Merry Christmas: Gameweek 17 & 18 Fantasy Previews

Defenders period: Hectic fixtures usually create more clean sheets.

Overview
The fast and furious Christmas fixtures will begin and results from this period will be certainly crucial to both Premier League and fantasy teams. Spend your wild card if necessary. You wouldn't want to lose over 100 points to your rivals in less than 2 weeks.

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Game of the Week (Gw 17): TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v CHELSEA

Petr Cech was partly responsible
for Wigan's equaliser last week.

The battle for third, the battle for the top team in London. Tottenham will be waiting over at their home ground to fire porous Chelsea's defence with their great attacking talents.

The Blues were surprisingly held draw by Wigan last Saturday thanks to ridiculous mistakes by the whole defensive unit of theirs. Still not the team you can trust on defensively.

Thus, Andre Villas-Boas can only rely on attack to compensate for their defensive problems. Sturridge has been in good and ultra consistent form (amazingly consistent for a youngster of his age) and will be relied upon again to earn league points for Chelsea alongside with resurgent Drogba and tricky Mata.

But Tottenham will be hopeful to bag the three points. Players such as Adebayor, Van der Vaart, Bale and Lennon are all on form and should terrorise Chelsea's defence at ease. It will be a classic victory for Spurs in my opinion.

Prediction: TOT 3-1 CHE
Pick: Adebayor, Bale, Van der Vaart, Sturridge
Drop: CHE defence


Fantasy Game of the Week (Gw 17): WIGAN v LIVERPOOL

Bellamy's second spell at
Liverpool is currently a
success.

Wigan will hope to repeat their feat against Chelsea but it won't be easy against resolute Liverpool's defence.

The Reds boast the best defence in Premier League, conceding only 13 goals. Barring the terrible 0-4 defeat against Tottenham, they had never conceded more than a goal to any opponents. With Agger and Skrtel currently forming the best CB partnership in the league, it's a big task for Wigan to score against them.

Offensively, Liverpool are doing pretty well too. Bellamy is clearly enjoying his second stint at Anfield and is combining very well with Suarez. A dangerous man in offence.

Jordi Gomez has scored 4 goals in the last 5 games, but I believe that tally will not be improved in this game.

Prediction: WIG 0-2 LIV
Pick and Captain: Bellamy, Suarez
Pick: Adam, LIV defence
Drop: WIG defence



Pick and Drop (Gw 17)
Pick and Captain:

1. Van Persie - Clearly Villa is on a slump for him to take advantage from.

Pick:

1. Ba - Played a fabulous but unlucky game last week. He should get something this time.
2. Rooney - He scored, and scored again, and should score again for three games in a row.
3. Valencia - Played very well and should start again.
4. Yakubu - Bolton looks very terrible now and he should really score one or two.
5. Holt - Find his form at the Championship.
6. Aguero/ Silva - Without Shawcross it will be less organized at Stoke's backline.

Drop:

1. AST defence - Not resolute enough to hold Gunners.
2. Shawcross - Suspended for his fifth yellow.
3. Cabaye - Also suspended for his fifth yellow.

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Game of the Week (Gw 18): SWANSEA v QUEENS PARK RANGERS

Michel Vorm is a nightmare
for every striker.

Two of the promoted teams will face each other as both teams will be looking forward to bolster their survival chances from their counterparts.

Swansea has been defensively magnificent at home and with Vorm never failed to impress with his superb reflexes. A tough challenge for Helguson and co to take on.

QPR is goalless for 2 consecutive games and I believe it will extend for yet another game. I am predicting a 0-0 score.

Prediction: SWA 0-0 QPR
Pick: SWA defence


Fantasy Game of the Week (Gw 18): LIVERPOOL v BLACKBURN

Jonjo Shelvey is only
£4.8m in fantasy.

Liverpool is treated with such kind Chirstmas games and thus they have only themselves to be blamed if they fail to get results from this one.

Blackburn still stuck deep deep within the relegation zone and it won't be helpful travelling to Anfield.

The Rovers might be able to struck a goal or two, but I believe it will be a total annihilation by the Reds.

Prediction: LIV 3-0 BLA
Pick and Captain: Bellamy, Suarez
Pick: Adam, Downing, LIV defence
Drop: BLA defence

Pick and Drop (Gw 18)

Pick and Captain:

1. Van Persie - Should really blast the Wolves.
2. Rooney/ Nani - Wigan wouldn't be able to hold in form United.
3. Silva/ Aguero - West Brom's defence is just too shaky.
4. Adebayor - Surely Norwich's backline won't be able to break all the supply points to him.

Pick:

1. Walters/ Crouch - Both are offensive pillars of Stoke.
2. Larsson - His set pieces are always a threat.
3. MUN defence - Ferdinand is showing some great form.

Drop:

1. WIG defence - It's such a problematic line to be exploited by Man Utd.
2. WBA defence  - Another problematic line like Wigan's.
3. BOL players - Out of form at the moment.

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Transfer Traffic
Green light (buy):

1. Bellamy - Gained Dalglish's trust and is performing well at the moment.
2. Jones - Plays like a warrior and scores occasional goals.
3. SWA defence - A good place to search for cheap and effective fourth or fifth defender.
4. Sturridge - Incredibly consistent for his low asking price.
5. Adebayor - Ultimately influential upfront.
6. LIV defence - Great fixtures awaiting for the next two weeks.
7. MUN defence - Great fixtures awaiting too.
8. Valencia - Locking his place against competition from Ashley Young.
9. Holt - Found some superb form.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Suarez - Whether he gets suspended or not is the key of buying or selling him.
2. Agbonlahor - Losing the sharpness recently.
3. Ruiz - Broke his duck and could get some scoring streak on.

Red light (sell):

1. BOL players - In a big slump.
2. Schwarzer - Injured.

Gameweek 17 Dream Team

Krul

Enrique -- Vermaelen -- Kompany -- Simpson

Adam -- Valencia -- Silva

Bellamy -- Adebayor (VC) -- Van Persie (C)

Subs: Vorm -- Larsson -- Drenthe -- Evans

Gameweek 18 Dream Team

Vorm

Enrique -- Jones -- Vermaelen

Adam -- Nani -- Silva -- Larsson

Van Persie (C) -- Bellamy -- Rooney (VC)

Subs: Sorensen -- Walters -- Neil Taylor -- Simpson

Yak-Trick: Gameweek 14 Fantasy Review [Express Edition]

Yakubu's quadruple has earned Steve Kean vital three points.

Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea
Well Luiz's should have been awarded a red card in the early stage of the stage, and that have changed the whole complexion of the game.

It's good to see Drogba returning with a decisive opener, while Lampard will definitely considering his future knowing that his time with the Blues is coming short.

On the other side, Demba Ba continues to be threatening. Superb. However, 2 of their back four are now injured - might be a big hit to their rock solid defence. Nonetheless, Krul will still be magnificent despite that.

Pick: Krul, Ba, Sturridge
Watch: Drogba
Drop: Lampard, Luiz


Blackburn 4-2 Swansea
No one could have expect 4 goals from Yakubu. Splendid. A great result that come at right time.

Given forthcoming fixtures, he's a good short term pick.

Pick: Yakubu


Man City 5-1 Norwich
Aguero should really did better. While his goal was a brilliant magic, the chances he squandered had frustrated a lot of fantasy managers. Maybe it's the right time to jump across the ship for Van Persie.

The points distribution are really too widespread this time around, making City players less attractive.

Watch: Aguero


QPR 1-1 West Brom
Helguson was once again the scorer for QPR. Pretty amazing given that he was only the Neil Warnock's third choice at the beginning of the season.

On the other side, Long scored again. Very prolific at such young age.

Pick: Helguson
Watch: Long


Tottenham 3-0 Bolton
The flanks are functioning fantastically for Tottenham at the moment. Bale and Lennon are simply too swift to handle. Could have won by 7-8 goals if not for Jaaskelainen's greatness.

Gary Cahill was unlucky anyway to concede such an terrible red card decision.

Pick: Bale, Lennon
Drop: Cahill


Wigan 0-4 Arsenal
Nothing too surprising. Van Persie continues to dominate the offence, and Vermaelen's offensive ability as a centre back is just supreme.

Pick: Van Persie, Vermaelen, Walcott
Watch: Gervinho, Arteta
Drop: WIG players


Aston Villa 0-1 Man Utd
Hernandez was injured - the only striker with his scoring boots on is down. Bad news.

The win was yet again unconvincing and I really wonder how possibly can they continue to pick up points with such terrible form.

Drop: MUN offence


Everton 0-1 Stoke City
Disappointing result for Moyes. It does wonder me why were Everton trying non-stop to attack via crosses when Stoke players are all so tall.

Drop: EVE players


Wolves 2-1 Sunderland
Fantastic acting by Larsson but he inability to score the penalty has brought a calamitous result to Martin O'Neill's debut.

Fletcher and Doyle played together again finally and the results? Perfect.

Pick: Fletcher


Fulham 1-0 Liverpool
Lucas out for season, two shots reflected off the frame (again), Spearing sent off, Suarez investigated for his middle finger... Nothing's really going for Liverpool.

At this stage, the Reds still didn't managed to play like a team with free-flowing passes. Pretty hard to believe they can achieve their Champions League aspirations.

Watch: Murphy
Drop: LIV offence

Gameweek 14 Fantasy Preview

Gary Speed (1969-2011)

Overview
Shocking news earlier this week as one of the Premier League legends, Gary Speed, was found dead at his home following his suicide. Big loss.

Carling Cup Review
So Liverpool will meet Manchester City at the semis after killing off Chelsea twice at Stamford Bridge in just 9 days. Crazy fixtures. In the other end we will see Championship sides Cardiff and Crystal Palace facing against each other. It's surprising to not see Manchester United in the last four list.

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

1. Everton (STO, @ARS, NOR, SWA, @SUN,  @BLA, BOL) - Pretty lenient ones in the midst of hellish calendar month. Be sure to monitor on Baines, Drenthe and supersub Vellios.
2. Liverpool (@FUL, QPR, @AST, @WIG, BLA, NEW, @MCI) - Shouldn't be too much of troubles defensively. If they can convert the chances more efficiently they should be able to slide into fourth place.
3. Man Utd (@AST, WOL, @QPR, @FUL, WIG, BLA, @NEW) - A good platform to improve their form... Hopefully they will.
4. Sunderland (@WOL, BLA, @TOT, @QPR, EVE, MCI, @WIG) - Loads of bottom team for them to earn some solid league points.
5. Swansea (@BLA, FUL, @NEW, @EVE, QPR, TOT, @AST) - A crucial period to book their survival place in the Prem.
6. Tottenham (BOL, @STO, SUN, CHE, @NOR, @SWA, WBA) - Great fixtures to lift them nearer to the league leaders.

In hell run:

1. Aston Villa (MUN, @BOL, LIV, ARS, @STO, @CHE, SWA) - Extremely tough to handle, especially when the compact festive games are coming.
2. Chelsea (@NEW, MCI, @WIG, @TOT, FUL, AST, @WOL) - The tough string of games won't help them to regain their form and confidence.
3. Fulham (LIV, @SWA, BOL, MUN, @CHE, @NOR, ARS) - All the teams they face have at least some decent attacking force, if not great.
4. Wigan (ARS, @WBA, CHE, LIV, @STO, SUN, @MCI) - Might be an early death sentence on Martinez and his team.

Game of the Week: NEWCASTLE v CHELSEA

Ben Arfa will cause big
trouble to Chelsea's defence.

It's going to be a tough month for Andre Villas-Boas as he will continue to play against tough oppositions in what that might become his job-deciding matches. St. James' Park is his first destination for Chelsea this month (hopefully not his last).

Newcastle played yet another solid game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, conceding only due to some bad luck. While the penalty was controversial, I simply wouldn't deny the fact that they deserve to take something from Old Trafford. Impressive.

The back four who started for every league games together should play together again - expect superb fortress-like defence which is further solidify with the presence of Krul. I rate the Dutch stopper now on par with Vorm and Hart as the league's toughest keeper to pass through. Up front we shall see Ben Arfa and Demba Ba creating havoc again and perhaps score a goal or two together.

On the other side, Chelsea are losing the cutting edge they have seasons before, and their results against the top sides were all but defeats this season. Losing twice at Stamford Bridge against the same side Liverpool certainly isn't a healthy sign for AVB's squad form. Terrible.

Defence has always been the fatal point of the Blues - many goals conceded were due to silly mistakes of the defenders. Attack isn't too sharp neither, with Sturridge, Mata and Lampard the only three reliable finishing points to score goals.

It's going to be close again, and I think the Magpies' work rate as a team should give AVB a worthwhile lesson.

Prediction: NEW 1-0 CHE
Pick: Ben Arfa
Drop: CHE defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v NORWICH

Show time for Aguero again?

Manchester City might have lost the mighty form they had a month or two before, but at home against Norwich it's certainly too hard to resist.

Aguero and Silva are still two of the best fantasy performers - make them your captain and you will most probably get well rewarded with 10++ points. Mouth-watering picks.

Defensively it's not that formidable as before, but you shall still play your Kompany and/or Richards if you own them with them playing at home.

Should be solid win for City at least. Would be a big headline if Norwich are able to escape from Etihad.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 NOR
Pick and Captain: Aguero, Silva
Pick: MCI defence
Drop: NOR players


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

1. Adebayor - Bolton is quite easy for him I suppose.
2. Van Persie - A big yes against one of the worst side of the Premier League.

Pick:

1. Walcott/ Ramsey - Should provide big threat to Wigan
2. Agbonlahor - To take advantage against off-form Man Utd.
3. Bellamy - In great form, though not that sure to start the game.

Drop:

1. WIG defence - Never a decent pick.
2. MUN defence - Not sure how they can hold Agbonlahor and Bent.

Transfer Traffic
Green light (buy):

1. Bale - Stacking up points in the speed of light.
2. Mata - Even if everyone in Chelsea is unpickable, he won't be.
3. Ben Arfa - Continues to impress me with his superior influence in Newcastle's attack.
4. Adebayor - Well supplied to score goals.
5. EVE defence - Three of the next four games at home.
6. Krul - Such a fantastic goalkeeper.

Yellow light (watch):

1. LIV defence - Surely Lucas' absence for the rest of the season is going to adversely affect them.
2. Bellamy - If he can just lock down a place from Dalglish's first XI, he will be a sure fire pick.
3. Aguero - With City's form declining, it's not that sure to own him now.

Red light (drop):

1. MUN players - Players are severely disjointed. Stay away until they regain their form.
2. Balotelli - His stupidity will hinder you from harvesting points from him.

Gameweek 14 Dream Team

Krul

Jagielka -- Richards -- Walker

Bale -- Ben Arfa -- Walcott -- Silva

Van Persie -- Aguero (C) -- Adebayor (VC)

Subs: Vorm -- Barton -- Luke Young -- Simpson

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