Kick-Off: Gameweek 20 Fantasy Preview

BerbaTOP: 6 goals scored in his last 3 Premier League games.

Overview
Big shocker on the last gameweek with Manchester United lost to Blackburn at Old Trafford. Berbatov is charging with red hot form though, and looks as if he will win the golden boot if he starts all the remaining league games.

Another big news is the return of the King of Highbury - Thierry Henry to Arsenal in a short 2-3 months loan spell. The French should play a big role in this period as both Gervinho and Chamakh will go to south of Europe for African Cup of Nations.

Gameweek Double
The replacement fixture of Tottenham against Everton will take place this week so remember to stock 3 Tottenham players in your team as they are playing both games this gameweek at home. The options at Everton are much less delicious though.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY  v LIVERPOOL

Soul restored for Liverpool?

Manchester City will continue to defend their top position in a tough game against Liverpool.

Thanks to Manchester United's shocking defeat City should still at top of the league despite losing to Sunderland. They will have stamina disadvantage though - Liverpool played two days earlier than them on last gameweek's fixture.

No injury problems for them so expect the likes like Silva and Aguero to be the key men of the team. Don't put too much hope on clean sheet though, as the captain of the other side - Steven Gerrard - is back and has provided significant impact against Newcastle on last game. Big man to watch.

Bellamy is on red hot form and has a point to prove to Mancini, meanwhile Carroll looks better on last game will high quality supply from Gerrard.

Tight game on hand. I'm predicting points loss for City due to their tiredness and Liverpool's tendency to play better against better sides.

Prediction: MCI 1-1 LIV
Pick: Silva, Bellamy


Fantasy Games of the Week: TOTTENHAM'S DOUBLE v WEST BROM & EVERTON

Assou-Ekkoto is one of the
silent performer at White
Hart Lane.

Well, both games are at home, so you certainly cannot afford to not have Tottenham players.

Bale is stunningly on form and thus should be your captain of the week although Adebayor could as well be one to take the armband. Van der Vaart is also a good choice but I will definitely give the priority to the former two.

I prefer a 2 (attacker) + 1 (defender) setup here so one should take either one of Benoit Assou-Ekkoto or Kyle Walker for this occasion. BAE is the more preferable one here as he's £0.6m cheaper than the latter and scores similar fantasy points.

Both West Brom and Everton have closed down their defences pretty tight lately, but 2 games on hand for a flying team is definitely enticing. All in for Tottenham players.

Prediction: TOT 2-1 WBA, TOT 1-0 EVE
Pick and Captain: Bale, Adebayor
Pick: Van der Vaart, Assou-Ekkoto, Walker


Pick and Drop
Pick:

1. Osman - The best performer of Everton for gameweek double.
2. Baines - Pretty pricey, but a good player to score from set pieces nonetheless.
3. Yakubu - On fire again.
4. S Fletcher - Will get plenty of chances in front of fragile Chelsea's defence.
5. Berbatov - In top form.

Drop:

1. STO defence - Blackburn might be on the relegation zone, but that's not the fault of offensive department.
2. BOL defence - Defence is problematic and is further complicated by Gary Cahill's almost certain departure.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Berbatov - Scored 6 goals already in the last 195 minutes he had featured.
2. Bale/ Adebayor/ Van der Vaart/ Assou-Ekkoto/ Walker - It's gameweek double folks.
3. Yakubu - Has started to become the idol of Blackburn.
4. Bellamy - Should be getting Dalglish's trust after such fantastic performance.
5. Valencia - Continues to perform consistently.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Gerrard - The heart of Liverpool is making significant impact upon his return.
2. Ireland - Led the cast for Villa's famous victory at Stamford Bridge.
3. Nani - Continues to fire blanks.

Red light (sell):

1. De Gea - Lindegaard is obviously the better keeper currently.

Gameweek 20 Dream Team

Guzan

Assou-Ekkoto -- Baines -- Samba

Bale (C) -- Osman -- Valencia -- Silva

Adebayor (VC) -- Van Persie -- Yakubu

Subs: Vorm -- Moses -- Koscielny -- Brown

Kick-Off: Gameweek 5 Fantasy Preview

Fernando Torres assisted twice in the Champions League.

Overview
The Champions League started its new season as we saw Chelsea being the only English club who stroke 3 points in the first game of the group stage. Fernando Torres obviously was the spotlight after completing 2 assists in the 2-0 win over Bayern Leverkusen. Hope it's not another false positive by him.

Meanwhile, Van Persie continued his away dominance after striking yet another away goal against another German club Borussia Dortmund. Might be a good hint to get him as the Gunners are playing away to Blackburn this weekend.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER UNITED v CHELSEA

Juan Mata will be looking forward
to sink Old Trafford.

The true test for the defending champion begins as Manchester United will play Chelsea at their own fortress Old Trafford.

The Red Devils were surprisingly drawn by Benfica despite playing a more experienced side whom Ferguson believed "experience will be important in such games". There were lack of command in midfield suggesting that they're starting to miss Cleverley already. 4-5-1 formation looked bad for Rooney as he lacked of support, but at Old Trafford it should be reverted back to 4-4-2 despite such strong oppositions.

But the midfield will still be the worrying department without Cleverley. Carrick was never "world class" enough to control the central midfield, while Fletcher might still need a game or two to recover his match fitness. Can a weakened United midfield hold off Chelsea's solid midfielders such as Lampard, Meireles and steam engine Ramires? Phil Jones might be deployed there so increase the strength.

Meanwhile, Torres' revival in linking with teammates give a caution sign to United - he has now what he called "faster" midfielders to cooperate with. Expect Mata-Torres-Meireles combo to give a lot of troubles with some great 1-2 passes.

Expect tough competition throughout the game. Play your Rooney, A Young, Nani, Meireles and Mata, and pray that they perform in this hardly predictable game.

Prediction: MUN 2-1 CHE
Pick: Rooney


Fantasy Game of the Week: FULHAM v MANCHESTER CITY

Can Silva repeat his
magnificent performance?

Frustrated City will divert all their focus to the Premier League and aim for three points in response to the unexpected draw against Napoli in the Champions League.

Mancini was clueless in his attempt to break the Italian club's defence, and it's a good idea for Martin Jol to replicate the same strategy to hold off against City's ruthless attack. The experience of Grygera might be useful here, so don't be surprised if he starts this match.

But I believe Mancini won't allow his mistake to repeat again, so expect players such as Silva, Nasri, Dzeko, Aguero and/or Tevez to open a big wound in Fulham's defence. City has simply too much class to lose.

Prediction: FUL 1-3 MCI
Pick and captain: Silva, Aguero
Pick: Dzeko, Nasri
Drop: FUL defence, Ruiz


Pick and Drop
Pick and captain:

1. Van Persie - Has a good away scoring record so why not against Blackburn?
2. Tim Cahill/ Baines - With no obviously one-sided games this week, the Everton duo represents good captain choices this week.
3. Klasnic - Norwich is a good chance for him to cement an ace position at Reebok Stadium.

Pick:

1. Martin Petrov - Influential in Bolton's attack.
2. BOL defence - Norwich aren't too much a threat in attack.
3. STO defence - Sunderland has trouble finding goals.
4. Adebayor - He can take advantage of Liverpool's shaky defence.
5. Shaun Wright-Phillips - Looks great last game and can replicate the same thing but added with goals/assists.
6. Walcott/ Gervinho - Salgado's weakness is for them to exploit.

Drop:

1. BLA defence - Seemingly impossible to keep a clean sheet against Arsenal.
2. Bent - Hardly on form with Newcastle a tough defence to beat.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. SWP - Easily the best player of QPR.
2. Adebayor - Will be the most important goal source of Tottenham.
3. Van Persie - Players like Gervinho and Song are freed from suspensions now.
4. Shawcross - Stoke's captain is at his best form now.
5. Hernandez - Superbly clinical.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Tim Cahill - Look if Everton discover their form.
2. Arteta - Still looking anonymous.
3. Kranjcar - His place is not well cemented.

Red light (sell):

1. Cleverley - Injured.
2. Suarez - Not really the super fantasy ace currently.

Gameweek 4 Dream Team

Szcznesny

Baines -- G Cahill -- Warnock

SWP -- T Cahill  -- Silva(VC) -- Walcott

RVP(C) -- Rooney -- Klasnic

Subs: Begovic -- M Petrov -- Brown -- Olsson

Full-Time: Gameweek 4 Fantasy Review

It's Wazza Roo's era!

The league looks increasingly likely to be a two-horse race for now with yet another dominant display by the Manchester duo. Manchester Premier League?


Bolton 0-5 Manchester United
BOL: Man-marking was non-existent throughout the game with at least three of the goals being scored with the player being "marked". Played overly defensive at their homeground.

Despite that, Martin Petrov looked lively throughout the game and is a good bargain midfielder that is capable of delivering something around 8-10 assists over the course of the season. His value should be rising soon, if you want him get him fast.

Pick: Petrov
Drop: BOL defence


MUN: Back-to-back hat-tricks by Wayne Rooney shows the importance of having at least one premium-priced forward. Superb goals, especially the third curling one which left Jaaskelainen helpless. Chicharito should also got his hat-trick if not for one offside goal and another narrow miss. Both are superb choices upfront, so pick Hernandez if you can't afford to own Rooney.

Nani finally outscored A. Young for the first time this season, but I will still say A. Young should deliver more than the Portuguese this season due to his role as second set-piece taker behind Rooney. Even a lay-off for Rooney's free-kick goal gets 3 solid assist points, and Young is going to benefit from that.

Defensively it's a surprise to see them held yet another clean sheet, with Phil Jones looked to be United's next utility man at the back after John O'Shea.

Pick: Rooney, Hernandez
Watch: Nani, MUN defence (watch out for their forthcoming opponents)


Manchester City 3-0 Wigan
MCI: Just when people started to bring in Dzeko, Mancini surprisingly benched him and partner Aguero with Tevez instead. Three cool finish by Aguero. He simply doesn't waste chances. Tevez didn't look to sharp as he shot an awful penalty which saved rather comfortably by Al-Habsi.

At the moment Silva and Nasri are rather even, but after a praise by Mancini, I believe Silva's starting spot is more secured than the French.

Kompany got 2 bonus points - the best City defender to own alongside with Richards who has good offensive capabilities.

Pick: Aguero, Silva, Kompany, Richards

WIG: Nothing much to reveal here as City boasts the best defence. Perhaps Al-Habsi's penalty save will tell you that Wigan still have the poker chips to stay in the Premier League.

Watch: Al-Habsi


Arsenal 1-0 Swansea
ARS: A strange lucky goal by Arshavin to seal off 3 points. Not too bad for a game, with Walcott having a couple of chances. Arteta's debut was just okay, though I expect it to improve. Defence was much solid than before although Koscielny remains a liability back there.

Watch: Walcott, Arteta, Mertesacker


SWA: Bad mistake by Vorm as Swansea looked determined to leave Emirates Stadium with a point before that. Offence still look dismal.

Everton 2-2 Aston Villa
EVE: The consequences of the departure of Arteta was fully reflected on Baines' fantasy points - he took the penalty and went away with 8 points. Obviously the best investment you can get from Goodison park.

Cahill performed finally as well with an assist - Everton's result will depend pretty much on Baines and him.

Pick: Baines
Watch: Cahill


AST: It's Agbonlahor again. Consistent. Phenomenal goal by Stiliyan Petrov, but you don't expect that to repeat frequently from a defensive midfielder.

Pick: Agbonlahor


Stoke 1-0 Liverpool
STO: Britannia is still one of the toughest fortress to break in English football. Brave defensive display (especially for Begovic's quadruple save!) despite being owned throughout the game. Walters was the penalty taker - he represents good value with his ability to play as second striker.

Pick: Shawcross, Walters


LIV: Finishing remains an issue although defeat was partly due to bad refereeing. Not getting a goal from 20+ shots was a shame. Carragher was the culprit again for leaking yet another goal after last game. They should not have much problem to reach top four though as long as they play like that every week.

Drop: Carragher

Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea
SUN: Overwhelmed throughout the game with nothing much to tell. Gyan left for UAE - Bendtner becomes a good pick.

Watch: Bendtner


CHE: Looks like AVB is going for the success formula of Mourinho - one goal victory margin. Torres was benched unsurprisingly as Sturridge fully capitalise the chance by scoring one stylish goal - calm, superbly accurate and impressive. Hopefully he will grab a permanent starting spot sooner or later - he will be a must-own by then.

Watch: Sturridge


Wolves 0-2 Tottenham
WOL: Not really good upfront - might be due to lack of supplies from Jarvis who only played as substitutes.

TOT: Two debutants gave immediate impact - Adebayor and Parker. I believe Adebayor will be a must-own very soon given Tottenham's offensive approach and the lack of consistent forwards at White Hart Lane. Bale still looked ordinary - don't switch him in before he explodes.

Pick: Adebayor
Watch: Parker


Norwich 0-1 West Brom
NOR: Disappointment to Grant Holt yet again. His shooting rate is similar to his midfield teammates. Bad sign. Needs to get the supplies to perform.

Drop: Holt


WBA: Odemwingie - the return of the king. Missed one penalty, but scored the decisive goal earlier. Still the goal factor of Hodgson's team.

Pick: Odemwingie


Fulham 1-1 Blackburn
FUL: Aaron Hughes was injured - remember to check on his updates. Ruiz failed to adjust to English tempo in his first game as he was subbed out during half-time. Zamora scored a cool equaliser similar to Rochina's attempt which reflected-in through the woodwork. He was also fouled in the penalty box once despite not being correctly addressed as a foul - great potential for fantasy points.

Pick: Zamora
Watch: Hughes


BLA: Great impact by Rochina but I don't see him scoring over 100 fantasy points in such a limited team especially when he's not even a sure-starter. Defence was awful as always, with Salgado really a big liability. He simply don't deserve to start with his frequent mistakes.

Drop: Salgado


QPR 0-0 Newcastle
QPR: Looked likely offensively throughout the game with Shaun Wright-Phillips showing strong immediate impact - should be bursting soon. Central pair Taarabt and Barton took away with 3 and 2 bonus points respectively, with the former looking much better as he participated more in offence.

Bothroyd looked like he will always be late to convert supplies into goals - terrible goal-poaching skills as a Premier League forward.

Pick: Wright-Phillips
Watch: Taarabt, Barton
Drop: Bothroyd


NEW: Constantly being bombarded with few chances to strike back. Simpson scored 2 bonus points apart from his clean sheet. Obertan also got 2. Three players with 2 bonus points on the same game!

Watch: Simpson, Obertan

Sunday Sparks

Luis Suarez
Steals the headline with his zero angle goal.

Another interesting Premier League weekend as Arsenal slipped unexpectedly. Here are some highlights:

• Berbatov once again showed why he deserved to be nicked Berbatop as he decided the game from the bench. Johnny Evans's red card once gave Bolton the light of winning the game, but the Bulgarian acted as a black hole and sucked all the hopes away.
• On a side note, Nani continues to provide great value to his fantasy managers with nine points in total. Really a bad fortune for those who sold him earlier.
• Arsenal collapsed like nobody as they dropped another two points to West Brom. In fact, they were lucky to snatch one from the Hawthorns after trailing 0-2.
• A good thing to note though, Van Persie continues to show his imperialism at Arsenal. Still one man is not enough to save a team from failing.
• Green's godlike show has helped West Ham to salvage a point from White Hart Lane. His actions were well rewarded with 11 fantasy points.
• In addition, Bale was looking good with his return and you might need to him to finish off your season with a good result.

Charlie Adam
The commander is back to lead the show.

• Charlie Adam's return is so pivotal for Blackpool as the skipper took the Tangerines two goals ahead only to be drawn by Blackburn. Still great performance by him with 15 fantasy points.
• Stoke got a solid solid win against Newcastle. The best thing about it? Clean sheet of course!
• One thing note mentioning: Walters, Pennant and Higginbotham scored 40 points in total from this game!
• Cleverly made himself the man of the match as he led Wigan to reverse Birmingham's one goal lead.
• Coleman and Baines continue to become the main fantasy force of Everton as both of them picked up eight points in their win against Fulham.
• Still it's a good result for Dempsey's fantasy owners with his goal.
• Aston Villa lost surprisingly at home to Wolves. Without scoring any goals. Shameful.
• Luck was totally against Sunderland just now as Steve Bruce used two of his subs in the first thirty minutes and another before the 60th for all his injured players. And Mensah was even sent off for a soft challenge.
• Great work for Suarez anyway for his incredible zero angle goal as he continue his great Liverpool record, both in reality and fantasy.
• After a hat-trick, Kuyt continues to provide great fantasy returns as he scored another double digit today.
• The Chelsea-Man City encounter is going on now and let's see what Tevez-less City can do. UPDATE: David Luiz scored his second goal for Chelsea to further embarrass Torres's goal drought.