Kick-Off: Gameweek 35 Fantasy Preview

Number 20! Robin Van Persie scored a wonderful hat-trick which secured the title for Manchester United.

A big week has passed. I mean really BIG.

• Manchester United secured their 20th top-flight league title. It's their 13th in 21 Premier League seasons. What an astounding achievement.
• Meanwhile, Luis Suarez's (£10.8m, 212 season pts) crave for Branislav Ivanovic's (£6.9m, 130 season pts) meat have earned him a ten-match ban, which he opted not to appeal. Thank you Luis for such a wonderful performance, both in reality and fantasy.
• This effectively means that Robin Van Persie's (£13.8m, 236 season pts) claim on the Golden Boot is almost certain, which his nearest possible contender Gareth Bale (£10.5m, 213 season pts) 6 goals shy from the Dutch's 24.
• On Europe, we saw the downfall of Spanish giants — Barcelona and Real Madrid — with a combined score of 1-8 against the rising Germans — Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

FEATURED: Arsenal v Manchester United @ Emirates
Van Persie has proven how correct is his decision to jump ship from London to Manchester, but die-hard Gunners' supporters will not approve his betrayal definitely. And they will put all their hopes on the current crop of Arsenal players to give him the punishment.

Olivier Giroud (£7.6m, -1 pt) will begin his 3-game punishment after a red-card against Fulham so it'll up to either Lukas Podolski (£8.1m, 1 pt) or Theo Walcott (£8.8m, 5 pts) to lead the line. You can't be sure, but the one who step up will definitely try to benefit from that and achieve something.

On the other side, the Red Devils may go complacent after securing the title — unless they are going for Premier League record of 96 points or somehow fears that Van Persie will still possibly lose his almost-Golden Boot. With that taken into account, I am going for a home win — Arsenal need points more than United anyway.

Prediction: ARS 2-1 MUN

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester City
Their second place is for them to lose. Not much to play, but they are the much better team than their opponent, so let's go for them anyway.

Carlos Tevez (£9.1m, 2 pts) is the obvious replacement for Luis Suarez and has played 90 minutes or more in each of his last five Premier League fixtures. It's now two weeks away from FA Cup final and Mancini for sure would want Carlito to shift into his best condition by playing him in an effective way.

David Silva (£9.1m, - pts) and Sergio Aguero (£10.9m) are expected to return, though we will need to guess whether will them start. The duo, together with their current replacements Samir Nasri (£8.0m, 7 pts) and Edin Dzeko (£6.8m, 2 pts), will be quite some risky picks.

Andy Carroll (£8.2m, 2 pts) is in quite some form recently, but I doubt he can bang City's defence this time.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 WHU

PLAYER FOCUS: Bale
Though Wigan are on relegation crisis, I don't see how they are going to contain the almighty Gareth Bale and get their much needed three points. Prepare for some Bale-icious stride.

GAMEWEEK 35 DREAM TEAM

Cech

Baines — Shawcross — Zabaleta

Bale (VC) — Fellaini — Mata — Yaya Toure

Van Persie — Tevez (C) — Sturridge

Subs: Begovic — Sessegnon — Cuellar — Samba

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

Sunday Aftermath: No Ban

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

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

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

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 2 Fantasy Preview

Eden Hazard leading the league with 5 assists.

A phenomenal double gameweek saw Chelsea players giving supreme returns, especially from Branislav Ivanovic (24 pts) and new boy Eden Hazard (21 pts). Those who pick Juan Mata over the Belgian would certainly felt heartbroken. But let's move on, as we still have 37 gameweeks to go. Still lots of chance to overtake your rivals!

GAMEWEEK 1 TOP SCORERS

1. Branislav Ivanovic (£6.6m, 24 pts): Joint league top scorer with 2 goals. Exceptional for a defender.
2. Eden Hazard (£9.6m, 21 pts): 5 assists already with only 2 Premier League appearances. Too good for a new boy.
3. Michu (£6.8m, 18 pts): Top performer so single gameweek players. If his shot on bar went in instead he would hit the 20-point mark as well.
4. Mladen Petric (£6.1m, 16 pts): Carried forward his pre-season form successfully and scored some great goals.
5. Nathan Dyer (£5.6m, 16 pts): Still the budget player that I like. Opening his season with 2 goals.
6. Frank Lampard (£9.0m, 16 pts): Both of his goals this gameweek were from the spot, but still he has shown that he still has fantasy value.

TRANSFER UPDATES

• Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City to Tottenham): Great move on the paper. The forward has achieved great success with the same club last season and is expected to continue such momentum.
• Louis Saha (Free agent to Sunderland): Finally a veteran forward for the Black Cats. Has good potential with the price of only £5.5m, provided that he stays away from injury.
• Steven Fletcher (Wolves to Sunderland): Another veteran forward for the Black Cats. At the price of £7.0m he is hardly tempting - Mladen Petric could easily outperform him at cheaper price.
• Matthew Jarvis (Wolves to West Ham): His arrival complicates West Ham's midfield line-up and might deteriorate the whole midfield unit's fantasy value. His price of £6.0m represents a good bargain though, provided that he plays regularly.

FEATURED: Manchester City v Liverpool @ Anfield
After a big scare by Southampton last gameweek, Manchester City will continue their title defence with a tough visit to Anfield this Sunday.

The Citizens have lost Sergio Aguero (£11.3m) through injury, while David Silva (£10.0m) was mediocre in his last game against the Saints, having missed a penalty. Fortunately though, that was compensated with Carlos Tevez (£9.2m) heroics. He is definitely looking sharp and is very affordable in FPL. Strongly recommended.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have sufferred a big loss last week against West Brom, with Daniel Agger (£6.5m) being sent off for a last-man challenge. Big blow for the Reds as Jamie Carragher (£5.5m) is too old to keep up the pace, while  Sebastian Coates (£5.0m) still lacks the experience to cope with teams as strong as City.

City might have lost here terribly a year ago, but I believe things will turn around this time and the Reds will suffer two consecutive defeats in the opening stage of their season.

Prediction: MCI 2-1 LIV

TEAM FOCUS: Swansea
Fantasy managers will need to pay more attention to Swansea after their 5-0 victory against QPR last week. They will face promoters West Ham at Liberty Stadium this week as it represents a great opportunity for them to grab 6 points out of 6.

Michu (£6.8m) started his first Premier League game spectacularly, and could be the star again against West Ham. Consider him as the new Sigurdsson - cheap and super-productive. On the other hand, Danny Graham (£6.0m) was silent against QPR but could be the man this time - he is the first choice forward of the Swans and scored 12 goals last season after all.

No disrespect to West Ham but the Hammers are one class lower than the Welsh Barcelona in my opinion.

Prediction: SWA 3-1 WHM

PLAYER FOCUS: Hazard, Adebayor and Cazorla
One simply cannot ignore Eden Hazard (£9.6m) after his 5-assist gameweek 1 showdown. He is very very penetrative and though he will play Newcastle - a much better Premier League team - this week, I believe with his quality he can continue to deliver.

Meanwhile, with Emmanuel Adebayor's (£9.5m) permanent move to Tottenham being finalized, fantasy managers can expect him to lead the front line of Spurs and bang in lots of fantasy points. At £9.5m, he is one of the undervalued forwards in FPL.

I like the immediate influence of Santi Cazorla (£9.0m) at Arsenal. He has great vision and is not afraid to shoot from far range - both are important to beat big-men teams like Stoke City.

Mladen Petric (£6.1m) is one player that you should not forget about as well, but he's playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend - not a good time to bring him into your fantasy team in my opinion.

STATUS UPDATES

• Demba Ba (£7.5m):  Shin injury (75% playing).
• Rio Ferdinand (£6.0m): Groin injury (expected to back on 2 September).
• Fabricio Coloccini (£5.0m): Knock (75% playing).
• Jose Enrique (£6.0m): Knock (75% playing).
• Phil Jones (£6.0m): Back injury (expected  to back on 2 September).
• John Terry (£7.0m): Muscle injury (50% playing).
• Daniel Agger (£6.5m): Suspended until 2 September.
• Clint Dempsey (£9.5m): Lack of match fitness (expected to back on 1 September).
• Sergio Aguero (£11.3m): Knee injury (expected to back on 15 September).

GAMEWEEK 2 DREAM TEAM

Vorm

Vermaelen — Clyne — A Cole

Michu (VC) — Hazard — Cazorla — Yaya Toure

Graham — Adebayor (C) — Tevez

Subs: Given — Jenkinson — Kacaniklic — Barnett

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Sunday Aftermath: Aguero Injury Woes

The most vice-captained fantasy player, Sergio Aguero, ended up with only 1 point.

After such a fascinating Saturday matchday, Sunday games came with equal excitements as well. Here are some big scenes:

• Sergio Aguero (£11.5m) went injured with only 11 minutes of action against Southampton (1 point). Big, bad news for about 30% of fantasy managers as they will need to make a forced transfer following his injury. A wildcard may as well ready to be used for some of the managers.
• Also failing to deliver was David Silva (£10.0m), who missed a penalty in a terrible fashion. He scored nothing for this gameweek, which is definitely a big butthurt to his owners.
• Meanwhile, Aguero's teammate and compatriot Carlos Tevez (£9.0m) proved to be as pivotal as before at Manchester City. He scored the opener goal against the Saints and with Aguero injured, his starting spot is pretty much secured for the next few weeks.
• Samir Nasri (£8.5m) was the star performer with 12 fantasy points (which include 3 bonus points). He might as well lock a place in Mancini's starting XI with such performance.
• I am greatly impressed by Nigel Adkins - he brought in 2 substitutes who brought immediate goals. Almost beaten the Premier League Champions last year. Splendid. Rickie Lambert (£6.0m) did not start, which surprised me, but scored a goal nonetheless.
• On the other game we saw Eden Hazard (£9.5m) provided all 2 assists in Chelsea's victory over Wigan. It's Hazard 1-0 Mata (£9.5m) then.
• Branislav Ivanovic (£6.5m) got 15 points thanks to his opening goal, while Frank Lampard (£9.0m) scored from the spot - he is still an important player for the Blues.
• As for the late Saturday game, Andre Villas-Boas had a poor start as Demba Ba (£7.5m) and Hatem Ben Arfa (£7.0m) combined to send Tottenham Hotspur in misery.
• Jermaine Defoe (£7.5m) scored only goal for the visitors though, and that is an encouraging sign to own him.