Kick-Off: Gameweek 25 Fantasy Preview

Are you kidding me? Queens Park Rangers bought defender Christopher Samba for a club record of £12.5m. I do not mean to humiliate Samba, but this is a freaking ridiculous price.

The winter transfer window ended with Queens Park Rangers' unbelievable £12.5m record deal for experienced ex-Premier League defender Christopher Samba. QPR certainly look more and more desperate in their struggling journey to survive at the Premier League.

Other notable transfers include Nacho Monreal's arrival at the Emirates Stadium as well as Danny Graham's switch to Stadium of Light. Let's just see how these new crop of players fare with their new clubs.

GAMEWEEK 24 HIGHLIGHTS

• Manchester United re-extended their lead to 7 points after a narrow victory over Southampton. Wayne Rooney (£11.8m, 13 pts) was the hero, having scored both goals for United.
• Manchester City meanwhile were held goalless at Loftus Road as QPR collected another famous point to keep their survival hopes alive.
• Luis Suarez (£10.5m, 6 pts) and Jordan Henderson (£5.3m, 12 pts) combined to give Liverpool a two-goal lead at the Emirates but in-form Theo Walcott (£9.5m, 8 pts) and Olivier Giroud (£7.9m, 11 pts) helped to salvage a point for Arsenal.

GAMEWEEK 24 TOP SCORERS

1. Leighton Baines (£7.5m, 17 pts): A couple of goals from the Toffees' defender made it 39 points from his last 4 games. Fixtures are still pretty favourable for him in the next 3 games.
2. Juan Mata (£10.1m, 14 pts): His heroics wasn't enough to take 3 points for Chelsea. Proceed with caution as the lad is doubtful against Newcastle with his ankle injury.
3. James McArthur (£5.4, 13 pts): He was involved in both goals of Wigan. Never look to be a fantasy prospect anyway.
4. Wayne Rooney (£11.8m, 13 pts): Back on fire but I am still skeptical of his playing minutes as well as influence when compared to Robin Van Persie (£14.1m, 2 pts).
5. Jordan Henderson  (£5.3m, 12 pts): 22 points from the last 2 games as the young midfielder is on the way to leave the "flop" tag behind him.

FEATURED: Manchester City v Liverpool @ Etihad
Another tough game for Liverpool as they visit to Etihad in their tough quest for a top four finish.

City drew against QPR last week and will look to not repeat such embarrassment against the Reds. Mario Balotelli has left to AC Milan for good and helps to increase the playing minutes of Sergio Aguero (£10.9m, 2 pts), Carlos Tevez (£8.9m, 2 pts) and Edin Dzeko (£7.5m, 1 pt). Not sure which two of them will start up front though, with David Silva (£9.5m, 3 pts) for sure will provide the needed support for them.

Jordan Henderson is the hot man for the Reds but the arrival of Phillipe Coutinho (£6.5m) should restrict his playing minutes sooner rather than later. The more reliable and less susceptible to rotation player is of course Luis Suarez (£10.5m, 6 pts) who can play and perform equally well at any position at the front four.

It's going to be a tough match, but I guess Vincent Kompany's (£7.1m, - pts) will prove to be a hard time for Roberto Mancini's side.

Prediction: MCI 1-1 LIV

TEAM FOCUS: Tottenham
Tottenham have not won in their last three Premier League fixtures, and that's too long.

West Brom are even worst with their 5 game victory-less streak, and that presents a big chance for Gareth Bale (£9.8m, 8 pts), Jermaine Defoe (£8.2m, 5 pts) and Aaron Lennon (£7.3m, 2 pts) to shine. New arrival Lewis Holtby (£7.5m) could get his time too after debuting against Norwich at Carrow Road earlier this week.

Prediction: WBA 1-3 TOT

PLAYER FOCUS: Giroud
It's hard to overlook Olivier Giroud (£7.9m, 11 pts) as he bursts into incredible form after a miserable first half of the season. Against Stoke, he will be the towering presence to pierce through the high physical defence of Tony Pulis' team.

GAMEWEEK 25 DREAM TEAM

Mignolet

Samba — Evra — Baines

 Mata — Bale (VC) — Fellaini — Walcott

Van Persie (C) — Fletcher — Giroud

Subs: Cesar — Henderson —  Bertrand — Bramble

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Sunday Aftermath: Chicharito's Fury

Javier Hernandez celebrated Saturday with an "indirect" hat-trick.

It was another great weekend for Manchester United as they extended their lead in Premier League to two points. Here are some key points:

• It's such a waste to allow Javier Hernandez (£7.5m, 15 pts) to warm the bench, and he just proved it again. The impact sub scored 2 and made 1 own goal for the opponent in just 45 minutes of action against Aston Villa, which was an reiteration of his unmatched positioning and poaching skill.
• On the other side, it was second consecutive start for youngster Andreas Weimann (£5.2m, 12 pts). The lad has now scored 4 bonus points in 2 games, and is showing some good potential for his cheap price.
• Meanwhile, Arsenal made their worst start in their Premier League history as they lost another 2 points to Fulham. There's good news though, as Olivier Giroud (£8.4m, 12 pts) is starting to show his value and scored a brace for the home side.
• Manchester United will be glad to sell Dimitar Berbatov (£7.4m, 16 pts) to Craven's Cottage as the Bulgarian was the big hero in the game, having directly involved in all 3 goals to halt the progress of the Gunners. Another man who performed nicely in fantasy terms for Fulham was Alex Kacaniklic (£4.7m, 9 pts).
• Marouane Fellaini (£7.6m, 13 pts) was the man at Goodison Park again as he scored 28 fantasy points in the last 2 games. Unbelievably consistent and is one of the season man to own for me.
• A goalless draw between Reading and Norwich made sure that they continue to stuck at bottom half of the table.
• It was also a draw at St Mary's, with Nathan Dyer (£5.4m, 9 pts) finally scored after a long silence.
• Charlie Adam (£6.6m, 10 pts) scored his first goal for a very long time as Stoke City defeated Queens Park Rangers who remained last in league standings.
• Wigan succumbed to a home defeat against West Bromwich Albion, but Arouna Kone (£6.5m, 6 pts) is definitely having a fine time there with his fourth goal of the season. Could turn out to be a good acquisition in some part of the season.
• Early Sunday showdown saw Manchester City recovered from Tottenham's first-half goal to stay within 1 game gap against derby rivals Manchester United. Edin Dzeko (£7.5m, 5 pts) was the super-sub again with a game-killing goal, but will never become a fantasy force with his limited playing time.
• Kevin Nolan's (£6.8m, 11 pts) fame as a goalscoring midfielder continues to flourish as he netted his fifth in league this season to record a good victory against Newcastle. Another clean sheet suggests that Jussi Jaaskelainen (£5.0m, 8 pts) is a must in your goalie set-up.
• Else at Stamford Bridge Chelsea could made it 3 or 4 up in first half but ended up with only one instead as they ended the game with a draw thanks to a second-half equaliser from Luis Suarez (£9.9m), who is in rich vein of form.

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Sunday Aftermath: Mata's Madness

After a disappointing start this season, Juan Mata is just 7 points away from FPL leader Eden Hazard (60 pts).

So Juan Mata (£9.0m, 18 pts) continued his scintillating form at White Hart Lane! Here are some highlights:

• Gareth Bale (£9.5m, - pts) missed the game to witness the delivery of his first child. Unfortunate timing, otherwise Tottenham should have a fair chance to win it.
• Eden Hazard (£10.3m, 9 pts) continued to deliver consistency with 2 assists, though at the moment Mata is definitely the better of the two with both greater form and cheaper price.
• Two defenders — namely Chris Baird (£4.4m, 15 pts) and John Arne Riise (£5.5m, 10 pts) — combined to help Fulham to win against Aston Villa. Riise has 4 assists already this season, which is not bad for his mid-range price.
• Raheem Sterling (£4.9m, 11 pts) delivered his first goal of the season, and was well rewarded with 3 bonus points as Liverpool won their first home game of the season. Luis Suarez (£9.5m, 5 pts) was the contributor, but wasted tons of chances in the game against Reading.
• Interestingly, Liverpool have collected 2 consecutive clean sheets. Not quite expected, really.
• Else at Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney (£11.7m, 14 pts) scored a "hat-trick" (2 goals plus an own goal) as he completed his 200 Premier League goal milestone and Manchester United won 4-2 against Stoke City. His strike partners Robin Van Persie (£13.4m, 11 pts) and Danny Welbeck (£8.0m, 10 pts) also scored double digit points — all three are great buys if Sir Alex Ferguson sticks with the current formation.
• At Liberty Stadium we saw Miguel Michu (£7.2m, 8 pts) back with his magic feet as Swansea recorded their first league victory since August. Pablo Hernandez (£6.1m, 9 pts) showed his class with a goal as well, but Jonathan de Guzman (£5.7m, 11 pts) was the true hero, having provided the assists for both goals of the Swans.
• James Milner's (£6.1m, -2 pts) red card almost costed City some league points but Edin Dzeko (£7.5m, 11 pts) made sure that it's 3 points in City's hands in just 11 minutes of action. Another frustrating story in FPL — superbly effective yet having his talent wasted on bench.
• Carlos Tevez (£9.4m, 7 pts) continued to provide, but can that stop his sale bandwagon?
• West Ham hammered Southampton 4-1 with club captain Kevin Nolan (£6.4m, 12 pts) continued to deliver super value performance with a goal and an assist. The man of the match was Mark Noble (£4.8m, 15 pts) though, scoring 2 goals.
• At Carrow Road we saw Arsenal getting a shock defeat as Grant Holt (£6.0m, 8 pts) scored in 3 consecutive league games. A man to monitor.
• Demba Ba (£8.3m, 3 pts) assisted for Yohan Cabaye's (£6.8m, 9 pts) but scored an own goal later as Newcastle have to satisfy with a draw at Stadium of Light against Sunderland.
• Junior Hoilett (£5.8m, 10 pts) was lively throughout the game but QPR have to satisfy with a draw after yet another sloppy defensive performance, despite playing with one man more for half an hour.
• Steven Pienaar (£7.0m, -1 pt) was the victim of harsh officiating, and will miss the Merseyside derby next week.

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