but was at fault for letting Walcott's attempt went in - still not convincing.

Pick: Rooney, Young, MUN defence
Potential Pick: Nani, Cleverly, Anderson


ARS: Horrendous display throughout the game. Midfield was non-existent, defensive positioning was even worse than relegation candidates, and chances were wasted as if they came for free.

Ramsey was perhaps one of the worst players on field - he only knew how to hold the ball and turn around as he received them instead of making some penetrative passes. Jenkinson got yet another red as Wenger perhaps has broken his career record of conceding red cards in 3 straight league games. The way Arshavin wasted a one-on-one effort was also terrible - how did he managed to score 4 at Anfield years ago with this kind of performance?

To sum it up it's probably all Wenger's fault for not altering his tactics with the absence of Fabregas and Nasri. They looked even worse than a League One team when defending against Manchester United.

Drop: ARS players


Tottenham 1-5 Man City
TOT: The team looked totally not on form despite the fact that Modric started the game. They got some good chances but several of them were denied by the woodwork. Rather unfortunate but yet they still don't deserve to win this one.

I would say wait for one or two gameweeks to reassess them when the fixtures are slightly easier.

MCI: Dzeko is simply incredible. Four goals which clearly illustrated how all-rounded he are - left tap, right tap, difficult header of pure class and long-range shoot. He's bringing the best of him after he left Wolfsburg.

Nasri performed a hat-trick of assists on his debut game for City, suggesting that Wenger's tactics are limiting his potential. With so many talent upfront he could as well bang in a lot of fantasy points through his beautiful assists.

Other players like Aguero, Yaya Toure, Barry and Silva all performed well as well in this most expensive offensive package, and it will be difficult to choose who to lead your line.

Pick: Dzeko, Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Yaya Toure


Liverpool 3-1 Bolton
LIV: A masterclass display by Liverpool with all those free-flowing passes. Suarez continues to carry the team forward with all his creativity but he will need to improve his one-on-one skills after missing two golden chances. Still one of the must own fantasy player despite that.

Henderson was a completely different person than the first two games as he blended perfectly with others and definitely owned the first half of the game. His opener was very important and he is fairly rewarded with 3 bonus points.

Adam also scored after assisted the corner for Skrtel and is looking more and more deserved to be price £9.0m in fantasy. Skrtel's introduction was a "perfect accident" for me and he played really well as right back.

Carragher made a silly mistake which costed 4 points from each of the defenders (especially Enrique). It does wonder me whether Coates will push the vice-captain out of starting XI.

Pick: Suarez, Adam
Potential Pick: Henderson, Downing, Skrtel

BOL: Owen Coyle's squad were completely outmatched. Nothing much to say but Klasnic's third goals in three games certainly suggest that he's the king of all third-choice strikers.

Pick: Klasnic


Aston Villa 0-0 Wolves
AST: They were wasting quite an amount of chances here and there against the disciplined Wolves. Something for them to reflect.

WOL: Another solid display by them suggesting that you can trust on Wolves defence now with R Johnson leading the line.

Potential Pick: WOL defence


Wigan 2-0 QPR
WIG: Two medium-range strike by Di Santo suggest that he can outshine Rodallega this season. Moses failed to deliver fantasy points yet again. It's testing your patience.

Potential Pick: Di Santo


QPR: The defeat is rather expected. Hopefully Joey Barton will pull them up a level in next game.

Blackburn 0-1 Everton
BLA: Offensive productivity is a concern as they failed to score any after committed around 20 shots and 2 penalties. That was bitterly penalized through Arteta's penalty.

A strong relegation candidate in my opinion.

Drop: BLA players


EVE: Not very convincing on the field. They'll need to play better against oppositions like Blackburn to fetch a better ranking. Baines collected 3 bonus points - an encouraging sign to own him.

Potential Pick: Baines


Chelsea 3-1 Norwich
CHE: Not really convincing for the win, but AVB won't be unhappy as long as his side claimed 3 points. Drogba fall was the fall of the century anyway. Bosingwa should sit firmly as AVB's first choice right back after yet another fantastic display especially the opening goal.

Mata was the difference between 1 point and 3 points with his good footwork. Something Chelsea's had been missing since the departure of Arjen Robben.

And finally, drop Torres until he broke his duck.

Pick: Bosingwa, Mata
Potential Pick: Lampard
Drop: Torres


NOR: Brave display by the Canaries. Holt finally scored but was at my bench (unfortunately). Didn't look shy to attack. Good game.

Potential Pick: Holt


Swansea 0-0 Sunderland
SWA: Sinclair hit the woodwork once with his thunderous shot - bad news. Not too bad although they failed to register their first goal in the Premier League.

Potential Pick: Sinclair


SUN: Mediocre. Wes Brown claimed 2 bonus points apart from clean sheet points, and is a great £4.5m defender to pick.

Pick: Brown


Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
NEW: The best day for Best to score two impressive goals. Cabaye is showing more and more significance through his midfield leadership and set pieces. It's just a matter of time to see a fantasy boom from him.

Potential Pick: Cabaye, Best


FUL: Senderos was dropped this time for Briggs - he's not that sure as a starter. Dempsey scored his first goal, but it remains to be seen whether he fits his price tag.

West Brom 0-1 Stoke City
WBA: Been dominated for the whole game and yet lost due to one silly mistake by Foster. Long could have make it 3 goals in 3 games but was prevented to do so by Begovic. Brunt continues to look solid in the offensive department.

Potential Pick: Long, Brunt
Drop: Foster


STO: Easy goal by Shotton but it was Walters who deserve more attention in fantasy with his assist.

Potential Pick: Walters

Kick-Off: Gameweek 3 Fantasy Preview

Robin van Persie saved Arsenal from Champions League slump, but can
he lead the Gunners to conquer Old Trafford?

Overview
Several midweek games caught my eyes this week, with Arsenal qualified for the Champions League thanks to sparkling effort of Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott against Udinese at Italy. Back at England we see Suarez ultimate influence who scored one and created the other two to defeat Exeter by 3-1. Carroll scored his first goal of the season, but whether is it the opening of floodgate remains a question. Take note that Meireles injured his collarbone and should be out for a long period.

Champions League Draw
Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli
Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, Otelul Galati
Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk
Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund


Lucky draw for Manchester United. Chelsea's games are pretty tricky. Arsenal are in hell of the luck to be drawn in the group of death. Superbly tough for Manchester City too.


On Wild Card Usage
You might be tempted to use that, but I'll say NO. Do you copy? NO. Gameweek 4 will be played on 10th of September, which is two weeks from now, with international games being played after gameweek 3. You surely do not want to see your reshuffled players were injured during their international duties do you? Just wait for another gameweek if you really have to use it.

Will Dzeko score again?

Game of the Week: TOTTENHAM v MAN CITY

Man City will visit to North London in their quest to maintain a perfect start this season.

Tottenham's defence in totally exposed last game, with Friedel made a whopping 13 saves last game and still conceded 3 goals. A big thing for Harry Redknapp to consider as they face the squad who scored the most goals this season.

Meanwhile, Mancini's team is overflowed with gunpowder this season, with Silva, Dzeko and Aguero all making it two in two. Nasri's arrival will further excite City's offence, though it remains a mystery how will he be deployed.

I believe Tottenham will play better at home, but still I think Man City has too much quality to be beaten at the moment. Away win looks highly possible.

Prediction: TOT 1-2 MCI

Pick: Silva, Dzeko

Wazza Roo is hopeful to make
it three in three.

Fantasy Game of the Week: MAN UTD v ARSENAL

It will be another busy weekend at Old Trafford as Manchester United take on weakened Arsenal.

The Gunners can hardly field up a good squad following injuries and suspensions of numerous players. It will be a tough challenge for Arsene Wenger to travel to Manchester with such thin squad, especially after a midweek clash against Udinese at Italy. Fatigue will seriously affect them in my opinion.

On the other hand, the young Red Devils are on a high after a 3-0 demolition against Tottenham last week. Players such as Rooney, Cleverly, Young and Nani will all be ready to open a big wound at Arsenal's cracks. Do take note that Chicharito is back into action - this will affect Welbeck's playing time.

Expect another solid victory by Manchester United. Do captain Rooney if you own him.

Prediction: MUN 3-0 ARS
Pick and captain: Rooney
Pick: Young, Nani, Cleverly
Drop: ARS defence

Suarez is owned by over 40%
of fantasy managers.

Pick and Drop

Pick and captain:

1. Suarez - The Uruguayan is crowning himself as the emperor of Anfield.
2. Moses - A big gamble to consider but I don't see how QPR is going to escape from conceding goals if Wigan can capitalise their home advantage.

Pick:

1. Torres - Not so hype about him after a big disappointment last week, but still I think it reasonable to keep him for another game against Norwich.
2. Tim Cahill  - I am still sticking with him after seeing his potential despite Everton's 0-1 loss against QPR. Blackburn has weak defence.
3. Long - In incredible form and should score at home.

Drop:

1. BLA players - Their current squad and form simply looks to weak to convince me.
2. NOR defence - Chelsea has too much talents to score.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Suarez, Long, Jarvis, Silva - Follow the bandwagon to get some extra cash.
2. Vorm - A keeper that you can consider to keep for whole season.
3. Rooney - Arsenal is for him to crush this week.
4. R Taylor, S Taylor - A stream of moderate fixtures for them to produce some clean sheets.

Yellow light (buy/sell later):

1. Torres - Norwich is a good them to produce goals, so just give him one last chance.
2. Malouda - With Mata joining you need to see how he is going to be affected.
3. Tim Cahill - He is still playing in an advanced role so there is some good scoring prospects from him.

Red light (sell):

1. ARS players - Too much of instability in the club at the moment.

Gameweek 3 Dream Team

Hilario
Bosingwa -- R Taylor -- Smalling
Silva -- T Cahill -- Young -- Moses
Rooney(C) - Suarez(VC) -- Long

Subs: Vorm -- Sinclair - Enrique -- Figueroa

Full-Time: Gameweek 1 Fantasy Review

Sebastian Larsson (no. 7) punished Liverpool's chance wastages with a wonderful  bicycle kick.

Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland
LIV: A lot of upside potential, as we can see from first half. Suarez's superb interception and run to earn a penalty (he missed it!), Adam's £10m worth of set piece which helped Suarez to score Premier League's first goal of the season, and Downing's fantastic 40-50 yards run before finding his shot rattling the bar have all shown how dynamic and unstoppable Liverpool's attack can become.

Unfortunately, Dalglish have gone all wrong about his tactics in this game. Henderson is awful playing at the right side. With Flanagan playing, Kuyt should play at the right to provide defensive cover for the young right back. Because of that mistake, 2 points gone.


Pick: Suarez, Downing, Adam, Enrique
Potential Pick: Carroll
Drop: Henderson (if you somehow picked him)


SUN: The Black Cats are pretty shaky in the first half, but fortunately Steve Bruce fixed the problem during half-time. Brown had done a good job in locking Carroll, making the latter hardly able to make a good shot.

Offensively it's all about the almighty Seb Larsson. A very, very solid performance by the ex-Birmingham player. A good direct replacement for Taarabt if you are fed up about the latter's performance against Bolton.


Pick: Larsson, Brown


Blackburn 1-2 Wolves
BLA: Debutant Formica scored a good first goal for the Rovers, but that was not enough for them to claim any points. The defeat is quite a good indication for them - they will be roaming at the bottom third of the league for most part of the season.

Potential Pick: Roberts, Formica, Dunn


WOL: Doyle missed a penalty which in no way was good. Ward's goal was brilliant, but you don't expect a defender to score beautiful goal week-in and week-out.

Potential Pick: Fletcher


Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa
FUL: Pretty football by Martin Jol. Good stream of passes and chance creations makes Fulham players good fantasy options upfront. Still look solid in back despite more offensive approach. Could have won if not for Given's great performance.

Pick: Andy Johnson, Hughes
Potential Pick: John Riise


AVL: Created some good chances but failed to capitalise any. Was surprised to see Hesky start by sacrificing Albrighton. N'Zogbia and Bent didn't look too impressive. Given was superb - pick him.

Pick: Given


QPR 0-4 Bolton
QPR: Nightmare start for them. The Rs pretty much lost themselves after conceding the first goal. Nevertheless, it's better to lose 4-0 in your first game and realise how tough Premier League is rather than later when the season goes into the decisive part.

Drop: QPR defenders


BOL: Klasnic looks incredible in his first game of the season. He is more like a playmaker rather than a striker. Gary Cahill scored a goal, but you shouldn't be fooled to buy him - look at Bolton's fixtures!

Potential Pick: Klasnic (fixtures are too bad to consider)


Wigan 1-1 Norwich
WIG: The departure of N'Zogbia has given rise to two players - Watson and Moses. Both are decent picks considering the next two games Wigan are playing.

Pick: Moses, Watson


NOR: Good rebound by Hoolahan. They didn't look too bad at this game, but it's still too early to conclude about them.

Potential Pick: Hoolahan


Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal
NEW: Barton is easily my man of the match for taking Gervinho off the match. Doesn't have too much to comment about their game - it's so dull.

ARS: With no engines at the middle, they look like a mid-table team. Wenger better get this solved soon, or they might even fall behind of teams like Aston Villa and Everton.

Potential Pick: Ramsey
Drop: GERVINHO

Stoke 0-0 Chelsea
STO: Superb saves by Asmir Begovic. Easily the man of the match. Credits went to referee as well as he denied two penalty appeal from Chelsea. Unfortunate for Matt Etherington however for injuring his shoulder.

Pick: Begovic
Drop: Etherington

CHE: Not quite a good decision by AVB to start Torres instead of Drogba. The Spaniard looked much better than before, but still a distance away from Drogba's ultimate influence and is too expensive to hold unless his form starts to get hot. Held drawn due to some bad fortune sincerely.

West Brom 1-2 Manchester United
WBA: Great debut by Shane Long to score an equaliser as West Brom gave some hard time to Fergie's squad. Almost held United up until a moment of brilliance by Ashley Young.

Potential Pick: Long


MUN: A costly victory with Vidic and Ferdinand gone injured. Young was the decisive man, having scored one and set up another. De Gea almost costed United three points with his slow save against Long's attempt. The young team still look shaky, but fortunately the winners' mentality saved them this time.

Avoid United's defence as for now until De Gea starts to show some sharpness.

Pick: Young, Rooney
Potential Pick: Cleverly
Drop: MUN defence

De Gea Succeeds Van der Sar, Officially

David De Gea and Sir Alex Ferguson
The latter is having a great time in his progress of squad reformation.

Phil Jones, secured. Ashley Young, secured. However both of them are of secondary importance compared to the signing of former Athletico Madrid keeper David de Gea.

The Spanish shot-stopper serves more immediate significance compared to the prior signings of United for this coming season, as Van der Sar has retired and Ferguson has yet a reliable keeper to step up and replace the Dutch's position. The 20-year-old man should keep Sir Alex Ferguson free from goalkeeping trouble for potentially many years to come.

Three signings have made United leading the transfer market, but still they have yet to capture someone to cover up their fatal weakness - a midfield commander ala Xavi.

Gameweek 33 Fantasy Preview

Carlos Tevez
Out for up to a month, out of Golden Boot race.

Quite a number of bad news occurred in the soccer arena, including Tevez's moderate injury ahead of FA Cup tie against Manchester United and the tragedy of Drogba's family. My deep condolences to Drogba.

Back on track. Only six gameweeks left to improve your season rankings, and with Chelsea and Arsenal having a gameweek double this week, are you ready to fight till the end?

---

PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Andy Carroll
Will pose tremendous threat to Arsenal's defenders.

Arsenal v Liverpool

The Gunners will face a decisive week to their title race as they host Liverpool as the first game of their gameweek double.

The Reds just pissed Manchester City away from Anfield with a classy 3-0 victory thanks to the marvel of Andy Carroll. With the Geordie opened his account with Liverpool, you can expect huge pressure to be faced by the Koscielny and co. That is even worse with Suarez providing different dimension of attack to complement Carroll.

Meanwhile, Arsenal finally got back on track with a victory against Blackpool last week. But just as we all know, inconsistency has been a consistent problem for Arsenal. Van Persie needs to stop wasting chances if they are to continue their pressure against Manchester United on the table.

Despite having home advantage, I don't think three points are on Wenger's grasp. Carroll alone is enough to crush Lehmann (or Almunia?).

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool

Aaron Lennon v Theo Walcott
A contest of agile wingers.

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal*

An interesting replacement fixture as we see Arsenal battling Tottenham to continue their pressure on the leader Manchester United.

Tottenham might get demoralized after their Champions League exit with a silly goal conceded by Heurelho Gomes. But they do have stamina advantage on hand as Arsenal will get exhausted after battling Liverpool this Sunday.

Viewing on their stars, Van der Vaart and Bale are still struggling to back to their best. But they've Peter Crouch who just scored a brace last week and will be looking to do the same in this match.

On the other hand, Arsenal have almost all of their attackers available for this game and will do everything to crush Tottenham's defence.

It's a contest of determination, and I believe the Gunners have the thirst for victory.

Prediction: Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal

The Rest

• Birmingham v Sunderland (1-0) - A very vital game for Brums' survival. They simply must win.
• Blackpool v Wigan (2-1) - A win will bring Wigan above Blackpool. But with the poorest offence in Premier League, can they? I am negative about that.
• Everton v Blackburn (2-0) - The Toffees have been quite good on attack recently. Do invest on their attackers.
• West Brom v Chelsea (2-3) - Hodgson is indeed a mid-table club maestro. Chelsea will need to beware.
• West Ham v Aston Villa (2-3) - Wide areas has always been the Hammers' problems, and that's the Villans' advantage.
• Newcastle v Man Utd (1-2) - I don't expect rock solid United to slip this. But don't expect a big win either after a massive FA Cup derby.
• Chelsea v Birmingham* (2-0) - No reason for not winning this one.

*Replacement fixtures

---

PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

David Luiz
A possible captain pick for this gameweek double with his wonderful bonus magnet-ing skills.

Captain Picks

• David Luiz/Lampard/Drogba - Put your double on them on top of their double with easy fixtures.
• Van Persie - Two tough opponents. But does he ever pick his opponent to score?
• Adam - Well, he faces Wigan. Poor defenders.

Buys-In

• Carroll - Adapted to Liverpool.
• Luiz/Ivanovic - You might consider both of them. It's quite possible to get two clean sheets.

Sells-Out

• Tevez - Out for a month.

Squad of XV

GK: Foster

DF: Ridgewell, Luiz, Ivanovic, Clichy

MF: Adam, Lampard, A Young, Walcott

F: Van Persie, Bent

Subs (in order): Kingson, Carroll, Jagielka, Smalling

Captain: Luiz

ECS: Value

Saturday Stage

Ashley Young
Starred Gw28 with 15 pre-bonus fantasy points.

A dream start for my Gw28 as six of my players had played, and the player with the least points is six! It's just fantastic. Anyway, let's see who's been sparkling just now:

• Ashley Young. One penalty, one assist and another goal. Finally provided me great returns after weeks keeping him.
• Young's teammate, Downing, is the fantasy runner-up of Saturday with 10 pre-bonus points. Also scoring 10 is Beckford who scored both goals for Everton.
• Rooney was doing great just now with one goal and one assist. Chicharito was even better for his two opening goals.
• Nani was a bit disappointing with just one assist, but six points with another game coming on isn't too bad for a captain.
• Wolves shocked me with extremely comfortable win over Blackpool. They are currently one place above relegation after the victory.
• Smalling and Coleman continue to be cheap fantasy studs as they grab points from clean sheet again.

Thursday Tale

Morten Gamst Pedersen
Scores 20 fantasy points in two games.

Here's some updates on the midweek fixtures which ended just now:

• Aston Villa finally found their gunpowder after scoring only once in their last four games. Downing and Young were the main casts yesterday, scoring 23 fantasy points together.
• Essien copied Balotelli's showdown by scoring the decisive goal for Chelsea and then got sent off. Fantasy managers who had just bought him will be pretty frustrated.
• Barton and Carroll combined again to provide a goal for Newcastle, but another brilliant game by Pedersen ensure a victory for the away side. Do monitor Pedersen as he starts to show the form he once possessed in 06/07 season.
• West Ham were denied a win once again as they held draw by West Brom. Odemwingie is back and converted a penalty for the Baggies.
• Torres scored again but Wigan only allowed Liverpool to carry one point away. Roy Hodgson once again commented like a middle-low club's manager. Courageously idiot.
• Chamakh scored Arsenal's fastest premier league goal as Arsenal won 2-0. Will that secure his starting spot?
• Beckford scored his first premier league goal, finally.
• The Manchester derby was rather disappointing with no goals to share.