Kick-Off: Gameweek 20 Fantasy Preview

Dimitar Berbatov with his showy self-explanatory tee.

Fast is the theme for this week as Premier League heads into its third gameweek in the same week. Let's begin!

GAMEWEEK 19 HIGHLIGHTS

• An interesting match-up between Manchester United and Newcastle which the Red Devils displayed their strong character by coming back from behind three times before Javier Hernandez (£6.9m, 10 pts) scored the winning goal in final minutes. Great, great game.
• The lead for Manchester United is now 7 points as Adam Johnson (£6.7m, 11 pts) inflicted the dead blow to his former club Manchester City.
• Juan Mata (£9.7m, 11 pts) compensated for his lack of production in gameweek 17 after scoring the winning goal against Norwich.
• Gareth Bale (£9.8m, 21 pts) scored his first Premier League hat-trick as Aston Villa conceded 12 goals and scored none in the last 2 games. Terrible, terrible form.
• Everton and West Brom are the other two clubs to score 33 points apart from fourth-placed Tottenham as both of them also recorded wins over Wigan and Queens Park Rangers respectively.
• The roller coaster form goes on and on for Liverpool as they conceded 3 goals against Stoke City who are famous in defence but not offence.

GAMEWEEK 19 TOP SCORERS

1. Gareth Bale (£9.8m, 21 pts): Fantasy managers will cheer for his swift return of form.
2. Jonathan Walters (£6.5m, 15 pts): Considered one of the best mid-priced performers so you should consider getting him.
3. Chris Brunt (£5.5m, 13 pts): Hopefully this is an indication of better things to come. He is still some distance from his best that we once recognized.
4. Juan Mata (£9.7m, 11 pts): He is Chelsea's ace after all in Benitez's plans, so this is rather expected.
5. Adam Johnson (£6.7m, 11 pts): The lad is getting more playing time, but with no premium players around him his upside potential is limited.
6. Kenwyne Jones (£5.0m, 11 pts): The almost forgotten striker is getting regular playing time now. No harm to scout him.
7. Carlos Cuellar (£4.6m, 11 pts): With Sunderland getting tighter at the back recently, you might want to get him.
8. Kyle Naughton (£4.2m, 11 pts): If some long-term injury happens at Tottenham's best four he will get consistent playing minutes.

FEATURED: Everton v Chelsea @ Goodison Park
Both sides will have much to battle for as Chelsea visit to Goodison Park this Sunday.

The Blue Lions are now 4 points behind of second-placed Manchester City, with a game on hand. They will certainly need to get this game — not only to apply pressure to the Blue Moons, but also to avoid being chased up by the crowded pack behind, which include Everton.

Juan Mata will continue to be the focal point of Chelsea's attack if he is not rested like Eden Hazard (£9.6m, - pts) when playing against Norwich. The Belgian should really start and could be the main contributor again as usual. Fernando Torres (£9.8m, 2 pts) is the less attractive option compared to the former two but is also the most rotation prone one — he has started all Premier League games for Chelsea this season.

As for the Toffees, Marouane Fellaini (£7.4m, - pts) will serve the last of his three-game suspension so it will be up to the supporting cast such as Leon Osman (£6.3m, 10 pts) and Steven Pienaar (£6.8m, 2 pts) to craft the offence. Nikica Jelavic (£8.2m, 1 pts) had been silenced in the last three games, but Victor Anichebe (£4.3m, 5 pts) will be ready to help to provide the firepower if necessary.

I think Chelsea will continue to win, but not in an easy way.

Prediction: EVE 1-2 CHE

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester United
Manchester United will sit at Old Trafford again as they welcome the challenge of West Bromwich Albion.

Robin Van Persie (£13.9m, 9 pts) is fairly probable of being benched after two successive 90 minutes of action, though Wayne Rooney's (£11.9m, - pts) injury makes it hard for Sir Alex Ferguson to drop him. If you own him, you should continue to play him with confidence and pray for the best. Javier Hernandez (£6.9m, 10 pts) is on fire and should continue to earn SAF's trust — start him with confidence.

Unfortunately United's midfield provides little fantasy for your fantasy team with Shinji Kagawa (£7.9, - pts) just finished dating with the nurses and will only feature on the bench at best while the wingers are struggling to achieve compared to last season. Defensively their best four are quite pricey now, but Patrice Evra (£6.9m, 10 pts) has been very great offensively so far and might just earn your consideration despite his prohibitive price.

Old Trafford is always a hell for the visitors.

Prediction: MUN 2-0 WBA

PLAYER FOCUS: Suarez
The lad is having a slight injury but is expected to be fit for the match. You never know when Luis Suarez (£10.2m, 4 pts) is going to burst again and blast in some goals, but against QPR the chances are higher isn't it?

GAMEWEEK 20 DREAM TEAM

De Gea

Vidic — Huth — Zabaleta

 Michu — Cazorla — Mata  — Bale

Suarez (VC) — Van Persie (C) — Torres

Subs: Begovic — Walters —  Collins — Naughton

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Saturday Screamers: Cottagers Got Hammered

Kevin Nolan scored the first of the 3 goals against Fulham.

A not so expected Saturday match day with numerous surprising results. Here are some highlights:

• West Ham 3-0 Fulham. Big shock, as Fulham has shown great offensive prowess in the last 2 games but failed to score any goals this time.
• As for the Hammers, Matthew Taylor (£4.9m, 11 pts) and Kevin Nolan (£6.0m, 8 pts) led the show upfront, with Winston Reid (£4.5m, 12 pts) scoring one from behind.
• Andy Carroll (£8.4m, 2 pts) made an instant impact for the Hammers, but did not contribute any fantasy points other than playing minutes and limped off with an injury.
• Stoke City came from behind twice to salvage one point from DW Stadium. Jonathan Walters (£6.4m, 10 pts) and Peter Crouch (£6.0m, 9 pts) led the show with 1 goal and 1 assist.
• Michu (£7.1m, 7 pts) stroke a goal for Swansea yet again, but it was new signing Steven Fletcher (£7.0, 10 pts) who starred the match, scoring 2 goals for Sunderland to snatch 1 point away from Liberty Stadium.
• Everton failed to maintain their momentum as they lost 0-2 to West Brom. Gareth McAuley (£5.0m, 12 pts) scored a goal and maintained a clean sheet, which was great.
• On a side note, it's seems like Shane Long (£6.0m, 6 pts) will continue to lead West Brom's forward line despite Romelu Lukaku's (£6.5m) presence.
• Meanwhile, Andre Villas-Boas continues to disappoint as his side squandered yet another lead at White Hart Lane. New arrival Moussa Dembele (£6.0m, 6 pts) impressed the home crowd with a debut goal, only to be leveled by Robert Snodgrass' (£5.9m, 7pts) marvellous equaliser.
• Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.6m, 1 pt) did not start again, but I expect that to end sooner rather than later as he is a more complete package than Jermaine Defoe (£7.6m, 5 pts) despite the fact that Defoe delivered one assist today.

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FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City F.C.

The Potters new away kit in conjunction with the club's 150 years celebration.

 You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

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

Last Season: Quiet
Compared to the time where they have just joined the Premier League, Stoke City really looked anonymous last season. They played boringly, and had always been in the "unfocused" region of the league table (they finished the campaign 14th). Their trademark long throws were not as "fresh" as before as well.

This Summer: Quiet
The Potters signed Michael Kightly from Wolverhampton Wanderes and 21-year-old former Rangers midfielder Jamie Ness joined as a free agent, but otherwise things have been very quiet at Britannia, with no other new signings going in and only fringe and young players heading out. Ricardo Fuller is possibly the only man that Premier League fans may know in Stoke's exit list.

Upcoming Season: Quiet?
There aren't any big changes happening at Stoke City, so it's really hard to expect something special to happen there next season. With more and more midtable clubs spending money like nobody's business, the Potters have to be careful to not fall into the quicksand of relegation.

Walters' historical stats.

Gun In the Hole: Walters (FI: 0.506)
Being just a semi-starter two seasons back, Jonathan Walters (£6.5m) was fully entrusted by Tony Pulis to play in the hole last season. He did not disappoint, and went on to become the team's second top scorer with 7 goals, behind Peter Crouch (£6.5m).

With Crouch remain to be the only reliable striker they have, Walters should continue to play at his best position behind the towering lad. He may be the next Dempsey in the making - the American also start his career at Fulham from zero to hero.

Bright Start: Kightly (FI: N/A)
Michael Kightly (£5.5m) was tipped by FPLZ as the next fantasy hot pick during when Wolves first promoted to the Premier League, but things had gone oddly and he failed to shine, registering not even 2000 minutes over the last 3 seasons.

He only needed 134 seconds on the pitch to declare himself as a Stoke City player though, as he scored his first goal for his new club against SpVgg Greuther Furth in pre-season friendly. It's still hard to say how he will do in the league this season, but as one of the Championship best player seasons ago, he surely has the quality to shine.

Source of Creativity: Etherington (FI: 0.475)
Although not showy, Matthew Etherington (£6.5m) has been very consistent in FPL for the last 3 seasons, thanks to his high quality passing especially in set pieces. In fact, becoming the primary set piece taker of the team is a big factor for him to score for at least 120 points for the last 3 seasons.

With not much of good firepower upfront, the Potters will need to continue to rely on him to deliver. A dependable man who can deliver a good amount of fantasy points.

Tough Man: Shawcross (FI: 0.443)
Ryan Shawcross (£5.0m) was a hit when Stoke first joined the Premier League, but his price surge have made him a less popular figure in FPL.

The English defender is an tough man to beat, and is good at winning headers to score goals. Stoke will need to better their defensive record though, to make Shawcross a good fantasy defender to own.

Towering Presence: Crouch (FI: 0.467)
Peter Crouch (£6.5m) has always been a iconic figure in the Premier League ever since his time at Southampton, thanks to his height. Though not at a very prolific rate, the lad has a dependable goal record at every club he has played for, which is what Stoke sickly need.

Crouch ranked 10th last season in terms of fantasy points in the list of forwards. Not too bad with his price, but with the front pack of forwards all scoring crazy amount of points, fantasy managers may not feel comfortable to satisfy with a budget performer in their line-up.

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