Kick-Off: Gameweek 7 Fantasy Preview

"Tevez is finished at Manchester City," says Mancini.

Overview
A week of Champions League failure for Premier League clubs with Arsenal the only club to win among 4 English candidates. The bigger news however, if of course Tevez's dispute with the club which may see him being froze indefinitely. Shocking.

On the contrary to Champions League clubs from England, all 4 Europa League clubs from the same country won their Europa tie. Splendid as we saw the likes like Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, Crouch and Andy Johnson on the score sheet. Worth to take note.

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

1. Bolton (CHE, @WIG, SUN, @SWA, STO @WBA, EVE) - Pretty easy after the tough run, but might struggle for the next few gameweeks with suspension of key players.
2. Stoke (@SWA, FUL, @ARS, NEW, @BOL, QPR, BLA) - Nothing too tough. Time to get Shawcross and Crouch in.
3. Tottenham (ARS, @NEW, @BLA, QPR, @FUL, AST, @WBA) - Get Adebayor, get Van der Vaart, and get them fast.
4. Wigan (@AST, BOL, @NEW, FUL, @WOL, BLA, @SUN) - With this kind of fixtures, it's either start performing or get relegated for them.

In hell run:

1. Everton (LIV, @CHE, @FUL, MUN, @NEW, WOL, @BOL) - Crazy. You should dump their players, if you were not already.
2. Liverpool (@EVE, MUN, NOR, @WBA, SWA, @CHE, MCI) - This is even crazier. Apart from Suarez, the others are not worth keeping in my opinion.

Game of the Week: TOTTENHAM v ARSENAL

Adebayor is on a hot streak.

It's always an exciting London derby with these two as they boast the finest offence of the Premier League.

Both has got games in midweek so no side will have stamina advantage. Unfortunately though, Arsenal are suffering large scale injury crisis - tough call for them. Andre Santos started against Olympiakos and scored - not much significance though as Arsenal is still one of the worst defence among Premier League teams. With so many glass legs shattered, it will be up to Van Persie and Arteta to propel the team forward.

On the other hand, Tottenham has been in magnificent form after two slumping defeat at the start of the season. Loaned striker Adebayor is on red hot form - expect strong presence of him against the team which made him famous. Van der Vaart will be a great pick too with his attacking talent.

Expect goals galore, and I think White Hart Lane is not a piece of land to fool around. Victory for Spurs in my opinion.

Prediction: TOT 4-2 ARS
Pick and Captain: Adebayor
Pick: VdV, RvP, Arteta
Avoid: TOT and ARS Defences


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER UNITED v NORWICH

Can Welbeck bring United
out of slump?

Easy game for United after a frustrating Champions League tie against Basel which saw then getting only 2 points out of 6 possible.

Rooney is still not available, so expect a striking pair of Welbeck and Hernandez. Nani and Young should play the most important part in United's offence this time - supplying as well as taking chances themselves.

I don't see Norwich's ability to strike goals against United too, so a clean sheet is highly probable. Expect some demolition from the Red Devils.

Prediction: MUN 3-0 NOR
Pick and Captain: Young, Nani
Pick: Welbeck, Hernandez, MUN defence
Avoid: NOR defence


Pick and Avoid
Pick and Captain:

1. Agbonlahor - Against Wigan it's mouth-watering.
2. Aguero/Dzeko/Silva - The usual choice.

Pick:

1. Suarez - Should get even more powerful in such an intense derby.
2. Drogba - Without Torres, he will get all the chance.
3. Vorm - Stoke are usually weak at away.
4. Bendtner - His height will do a lot of good to penetrate Hodgson's team.

Avoid:

1. BLA defence - I don't see their ability to hold Man City.

Transfer Traffic

Green (buy):

1. Adebayor/VdV - Great fixtures coming up.
2. Drogba - Free from competition at the moment.

Yellow (watch):

1. MUN players - Without Rooney, they're at a lower class.
2. Rooney - Keep yourself updated.

Red (sell):

1. Dzeko - Sell pressure is mounting high.
2. Torres - Suspended.
3. Bent - Doubtful and out of form.
4. De Laet - Injured.
5. Tevez - Dumped.

Gameweek 7 Dream Team

Vorm

Brown -- Jones -- Riise

Nani -- VdV -- Silva -- Sinclair

Adebayor(VC) -- Aguero(C) -- Welbeck

Subs: Mignolet -- Larsson -- Warnock -- R Johnson

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

Maxi Rodriguez Scored Another Hat-Trick

Maxi Rodriguez
Got another match ball in just two weeks.

Unbelievable. Maxi Rodriguez, the one who's on the start-sub fence for most part of the season, explodes with an unstoppable form as he scored his second hat-trick in two weeks time with Liverpool beating Fulham 5-2 on the road.

First he eclipsed Hernandez's fastest goal of the season which was just created one day before, and then he completed his hat-trick with a long range cannon. He is definitely so so confident recently.

Can Maxi book a starting spot in the next season with his resurgence of form? Still looks negative for me with Carroll, Suarez and Kuyt standing firm on the trident front.

Man Utd Cruise to the 19th

Wayne Rooney v David Luiz
The one below is actually above.

Congratulations, Manchester United. Unless somethings as dramatic as Arsenal v Liverpool happens later, the Red Devils will be six points clear from Chelsea - which resembles 99% chance of surpassing Liverpool and becoming the greatest club in England, at least in terms of trophies.

Chelsea was playing so awful in the first half and they really deserve to trail by two goals. Great job again by Chicharito and Rooney. They will continue to play the leading role in United's next season.

Saturday Stage

Fernando Torres

Broke his duck with a goal and an assist from the bench.

A pretty entertaining Saturday with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all winning their games. Here's some highlights:

Maxi Rodriguez
Only the best coach can lead a second-string player to score a hat-trick.

• Liverpool won their biggest margin game of the season after demolishing Birmingham 5-0, breaking their record of nine winless games against the Brums. Maxi, surprisingly, claimed the match ball with his wonderful hat-trick. With yet another clean sheet, you really have to admire the brain and wisdom of Kenny Dalglish. As long as he stays, Liverpool have a fair chance of winning the title next season!
• Also spectacular for Liverpool are Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez. Do you know Kuyt has scored 63 fantasy points from the last six games?!! That's averaging 10 for each! Suarez was not lucky for not scoring the second goal himself, but as long as he plays, he will create enough troubles for others to score.
• The Reds' arch-rivals, Manchester United, decided the game in the final minutes again as Javier Hernandez scored the victory goal. He may had blocked Nani's shot with his butt, but then, his goal compensated that. Chicharito, too good for his age.
• Of all, Chelsea fans' should be the happiest ones yesterday as Mr 50mil finally broken his duck and scored his first goal for Chelsea. A good goal I shall say. In addition, he has also provided an assist for Malouda! But will he open his floodgate now, as what he has promised?
• Meanwhile, Malouda and Lampard were on the score sheet again as they return to their prime. It will make the title race interesting if they manage to beat United at Old Trafford.
• David Luiz almost scored a long range cannon yesterday. Still, his great display - both attack and defence - earned him another bonus point.
• West Ham has made Chelsea's day tough - unlucky for them for not scoring.
• Tottenham failed to take down West Bromwich Albion and they will suffer from the consequences. Liverpool are now only three points behind and Spurs are yet to battle Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool!
• Odemwingie is really red hot now after collecting 50 fantasy points from his last six.
• Sunderland finally got their last needed victory to safety zone as Henderson and Sessegnon starred the game.
• Wolves v Fulham, Blackpool v Newcastle and Aston Villa v Stoke all ended 1-1. The only thing that concerns me though, is that Adam has finally contributed something more than two points after three average games.

Gameweek 32 Fantasy Preview

Fernando Torres
The next Shevchenko?

So Fernando Torres's goal drought has now been extended to nine games. Never expect that for a £50m striker don't you? Can he end the embarrassment this week against Wigan?

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

David Silva
Looks sharp to get something at Anfield.

Liverpool v Man City
Tough problems are on Dalglish's hands currently as he has to lead his team to finish the season with an incomplete squad.

Agger, Kelly and Gerrard are all out for the rest of the season and with Johnson and Shelvey on the injury camp as well, the Reds' squad depth is definitely been wiped out - they have now only four fit first team defenders! It much worse when you know that Kyrgiakos and Wilson are the ones who join Carragher and Skrtel on defence.

Man City also has problems on their defence department but theirs are much much easier to solve compared to Liverpool's. Furthermore, their attackers such as Silva and Yaya Toure are also on form, and that will make their task to conquer Anfield much easier.

Fragile defence - this reason is convincing enough for me to go for a City victory.

Prediction: Liverpool 1-3 Man City


The Rest

• Wolves v Everton (2-1) - Always believe in those still with targets to fight for.
• Blackburn v Birmingham (2-1) - The outcome might be crucial for the fate of both clubs. Expect a big scoreline.
• Bolton v West Ham (2-2) - The Hammers will continue to fight crazily for survival.
• Chelsea v Wigan (3-0) - A golden opportunity for Torres to end his goal drought - but will he take the chance?
• Man Utd v Fulham (2-0) - No Rooney this time, but no problem still.
• Sunderland v West Brom (2-2) - I bet on form Baggies will be able to extend Black Cats' unwinning run to eight games.
• Tottenham v Stoke City (2-1) - The long missing VdV/Bale effect should be back finally.
• Blackpool v Arsenal (0-4) - It will be catastrophic if Wenger cannot take this. It will be disappointing is Van Persie cannot score more than one.
• Aston Villa v Newcastle (2-0) - Injury and suspension will prevent Newcastle from doing well in this.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Robin van Persie
Will he fail us again? Hope not.

Captain Picks

• Van Persie - Blackpool will open a lot of holes for him.
• Lampard/Drogba - Wigan are no match for them.
• Nani/Hernandez - They will share the boots left by Rooney.

Buys-In

• Van der Vaart - Domestic results will affect his chance of staying.
• Bent - He is the key for Villa's survival.

Sells-Out

• Nolan - Suspended coupled with a bad run of fixtures awaiting.

Squad of XV

GK: Van der Sar

DF: Vidic, Luiz, Dawson

MF: Lampard, Nani, Van der Vaart, Jarvis

F: Van Persie, Hernandez, Odemwingie

Subs (in order): Robinson, Parker, Walker, Samba

Captain: Van Persie

ECS: Value

Liverpool 3-1 Man Utd: The Aftermath

Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles
One scored three, the other cleared two from the line.

Liverpool claimed an easy yet controversial revenge against Manchester United to make the Premier League battle more exciting. Here are some of the big stories of the game:

• Dirk Kuyt hat-tricked? Never know he can, with such ease.
• Suarez was my man of the match with his unbelievable dribble across United's fragile defence without both Ferdinand and Vidic. He is very heroic indeed and reminds me of Tevez.
• Meireles deserved his one point bonus this game. Despite not being so effective up front, he cleared two very important attempts from the Red Devils.
• A nightmare for Luis Nani. Assisted one for his opponents and got injured seriously. Ferguson will be anxiously waiting for the Portuguese's injury assessment.
• Carrick was awful. He was one of the main reason for United's defeat as the midfield was totally owned by Lucas and Gerrard.
• Smalling and Rafael were both decent, but with such substandard defence they can't do much.
• Chicharito continues his supreme goal efficiency after adding a consolation goal at last minutes of the match.
• And of course, Phil Dowd  the referee was controversial again against Manchester United, but there was never a perfectly fair football.

A great game to celebrate the birthday of Kenny Dalglish.

Saturday Stage

Ashley Young
Starred Gw28 with 15 pre-bonus fantasy points.

A dream start for my Gw28 as six of my players had played, and the player with the least points is six! It's just fantastic. Anyway, let's see who's been sparkling just now:

• Ashley Young. One penalty, one assist and another goal. Finally provided me great returns after weeks keeping him.
• Young's teammate, Downing, is the fantasy runner-up of Saturday with 10 pre-bonus points. Also scoring 10 is Beckford who scored both goals for Everton.
• Rooney was doing great just now with one goal and one assist. Chicharito was even better for his two opening goals.
• Nani was a bit disappointing with just one assist, but six points with another game coming on isn't too bad for a captain.
• Wolves shocked me with extremely comfortable win over Blackpool. They are currently one place above relegation after the victory.
• Smalling and Coleman continue to be cheap fantasy studs as they grab points from clean sheet again.

Gameweek 11 Fantasy Preview

Gerrard 3-1 Napoli
The real soul of the team is looking sharp ahead of Chelsea's match-up.

The European action has been impressive this week for English clubs with Bale again single-handedly finished Inter Milan and Gerrard completed a hat-trick against Napoli from the bench. United on the other hand killed off Bursaspor with goals from youth players - Bebe and Obertan. The only loser this week is Manchester City.

Of course, what's more important this weekend is that majority of the star performers are in doubtful/injury position. Headachessss.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Who is the better 8?

Liverpool v Chelsea
First and foremost, let's see the updated injury statuses of Chelsea players:

• Lampard - 50-50
• Essien - Expected to start
• Malouda - Expected to miss

I think Essien's recovery will be crucial for the midfield battle between the two teams. I predict that there will be strong possession domination by the Blues should the Ghanaian plays.

However, I think Liverpool's formation will pretty much determine the outcome of the game. 4-5-1 with Torres alone - the Reds will most probably lose. 4-4-2 with N'gog taking Hodgson's favourite target man (Zamora) role - there's a fair chance for the home side so snatch point(s).

Of course, Kyrgiakos definitely must start to guard off Ivanovic, while Carragher and Skrtel must get rid of those unnecessary fouls inside the box.

Prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea

The Rest

• Bolton v Tottenham (2-2) - Bolton aerial offence should save them from a defeat.
• Birmingham v West Ham (2-0) - Birmingham is obviously the better team at home.
• Blackburn v Wigan (2-1) - A very close one, but I think the on-form Benjani should be able to help the Rovers to win.
• Blackpool v Everton (1-2) - Blackpool has a poor home record.
• Fulham v Aston Villa (0-1) - Dempsey has been outstanding, but Aston Villa is not Wigan.
• Man Utd v Wolves (2-0) - This should be a captain fight between Berbatov and Chicharito.
• Sunderland v Stoke City (1-0) - The Black Cats should be able to bounce from that humiliating defeat with the support of home fans.
• Arsenal v Newcastle (3-1) - Captain Chamakh or Fabregas (if he's fit). The rest of Arsenal's promising midfielders are all susceptible to rotations with so many talents like Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin, Song etc.
• West Brom v Man City (2-1) - City seems to be a different team without Tevez.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez
Is he the right man?

Captain Picks

• Fabregas/Chamakh - Arsenal is more than happy to face offensive-oriented Newcastle.
• Berbatov/Javier Hernandez - With Nani out, United's attack will focus on them.

Buy-Ins

• Javier Hernandez - He has at least another month of safe starting position.

Squad of XV

GK: Foster

DF: Dann, Elmohamady, Vidic

MF: Fabregas, Arteta, Obertan, Kalou

F: Chamakh(C), Chicharito, Bent

Subs (in order): Robinson, Luke Young, Ferguson, Coleman

Captain: Chamakh

Emergency Captain: Value

Starting XI Value: £78.1m

Total Team Value: £96.9m

Sunday Sparks

Sotirios Kyrgiakos
Fantastic performance at both ends on the pitch.

Congratulations for Manchester United for recording their first away victory this season and Liverpool for securing their second victory of the season. Here are some highlights:

• Javi Hernandez scored both goals of United. The lad is still far from becoming a sure-fire fantasy pick as Rooney will soon be back, but he might be able to squeeze Berbatov out should the latter dips his form.
• Both Nani and Berbatov failed to provide any fantasy returns this week and this frustrates a lot of managers including me.
• Liverpool overpowered a game for the first time this season, against Blackburn. Kyrgiakos has been superb all the while and Hodgson should list him as the first choice centre back of Liverpool as the Greek's reward.
• Liverpool's midfielders has been combining brilliantly during the first half and it was no surprise that Cole and Gerrard were on the assist sheet.
• Torres finally scored his second league goal (and smiled).
• A silly foul by Dedryk Boyata costed Manchester City a possible three points. Joe Hart owners will not be sad though as he caught five points with a precious penalty save.
• Nasri scored again! That is his six out of seven games. Magnificent.
• Tevez limped out with an injury. Stay updated with his status, fantasy managers.

Good night.

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.

Devil Has Returned!

There you have it. Manchester United had just embarrassed Chelsea with three goals to one!

This Community Shield is quite entertaining I suppose, with both sides had several clear cut chances. However, United seemed to be more prepared than the Blues who recorded an awful pre-season warm-ups.

Meanwhile, Mr Fantastico "Chicharito" has added another goal to continue his United goal streak! All these signs are such a good one for the Red Devils attempt to return to the throne.

Young and handsome and most importantly, SUPERB.

So will you risk for cheap and fantastic Javi Hernandez in your fantasy team?