Kick-Off: Gameweek 33 Fantasy Preview

One goal per game in this double gameweek?

It's the much anticipated double gameweek craze! Are you ready for this do or die moment? Teams with two games in hand this week include:

• Manchester United
• West Ham
• Arsenal
• Everton
• Fulham

FEATURED: Arsenal v Everton @ Emirates
With just four points separate this two teams apart, this direct match-up could proved to be decisive at the end of the season.

The Gunners will face Norwich at home before facing the Toffees at the same venue again, so it presents a great chance to harvest from their players. Santi Cazorla (£10.1m, 2 pts) is the obvious pick undoubtedly as he carries the team forward with Theo Walcott (£8.6m, - pts) still not returning to his full fitness. At the back Lukasz Fabianski (£4.3m, 3 pts) represents great value with his alluringly low price.

On the other side, Everton are facing Queens Park Rangers before this touch encounter so their players are worth your investment this week too. Marouane Fellaini (£7.4m, - pts) is definitely what you should be getting, though it gives no harm to give Leighton Baines (£7.7m, 4 pts) and Leon Osman (£6.5m, 2 pts) their chances too.

I think Cazorla will shine in this one and Arsenal will take over Tottenham's fourth place at the end of this gameweek.

Prediction: ARS 2-1 EVE

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester United
The title could well been decided but I see no reason why the Red Devils won't go into full throttle in this double gameweek with no other trophies to hunt.

Robin Van Persie (£13.6m, 2 pts) looks to have used up his quota of excellence at the moment but a 13-14 mil fantasy striker surely has the quality of bouncing back. It could be this gameweek and you never know.

But until then, Wayne Rooney (£12.0m, 1 pts) looks to be the safer and more consistent option currently for you to reap the rewards in this double gameweek.

At the back, all are prone to some degree of rotation except David De Gea (£5.8m, 1 pt) — if United can get two clean sheets he is the one who is most possible to max the points out.

Prediction: STO 1-2 MUN, WHU 0-2MUN


PLAYER FOCUS: Berbatov
Keep calm and pass your fantasy scoring burden to Dimitar Berbatov (£7.4m, form: 8) — he is so in form at the moment and such double gameweek can really only help his cause.

GAMEWEEK 33 DREAM TEAM

Fabianski

Baines — Ferdinand — Sagna

Silva — Gerrard — Cazorla (C) — Fellaini

Berbatov — Rooney — Carroll

Subs: Schwarzer — Osman — Riether — Demel

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 26 Fantasy Preview

Meet Newcastle's latest super value buy Moussa Sissoko.

I'll make it short as I am on holiday mood now, so let's begin!

FEATURED: Manchester United v Everton @ Old Trafford
Old Trafford it's never a heaven for the visitors, and Everton will have a tough time dealing with it.

Marouane Fellaini (£7.8m, 15 pts) did great last gameweek scoring 2 goals for the Toffees, but is classified as 75% playing by the FPL committee. You should start him with confidence anyway if you own him. Leighton Baines (£7.6m, 4 pts) is another man to consider, having scored 43 fantasy points in the past five games.

Nevertheless, I think it's the usual Manchester United show with both Wayne Rooney (£11.9m, 8 pts) and Robin Van Persie (£14.1m, 5 pts) in superb form. However, there are some rotation risks with Real Madrid on Sir Alex Ferguson's mind.

A Manchester United win for me.

Prediction: MUN 2-1 EVE

TEAM FOCUS: Liverpool's Double Gameweek
Two straight home games for Liverpool in this double gameweek, and you know what to do.

Luis Suarez (£10.8m, 2 pts) did not lose his popularity despite the rise of Daniel Sturridge (£7.7m, 5 pts) — he shouldn't lose it anyway with his great consistency and versatility. Definitely the best pick from Liverpool. Sturridge is as great as Suarez with his lower price but is a slight doubt for the first game.

At the midfield Jordan Henderson (£5.4m, 1 pt) is doing impressively well in recent weeks and could crack something out of the two matches. Steven Gerrard (£9.7m, 10 pts) is enjoying his second youth currently with his outstanding performance and could hit the 200-point milestone again. Great picks.

They could harvest some defensive points too, so getting one of their defenders will not look silly. Bear in mind they will not play the next gameweek though.

Prediction: LIV 3-1 WBA, LIV 2-0 SWA

PLAYER FOCUS: Mata
Chelsea need to bounce back from their dismal form, and Juan Mata (£10.1m, 9 pts) surely is their best bet to do so. Against Wigan it shouldn't be tough.

GAMEWEEK 26 DREAM TEAM

Tremmel

Enrique — Walker — Davies

 Mata — Gerrard (VC) — Michu — Bale

Suarez (C) — Aguero — Van Persie

Subs: Cesar — Snodgrass —  Cameron — Bertrand

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 25 Fantasy Preview

Are you kidding me? Queens Park Rangers bought defender Christopher Samba for a club record of £12.5m. I do not mean to humiliate Samba, but this is a freaking ridiculous price.

The winter transfer window ended with Queens Park Rangers' unbelievable £12.5m record deal for experienced ex-Premier League defender Christopher Samba. QPR certainly look more and more desperate in their struggling journey to survive at the Premier League.

Other notable transfers include Nacho Monreal's arrival at the Emirates Stadium as well as Danny Graham's switch to Stadium of Light. Let's just see how these new crop of players fare with their new clubs.

GAMEWEEK 24 HIGHLIGHTS

• Manchester United re-extended their lead to 7 points after a narrow victory over Southampton. Wayne Rooney (£11.8m, 13 pts) was the hero, having scored both goals for United.
• Manchester City meanwhile were held goalless at Loftus Road as QPR collected another famous point to keep their survival hopes alive.
• Luis Suarez (£10.5m, 6 pts) and Jordan Henderson (£5.3m, 12 pts) combined to give Liverpool a two-goal lead at the Emirates but in-form Theo Walcott (£9.5m, 8 pts) and Olivier Giroud (£7.9m, 11 pts) helped to salvage a point for Arsenal.

GAMEWEEK 24 TOP SCORERS

1. Leighton Baines (£7.5m, 17 pts): A couple of goals from the Toffees' defender made it 39 points from his last 4 games. Fixtures are still pretty favourable for him in the next 3 games.
2. Juan Mata (£10.1m, 14 pts): His heroics wasn't enough to take 3 points for Chelsea. Proceed with caution as the lad is doubtful against Newcastle with his ankle injury.
3. James McArthur (£5.4, 13 pts): He was involved in both goals of Wigan. Never look to be a fantasy prospect anyway.
4. Wayne Rooney (£11.8m, 13 pts): Back on fire but I am still skeptical of his playing minutes as well as influence when compared to Robin Van Persie (£14.1m, 2 pts).
5. Jordan Henderson  (£5.3m, 12 pts): 22 points from the last 2 games as the young midfielder is on the way to leave the "flop" tag behind him.

FEATURED: Manchester City v Liverpool @ Etihad
Another tough game for Liverpool as they visit to Etihad in their tough quest for a top four finish.

City drew against QPR last week and will look to not repeat such embarrassment against the Reds. Mario Balotelli has left to AC Milan for good and helps to increase the playing minutes of Sergio Aguero (£10.9m, 2 pts), Carlos Tevez (£8.9m, 2 pts) and Edin Dzeko (£7.5m, 1 pt). Not sure which two of them will start up front though, with David Silva (£9.5m, 3 pts) for sure will provide the needed support for them.

Jordan Henderson is the hot man for the Reds but the arrival of Phillipe Coutinho (£6.5m) should restrict his playing minutes sooner rather than later. The more reliable and less susceptible to rotation player is of course Luis Suarez (£10.5m, 6 pts) who can play and perform equally well at any position at the front four.

It's going to be a tough match, but I guess Vincent Kompany's (£7.1m, - pts) will prove to be a hard time for Roberto Mancini's side.

Prediction: MCI 1-1 LIV

TEAM FOCUS: Tottenham
Tottenham have not won in their last three Premier League fixtures, and that's too long.

West Brom are even worst with their 5 game victory-less streak, and that presents a big chance for Gareth Bale (£9.8m, 8 pts), Jermaine Defoe (£8.2m, 5 pts) and Aaron Lennon (£7.3m, 2 pts) to shine. New arrival Lewis Holtby (£7.5m) could get his time too after debuting against Norwich at Carrow Road earlier this week.

Prediction: WBA 1-3 TOT

PLAYER FOCUS: Giroud
It's hard to overlook Olivier Giroud (£7.9m, 11 pts) as he bursts into incredible form after a miserable first half of the season. Against Stoke, he will be the towering presence to pierce through the high physical defence of Tony Pulis' team.

GAMEWEEK 25 DREAM TEAM

Mignolet

Samba — Evra — Baines

 Mata — Bale (VC) — Fellaini — Walcott

Van Persie (C) — Fletcher — Giroud

Subs: Cesar — Henderson —  Bertrand — Bramble

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Sunday Aftermath: Howard Webb's School of Referees

Welcome our next graduate from Howard Webb's academy.

I am simply amused with Premier League's referee standard as Manchester United kept benefiting from such ridiculous officiating. Here are some highlights on last weekend's game:

• Robin Van Persie (£13.4m, 12 pts) was undoubtedly the man of the match (barring the ref) as he was directly involved in 2 of Manchester United's goals. He definitely is showing some performance that matches his price tag.
• On the other side Juan Mata (£9.3m, 9 pts) continued his fabulous performance with a brilliantly curled free-kick goal. Just 3 points between him and Eden Hazard (£10.3m, 5 pts) now, as fantasy managers are more and more tempted to switch to the former and use the extra sterling elsewhere.
• At Goodison Park Luis Suarez (£9.7m, 8 pts) almost embarrassed David Moyes — who accused him as a diver — as he scored one (and another disallowed but legitimate goal) and created Leighton Baines' (£7.5m, 4 pts) own goal in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with their Merseyside rivals. Surprisingly though he did not get any bonus points.
• So Gareth Bale (£9.7m, 10 pts) did dedicate a goal for his newborn daughter as Tottenham claimed 3 points at St. Mary's Stadium. Clint Dempsey (£9.2m, 9 pts) was the other goalscorer as he seemed to pin down a starting spot in Andre Villas-Boas' squad already.
• Demba Ba (£8.4m, 8 pts) and Papiss Cisse (£8.9m, 6 pts) both scored a goal in Newcastle's victory over West Bromwich Albion, but it was Romelu Lukaku (£6.4m, 9 pts) who claimed 3 bonus points despite losing.
• The buy call on Carlos Tevez (£9.4m, 9 pts) is expected to back on rise again as the Argentinian continued to perform consistently and scored the only goal for Manchester City in their victory against Swansea.
• Bryan Ruiz (£5.8m, 11 pts) starred for Fulham in their exhilarating 3-3 draw against Reading, with fantasy hotcake Dimitar Berbatov (£7.1m, 6 pts) scoring a goal too in the process.
• Arsenal continue to struggle in getting goals, though at least this time Mikel Arteta (£7.7m, 11 pts) scored one for the Gunners and secured 3 points for them.
• Christian Benteke (£6.5m, 7 pts) started ahead of Darren Bent (£8.0m, 1 pt) for Aston Villa and did not disappoint as he recorded one goal for the home side in their draw against Norwich City.
• It's 3 clean sheets in 4 games for Stoke City as they played a goalless draw with Sunderland. The upcoming fixtures look good too, so you should really take a look at the Potters' defence.
• None of the usual fantasy faces scored in Wigan's 2-1 victory over West Ham United, which was disappointing and boring.

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Monday Mirror: Ba's Brilliance

Demba Ba on fire with 2 goals in just 45 minutes of action.

Interesting game at Goodison Park as we saw Demba Ba equalised twice to earn a point for Newcastle. Here are some of my notes:

• Demba Ba (£7.7m, 12 pts) blasted both goals for Newcastle and responded perfectly to Alan Pardew's decision to bench him. The striker is clearly furious though with his agent threatened to take Ba away from Newcastle if he continues to sit on the bench.
• On the other hand, Papiss Cisse (£9.3m, 2pts) continued his goalless streak, and made Alan Pardew's decision to start him instead of Ba a ridicule.
• Meanwhile, Leighton Baines (£7.1m, 9 pts) scored his second goal of the season and accumulated 7 bonus points already this season, as he highlighted to us the benefits of owning a high-end fantasy defender. Solid.
• Also on the scoresheet was Steven Pienaar (£6.6m, 7 pts), who shows good value to money so far and is capable to provide consistently in offence.
• Marouane Fellaini (£6.9m, 1 pt) on the other hand has reduced fantasy potential as predicted with Kevin Mirallas (£7.4m, 2pts) started alongside Nikica Jelavic (£8.5m, 1 pt) on yesterday night. Jelavic was subbed out with an injury nonetheless, so Fellaini could still play in an advanced role for a few gameweeks more.
• On Sunday we saw Gareth Bale (£9.3m, 11 pts) went on full throttle as Tottenham claimed their first victory of the season, crushing Reading 3-1.
• Jermaine Defoe (£7.6m, 9 pts) got the nod to start again ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.4m, 0 pts) and repaid Andre Villas-Boas' faith handsomely with 2 goals. Does Adebayor still have value fantasy wise? Pretty negative at the moment.
• Brad Friedel (£5.5m, 2 pts) continued to start ahead of Hugo Lloris (£6.0m, 0 pts), and it surely left us wondering why the French keeper was being bought at the first place.

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Monday Mirror: The "Fell" of the Red Devils

Maruonne Fellaini celebrating his goal with teammates Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar.

A shocking Monday night football saw Premier League runners-up Manchester United lost comprehensively to Everton, who are usually slow starters. Here are some brief notes:

• Marouane Fellaini (£6.5m) shone by scoring the only goal of the game. Not the usual fantasy suspects,  but he played very well and could be a good short-term acquisition.
• Also playing well was Leighton Baines (£7.0m). He was linked with a move to Old Trafford before, but it still doesn't materialise yet currently. He almost scored a goal through a free kick, which was tipped off by David de Gea (£6.0m).
• The Spanish goalkeeper looked much more like a top goalkeeper yesterday, making numerous fine saves. Can be a good season-long hold in your fantasy line-up.
• Wayne Rooney (£12.0m) played an unspectacular game to be honest, while Robin Van Persie (£13.0m) had too little time to make a good debut.
• I have emphasized a lot of times on United's central midfield weakness, but it seems like Sir Alex Ferguson is actually avoiding that issue and focused on building his already saturated forward line-up. What's the point of getting another forward when what you need is really a Lucas/Fellaini/Parker type of player? Time is irreversible, and Paul Scholes (£5.5m) won't get any younger by playing on the pitch.
• The Red Devils can consider themselves unlucky though, with so many centre backs (Ferdinand, Jones, Evans and Smalling) out injured, forcing Carrick and Valencia to fill the void at the back.

That's all for today. Don't forget we still have Chelsea v Reading tomorrow for gameweek 1. Stay tuned!

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