Sunday Aftermath: Chicharito's Fury

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

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

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

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 9 Fantasy Preview

Another early goodbye for Joe Hart and co?

Only Manchester United managed to win in Champions League among Premier League clubs this midweek as Manchester City are on the verge of group stage elimination for 2 seasons in a row after scoring only 1 point in 3 games. A big humiliation for the Premier League champions, I suppose.

GAMEWEEK 8 TOP SCORERS

1. Juan Mata (£9.1m, 18 pts): Clearly the unstoppable man at the moment. You might want to consider swapping him with Eden Hazard (£10.3m, 9 pts) as he is much cheaper.
2. Mark Noble (£4.8m, 15 pts): Definitely a decent footballer who can provide occasional goals and assists, but such a high scoring gameweek will be a "once in a blue moon" event in my opinion.
3. Chris Baird (£4.4m, 15 pts): Started for 5 straight games already in Premier League. Could be a decent pick, though you shouldn't hope for much offensive points like last gameweek.
4. Wayne Rooney (£11.8m, 14 pts): The birthday boy is on fire. Seems to be more valuable than Robin Van Persie (£13.4m, 11 pts) who provide similar production at cheaper price.
5. Kevin Nolan (£6.5m, 12 pts): A solid season-long pick who can provide consistent production plus good upside potential. Grab him before he becomes too expensive to own.

FEATURED: Chelsea v Manchester United @ Stamford Bridge
The 6-point brawl in the title race will commence this Sunday as league leaders Chelsea face second-placed Manchester United at their homeground.

The Blues conceded their first defeat of the season in Champions League encounter against Shaktar Donetsk. A shocking one, but things are quite different as Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United definitely have a very leaky defence, being conceded first in 8 of their 11 matches this season. Unfamiliar trait from the Red Devils, with Chelsea looking forward to exploit.

Juan Mata and Eden Hazard are your best bet as always, with Fernando Torres (£10.0m, 2 pts) a slight risk with his unpredictable form. Frank Lampard (£8.6m, 1 pt) is a doubt after limping off with an injury in Champions League fixture — Hazard should be the primary penalty taker then.

On the other side Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie continue to be the main pillars of the club. Unfortunately Shinji Kagawa (£8.3m, 0 pt) is doubtful with a knee injury, which means that the formation identical to the last match — Rooney playing along with Van Persie and Danny Welbeck (£8.0m, 10 pts) in a three-pronged set-up — could be adopted again.

Tough one to call, but I think Chelsea elites should be able to take advantage of United's defensive crisis.

Prediction: CHE 2-1 MUN

TEAM FOCUS: Arsenal
Arsenal have lost both of their last two games and scored none in both, but I think that will end this weekend as they host Queens Park Rangers who lay deep bottom of the table.

Santi Cazorla (£9.5m, 2 pts) continues to top my list of Arsenal players — a goal plus an assist is highly probable for the Spaniard this gameweek. Lukas Podolski (£8.6m, 2 pts) meanwhile is the man you can trust up front, with Olivier Giroud (£8.4m, 2 pts) and Yao Gervinho (£7.6m, 2 pts) the less popular options.

Defensive wise a clean sheet is quite possible so there's no wrong investing on the likes such as Carl Jenkinson (£5.2m, 2 pts) and Vito Mannone (£4.6m, 2 pts).

Prediction: ARS 3-0 QPR

PLAYER FOCUS: Bale
A very delicious fantasy cuisine for this gameweek, definitely. Gareth Bale (£9.5m, - pt), who just became a father last week, will definitely be looking forward to bombard Southampton's defence to embrace his child. Solid, solid captain pick of the week.

Dimitar Berbatov (£7.0m, 2 pts) will face Reading this week, and I have no reason to believe that why he won't score.

GAMEWEEK 9 DREAM TEAM

Manonne

Riise — Coloccini — Baines

Cazorla (VC) — Nolan — Hazard — Bale (C)

Tevez —  Podolski — Berbatov

Subs: Guzan — Duff —  McCartney — Wisdom

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Sunday Aftermath: Mata's Madness

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

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

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

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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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Saturday Screamers: Swans and Cottagers on Fire

19 points in his Premier League debut? Dream start.

The first round of Premier League games this season have ended, and what an incredible start we have! Here are some highlights:

• Swansea won 5-0 against QPR. It looks like the Swans will continue to impress under Michael Laudrup's regime as new signing Michu (£6.5m) marked his name with 2 goals and 1 assist. Don't say I didn't tell you about Michu's fantasy potential before as he should become one of the super bargain this season. Nathan Dyer (£5.5m) also delivered 2 goals, which was impressive.
• Also winning 5-0 are Fulham against Norwich. Mladen Petric (£6.0m) carried forward his fine form since pre-season with 2 goals and 1 assist, just like Michu. I've also covered him in my pre-season previews and he should become a season bargain as well. No Dempsey, but who cares?
• Liverpool seem like a cursed team as they lost woefully to West Brom by 3 goals. Zoltan Gera (£5.0m) scored a goal of the season candidate, but it was Liverpool's unorganized offence and porous defence that caught my attention more.
• The first Premier League game of Arsenal in post-RVP era has ended goalless. Santi Cazorla (£9.0m) has impressed the fans though with his footwork.
• Reading's first of the two games for this gameweek ended with a draw thanks to Adam Le Fondre's (£5.0m) penalty in the ending minutes. Pavel Pogrebnyak (£5.0m) failed to score, which is disappointing.
• West Ham won 1-0 with Kevin Nolan (£6.0m) scoring. The midfielder should be the club's main fantasy contributor as expected.

FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: The Promoters

The Promoters: Reading, Southampton and West Ham

The promoters with their new kit this season.
From left: Mikele Leigertwood (Reading), Rickie Lambert (Southampton) and Kevin Nolan (West Ham).

Overview

It's good to see them back, honestly. Reading, Southampton and West Ham are all old brands in English football and have large fan bases. Southampton fans will be extremely happy after being away from Premier League since 2005.

Survival will definitely be their primary objective this season, but it is hard to see the likelihood of each of them so survive with so many new faces around, though West Ham are still mainly composed by old faces such as Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Carlton Cole.

Reading: Pogrebnyak, Le Fondre, McAnuff, Guthrie
Reading have acquired some interesting players this summer, and one of them is Pavel Pogrebnyak (£5.0m). The Russian joined Fulham last season and recorded an astonishing record of 6 goals in just 943 minutes of action. With his ridiculously low price of £5.0m, he is definitely a steal.

Adam Le Fondre (£5.0m) is Pogrebnyak's partner upfront, and was the key in bringing Reading back to the top-flight league with 12 goals last season. A value for money forward, though I believe he is more susceptible to rotation especially when Brian McDermott decides to play 4-5-1, since Pogrebnyak is a more natural lone striker.

Jobi McAnuff (£5.5m) is another key man who brings the Royals to the premiership this season, contributing 5 goals and 11 assists in the process. His price seems a little bit pricier than his Pogrebnyak and Le Fondre when their fantasy value seems similar, though he is the best Reading midfielder to get in my opinion.

Danny Guthrie (£4.5m) did not get a lot of playing time at Newcastle, but I think he will get it at Madejski Stadium. Though not flashy, the midfielder is dependable, and can deliver goals and assists occasionally. A good choice as your fifth midfielder.

Southampton: Lambert, Lallana, Clyne

Scoring 25 goals last season, Rickie Lambert (£6.0m) is the ace of the Saints, and has scored 78 goals in 132 appearances for Southampton. The lad has great physical build and exceptional penalty taking ability (he still has 100% record with the club), so one would expect him to deliver some good value from his price.

Adam Lallana (£6.0m) is the second most important man behind Lambert for Southampton's return to the Premier League, recording 11 goals and 10 assists. Nothing too impressive, but a good figure nonetheless, although his £6.0m valuation doesn't seem like a good bargain compared to Lambert who is valued at the same price.

Named as a member in League Championship 2011/12 Team of the Year, Nathaniel Clyne (£4.0m) has shown great talents in the age of just 21. Though he has no great goal and assist statistics, but he is still very young, and the price of £4.0m fits perfectly as your fifth defender.

West Ham: Nolan, Vaz Te, Noble, McCartney, Maiga, Cole
We have a lot of old-time fantasy favourites at West Ham. Kevin Nolan (£6.0m) hit his prime when he was Newcastle, and was then bought by West Ham, which relegated during the time. Nolan is a great attacking midfielder - 12 goals last season at the Championship shows that.

Ricardo Vaz Te (£5.5m) has shown great efficiency last season, scoring 12 goals in just 18 appearances for the club. A good budget forward to get, though he threatens to quit the club should the right offer comes as he is unsatisfied with his wage.

Mark Noble (£5.0m) is a good candidate for 5th midfielder, with a track record of 8 goals and 9 assists last season. He played consistently under Sam Allardyce last season, you need not to worry about him rotting in the bench.

The Hammers acquired the service of George McCartney (£4.0m) this summer, and you can acquire his service too at a bargain price of £4.0m. One of the best £4.0m defender you can get in FPL this season.

Forward Modibo Maiga (£5.5m) is another man that Big Sam landed this summer. The forward has a decent track record at Sochaux (24 goals in 59 appearances), you one would expect him to challenge for the forward spot at Boleyn Ground.

Carlton Cole (£5.5m) is an old name in fantasy, and has a decent goal record, though not really impressive. His playing minutes is hindering him from getting good fantasy scores, but to include him in your fantasy team can be beneficial when the time is right.

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