Goodbye Fabregas: A Big Loss for Fantasy Premier League

Fabregas is happy as his move to Barcelona is close to completion.

The prolonged saga has finally ended. Arsenal's ex-captain, Francesc Fabregas, is ready to join La Liga champion FC Barcelona after the club reached an agreement with Arsenal (finally).

The record holder for Arsenal's first team youngest appearance and youngest first team goalscorer wants to return to his mother club since last year, and after an extended war with Arsenal, Wenger has no choice but to let him go.

The Spaniard's departure is a big loss for FPL managers as he is one of the fantasy commodity with "big gun" status, capable to score over 200 points provided he is fit to play for 90% of the season. Hopefully players such as Ramsey and Wilshere will be able to step up and replace Fabregas' role in providing ammunition to Van Persie.

You will not be forgotten, Fabregas.

The Final Countdown

Who will conquer Europe?

We're just slightly more than a day away from this grand finale? Who is your team?

For me it will be Manchester United - never underestimate the home advantage.

I hope there won't be any Oscar-esque performance.

Gameweek 36 Fantasy Preview

Wayne Rooney v Lionel Messi
The replay of 09 Final will commence at Wembley.

Therer you go. Barcelona v Manchester United. La Liga #1 v Premier League #1. Great match-up promised. Hopefully I will be watching a football game then, not a battle for Oscar awards.

Last week it was Kuyt and Suarez who led the show, as expected. However, Simon Davies stole the gameweek #1 with 16 fantasy points as Fulham will host Liverpool this week. Interesting.

This week will only be more exciting with Tottenham and Manchester City's going head-to-head on their replacement fixture and Chelsea visiting Old Trafford in an attempt to drag the Red Devils down from the summit. Great great fights are promised.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Fernando Torres
Can he conquer Old Trafford like what he has done before with Liverpool?

Manchester United v Chelsea
Climax of the season. Should United wins, the title goes to them for sure; should Chelsea take three points, they will be on the driving seat to recrown themselves.

Ferguson has deployed his second string players against Schalke during the second leg of the Champions League - a decision which both rested his players ahead of this game and allowed benchwarmers to express themselves. That is, Chelsea won't have any fitness advantages against them.

On the other hand, while Chelsea has already recorded five consecutive league victories, their actual performance on the field were less convincing. They could have easily lost to West Ham should the Hammers were able to grab their chances, while the win against Tottenham was just so controversial.

Both are very good at defence, but Chelsea have to keep attack to continue their title hunt. A scoring draw for me.

Prediction: Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea

The Gameweek Doublers

• Manchester City (Everton @ away, Tottenham @ home) - Not an easy one for a double. Everton are tough, as always, while Tottenham will have all the reason to give out all of their hearts for the game. Prediction: Everton 1-1 Man City, Man City 2-2 Tottenham
• Tottenham Hotspur (Blackpool @ home, Man City @ away) - Should be very comfortable against Blackpool. You should pool at least one of the Tottenham attackers. Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Blackpool, Man City 2-2 Tottenham

The Rest

• Aston Villa v Wigan (2-0) - Ashley Young to send Wigan down?
• Bolton v Sunderland (2-0) - Sturridge is doubtful. If he starts he is one of the captain material for this week.
• Newcastle v Birmingham (2-0) - As usual, Birmingham fails to impress anybody away.
• West Ham v Blackburn (2-1) - Win this or get lost. A game of unrivaled importance for the Hammers.
• Wolves v West Brom (1-2) - Farewell game for Big Mick?
• Stoke City v Arsenal (2-3) - Proceed with caution. Stoke had been causing troubles and troubles to the Gunners every time they met.
• Fulham v Liverpool (2-2) - Craven Cottage is never a fun place to visit.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Sylvie Van der Vaart
Captain his husband.

Captain Picks

• Van der Vaart - Double game with one against one of the poorest defence in the league.
• David Silva - Dictates City offence in the absence of Tevez.

Buys-In

• Van der Vaart - Tottenham still has reason to win.
• Toure Yaya - Cheap and effective.

Sells-Out

• Nani - Less influential now with Valencia on form.

Squad of XV

GK: Jaaskelainen

DF: Kolarov, Dawson, Gary Cahill

MF: Silva, Yaya Toure, Van der Vaart, A Young, Modric

F: Bent, Van Persie

Subs (in order): Friedel, Ameobi, Walker, Coloccini

Captain: Van der Vaart

ECS: Value

Gameweek 35 Fantasy Preview

Wayne Rooney
Wazza on fire.

Congratulations to Manchester United to step one of their feet into the Champions League finale after a 2-0 away win at Gelsenkirchen against Schalke. Despite Neuer's godlike performance, Die Knappen were unable to stop Rooney's fantastic performance. Thumbs up.

On the other hand, Messi outstanding performance outshone the whole team of Real Madrid, only to be shadowed by *you know who* ridiculously exaggerated post-tackle actings. Pepe's sent off was unjustified honestly. Still, Barca deserved the victory and it's like a mission impossible now to Jose Mourinho.

Now, let's depart away from UEFA Champions League and step into the world of Barclays Premier League as the season reaching its finale...

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Arsene Wenger
"Should I help Man Utd or Chelsea?"

Arsenal v Manchester United
All the rest of Premier League fans except the Red Devils' will hope Arsenal to defeat Manchester United to make the Premier League challenge more interesting.

The Red Devils are only one step away from the title. Should they beat the Gunners, it's only the matter of time to get their 19th. With Champions League final almost in Ferguson's grasp, it's likely that the Scot will deploy his best squad to face Wenger's.

On the other hand, the Gunners had hardly something to cheer for, after losing eight points from the last Premier League games. Defence has been a constant problem for the London club as they conceded so many silly goals. That's the reason why Arsenal has collapsed once again in the final part of the season in my opinion.

Things should go pretty even this time given Arsenal's all-time low morale and Manchester United's stamina disadvantages. I should be pretty narrow, and I'll vote for a draw as it's enough to satisfy Sir Alex Ferguson in pursuing United's 19th glory.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United

Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba
Both to start together?

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
There are fighting for different reason, but they will fight with the same thirst.

All of a sudden the Blues are now only six points from leader Manchester United, and should the Red Devils lost at Emirates Stadium, Chelsea will have all the chance to surpass them on the week after.

On the other hand, Tottenham still has the chance to qualify for Champions League for another year. But more importantly, they will have to defend their fifth place against Liverpool for Europa qualification.

Torres and Drogba may join forces but their effectiveness when combined together remains a question. But since the former has broken his duck and the latter is on his prime, there should be no problem for Chelsea's offence especially when there are also in form Lampard, Kalou and Malouda on service.

Meanwhile, Tottenham continues its horrible form, finding themselves only one win from last six. Another draw or defeat will give them extreme pressure from Liverpool, especially when Spurs have fixtures disadvantages.

It's an intense London derby, but at Stamford Bridge, I can hardly believe Redknapp to outmuscle Ancelotti...

Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham

The Rest

• Blackburn v Bolton (1-1) - The former has more reason to fight on.
• Blackpool v Stoke City (2-0) - Will Mr Charlie Adam finally create something spectacular? I will have to have faith on him.
• Sunderland v Fulham (1-1) - Both are safe, so results do not matter much to them.
• West Brom v Aston Villa (2-1) - My vote goes to Roy Hodgson and Odemwingie who's on much better form than Hollier-less Villa.
• Wigan v Everton (2-2) - Wigan are really pathetic throughout the season. Not much of confidence on them.
• Birmingham v Wolves (2-1) - It will be interesting to see whether the Wolves are hungry enough to bite the Brums.
• Liverpool v Newcastle (3-0) - Fantasy game of the week. Captain Suarez or Kuyt.
• Man City v West Ham (2-1) - Premier League survival quest looks hopeless for Avram Grant.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Luis Suarez
Will lady luck finally give him the permission to score a double digit fantasy score?

Captain Picks

• Suarez/Kuyt - Newcastle are known to be awful on the road.
• Drogba - Tottenham don't have good defence to stop him.
• Odemwingie - If you are adventurous enough.

Buys-In

• Kuyt - Seriously on form, seriously underrated by me before.
• Odemwingie - The remaining fixtures are quite easy.

Squad of XV

GK: Hart

DF: Flanagan, Luiz, R Johnson

MF: Kuyt, Lampard, Adam, Silva

F: Suarez, Drogba, Odemwingie

Subs (in order): Foster, Sessegnon, Tamas, Samba

They Will Need to Learn How to Take Care of the Trophies to Get More of Them...

Great sarcasm. Real Madrid has finally won their first trophy after years, but it seems like they will not add a new trophy to their trophy cabinet after their vice captain, Sergio Ramos, dropped their Copa del Ray Cup while celebrating on the roof of the bus.

The Cup was then deformed by the bus. The extent of damage? Only them will know.

Interesting Week of Champions League

Peter Crouch
An early red card has crushed Tottenham's hope of progressing to the semis.

A pretty unexpected Champions League week with numerous strange results. Here are some highlights:

• Tottenham lost 0-4 to Real Madrid at Bernabeu. A loss is expected, but such big loss is not, especially when the London Club has such a good record against the Milan brothers before this.
• Inter's loss is even more shocking as they were humiliated by Schalke at home by conceding five goals. Dejan Stankovic scored a spectacular 25 seconds opening goal anyway.
• Rooney continues his stylish form as he scored an incisive goal to end Manchester United's embarrassing nine-match unwinning streak against the London Blues at Stamford Bridge.
• Barcelona 5-1 Shaktar Donetsk. Perhaps the most expected results?

Three Gone, One Remaining for Gunners

Fabio da Silva
Starts to show his value just like his twin brother.

Arsenal lost their third title hopes after losing 0-2 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

This will be another big psychological blow to the Gunners after the defeat against Barcelona at Nou Camp in which they had zero shot attempts.

To add the agony, Johan Djourou dislocated his shoulder in final minutes and that will rule him out for the rest of the season.

You have so salute Sir Alex Ferguson. With seven defenders on field, he was able to destroy Wenger's title ambition.

Let's see which side will collapse in the final quarter of the Premier League season.

Gameweek 18 Fantasy Preview

Arsene Wenger

Has to play Barca again in Champions League.

Last week was such a sensational week with Manchester United won Arsenal and cemented a comfortable position for them to win the Premier League.

Unfortunately, things had gone worse for Arsene Wenger as the Champions League round of 16 draw which had commenced just now has put them together with Barcelona. The Gunners' match history against Barca is awful.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Frank Lampard

Back to starting XI to ensure Chelsea remain in contest for the Premier League trophy.

Chelsea v Manchester United

It's now or never for Chelsea as they face Manchester United at Stamford Bridge this weekend to keep their last hope for the Premier League title.

The Blues had only managed to grab six points from the last seven games and that has caused them to drop from first place to fourth. However, things may now go very different with the return of Frank Lampard, which allows the formation of Chelsea's best midfield combination again.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will again miss their playmaker Paul Scholes. His absence means that Chelsea will most likely control possession in the midfield as the likes like Fletcher and Carrick are no match of Essien and Lampard in terms of ball control.

One positive for Chelsea and one negative for Manchester United, I think Chelsea will be able to pick up their first win after one and a half month.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd

The Rest

• Sunderland v Bolton (1-2) - Sunderland to suffer their first home defeat against one of the best away team in the Premiership.
• Arsenal v Stoke (2-1) - A tough game for Gunners but they should be able to make it through.
• Birmingham v Newcastle (0-1) - An unforeseeable game with both sides having the chance to sneak away a victory.
• Blackburn v West Ham (1-0) - Big Sam had just been fired but they should still be able to survive at home against the team at the bottom of the table.
• Wigan v Aston Villa (2-1) - It's not easy to deal with N'Zogbia.
• Liverpool v Fulham (3-0) - Anfield is still a formidable fortress for the Reds.
• West Brom v Wolves (2-1) - With Odemwingie back on form, the home side have my vote of confidence.
• Blackpool v Tottenham (1-1) - The Seasiders' game may once again be delayed due to the lack of undersoil heating at Bloomfield Road.
• Man City v Everton (2-1) - Tevez back to game despite his intention to quit.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Fernando Torres
Does he deserve a trust this week?

Captain Picks

• Fabregas - The captain is back to take charge of Arsenal's attack.
• Torres - Both Liverpool's and Torres' home stats are still amazing.

Squad of XV

GK: Robinson

DF: Samba, Kyrgiakos, Kolarov

MF: Fabregas, Gamst Pedersen, Meireles, Lampard, Bale

F: Torres(C), Tevez

Subs (in order): Carson, Dann, Dawson, Welbeck

Captain: Torres

Emergency Captain: Value

Starting XI Value: £87.9m

Total Team Value: £107.1m

The Crazy Premier League Weekend and El Clasico

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid
Ronaldo will regret for what he said before the game.

Unbelievable. The strongest ever Real Madrid in history under the hands of Jose Mourinho still couldn't handle Barcelona. Goals from Xavi, Pedro, Villa (2) and Suarez ensured a perfect victory for the Catalans.

Meanwhile, the Premier League weekend is as entertaining as El Clasico with all 20 teams scored for the first time in the Premier League history. Here are the highlights:

• Arshavin finally found some great form with a stunning display against Aston Villa. On the other side, Clarke almost made himself the man of the match as he led the Villans to reduce the three goal deficit into one.
• Big disappointment towards Elmander and Davies as they failed to scored against Blackpool at Reebok Stadium. M. Davies should really pass all his fantasy points to K. Davies since there are only 0.1% of managers benefiting from his 10 points.
• Everton gave us a big shock to lose 1-4 against West Brom at home. Disgrace. Tim Cahill however continued his consistency with his header goal.
• Dempsey and Larsson scored one for each side as Fulham and Birmingham held draw at Craven Cottage.

Luis Nani and Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian scored a whopping 25 fantasy points while the Portuguese contributed 12.

• Who else can be the star of the week other than the five-goal-Berbatov? He became the fourth player and also the first foreign player to score five goals in one game. Fantastic display after a nine match goal drought. Anyway, Blackburn playing style has been awful this season against superior oppositions.
• Congratulations to Manchester United as this win cemented them two points above Chelsea and also wrote off all the goal difference deficits against the defending champion.
• Manchester City painfully lost two points after a last-gasp equaliser by Stoke City.
• West Ham finally escaped from the curse of draws, beating Wigan 3-1. Piquionne, Parker and Obinna were the heroes, as usual.
• I had correctly predicted one goal each for Bent and Welbeck but Sunderland lost 2-3 to Wolves.
• Snow didn't manage to halt Chelsea's game against Newcastle but the Blue Lions' lost their lead after another disappointing offensive display by them. Drogba has now goalless for 10 hours and 36 minutes on the pitch - the second worst record of his career.
• Liverpool got punished for their failure to capitalise golden chances before Lennon scored a stoppage time goal. Johnson did well to control Bale, but Konchesky is just no match for Lennon in terms of speed. Tottenham had once again recovered three points from losing position, accounting for a total of 16 this season.
• Van der Vaart is injured once again. He will be sidelined for longer this time with his hamstring problem.

UEFA Champions League Review

Samuel Eto'o
The hat-tricker of the week.

A good Champions League matchday for Premier League clubs with a 100% victory. Here are some highlights:

• Arsenal won 3-1. Arshavin was the key man of the night although he missed a penalty.
• Terry scored an important opener for Chelsea for a 2-0 victory. Anelka maintained his lethality in Champions League with the other goal.
• Super youth Javi Hernandez was the decisive man on Manchester's United encounter with Valencia with his only goal of the match five minutes from the clock. The partner for Berbatov while Rooney's absent?
• Van der Vaart had an memorable Champions League game - first a goal, then a penalty miss and a red card. Still Pavlyuchenko's double from the spot and Gareth Bale's strike ensured a 4-1 victory for the Spurs.
• Eto'o was the man of Inter with a perfect 10 performance to earn the Italian giant a 4-0 victory while Ibrahimovic saved AC Milan's ass from embarrassment in a 1-1 draw.
• Real Madrid only managed to win from substitute Angel Di Maria's goal. Barcelona, however, was unable to capitalise their possession advantage and was stuck in a 1-1 draw with Rubin Kazan.

UEFA Champions League Fantasy

Back with the fun!

You play Fantasy Premier League, but how about a fantasy league with all the famous superstars all around the world? There it is - the UEFA Champions League Fantasy (UCLF).

The rules are almost the same, with most of the World Cup stars available to pick! So why not come and join the fun? The FPLZ code for UCLF is

66871-12963

My advise for the game is to pick players from Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea as the backbone of your team as they are located in such wonderful groups to score fantasy points.