Kick-Off: Gameweek 36 Fantasy Preview

Fired as a West Brom coach, reached UEFA CL Final.

Overview
In midweek we saw two richest clubs in the world, namely Barcelona and Real Madrid, got knocked out in Champions League semi-final. £50m Spaniard Fernando Torres actually scored the game sealing goal, and that goal alone possibly has redeemed the huge money spent by Roman Abramovich. Dramatic game by Chelsea. Salute.

Super Gameweek Double
8 teams will be on double this week, namely:

• Liverpool (@NOR, FUL)
• Fulham (@EVE, @LIV)
• Stoke (ARS, LIV)
• Everton (FUL, @STO)
• Chelsea (QPR, NEW)
• Newcastle (@WIG, @CHE)
• Bolton (@SUN, TOT)
• Tottenham (BLA, @BOL)

In my personal view, Everton has a really sound fixtures, especially when attackers like Jelavic are in fine form.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v MANCHESTER UNITED

Will Balotelli be forgiven?

Here comes the climax. Defending champion, leading by 3 points, Manchester United, travel to Etihad Stadium to challenge their #1 contender, Manchester City.

A series of shocking results saw Manchester United's 8 point lead got shrunken into just 3 points. With City at home, it's hard to say whether the title race will only be decided at round 38.

City is free of injuries at the moment so it is hard to expect who will Mancini partner for Aguero. While Tevez would be the most likely candidate, Balotelli could also get a head start despite protests from his teammates. Huge riddles to be solved for Sir Alex Ferguson then.

Another question for SAF would be the wings setup. Which two to pick from Nani, Young and Valencia? While Nani poses greater offensive threat, he also is more vulnerable in defence. What will be SAF's priority? My guess is defence.

It should be a dramatic contest, and I'm betting City to win to make create the most exciting Premier League finale ever.

Prediction: MCI 2-1 MUN

Fantasy Game of the Week: Everton's Double (FUL, @STO)

Pienaar enjoying his return
to Everton.

Everton have been in a pretty fine form at the moment, and that makes their players interesting purchases for this gameweek double.

Jelavic has been in superb form, scoring 4 goals in the last 2 games he played. Solid acquisition at interestingly cheap price.

His teammates such as Pienaar, Osman and Fellaini could also provide good offensive returns, while Hibbert will be the real value buy at the defensive line.

Prediction: EVE 2-0 FUL, STO 1-0 EVE

Pick and Captain: Jelavic

Pick: Pienaar, Osman, Hibbert, Fellaini

Gameweek 36 Dream Team

Friedel

Hibbert -- Bosingwa -- Simpson

Bale -- Dempsey -- Pienaar -- Ben Arfa (VC)

P. Cisse -- Jelavic (C) -- Suarez

Subs: Begovic -- Mata -- Kaboul -- Enrique

Kick-Off: Gameweek 31 Fantasy Preview

Kenny Dalglish: Man in pressure.

Overview
So Chelsea continued their fine run under the lead of Di Matteo. The Blues won their first leg of the Champions League quarter finals with a 1-0 win away to Benfica. Great likelihood to progress, but they are expected to face Barcelona next.

Game of the Week: NEWCASTLE v LIVERPOOL

Can Ben Arfa get consistent
starts?

Not pretty interesting in terms of the meaning of the battle, but nevertheless this is the most balanced match-up of the week.

Newcastle are back in winning ways, winning the last two games with Papiss Cisse the man. The compatriot of Ba has scored three goals in the last two games and will be the biggest threat of Liverpool's clean sheet points.

Ben Arfa is the other man where you cannot take your eyes off. The talented winger has shown supreme performance last gameweek by getting involved in all three Newcastle's goals. Coupled with Cisse and Ba, the trio has immeasurable potential against Liverpool.

On the other side, Suarez has managed to find some consistency recently, but his explosive potential is yet to be materialized. Can he unleash that against Newcastle? Seems tough when his teammates are not up to his par except Gerrard.

Should be a comprehensive Newcastle victory as Liverpool continues to drop points horribly.

Prediction: NEW 3-1 LIV
Pick: Cisse, Ben Arfa
Drop: LIV defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v SUNDERLAND

Carlos Tevez to get a start?

City certainly is not ready to hand the title out as they host Sunderland in the quest of closing down the gap against United.

The Blue Moon's offensive power has been mediocre recently - they had only scored 3 goals in their last three when they had score 12 in their first three games of the season. David Silva seems to be out of magic as the team struggles to find chances.

Aguero is quoted as "75% playing" so maybe you should sell him considering how much better you can achieve via Van Persie and Rooney. Balotelli will be your main man to trust, as the wonder kid is never short of wonders - both on and off the field.

Defensive wise, Kompany is flagged as "50% playing" but given his importance in the team, I think he should start in order to break down Sunderland's offence which has return to its best after as Sessegnon returned from suspension.

City's superb home record should keep their trail within 3 points so put your City players on and hope for the best.

Prediction: MCI 2-0 SUN
Pick and Captain: Balotelli
Pick: MCI defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:
Dempsey/Pogrebnyak - Superb potential against Norwich.
Van Persie/Rooney - The automatic picks.

Pick:
Mata - The team are very much settled under Di Matteo.
Jelavic - Seems quite lively recently.
Bale/Adebayor - Expect them to back in form.
Valencia - Never short of magic.

Drop:
QPR defence - Too poor against Arsenal's offensive standards.
BLA defence - Nothing stops United at the moment.

Transfer Traffic
Green light (buy):
Evans - 25 points in the last two games has made him super popular.
G Cahill - Performs impressively under Di Matteo's tactics.
Walcott - Starts for more than 10 consecutive league games.
P Cisse - Cheaper and in better form than Ba.

Yellow light (hold):
Sessegnon - Returned but has back to back tough games.
Jelavic - Looks settled but needs more games to make conclusion.
Suarez - Still waiting for the explosive factor to explode.

Red light (sell):
Enrique/Skrtel - Terrible form at the moment.
Ba - Overpriced compared to his teammate Cisse.
MCI forwards - Overly crowded to get consistent minutes.

Gameweek 31 Dream Team

Hart

Assou-Ekkoto -- Evans -- G Cahill

Ben Arfa -- Dempsey -- Bale -- Valencia -- Walcott

Rooney (VC) -- Van Persie (C)

Subs: Al-Habsi -- Pogrebnyak -- Gibbs -- Hibbert

Kick-Off: Gameweek 24 Fantasy Preview

Djibril Cisse scored his first goal on his debut for QPR.

Overview
Gareth Bale continued his C. Ronaldo-esque performance after bagging 15 fantasy points last gameweek, while Fraizer Campbell's return provided immediate effect as he led Sunderland to a 3-0 victory. Manchester City's surprise defeat took the title race back to square one for the Manchester clubs.

Transfer Deadline Day Deals
Some significant deadline signings are as follows:

• Djibril Cisse - Obvious enough. The former Liverpool and Sunderland man scored his first goal on his debut for QPR.
• Zamora - While he should become automatic selection at Loftus Road, you should also notice that Bryan Ruiz should play further upfront for Fulham.
• Jelavic - One of the rare "big" spends by Everton. He is expected to improve the offence upfront.
• Saha - The Frenchman is moving to Tottenham to rediscover his long lost form.
• Pogrebnyak - Replacing Zamora is this 28-year-old Russian who came from Vfb Stuttgart. With the height of 188cm one would expect him to play the targetman's role.
• Bridge - The almost forgotten man in the Premier League will now play at Sunderland on a loan basis. Interesting to see whether Bridge has forgotten his footwork or not.
• Kyrgiakos - The former Liverpool giant will also join Sunderland, which will definitely boost the Black Cats' defence to another level.
• Miyaichi - Bolton wrapped up the deal for the young Japanese. We shall see whether he could make great impact in Owen Coyle's team.
• Pizarro - Quite a surprise move in my opinion. But Pizarro is experienced and should be capable to take over Yaya Toure's void before he comes back, at least.

Game of the Week: CHELSEA v MANCHESTER UNITED

Can Torres score this time?

Time for a revenge at Stamford Bridge?

The Red Devils took down the Blues 3-1 at Old Trafford earlier in this campaign, with Torres missing the miss of the century. The Spaniard should still start though, given the fact that Andre Villas-Boas is short of strikers.

Daniel Sturridge looked sharp on the midweek game but was lack of any shooting accuracy. Meanwhile, it remains clueless whether Gary Cahill was brought in as Terry's partner or as a benchwarmer. It should be revealed this week.

For the red side, Nani and Rooney should be fit to play in this tie, while Lindegaard is expected to out for four weeks. That means David de Gea will have yet another chance to prove himself despite poor performance against Liverpool.

Personally I think Ashley Cole's suspension will provide the edge for United. Valencia should take full advantage of that and United is going to frustrate Chelsea again.

Prediction: CHE 1-2 MUN

Pick: Valencia

Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v FULHAM

Time for Aguero to end his
goalless streak.

Mancini will not allow his team to make mistake again as City hosts Fulham.

Aguero has not scored any goal in his last three league games, but that should end against Martin Jol's Fulham. Expect him and Silva to combine and perform finally.

The addition of Pizarro should provide the creativity to compete deep in midfield, though it remains to be seen whether he will make a start.

It's time for City to end the embarrassment and continue to move forward and lead the pack.

Prediction: MCI 2-0 FUL
Pick and Captain: Aguero, Silva
Pick: MCI defence
Drop: FUL defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Van Persie - With Samba refused to play, Blackburn's defence is worthless.

Pick:

• Ba - Return to take charge of Newcastle's offence.
• Suarez - Freed from "jail" and should be full of power.
• Djibril Cisse - Looking forward to continue his fine form against woeful Wolves.

Drop:

• Ashley Cole - Suspended.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Ba - The super striker returns.
• Sessegnon - Unstoppable.
• Assou Ekkoto - His price rises without limit.
• Suarez - Reunites with better Liverpool.

Yellow light (watch):

• Cisse - See whether it's debutant's luck or his real class.

Red light (sell):

• Van der Vaart - Limped off last game.
• Ramires - Won't be back soon.

Gameweek 24 Dream Team

Krul

Kompany -- Simpson -- O'Shea

Sessegnon -- Silva -- Valencia (VC) -- Bale

Aguero (C) -- Ba -- Cisse

Subs: Szczesny -- Dyer -- Martin R -- Shorey