FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Aston Villa F.C.

ASTON VILLA F.C.

The Villans with their new kit for 2012/13 season.

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

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

Last Season: Poor Enough
It was really out of my imagination that Aston Villa, a major contender for Europa League qualification for most of the previous seasons, was officially safe from relegation only on the last few gameweeks of last term. Failure in offence was the main reason for such terrible performance, having only scored 37 goals in 38 matches. The season was even worsened with skipper Stiliyan Petrov being diagnosed with leukemia on March, which keeps him away from the pitch indefinitely.


This Summer: Lambert at the Helm
The first big move that Randy Lerner, Aston Villa's owner, made this season was to appoint Paul Lambert as the new manager of the club. The Scottish coach led Norwich for a great season last term, sitting at a comfortable 12th spot as newcomers.

In terms of players, the Villans have captured former Feyenoord captain Ron Vlaar, his teammate from Feyenoord Karim El-Ahmadi, former Sheffield United defender Matthew Lowton and Australian international Brett Holman; out are all seniors of the team who include James Collins, Carlos Cuellar and Emile Heskey.

Upcoming Season: Big Redemption
The Villans will definitely try to avoid another dismal season. Darren Bent, who played only about 50% of possible playing time last season, should be the club's key in delivering goals. Meanwhile, Given and Dunne have to keep the back tighter to make this season a good one for them.

Bent's historical P90.

Restored Potential: Darren Bent (FI: 0.307)
Last season was one of the trough in Darren Bent's (£8.5m) career, having featuring the least minutes in Premier League since 2007/08 season. His P90 has also hit the lowest of past 5 seasons, and that was consequently reflected in his price drop of £8.5m this season. Such drop is not a bad thing nonetheless, as his price was taken back to a level which may make him worth his value this season, provided that if he can provide what his standard suggests.


Old Time Favourite: Agbonlahor (FI:0.407)
Gone were the days where Gabriel Agbonlahor (£7.0m) was one of the hot picks in Fantasy Premier League. Scoring an average of about 150 points per fantasy season in 2006/07 to 2009/10 campaigns, the forward was then fell into a big slump in his career, scoring only 55 points in 2010/11 season.

The situation was improved last season with 112 points and with his price still stagnant at £7.0m, whether or not the forward can restore his prime will be the key factor in his fantasy popularity.

Agbonlahor will not be available for the first few gameweeks though, after suffering an injury during his pre-season tour at the United States.

N'Zogbia's
historical points.

Hoping for A New Dawn: N'Zogbia (FI: 0.270)
The decision to join Villa has somehow become a disastrous move for Charles N'Zogbia (£6.5m), where he was forced to play much deeper than what he was used to, consequently limiting his offensive opportunities.

The French definitely hopes that the arrival of Paul Lambert will change the whole situation, allowing him to explore more opportunities upfront. If such a hope turns out to be true, you can expect the lad to deliver more than what he was doing last season.

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Man Utd's Season Begins: Gameweek 17 & 18 Fantasy Reviews

Ashley Young is expected to out until late January... Time to get
Valencia the super duper real deal guys.

Manchester United has scored 10 massive goals in just to games to close down the gap against Manchester City to just 5 goal difference. The real test for Mancini begins as the United's engine is officially ignited...

Team by Team Round-Up

• MCI: Failed to score for the first time this season against one of the worst defence of the league. Big shock. Three straight clean sheets nonetheless suggests that they're still one of the most reliable defence in England. Kompany remains the best bargain of all given Richards' absence due to injury. Offensively they're less consistent nowadays so don't put your shoes in yet if you haven't.
• MUN: 5-0 followed by another 5-0. The real season begins for them as Berbatov scored 4 goals in 2 games. A guy of pure class but certainly needs more playing time to gain a place in any fantasy team. Valencia is the real deal of the team given Young's absence and his ability to play as both winger and full back. One to watch. Evans is out due to injury as the cheapest access point to United's clean sheets is gone. Both Evra and Jones are pretty expensive while the rest are just so uncertain about their playing time.
• TOT: Speedy speed boy Gareth Bale crushed Norwich while Adebayor continued to show consistency scoring 6-5-7-5 over the last four games. Both are great buys.
• CHE: The fantasy points are still pretty widespread across players. Sturridge and Mata remain the "good but not great" buys, while Torres continues to be gloomy on the final third. Stay away from their shabby defenders.
• ARS: Van Persie is still the ace of the team, while Gervinho is starting to get some serious form when he is just days away from playing African Cup of Nations. Not so good. I like Benayoun's creativity but it looks like he's not fit enough to play 90 minutes.
• LIV: Charlie Adam single-handedly handed four league points away after failing to score a penalty against Wigan but scored an own goal against Blackburn. Two bottom three clubs. Great. Chance conversion is still terrible for the team. Lots of silly attempts going wide, lots of shots going too straight to the keeper, and when it's on target, opponents' keeper went into godlike mode. From De Gea to Hart, from Hart to Vorm, Ruddy and Bunn. Great keepers were all born at Anfield.
• NEW: It's great to see Ben Arfa scored his second goal for Newcastle after more than one year. The Magpies have now a second ace to rely on apart from Ba. I can see better attacking display from them.
• STO: Failed to score in both games but defensively it's still solid as long as they're playing with Shawcross. Nothing really sparkling to comment about.
• WBA: Hodgson's defensive tactics worked against City despite such a poor group of defenders. Odemwingie looks to rediscover his fantastic form. Certainly a man to watch.
• EVE: Saha and Cahill continues to stuck deep within scoring drought. Deep frustration. Osman is the only man who functions properly in offence.
• NOR: The results they got is just so predictable with the same usual bunch of players who perform.
• AST: Agbonlahor has lost his hot foot and we wouldn't know whether he will return to the Agbonlahor of last season.
• FUL: Dempsey is showing some consistency at the moment and is a good option for a mid-price midfielder.
• SWA: Nothing much to catch my eye except that Danny Graham has a nice footwork.
• SUN: A pretty much resurrected team under Martin O'Neill. It's still not so convincing offensively anyway.
• QPR: Mackie scored two games in a row. A man to match as we see how his partnership with Helguson develops.
• WOL: It's all about Steven Fletcher offensively. Best budget striker at the moment.
• WIG: Still the same old story of defeats and defeats. Poor sent off of Sammon though.
• BOL: Only 3 goals in last 6 league games as Owen Coyle's position is surely insecure now.
• BLA: Yakubu has gotten his tenth goal of the season but Blackburn is still rocking at the bottom of the league.

Kick-Off: Gameweek 16 Fantasy Preview

Darren Fletcher is suffering from a possibly career ending
infection. No more Fletcher in the rest of this season, at least.

Overview
Clearly Darren Fletcher's infection of ulcerative colitis is the biggest news over the week as there are fears that he might have to end his career as a football player prematurely. May god bless him.

As for fantasy managers, this week or the next are one the best period to utilize your wildcard if it is still available. Plan your transfers well and you can go very far during this hectic Christmas fixtures. Good luck.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v ARSENAL

Can Van Persie destroy
City?

City surely are looking forward to recover from their first defeat against Chelsea last week, but it won't be easy as Arsenal will travel to Etihad Stadium this week.

Arsenal has managed to close the gap to single digit following City's lost, and Wenger will hope that his squad can do some miracles away at Manchester City. Van Persie is on course to renew Shearer's record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year and surely will show no mercy towards Kompany and co's defence. A sure starter despite such tough oppositions.

Yet I'm pretty sure City will find any possible way to rebound from their first defeat of the season, and a victory against the Gunners will be the best way to shut doubters' mouth. In fact, almost every player of City is a goal threat and it will be very hard for Arsenal to guard Silva, Aguero, Balotelli, Yaya Toure and others all together.

It's a City win for me, though you should start all your City and Arsenal attackers with confidence.

Prediction: MCI 2-1 ARS
Pick: Van Persie, Silva, Aguero
Drop: ARS defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: QUEENS PARK RANGERS v MANCHESTER UNITED

Beware of his return.

Chelsea are travelling to Wigan but Moses has just released his floodgate, so I'm more inclined to the rebounding Man Utd as the fantasy friendly team of the week. Against QPR, it's a pretty good chance for United attackers.

Nani and Rooney both broke their scoring drought - good signs of returning form and also a signal of "United season starts at December". Both are great candidates as the captain of the week.

Fletcher's loss is a blow to United's midfield, but Phil Jones was spectacular playing at centre midfield last week and is good at least for short term. He should be able to mark the witty Joey Barton well.

It should be a comprehensive victory for United. QPR's defence is too weak to hold them off in my opinion.

Prediction: QPR 1-3 MUN
Pick and Captain: Rooney, Nani
Pick: Jones
Drop: QPR defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

1. Ba - In full rage. Unless he can be tamed by Vorm.
2. Adebayor - Sunderland's defence is kind of sloppy and I don't think Martin O'Neill can fix it so fast.
3. Drogba/ Mata/ Sturridge - On great form for Wigan to face their execution.

Pick:

1. Maxi - Should give some hard time to Guzan.
2. Steven Fletcher - On superb form.
3. Yakubu - Should be able to pierce West Brom's defence.

Drop:

1. SUN defence  - Not solid enough to hold Tottenham's rich vein of attack.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Drogba - Returns to his old best.
2. Ba - Simply unstoppable.
3. Steven Fletcher - Great form.
4. Sturridge - Cheap and consistent.
5. Nani - Rejoices with 2 fresh goals last week.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Maxi - Playing well can could book a starting place in Dalglish's XI.
2. Moses - Broke his duck and could break the floodgate.

Red light (drop):

1. Agbonlahor  - Suspended.
2. Van der Vaart - He's on the selling bandwagon.

Gameweek 16 Dream Team

Krul

Walker -- Enrique -- Jones

Nani -- Silva -- Bale -- Mata

Adebayor -- Drogba (C) -- Rooney (VC)

Subs: Vorm -- Maxi -- Jagielka -- Simpson

Fergie's Golden 25: Gameweek 11 Fantasy Review

Sir Alex Ferguson with his record 25 years of excellence. Well rewarded with a Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

Manchester United 1-0 Sunderland
MUN: Yet another mediocre display by the Red Devils, but three points, again. Good enough to celebrate Ferguson's 25 year anniversary at Old Trafford anyway.

Lack of confidence is the situation that perfectly describes Fergie's team right now, just give them some time and they will bounce back.

SUN: Not surprising to see them struggling upfront yet again. Brown was generous enough to present his ex-manager a big gift. It should be yet another mid table finish for them, despite constant investments into the team.

Watch: Nani


Newcastle 2-1 Everton
NEW: Another good victory to make sure that they are still third place on the league. The first goal was rather lucky, but Ryan Taylor's fantastic strike was a perfect piece of beauty, both the trajectory and power of the shot.

Defensively it's still solid, but that should be the end anyway with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea coming up next.

EVE: The same old story about finishing ability. Tim Cahill was far from his best in goal poaching form, and Saha was never sharp enough to score frequently.

Maybe an ala Chicharito forward is what Moyes needs in January.

Drop: NEW defence


Arsenal 3-0 West Brom
ARS: The Gunners surely are on full throttle now with their fourth consecutive league victory. Van Persie's greatness is certainly unmatched across the league. A must have at this stage given the easy fixtures ahead despite such scary price.

Vermaelen provided a strong return with a goal, a clean sheet and 3 points bonus. Still, wait and see if he can reorganise the defence and continue his strong presence in attack as well. Great potential as always.

WBA: Another painful defeat. Continue to play over defensively against stronger teams. Stay away at the moment.

Pick: Van Persie, Gervinho
Watch: Arteta, Brunt, Odemwingie


Aston Villa 3-2 Norwich
AST: Agbonlahor continues to terrorise defences as he provided 1 goal, 2 assist performance at Villa park. Undisputed form especially in fantasy at such low price.

Darren Bent scored two, but I don't see the value in him when Agbonlahor is cheaper and more consistent. Unless you are planning to get both of them.

NOR: Holt has finally found his old self as he continues his pivotal performance with 2 assists. Great hope for survival if he can maintain such form.

Pick: Agbonlahor
Watch: Holt, Bent


Blackburn 0-1 Chelsea
BLA: Constructed the game well but finishing is really an issue. Will need to seriously get a decent goal poacher in the winter transfer market.

CHE: Lampard scored a crucial goal for them. He is surely returning with his form but whether he can hit 10 goals again this season is still a big riddle.

Torres was very disappointing with another open goal miss.

Watch: Lampard
Drop: BLA players


Liverpool 0-0 Swansea
LIV: Their fantastic 'shot on frame' form continues as Carroll made it the eleventh time for them to hit the crossbar and post this season in a clear cut chance. Wasted.

The old problem to score goals persist and remains a big headache for Kenny Dalglish. Stay away from their attackers.

Reina need to work out much more than usual in this game to hold the team goalless. Good news for Enrique owners anyway.

NOR: Vorm made a spectacular save against Glen Johnson's hi-speed volley. Incredible shot, but even better save. Marvellous fantasy keeper.

Pick: Vorm, Enrique
Drop: LIV offence


QPR 2-3 Manchester City
QPR: Strong fighting spirit. Jay Bothroyd was magnificent and should become the focal point for Neil Warnock's team to attack. Watch him.

MCI: Tough game due to Champions League fatigue, but won eventually. Silva remains a hot commodity, playing the most minutes among the productive attackers.

Savic looked very shaky at the back, but thankfully Kompany should return the next game.

Pick: Bothroyd, Silva


Wolves 3-1 Wigan
WOL: It's all about Jamie O'Hara. He has created lots of troubles to Wigan's defence. Superb.

WIG: Al-Habsi was busy throughout the game with several double saves but being attacked continuously it's impossible to keep the goal clean.

Pick: O'Hara
Watch: Al-Habsi


Bolton 5-0 Stoke City
BOL: Sweet revenge as the early referee dispute surely helped them a lot. Eagles and Klasnic as usual are the strong bargains upfront.

STO: Begovic never really recovered from the early shockingly unfair goal.

Pick: Eagles, Klasnic


Fulham 1-3 Tottenham
FUL: Pretty unlucky as they face a very formidable Brad Friedel on that day.

TOT: Bale continued his form surprisingly with one goal and one assist. Solid.

The most impressive one is of course the 40-year-old stopper, Friedel, who made several key saves to ensure Spurs' victory.

Watch: Bale

Kick-Off: Gameweek 11 Fantasy Preview

Yaya Toure got a brace in Champions League match but hardly
sparkle in Premier League, yet.

Overview
Mixed fortunes in the Champions League as the Manchester (City and United) duo won comfortably while the London duo (Chelsea and Arsenal) had to satisfy with a draw. So no English clubs will get through early.

A couple of fantasy friendly matches will be commenced in this coming gameweek so make sure that you have enough coverage of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City players. Might be a gameweek with sky high average.

7-Gameweek Fixtures Analysis (Published Monthly)
In heaven run:

1. ARS (WBA, @NOR, FUL, @WIG, EVE, @MCI, @AST) - Easy enough for Van Persie to climb himself to the summit of fantasy.
2. BLA (CHE, @WIG, @STO, SWA, @SUN, WBA, BOL) - Pretty crucial for them to perform well in this coming run of fixtures to avoid relegation.
3. EVE (@NEW, WOL, @BOL, STO, @ARS, NOR, SWA) - Time for their redemption after being caught stuck at the bottom half of the table.
4. MUN (SUN, @SWA, NEW, @AST, WOL, @QPR, @FUL) - Nothing too tough for the defending champion.
5. TOT (@FUL, AST, @WBA, BOL, @STO, SUN, CHE) - Considerably easy especially when Van der Vaart is on red hot form.

In hell run:

1. CHE (@BLA, LIV, WOL, @NEW, MCI, @WIG, @TOT) - Playing against four of the top seven in the next 7 games is really a tough test for Andre Villas-Boas.
2. MCI (@QPR, NEW, @LIV, NOR, @CHE, ARS, STO) - As tough as Chelsea. Further worsened with some crucial Champions League games (especially the one against Bayern Munich) sandwiched in between.
3. FUL (TOT, @SUN, @ARS, LIV, @SWA, BOL, MUN) - Martin Jol will have to give some emphasis to defence to survive through this period.
4. NEW (EVE, @MCI, @MUN, CHE, @NOR, SWA, WBA) - Back to back games against the leading pack? They will need to play with 120% to record some impressive results.

Game of the Week: NEWCASTLE v EVERTON

With R Taylor's value rocketed
to £5m, Simpson is the only
defender at Newcastle who's
easily accessible (£4.2m).

Two interesting teams to play against each other. Newcastle, which don't look so good on paper but play extremely well at the moment; Everton, which has the quality but not the form.

The Toon Army is now on an unbelievable form, standing proudly on the third place of league standings. Resolute defence, coupled with a great striking pair - namely Demba Ba and Leon Best - are consistently bringing Alan Pardew the right results. Everton, on the other hand, didn't play as poor as their league points shown. However, poor goal poaching ability are constantly dragging them behind, as what we saw last week against Manchester United.

Newcastle defenders are certainly worthy to be considered against such poor scoring Everton, which failed to score 4 times this season. Proceed with caution though, as Newcastle will be facing the Manchesters and Chelsea for the next 3 gameweeks.

In terms of offence it will be up to Ba, Best as usual and possibly Cabaye to break through Everton's defence with tough players like Jagileka, Distin and Fellaini providing the cover.

As for the Toffees, Drenthe's speed will be one powerful weapon to penetrate the solid defensive unit of Newcastle. Players like Cahill and Saha will definitely need to improve their shooting accuracy though if they want to win at St James' Park.

I am expecting a home win anyway for the zebra stripes to maintain their third position for another week before they march into the hellish fixtures.

Prediction: NEW 2-0 EVE
Pick: NEW defence, Ba, Best, Cabaye
Drop: EVE defence




Fantasy Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v SWANSEA

Can Carroll score two match in
a row?

Three points will be crucial for Liverpool in order for the Reds to play the next two games after this (Chelsea and Man City) with confidence.

Suarez has started to find his form, and his miraculous runs can give fantasy managers a blazing trail of points. Surely a strong captain choice this week. Adam should also take advantage of Gerrard's latest injury and become the primary set piece taker of the team.

Defensively Enrique is still the best candidate so far with the lowest price of Liverpool's back four and his ability to surge forward. Stud.

Swansea might have been pretty good defensively, but bear in mind that all of that performances were at Liberty Stadium. 14 goals in 5 away games conceded suggests that they might suffer a heavy defeat at Anfield.

Scott Sinclair might be able to take away one goal or assist from here, but I think it's all about the Reds at their home ground.

Prediction: LIV 3-0 SWA
Pick and Captain: Suarez, Adam
Pick: Enrique, Carroll
Drop: SWA defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

1. Robin van Persie - Ultimate form and is unstoppable.
2. Agbonlahor - Against newcomers' defence it should be easy for him.
3. Torres, Mata - Their pace and footwork should be able to slice the worst defence of the league into pieces.
4. Aguero - QPR's defence is too far away from his class.

Pick:

1. Gervinho, Ramsey - They are the main suppliers and receivers to and from RvP.
2. MUN defence - The return of Vidic should provide the stability on the back.
3. Van der Vaart, Adebayor - Solid pick for every gameweek.
4. Doyle - Looks good and should create lots of troubles inside of  Wigan's penalty box.
5. Sturridge - Severely underpriced.

Drop:

1. WBA defence - Hardly believable to a keep clean sheet.
2. NOR defence - Agbonlahor is too fast.
3. BLA defence - One of the worst league defence.
4. QPR defence - Poor coverage.
5. Gerrard - Injured.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Adam - The key playmaker and set piece taker as Gerrard continues to be sidelined.
2. Van der Vaart, Adebayor - Smooth easy fixtures coming ahead.
3. Van Persie - A no-brainer.
4. Gervinho  - From zero to hero.
5. Walters - Low price, great role.
6. Mata - Complete player who can both score and assist.

Yellow light (monitor):

1. NEW players - Hellish fixtures ahead. See how they cope.
2. Carroll - Picking up some form.
3. Bale - Gaining form or just 1 week marvel? Time will tell.
4. Sessegnon - Against Man Utd it might be wiser to hold on for another week.
5. Kompany - One week suspension. Whether it's worth to hold him or sell him instead is a pretty subjective matter.

Red light (sell):

1. Rooney, Young - Massive sell trend. Sell to preserve your team value.
2. Gerrard - Constantly plagued by injuries.
3. CHE defence - Have not kept any clean sheets after gameweek 1.

Gameweek 11 Dream Team

Given

Simpson -- Jones -- Enrique

Ramsey -- Mata -- Adam -- Van der Vaart

Van Persie (C) -- Suarez (VC) -- Agbonlahor

Subs: Krul -- Eagles -- Ward -- Knight

Lampard's Return: Gameweek 7 Fantasy Review

Three goals - the perfect way to shut doubters' mouth.

Bolton 1-5 Chelsea
BOL: Another morale sapping defeat. Bogdan had a nightmarish game with several "state-of-the-art" saves. Several sparkling attacks from Petrov and Eagles, but in general they were overwhelmed.


CHE: Cool Lampard hat-tricked in style. Just when people (including me) started to forget him, the talisman of Chelsea made himself noticeable again in the most effective way. A display of great positioning.

Sturridge was the other architect who paved way for the emphatic win, who also almost hat-tricked. Great skill, great attitude to not celebrate against his former club. Chelsea did have abundance of attacking talents.

Defensively they need to improve on set pieces - certainly the dead spot of the Blues.

Pick: Lampard, Sturridge
Drop: BOL defence


Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
TOT: Not a very convincing display, but good enough to win a derby game. I like the way Adebayor and Van der Vaart combined - lethal. In fact VdV's lovely goal was set by Ade. Given more time, I think both of them are fantasy musts given their superb figure of shots per game. Goal machines.

Kyle Walker scored a stunner, but as a defender I can't see how is he going to get a decent number of clean sheets from offensive-minded Tottenham.

ARS: Another sad case of complete control, and lost in the end. Arteta somehow played too deeply - hardly any offensive influence. It was Ramsey who surged forward more frequently, and shot a powerful equaliser. Good lad but not convincing enough as of yet, even with such low price (£6.3m).

I like the way Song played, but he is certainly not prolific enough to gain my love for him in my fantasy squad.

Pick: Adebayor, VdV
Watch: Ramsey, Walker


Everton 0-2 Liverpool
EVE: They certainly didn't deserve to lose under such unfortunate circumstances. Bad refereeing had costed them a player named Rodwell. Not quite impressive in terms of attack though.

I like Drenthe's potential. Given more playing time, he could produce some impressive feat.

LIV: Carroll broke his duck with a nice volley - still too early to say that he will return to his Newcastle's form though. Suarez continued to provide consistency despite limited upside potential.

The most impressive man was Enrique though who popped out with 11 points thanks to his good performance at both ends. Even if Liverpool can't keep too much of clean sheets this season, his good crosses will ensure that he will still score points that match his asking price.

Pick: Enrique, Suarez
Watch: Carroll, Drenthe, Kelly


Aston Villa 2-0 Wigan
AST: Gabby. You simply need to have him. Agbonlahor at Villa is like Rooney at Manchester United - ace status, prolific scoring, English. I love (seriously love) how he raped Wigan's defenders with his fastest legs of Premier League. At £7.0m it's a very ridiculous decision to not own him.

Bent scored too, but clearly at the moment people will only talked about Agbonlahor who is more all-rounded than him. The more interesting man is Bannan though - his long range bombs are threatening.

WIG: Simply got overpowered by Aston Villa. Defensively they are hardly trustworthy anyway averaging 2.5 goals conceded per game over the last 4 games.

Pick: Agbonlahor
Watch: Bannan
Drop: WIG defence


Blackburn 0-4 Manchester City
BLA: Blasted yet again as fans were holding "Kean Out" banner throughout the game. Nothing to be positive about as I place them in the first place to relegate this season.

MCI: Aguero was injured - BIG, BAD news. Fortunately it's international break coming right up and he should feature in City's next league game. The bigger concern for fantasy managers of course, is the possibility of his price drop.

Nasri dictated the whole game after replacing Kun. 1 goal plus 2 assists certainly proved to be too much for bench midfielder. Superb.

Balotelli's should had gotten 3-4 goals if he didn't waste those chances. Great prospect if Mancini decides to bring down Dzeko as third choice striker after the Serbian's dissent with his decision to sub him off during Champions League tie against Bayern.

Pick: Nasri, MCI defence, Silva
Watch: Balotelli
Drop: BLA players


Manchester United 2-0 Norwich
MUN: One of the luckiest game of the world as United opened their season with close to perfect 19 points out of possible 21. Team was rather disjointed. If not for Norwich's unbelievably poor decision making ability the Red Devils' exposed back should had lost. Credits to Welbeck though with his impact coming from the bench. He should pose huge threat to my favourite Chicharito.

NOR: Terribly terrible. They had about 4-5 clear cut chances and yet failed to score even one because of their amateur like judgement. It's a very simple philosophy: whoever is at a better chance to score, don't hesitate to pass. They didn't follow that, and thus the defeat. Paul Lambert should prepare for a big lecture to them.

Watch: Welbeck, Pilkington


Sunderland 2-2 West Brom
SUN: Nicklas Bendtner's game. Strong presence. If not for him, they wouldn't be able to level after a shocking 2-goal trail in the first 5 minutes. Not so sure about his value of money though with so many even better forwards to choose from.

WBA: They squandered a dream start. Long continued to impress though after scoring his third goal of the season. However, just like Bendtner, there're too many talents upfront.

Watch: Bendtner, Long


Wolves 1-2 Newcastle
WOL: Played well, but just couldn't penetrate five-star Krul. Just as usual, it was Doyle, Fletcher, Jarvis and O'Hara who manipulate the attacks.

NEW: Godlike Krul. Extremely entertaining just like how Begovic held off Liverpool few weeks ago. Stunning defence.

Offensive wise, Ba scored in two consecutive matches, with Cabaye the provider. Both are revealing more potential as the season progresses.

Pick: NEW defence, Ba
Watch: Cabaye, O'Hara

Fulham 6-0 QPR
FUL: Andy Johnson! 10 out of 10 for the English as he dictated the demolition after scoring a brace at Europa League just days ago. Swift run, great positioning, and most importantly, ruthless shots. He does intrigue me why Martin Jol buy Bryan Ruiz and Orlando Sa when he got one of the best local partnership already?

Not to be forgotten is Zamora who played the layman role perfectly. And I mean perfect. He just never got selfish throughout the game and always make chances for his teammates to score. Professional. Salute.

Dempsey also scored 1, but it was really aforementioned strikers who combined and took them to cloud nine.

QPR: Sluggish defending. Paddy Kenny certainly needs to be replaced with his amateurish display.

Pick: A. Johnson, Zamora
Watch: FUL defence
Drop: QPR defence


Swansea 2-0 Stoke City
SWA: Scott Sinclair scored once again through the spot - the first one to fly in the Prem against his Championship rivals Taarabt and Holt.

Danny Graham scored too, but I still don't see his value.

STO: Unlucky day for them as they were stopped by the post and Vorm.

Pick: Sinclair
Watch: Graham, Dyer, Walters

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: 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

Kick-Off: Gameweek 4 Fantasy Preview

Robin van Persie scored 4 in Holland's 11-0 domination over San Marino.
Good sign to take him in?

Overview
The transfer market is closed and the international breaks are over as Premier League will be back into real business. Be sure to monitor your players' injury status and make appropriate adjustments to that.

7-Gameweek Fixture Analysis (Published Monthly)
In heaven run

1. Newcastle (@QPR, @AST, BLA, @WOL, TOT, WIG, @STO) - Some moderately tough opponents but shouldn't pose much problems for them to collect some reasonable amount of fantasy points in both offensive and defensive departments.
2. Tottenham (@WOL, LIV, @WIG, ARS, @NEW, @BLA, QPR) - Considerably easy and all game looks winnable except for the one against Liverpool (I'd say 50-50).
3. West Brom (@NOR, @SWA, FUL, @SUN, WOL, @AST, LIV) - If they can build a good momentum in September with relatively easier opponents they might as well achieve good result in October.

In hell run:

1. Blackburn (@FUL, ARS, @NEW, MCI, @QPR, TOT, @NOR) - Still very tough upcoming fixtures, but the Rovers' games will get easier at the end of October.
2. Everton (AST, WIG, @MCI, LIV, @CHE, @FUL, MUN) - Fixtures get very tricky after the game against Wigan. You should start to dump Toffees' players unless you believe they will get good results in the next two months.
3. Manchester United (@BOL, CHE, @STO, NOR, @LIV, MCI, @EVE) - Offense is not an issue, but be cautious when picking United defenders with such tricky fixtures.

On Wildcard, Again
If you have the patience, I would suggest wait for another 2-3 gameweeks and see which latest signings settle well in their new team before using your wildcard. Of course, don't hesitate to use it if your team has too many junk players currently.


Game of the Week: EVERTON v ASTON VILLA

Can Tim Cahill break his duck?

Financially difficult Everton will search for their first home win of the season against in-form Aston Villa.

The home side has just sold Mikel Arteta to Arsenal, directly benefiting Leighton Baines' owners as the left-back will take almost all of Everton's set piece duties now. Unfortunately though, Baines has hamstring problems and is a doubt this weekend.

Villa is in good form and will strive to snatch an away win with their strikers, particularly Agbonlahor, looking sharp. Jermaine Jenas will make the midfield line more composed should he starts.

It will be close, with Tim Cahill taking all the offensive burden on his shoulders at Goodison Park.


Prediction: EVE 2-1 AST
Pick: Tim Cahill, Agbonlahor


Fantasy Game of the Week: MAN CITY v WIGAN

Nasri broke his finger and
is doubtful for this match.

Arsenal game against Swansea looks equally promising, but let's stick with the team with the best form at the moment.

Dzeko blasted 4 goals against Tottenham in the last gameweek, and is looking more and more likely to lock his starting position as centre forward. Certainly a great choice as captain for this week.

Nasri, who scored 13 fantasy points last week, injured his finger and is a major doubt for this weekend. Bad news for the French owners and good news for Silva's. Expect the Spaniard to supply plenty of chances to Dzeko and Aguero (or Tevez?).

Wigan will be hoping for Di Santo to perform the magic again, but I am more inclined for a clean sheet to the home side. Do take note that Kolo Toure is finally free from suspension, and will compete with Lescott for a starting place.


Prediction: MCI 3-0 WIG
Pick and captain: Dzeko, Silva
Pick: MCI defenders
Drop: WIG players


Pick and Drop

VdV is out for 6 weeks.

Pick and Captain:

1. Van Persie - A no brainer against newboys Swansea.
2. Rooney - His form is blasting, both in Manchester United and England.

Pick:

1. Arteta, Walcott - Expect these guys to rip off Swansea's defence.
2. Suarez - His tricky runs will be crucial to break Stoke's defence.
3. Holt - Should finally find some form after scoring against Chelsea. West Brom won't be too tough for him.
4. Mata - Expect him to disrupt Sunderland's defence.
5. Mertesacker - His towering presence will give security to the Gunners' defence.

Drop:

1. SWA defence - Van Persie is too hot to handle.
2. Van der Vaart, Vermaelen, Drogba - Injured.

Transfer Traffic

For evaluation on deadline day newcomers click here.

Green light (buy):

1. Dzeko, Rooney, A Young - Each scored over 20 points last gameweek. You should've benefited from price rise if you got them earlier.
2. Bosingwa - Increasing likely to steal RB position for the whole season.
3. Suarez - His is the super ace of Liverpool.
4. Mata - Adds an important dimension to Chelsea's attack.
5. Arteta - The new heart of Arsenal's midfield.
6. Best - With Ba struggling to settle, he should become the finisher of Newcastle.
7. Agbonlahor - Best Villa player at the moment.
8. Van Persie - His supplies are back.

Yellow light (watch/hold):

1. Simpson/R Taylor - Wait to see who's going to be benched with Santon's arrival.

Red light (sell):

1. Van der Vaart, Vermaelen, Drogba - Injured.
2. Torres, Carroll - Failed to impress.
3. Kalou - His position at Chelsea is downgraded as full-time benchwarmer.

Gameweek 4 Dream Team

Szcznesny

Kompany -- De Laet -- Hughes

Silva -- Walcott -- Tim Cahill -- A Young

Dzeko (VC) -- Van Persie (C) -- Holt

Subs: Begovic -- Hoolahan -- Jose Enrique -- A Ferdinand

Full-Time: Gameweek 2 Fantasy Review

Raul Meireles with his middle finger got excited after creating the second goal for Liverpool.

Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle
SUN: Disappointing performance at home. They were lucky to escape with a penalty when Seb Larsson blocked Barton's going-in header with his arm. Sessegnon does look to be a good fantasy bargain with his advanced position anyway.


Potential Pick: Sessegnon
Drop: Bardsley (suspended)


NEW: It's surprising to see Newcastle being able to pick up consecutive clean sheets. That makes defenders like Simpson and Ryan Taylor (both at £4.0m) superb fantasy bargains. But before the window closes at the end of August, you can't be sure whether the Ryan Taylor will lock his place at the left.

In terms of offence, Cabaye is showing more and more potential with his set pieces.


Pick: Simpson
Potential Pick: R Taylor, Cabaye


Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
ARS: Awfully bad luck for the Gunners. They didn't play as bad as predicted. Frimpong had a good game actually if not for the red card, while Nasri had a one-man show dribbling for 70-yards before unleashing a wide shot. Both goals they conceded were arguable, but Wenger did signed one or two star players before this, they could have already won the game before Ramsey's own goal.

Nasri is expected to be a superb fantasy bargain if he stays.

Potential Pick: Nasri
Drop: Frimpong (bad gamble eh?)


LIV: Still don't look organized as a squad. It's surprising that Suarez was benched, but with Frimpong's red, his introduction from the bench along with Meireles was superbly effective. Enrique-Kelly flank defence combo is very solid. In fact, I rate Kelly higher than Glen Johnson in terms of defensive ability.

Downing continued to show great potential and I believe it will be sooner rather than later for him to harvest some good fantasy scores. As for Meireles, I hope he will start instead of Henderson for his great vision of short passing and teamwork with Suarez. Before that happens, it's hardly justified to own the Portuguese.

Pick: Suarez, Downing, Enrique
Potential Pick: Meireles, Kelly
Drop: Henderson


Aston Villa 3-1 Blackburn
AST: Looks like McLeish will stick with his current three-pronged attack - Agbonlahor, Bent and Heskey - as each of them scored once. The rusty Agbonlahor seems to have gone away after a fine display at Saturday. At £6.5m he is a superb acquisition so hopefully he doesn't have any fitness problems after being subbed off during half-time last game.

Darren Bent scored despite not looking really sharp - that's what he is anyway. You'll never be disappointed with his goal rate. What that is differing him with other premium forwards is his lack of participation in creating chances and also his lack of bonus points.

It's a shame that they didn't get a clean sheet, but that doesn't erase the fact that Aston Villa is a good team to invest in defence.

Pick: Agbonlahor
Potential Pick: Bent


BLA: A very courageous header by Gamst Pedersen, but their defence has been horrible. Salgado is increasingly a liability in Rovers' defence - look how easily Agbonlahor teased him before going for a goal. If they don't get some good additions to the squad, I can see relegation coming near towards them.

Drop: BLA defence


Everton 0-1 QPR
EVE: Another story of bad luck. They played good, yet they failed to score. Cahill had a couple of chances to equalise or even win for Everton - he still is the heart of the Toffees' attack.

Meanwhile, youngster Barkley looked very lively throughout the game and should come into your consideration should he get regular starts.

Potential Pick: Tim Cahill


QPR: Nothing much to tell here, as their first choice pair upfront - Bothroyd and DJ Campbell - were both not playing due to virus infection. Certainly needs more observations to evaluate about their defence.


Swansea 0-0 Wigan
SWA: Vroom~! Vorm is looking more and more like the next fantasy keeper of the season with his crazy number of saves. With a penalty saved, he now stands comfortably on the top of keeper's table for this gameweek.

Pick: Vorm


WIG: Moses was unlucky to get two shots on bar. Has a lot of potential with him.

Pick: Moses


Chelsea 2-1 West Brom
CHE: Long way to go for AVB. Their play was sloppy, and Torres seems to return to his last season's form after one game of brilliance.

I like the way Malouda changed the game, but it looks like he is not an absolute starter. With Mata rumoured to be joining soon, things might get worse.

Bosingwa is one of the culprit for the early surprise from Long, but he does look great with his forward runs and crosses.

Potential Pick: Bosingwa, Malouda

WBA: Long made himself famous after scoring back-to-back against Manchester United and Chelsea. Certainly a good fantasy bargain with a price tag of £6.0m. Should have no trouble in pairing up with Odemwingie as well - the latter is both good at scoring and feeding.

Pick: Long

Norwich 1-1 Stoke
NOR: De Laet scored, surprisingly. Too bad he couldn't keep the clean sheet though. Holt still fails to find his form.

Pick: De Laet

STO: Nothing really caught me up here except for Pennant's injury and Shotton's ability for long throw.

Wolves 2-0 Fulham
WOL: Jarvis is the bright star here as Wolves is now currently one of the two teams who got six points. Forward duo Fletcher and Doyle were both influential in the victory again. A much promising team than last season especially in defence which is now led by Roger Johnson.

Pick: Jarvis
Potential Pick: Doyle, Fletcher


FUL: The weak at away syndrome doesn't seem to change under Martin Jol. Senderos looks to be a steal as Fulham's defensive line remains the same as last game.

Potential Pick: Senderos


Bolton 2-3 Man City
BOL: Klasnic on fire! The Croatian continues his fine form by scoring two in two. Kevin Davies also got his first goal of the season with a fine header. Both are expected to carry Bolton to the survival bank along with Eagles and Petrov. But I would still avoid them until next month, where their extremely difficult fixtures end.

Potential Pick: K Davies, Klasnic


MCI: Solid display at offence. Silva continues to look spectacular. Surprisingly James Milner was very productive during the match. Still I don't think he will do that every week.

Dzeko continues to fire as well, and with his style relatively much unique than his teammates, I think his striker position is the safest.

Pick: Silva, Dzeko

Sunday Sparks

Daniel Sturridge
Made it three out of three at Bolton.

A not so crazy weekend as compared to last week's record-breaker 43 goals, but a couple of amazing goals made this week a memorable one. Here are some highlights:

• As mentioned on my last post, Rooney's fantastic overhead kick is really too enjoyable. Could be easily the goal of the season.
• Nani continued his show his consistency on the Manchester derby victory with a goal and an assist. That makes my decision to bench him a very awful one.
• Van Persie! Ten goals in seven games, he is really the most terrorising striker in premier league currently.
• Walcott and Fabregas are also on good points this week. It should be a great gameweek for those who invest heavily on Arsenal players.
• Birmingham got a clean sheet and I am more than happy about it. Labelled as flop for so long, Zigic's towering existence finally shows great importance.
• 0-0 between Blackburn and Newscastle was the last thing I expected.
• Aston Villa failed to take down Bloomfield Road as they shared a draw with Blackpool. Bent once again was pivotal; a quick and clean pass and he sent Agbonlahor to a one-on-one and scored a goal.
• Liverpool failed to make it five wins out of five, as opposed to what I expected. Meireles made it five goals out of six games with yet another stylish volley. Luis Suarez was pretty unlucky with one shot on bar and another on post, but two bonus points has justified his hard work.
• West Ham made a superb comeback after trailing for three goals to earn a point from West Brom. Worth noticing is Demba Ba who scored two goals.
• Niko Kranjcar gained my respect as he scored yet another victorious goal to make Tottenham escaping from two draws.
• And of course, Sturridge remains incredible at Bolton as he scored his third goal for Bolton in as many number of matches.

Gameweek 16 Fantasy Preview

Victor Obinna
Made four for his team mate on a stylish 4-0 victory against Man Utd.

Arsenal is on the driving seat to claim Carling Cup trophy following Manchester United's surprise defeat against West  Ham. Luck has finally on the Hammers side and fellow fantasy managers should be well alerted to start to look for Avram Grant's players - Parker, Obinna, Piquionne, Carlton Cole etc..

Meanwhile, on Europa League we see Manchester City edging Red Bull Salzburg at ease with Mario Balotelli providing two goals. Liverpool on the other hand secured a draw to ensure both English clubs getting through the next round.

Expect more snows to come.

The more important news for fantasy managers, however, is the weather condition in United Kingdom. Santa Claus is coming soon, with snow his first gift. Games may be postponed at last minute so do drag your transfer decisions to the final minutes. Good luck.

---

PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Tim Cahill
To rub salt into Chelsea's wound?

Chelsea v Everton
Chelsea will want to end their torment of winless streak at Stamford Bridge but that won't be easy with Everton visiting this weekend.

The Blue Lions are suffering from possibly the worst form since Roman Abramovich's reign. The condition further worsened by its chain reaction which causes the players like Drogba and Kalou to lose their touch of confidence. They certainly looked awful in finishing despite creating numerous chances.

But Everton isn't in a good shape as well. A 1-4 defeat to West Brom at Goodison Park wasn't something that I had imagined. Nevertheless, Tim Cahill continued his fantastic form to score in three consecutive league games.

Despite Chelsea's poor form, I will have to back them to win this as a victory is much needed to prepare them to face the next three league opponents - Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal. Essien is back, and that makes the difference.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Everton

Raul Meireles
Should have score more fantasy points with his kind of performance.

Liverpool v Aston Villa
Injury-plagued Liverpool will be hoping to snatch three points against under-par Aston Villa at Anfield.

The Reds lost their last game against Tottenham despite being the better side. What's worse? They had also lost their vice captain Jamie Carragher. Kyrgiakos is set to take up his position until Carra's return and he is the best bargain in Liverpool's defence.

The bigger question though is whether Joe Cole (4-2-3-1) or David N'gog (4-4-2) will partner Torres. The former is still struggling to find his form at Anfield while the latter might had his confidence stripped after conceding a penalty during his last league game.

On the other side, the Villans were knocked out from the League Cup by their derby rivals Birmingham. Contrary to Liverpool, they are escaping from the injury crises with Gabriel Agbonlahor finally found his boots to score against Birmingham during the tourney. His speed alongside with Ashley Young's and Downing's will give a lot of trouble to Liverpool's slow defenders.

Houllier will be eager to prove himself in front of his former club, but I think the Reds' at home with stamina advantage will stop him to do so.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa

The Rest

• Arsenal v Fulham (3-0) - No reason to lose.
• Birmingham v Tottenham (0-2) - I don't think Birmingham has the stamina to hold up Bale, Defoe and Lennon after a Carling Cup fixture.
• Blackburn v Wolves (2-0) - The Rovers to get tough at home and send Wolves home.
• Man City v Bolton (3-1) - City on form with Balotelli leading the strike.
• Wigan v Stoke City (1-2) - The tougher side wins.
• Blackpool v Man Utd (1-5) - Blackpool is poor at home. Expect the trio of Berbatov, Nani and Rooney to shine.
• West Brom v Newcastle (2-2) - Pretty tight match-up but it should be a leaky one.
• Sunderland v West Ham (2-2) - The Black Cats are still unbeaten at home but on-from Hammers should be able to get something away.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Maruonne Chamakh
Gets a captain tick.

Captain Picks

• Nani/Berbatov/Rooney - Ready to open up a big score line against Blackpool.
• Chamakh - Strong home advantage against the Cottagers.

Buy-Ins

• Liverpool players - Solid fixtures ahead.
• Gamst Pedersen - Nice fixtures as well. Check his injury status first anyway.

Sell-Outs

• Nolan - Tough games oncoming.
• Van der Vaart - Injured.
• Arteta - Suspended.
• Chelsea players - Hellish fixtures ahead. You might want to delay until the next gameweek though.

Squad of XV

GK: Fabianski

DF: Kyrgiakos, Samba, Richards, Vidic

MF: Bale, Nasri*, Nani(C), Brunt

F: Berbatov, Chamakh

Subs (in order): Robinson, Carroll, Etherington, Shawcross

Captain: Nani

Emergency Captain: Value

Starting XI Value: £75.5m

Total Team Value: £96.6m

*Latest news: Nasri is doubtful. Replace him with Arshavin when necessary.