FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United F.C.

The Toons with their new away kit this season.

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

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

Last Season: Flying High
Alan Pardew is building himself a fascinating resume as he led Newcastle to finish the season in such a marvelous fashion. Fifth place was simply wonderfully overperforming for a club that have such limited financial resources. The Senegalese duo, Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse, deserve to take a huge share of credits for the Magpies' success for their superb goal rate.

This Summer: Some Changes
Romain Almafitano becomes the fifth French player in the current Newcastle line-up alongside Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa, Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan as he joins from Reims on a free transfer. Joining him at Sports Direct Arena (or St. James' Park?) is 18-year-old Gael Bigirimana from Coventry City and 19-year-old Curtis Good from Melbourne Heart.

The departure of Danny Guthrie is the more shocking news for me, as he played so well for the Magpies last season. Also left the club are Leon Best, Fraser Forster, Peter Lovenkrands and Alan Smith.

Upcoming Season: Flying Lower?
As of now Newcastle still offer a very competitive squad, but surely Ba and Cisse may leave anytime with their owner being very willing to let go of his players at good prices. They should still play in the upcoming season nonetheless, though I doubt the likelihood of reaching the height set during last season.

Cisse's goal rate.

Undisputed: Cisse (FI: 1.258)
It is hard to believe that he was a stranger for English football fans six months ago. Papiss Cisse (£9.5m) started his fantasy career at £7.0m, but it turned out to be such a big arbitrage opportunity - he just couldn't stop scoring goals. 13 Premier League goals in just 14 games (watch here) has made him one of the most incredible fantasy player ever, especially when he came with such a low price.

His price has shot high this season to £9.5m, but if Cisse can continue to score like nobody's business it is still a very profitable fantasy business.

Ba: Before and
after.

Sacrificed: Ba (FI: 0.739)
Demba Ba (£7.5m) had a wonderful season with the Magpies earlier last season, but that changed with the arrival of his compatriot Cisse. He had to played as a side player rather than his favourite central forward position, making his performance for the second half of the season deteriorated drastically.

With no major changes ongoing at Sports Direct Arena, it is hard to hope that Ba will revive this season, unless either other Premier League clubs can take advantage of his release clause or Cisse leaves Newcastle after just one half of fantastic season.

Anticipated: Ben Arfa (FI: 0.549)
Hatem Ben Arfa (£7.5m) always does very well when he is on the pitch - however he wasn't playing much last season.

He scored 100 points last season in just 1556 minutes (P90: 5.78, ranked second in Newcastle) - which indicates that he has got the potential to achieve a 200 point fantasy season if he can start regularly. Definitely one of the lad that you need to watch in this coming season, especially when he started regularly at the end of last season.

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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

Happy New Year: Gameweek 19 Fantasy Preview

A fresh one-match ban for Suarez will prevent him
from facing Newcastle.

Overview
Further drama on Suarez's incident as he will be facing a one-match ban against Newcastle following the middle finger incident at Craven's Cottage. Just one thing to note: Fulham is neither fined nor warned about their fans misconduct to constantly attack Suarez through chants. Such a fair English Fools Association.

Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v NEWCASTLE

Ben Arfa is one of the
cheapest fantasy commodity
with big gun prospects.

The battle for sixth. Two of the top tier defences across the league.

Liverpool has the worst home record among the top 7 despite being undefeated at Anfield, with draw rate as high as 66.7%. Certainly a stat that can boost Newcastle's morale. 11 home goals is also the worst of the top 7, so don't be surprised if the away team gets a clean sheet.

Suarez will not be available for this game (and perhaps the other 8 games to come) so expect at least one of Bellamy and Carroll to start upfront. The Geordie will face his old club again but it certainly won't be an easy game against the solid back four of Newcastle. Gerrard could also make it a start at Anfield - certainly the light of hope Liverpool needs.

On the other side, Demba Ba will continue to boss the front line and give Liverpool's defence a big test. Ben Arfa has played very well featuring from the bench last game and could as well start the game with Ba. Two delicious fantasy stocks.

Liverpool has historically done very well against the Magpies at home. The Reds should really end their unlucky streak already.

Prediction: LIV 2-1 NEW
Pick: Ba, Ben Arfa, Bellamy
Drop: Suarez


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER UNITED v BLACKBURN

Valencia performs consistently
regardless of whether he is
playing as RW or RB.

Sure, Blackburn had managed to draw Liverpool, but blame Liverpool for their poor chance conversion. Against Manchester United, they have no chance.

Two straight 5-0 victories have surely rocketed the morale of fellow Red Devils sky high. Both Nani and Rooney didn't play for a full 90 minutes game against Wigan - superb captain choices. Berbatov might start too after a spectacular hat-trick, but just don't bet on him yet.

A big victory again might just send Steve Kean to execution and bring United to the summit. Sorry Blackburn.

Prediction: MUN 4-0 BLA
Pick and Captain: Nani, Rooney
Pick: Valencia, MUN defence
Drop: BLA players


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

1. Van Persie - Might be rested, but nonetheless presents great scoring opportunity against QPR.
2. Bale - Hot and unstoppable, though Michel Vorm might stand on his way.

Pick:

1. Gervinho - In good form.
2. S. Fletcher - Against poor Bolton he should be able to do it again.
3. Sturridge/ Mata - The usual performer at Chelsea.
4. Holt - Norwich will put hopes on him to rebound from a defeat.
5. STO defence - Wigan has only scored 6 goals on the road this season.

Drop:

1. QPR defence - Arsenal hardly fails to score.
2. BOL players - In confidence crisis.
3. SWA defence - Looks impossible to stop Bale, Adebayor and Van der Vaart altogether.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Bale - Fabulous and unstoppable.
2. Nani/ Rooney/ Valencia - United on fire.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Berbatov - His superb form might rekindle Ferguson's interest to start him.
2. Lindegaard - Started for 2 straight league games and kept 2 straight clean sheets.
3. Carroll - Suarez to start his suspension soon so he will get his chance.

Red light (sell):

1. BOL players - Whoever they are, sell. Second round of hellish fixtures is near for them.
2. Adam - Played terribly recently with Gerrard returning.
3. Suarez - Suspension begun.

Gameweek 19 Dream Team

Lindegaard

Shawcross -- Vermaelen -- Enrique
Nani (VC) -- Bale -- Mata -- Silva
Rooney (C) -- Van Persie -- Sturridge

Subs: Sorensen -- Hoolahan -- Walker -- R Martin

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

Kick-Off: Gameweek 11 Fantasy Preview

Yaya Toure got a brace in Champions League match but hardly
sparkle in Premier League, yet.

Overview
Mixed fortunes in the Champions League as the Manchester (City and United) duo won comfortably while the London duo (Chelsea and Arsenal) had to satisfy with a draw. So no English clubs will get through early.

A couple of fantasy friendly matches will be commenced in this coming gameweek so make sure that you have enough coverage of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City players. Might be a gameweek with sky high average.

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

1. ARS (WBA, @NOR, FUL, @WIG, EVE, @MCI, @AST) - Easy enough for Van Persie to climb himself to the summit of fantasy.
2. BLA (CHE, @WIG, @STO, SWA, @SUN, WBA, BOL) - Pretty crucial for them to perform well in this coming run of fixtures to avoid relegation.
3. EVE (@NEW, WOL, @BOL, STO, @ARS, NOR, SWA) - Time for their redemption after being caught stuck at the bottom half of the table.
4. MUN (SUN, @SWA, NEW, @AST, WOL, @QPR, @FUL) - Nothing too tough for the defending champion.
5. TOT (@FUL, AST, @WBA, BOL, @STO, SUN, CHE) - Considerably easy especially when Van der Vaart is on red hot form.

In hell run:

1. CHE (@BLA, LIV, WOL, @NEW, MCI, @WIG, @TOT) - Playing against four of the top seven in the next 7 games is really a tough test for Andre Villas-Boas.
2. MCI (@QPR, NEW, @LIV, NOR, @CHE, ARS, STO) - As tough as Chelsea. Further worsened with some crucial Champions League games (especially the one against Bayern Munich) sandwiched in between.
3. FUL (TOT, @SUN, @ARS, LIV, @SWA, BOL, MUN) - Martin Jol will have to give some emphasis to defence to survive through this period.
4. NEW (EVE, @MCI, @MUN, CHE, @NOR, SWA, WBA) - Back to back games against the leading pack? They will need to play with 120% to record some impressive results.

Game of the Week: NEWCASTLE v EVERTON

With R Taylor's value rocketed
to £5m, Simpson is the only
defender at Newcastle who's
easily accessible (£4.2m).

Two interesting teams to play against each other. Newcastle, which don't look so good on paper but play extremely well at the moment; Everton, which has the quality but not the form.

The Toon Army is now on an unbelievable form, standing proudly on the third place of league standings. Resolute defence, coupled with a great striking pair - namely Demba Ba and Leon Best - are consistently bringing Alan Pardew the right results. Everton, on the other hand, didn't play as poor as their league points shown. However, poor goal poaching ability are constantly dragging them behind, as what we saw last week against Manchester United.

Newcastle defenders are certainly worthy to be considered against such poor scoring Everton, which failed to score 4 times this season. Proceed with caution though, as Newcastle will be facing the Manchesters and Chelsea for the next 3 gameweeks.

In terms of offence it will be up to Ba, Best as usual and possibly Cabaye to break through Everton's defence with tough players like Jagileka, Distin and Fellaini providing the cover.

As for the Toffees, Drenthe's speed will be one powerful weapon to penetrate the solid defensive unit of Newcastle. Players like Cahill and Saha will definitely need to improve their shooting accuracy though if they want to win at St James' Park.

I am expecting a home win anyway for the zebra stripes to maintain their third position for another week before they march into the hellish fixtures.

Prediction: NEW 2-0 EVE
Pick: NEW defence, Ba, Best, Cabaye
Drop: EVE defence




Fantasy Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v SWANSEA

Can Carroll score two match in
a row?

Three points will be crucial for Liverpool in order for the Reds to play the next two games after this (Chelsea and Man City) with confidence.

Suarez has started to find his form, and his miraculous runs can give fantasy managers a blazing trail of points. Surely a strong captain choice this week. Adam should also take advantage of Gerrard's latest injury and become the primary set piece taker of the team.

Defensively Enrique is still the best candidate so far with the lowest price of Liverpool's back four and his ability to surge forward. Stud.

Swansea might have been pretty good defensively, but bear in mind that all of that performances were at Liberty Stadium. 14 goals in 5 away games conceded suggests that they might suffer a heavy defeat at Anfield.

Scott Sinclair might be able to take away one goal or assist from here, but I think it's all about the Reds at their home ground.

Prediction: LIV 3-0 SWA
Pick and Captain: Suarez, Adam
Pick: Enrique, Carroll
Drop: SWA defence


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

1. Robin van Persie - Ultimate form and is unstoppable.
2. Agbonlahor - Against newcomers' defence it should be easy for him.
3. Torres, Mata - Their pace and footwork should be able to slice the worst defence of the league into pieces.
4. Aguero - QPR's defence is too far away from his class.

Pick:

1. Gervinho, Ramsey - They are the main suppliers and receivers to and from RvP.
2. MUN defence - The return of Vidic should provide the stability on the back.
3. Van der Vaart, Adebayor - Solid pick for every gameweek.
4. Doyle - Looks good and should create lots of troubles inside of  Wigan's penalty box.
5. Sturridge - Severely underpriced.

Drop:

1. WBA defence - Hardly believable to a keep clean sheet.
2. NOR defence - Agbonlahor is too fast.
3. BLA defence - One of the worst league defence.
4. QPR defence - Poor coverage.
5. Gerrard - Injured.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Adam - The key playmaker and set piece taker as Gerrard continues to be sidelined.
2. Van der Vaart, Adebayor - Smooth easy fixtures coming ahead.
3. Van Persie - A no-brainer.
4. Gervinho  - From zero to hero.
5. Walters - Low price, great role.
6. Mata - Complete player who can both score and assist.

Yellow light (monitor):

1. NEW players - Hellish fixtures ahead. See how they cope.
2. Carroll - Picking up some form.
3. Bale - Gaining form or just 1 week marvel? Time will tell.
4. Sessegnon - Against Man Utd it might be wiser to hold on for another week.
5. Kompany - One week suspension. Whether it's worth to hold him or sell him instead is a pretty subjective matter.

Red light (sell):

1. Rooney, Young - Massive sell trend. Sell to preserve your team value.
2. Gerrard - Constantly plagued by injuries.
3. CHE defence - Have not kept any clean sheets after gameweek 1.

Gameweek 11 Dream Team

Given

Simpson -- Jones -- Enrique

Ramsey -- Mata -- Adam -- Van der Vaart

Van Persie (C) -- Suarez (VC) -- Agbonlahor

Subs: Krul -- Eagles -- Ward -- Knight

Wide Race for Third: Gameweek 10 Fantasy Review

Demba Ba is the first player who scored his second hat-trick in Premier
League this season.

Another frenzy Premier League weekend with 35 goals recorded. Splendid. Still the best league in the world.

Chelsea's defeat certainly made the race for third wide open with the Blues, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle all aiming for the precious Champions League ticket. Intense competition to be expected.

Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal

See here.

Pick: Van Persie, Gervinho, Mata, Lampard, Ramsey

Watch: Arteta, Lampard (overpriced)

Drop: CHE and ARS defence

Everton 0-1 Manchester United

EVE: Good play, but failed at the front as usual. Unlucky as well as Baines' free kick was close to perfect but hit the bar.

Seamus Coleman had an extraordinary game in a game which shown  that he has pace and he has skills. But he is still overpriced and is short of playing time.

MUN: Played four consecutive poor Premier League games, yet picked up 7 points from a possible of 12. But that just tells us something: Champions need not to play well every time. They just need to get the right results.

Chicharito as usual shown his extraordinary goal poaching skills. He is definitely on the course of becoming the next Inzaghi for this whole decade. Solid, solid player.

Pick: Chicharito

Watch: Coleman

Manchester City 3-1 Wolves

MCI: Struggling to get the first goal but Hennessey sent them a big gift. Aguero continued to be influential upfront. A season long hold and one must own either one of Rooney, Van Persie and him.

In the middle it's always Silva. Super consistent and leads the midfielders table. Another season long hold.

Worth mentioning is Kolarov who got ahead of Clichy for a start and bagged 11 points. Definitely more offensive oriented than the latter who is good at set piece as well.

Kompany got a red and should be banned for 3 games. A long ban and certainly should be sold. 1 game. Won't be too costly to hold him, unless you are planning to convert him to Richards who is more offensive oriented (thanks to Moe Vawda for pointing out the error).

WOL: It's just too hard to sustain bombardments from Citeh so the defeat was expected.

Defensively they had failed to keep any clean sheets since gameweek 3. Avoid.

Pick: Aguero, Silva

Watch: Kolarov

Drop: WOL defence, Kompany

West Brom 0-2 Liverpool

WBA: Harsh penalty against them but they were too contained either to win. Nothing sparkling about them.

LIV: Suarez was yet again the influential man to create one penalty for Adam and assist one for Carroll. Good to see the striking partners start to gel.

Downing hit the post once again as Liverpool accounted for 10 shots on the frame this season, averaging 1 per game. Poor luck?

Enrique's consistency both up front and at the back has earned him 1 bonus points apart from 4 clean sheet points. Cool enough as a season long hold.

Pick: Suarez, Enrique

Watch: Adam, Carroll

Stoke 1-3 Newcastle

STO: Walters scored from the spot again as he has become the ace of the team. Solid third/fourth midfielder of any fantasy team.

NEW: Demba Ba scored his second hat-trick faster than Rooney, Aguero and RvP. Incredible form in an incredible low budget team (thanks to Moe Vawda again).

Best's provided two assists for him, but fellow fantasy managers should certainly go for Ba as long as you have the money.

Defence is still solid as the goal was conceded through a penalty.

Pick: Walters, Ba, Best

Tottenham 3-1 QPR

TOT: Solid display yet again by Van der Vaart. His superb positioning will ensure that he will poach more goals and squeeze Defoe away from starting XI.

The man of the match is certainly Bale who finally bursts this season. A very volatile player to own though with 2-1-2-10 trend of gameweek scores. I will opt for VdV at any time.

Adebayor didn't score this time, but don't worry, he has class.

QPR: Never really has any stand in the game. Helguson performed in 3 successive games and is a good choice for your third forward.

Pick: Van der Vaart, Helguson

Watch: Bale

Others

Pick:

1. Sessegnon: Found the form which pundits predicted on him before the season starts.
2. Sinclair: Hogs set pieces and has some good chances upfront.

Watch:

1. Holt: Looking good since his return from bench.
2. Dempsey: Dominates for Fulham.

Barton to QPR: How Will He Affect Taarabt?

Joey Barton is the first move by the ambitious Tony Fernandes.

The most important signing by QPR in my opinion. The bad boy, Joey Barton, has joined QPR for a lucrative £80,000 a week contract.

Barton had been a strong fantasy force last season with his precision crosses. His skill and experience will definitely help QPR in their survival battle?

He will compete with Taarabt for the ace position. Will Barton's addition make Taarabt more competitive? We shall see.

Full-Time: Gameweek 1 Fantasy Review

Sebastian Larsson (no. 7) punished Liverpool's chance wastages with a wonderful  bicycle kick.

Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland
LIV: A lot of upside potential, as we can see from first half. Suarez's superb interception and run to earn a penalty (he missed it!), Adam's £10m worth of set piece which helped Suarez to score Premier League's first goal of the season, and Downing's fantastic 40-50 yards run before finding his shot rattling the bar have all shown how dynamic and unstoppable Liverpool's attack can become.

Unfortunately, Dalglish have gone all wrong about his tactics in this game. Henderson is awful playing at the right side. With Flanagan playing, Kuyt should play at the right to provide defensive cover for the young right back. Because of that mistake, 2 points gone.


Pick: Suarez, Downing, Adam, Enrique
Potential Pick: Carroll
Drop: Henderson (if you somehow picked him)


SUN: The Black Cats are pretty shaky in the first half, but fortunately Steve Bruce fixed the problem during half-time. Brown had done a good job in locking Carroll, making the latter hardly able to make a good shot.

Offensively it's all about the almighty Seb Larsson. A very, very solid performance by the ex-Birmingham player. A good direct replacement for Taarabt if you are fed up about the latter's performance against Bolton.


Pick: Larsson, Brown


Blackburn 1-2 Wolves
BLA: Debutant Formica scored a good first goal for the Rovers, but that was not enough for them to claim any points. The defeat is quite a good indication for them - they will be roaming at the bottom third of the league for most part of the season.

Potential Pick: Roberts, Formica, Dunn


WOL: Doyle missed a penalty which in no way was good. Ward's goal was brilliant, but you don't expect a defender to score beautiful goal week-in and week-out.

Potential Pick: Fletcher


Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa
FUL: Pretty football by Martin Jol. Good stream of passes and chance creations makes Fulham players good fantasy options upfront. Still look solid in back despite more offensive approach. Could have won if not for Given's great performance.

Pick: Andy Johnson, Hughes
Potential Pick: John Riise


AVL: Created some good chances but failed to capitalise any. Was surprised to see Hesky start by sacrificing Albrighton. N'Zogbia and Bent didn't look too impressive. Given was superb - pick him.

Pick: Given


QPR 0-4 Bolton
QPR: Nightmare start for them. The Rs pretty much lost themselves after conceding the first goal. Nevertheless, it's better to lose 4-0 in your first game and realise how tough Premier League is rather than later when the season goes into the decisive part.

Drop: QPR defenders


BOL: Klasnic looks incredible in his first game of the season. He is more like a playmaker rather than a striker. Gary Cahill scored a goal, but you shouldn't be fooled to buy him - look at Bolton's fixtures!

Potential Pick: Klasnic (fixtures are too bad to consider)


Wigan 1-1 Norwich
WIG: The departure of N'Zogbia has given rise to two players - Watson and Moses. Both are decent picks considering the next two games Wigan are playing.

Pick: Moses, Watson


NOR: Good rebound by Hoolahan. They didn't look too bad at this game, but it's still too early to conclude about them.

Potential Pick: Hoolahan


Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal
NEW: Barton is easily my man of the match for taking Gervinho off the match. Doesn't have too much to comment about their game - it's so dull.

ARS: With no engines at the middle, they look like a mid-table team. Wenger better get this solved soon, or they might even fall behind of teams like Aston Villa and Everton.

Potential Pick: Ramsey
Drop: GERVINHO

Stoke 0-0 Chelsea
STO: Superb saves by Asmir Begovic. Easily the man of the match. Credits went to referee as well as he denied two penalty appeal from Chelsea. Unfortunate for Matt Etherington however for injuring his shoulder.

Pick: Begovic
Drop: Etherington

CHE: Not quite a good decision by AVB to start Torres instead of Drogba. The Spaniard looked much better than before, but still a distance away from Drogba's ultimate influence and is too expensive to hold unless his form starts to get hot. Held drawn due to some bad fortune sincerely.

West Brom 1-2 Manchester United
WBA: Great debut by Shane Long to score an equaliser as West Brom gave some hard time to Fergie's squad. Almost held United up until a moment of brilliance by Ashley Young.

Potential Pick: Long


MUN: A costly victory with Vidic and Ferdinand gone injured. Young was the decisive man, having scored one and set up another. De Gea almost costed United three points with his slow save against Long's attempt. The young team still look shaky, but fortunately the winners' mentality saved them this time.

Avoid United's defence as for now until De Gea starts to show some sharpness.

Pick: Young, Rooney
Potential Pick: Cleverly
Drop: MUN defence

Jose Enrique Is One Step Away From Liverpool Switch

Jose Enrique
Reina will finally have another Spanish teammate.

A left-back finally. Newcastle's outcast, Jose Enrique is said to have agreed personal terms with Liverpool and will move to the Merseyside club subject to medical.

The Spaniard has broken his relationship with the club owner Mike Ashley following his questioning on the latter's lack of ambition. Despite Alan Pardew's desire to keep him, Enrique favours more to the exit door.

At the fantasy price of £5.0m, the expected first choice left back of Liverpool will be a pretty good fantasy bargain.

Oxlade-Chamberlain to Arsenal; Obertan to Newcastle

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Another future buy by Wenger... Where's signings for immediate demand?

Two transfers involving very young players. First and foremost, Arsenal has completed the purchase of winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton for an initial fee believed to be around £5m. He should make no immediate impact though, and it's surprising to see Wenger continue to purchase for the future instead of now when he position as Arsenal's manger will be in danger should he continue the Gunners' title drought.

Meanwhile, Newcastle swoop yet another quality buy this season - Gabriel Obertan. Currently 21, the former Manchester United winger is expected to make an immediate impact at Newcastle, particularly when Ben Arfa is 75% not playing for Newcastle first game of the season according to FPL's status. At £5.0m, he represents another great buy from the low price range.

2011/12 Fantasy Season Preview - Newcastle United

Newcastle United FC

Last Season Summary

League ranking: 12th (46 pts)

Points per game (home: away): 1.37: 1.05

Goals per game (for: against): 1.47: 1.50

Number of clean sheets: 9

Top league scorer: Kevin Nolan (12 goals)

Top league assister: Joey Barton (9 assists)

Transfers

In: Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux, Mehdi Abeid

Out: Kevin Nolan, Kazenga Lua Lua

Predicted Season Finish: 13th

Big changes are going around at Tyneside. With all their pillars of last season - Carroll, Nolan and Barton - leaving, it remains to be seen how the new players are going to settle at St. James' Park.

Fantasy Ace: Demba Ba (£6.5m)

Unfortunately all the key players from Newcastle were gone for good, so I'll have to pick one of their new players as ace. At first I wanted to pick Hatem Ben Arfa because of all his foot tricks, but his injury after a long injury reduces my good ratings for him.

Ba has only played for half a season for West Ham in the Premier League, but he did the job well. Scoring 7 goals in such a short period without any pre-season training with the club was not easy. With a better team, he should perform even better.

Decent Picks: Yohan Cabaye (£6.0m)

Being an integral part of Lille's recent success tells you how good he is. Featured as a playmaker in Lille's formation, Cabaye's scoring and assisting ability are both outstanding.

With Barton going out, Cabaye will become the main ball feeder to the strikers.

Worth Scouting: Hatem Ben Arfa (£5.5m)

A serious injury haunted the Tunisian for almost one full season, and yet again he was injured during the pre-season tour at US. Hopefully he won't come out with the fate of Van Persie, but before the talented winger is fully fit, don't be hasty to get him.

Lee Chung-Yong to Miss Next Season; Joey Barton On Transfer List

Two budget fantasy midfielders are on the headlines these two days:

Chung-Yong Lee
To miss this whole coming season after breaking his leg.

1. Chung-Yong Lee, the second-most popular Premier League Asian after Manchester United's Ji-Sung Park, is forced to miss this coming season after breaking his leg in a friendly against Newport County.

Joey Barton
On the transfer list now.

2. Joey Barton, the second-most popular budget fantasy midfielder after Charlie Adam last season, was put on the transfer list after a dispute with the club owners regarding contract extension. He is even told that he can leave on free.

We might lose both budget fantasy midfielders for this very new season. Bad news.

Surprises

Robin Van Persie

Flying like a god.

Sorry for the lack of updates as I am having problems with my PC. Anyway, there's lots of surprising results happening over the past few days:

• Tottenham crushed Milan at San Siro. Can you believe it? The London club has actually won two Milan giants in the same season! Fantastic job by Lennon and Gomes.
• Newcastle scored two away clean sheets at this gameweek double. Unbelievable. Smart move for those who stocked Newcastle defenders.
• Arsenal finally won Barca. Not so surprising for me though. Van Persie scored from an unbelievable angle, but Valdes should have done better with his positioning. Nasri wasn't at his best, but his vision is still lethal.

Premier League. Still the best.

Saturday Stage

Carlos Tevez
Birthday boy celebrated his day with three goals.

An extremely crazy premier league Saturday weekend with 41 goals produced from eight games - any single game scored on Sunday will break the goal record of a single round of premier league. Here are some highlights:

• Two penalties plus one stunning goal, and Carlos Tevez embraced his birthday stylishly. Kolarov is the other man who's marvellous throughout the game.
• Robert Huth excitingly led Stoke City for a stunning comeback with two goals and one assist, totalling him 19 fantasy points this gameweek.
• McCarthy scored 15 points this week as Wigan won 4-3. He only managed to score a total of 30 points prior to this.

Louis Saha
Doesn't want people to forget him.

• Saha scored four goals as he dictated a 5-3 victory over Blackpool. That's interesting to see as Everton is notorious for his awful striker efficiency this season but all five goals were scored by strikers on this game.
• Tottenham won Bolton thanks to Kranjcar's last minute strike of beauty. Van der Vaart should have helped them led earlier though, but his second penalty was forced to retook by the ref and he missed.

Joey Barton
Banged the Gunners.

• Incredible game. Arsenal were up 4-0 in the first 30 minutes, but surrendered all of them in the last 30! In fact, Newcastle could have won with just a little bit more luck.
• Manchester United's unbeaten run finally comes to an end after a shocking defeat to the team standing last in the table - Wolves. That's such a big relief to Arsenal after their slip.

Chelsea v Liverpool coming soon! Prepare to enjoy the fun!

Reds Agree Carroll Fee!

Andy Carroll (again)
No more zebra stripes.

It's official! Liverpool official website has announced that Newcastle had agreed the fee for Newcastle striker Andy Carroll. Now it is subjected to player terms and medical check-up for the deal to success.

That also means that, Torres departure from Anfield is certain. £85m from two deals at the last day of transfer? Very entertaining!

It is also rumoured that Liverpool had sent a car to collect Charlie Adam. Insanely ambitious.

The Blockbuster Continues...

Andy Carroll
Clearing his zebra stripes for a red?

The transfer saga is getting crazier now with Liverpool launching two attempts already to secure the service of Andy Carroll as their replacement.

However, it is rumoured that Newcastle had rejected both of their attempts, with the second one amounting £35m plus bonuses.

How will Torres and Carroll negotiations turn out to be? I think this is the craziest transfer deadline day I had ever encountered.

ENJOY THE DRAMA!

Gameweek 17 Fantasy Preview

Samir Nasri
The man of December?

After scoring two incredible goals against Fulham, Nasri continues his fantastic form to take Arsenal to the next round of the Champions League. Van Persie was also on action in the 3-1 victory against Partizan and might pose some form of threat to Chamakh's or Arshavin's position.

On the other hand, Chelsea's awful form was brought into the Champions League as the Blues succumbed to a defeat against Drogba's ex-club Marseille; while on the day before both Manchester United and Tottenham were drawn by their opposition as all four English clubs proceeded to the round of 16 in the European's most prestigious league.

On a side note, all three luxurious fantasy midfielders - Gerrard, Lampard and Fabregas - are set to return to action this week or next. Their past experiences in the cold December may return you with hefty fantasy points.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Petr Cech
Clean sheet-less for six consecutive matches.

Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea
London's Sunday will not be cold as Tottenham looks set to take down Chelsea in this red hot derby.

Tottenham may welcome a quick return of Rafael Van der Vaart after continuously injured his hamstring. His presence will definitely add more threat to Chelsea's defence alongside with the offensive suspects of Bale, Lennon and Defoe.

On the other side, the Blues' form are still far from convincing. They have now lost 10 points from the last four premier league games, conceding at least a goal from each of these. The crazy December fixtures for them - Tottenham, Arsenal, Man Utd and Bolton in order - certainly doesn't help.

I think confidence crisis will once again took Chelsea down and Tottenham can at least retain a point at White Hart Lane.

Prediction: TOT 1-1 CHE

Wayne Rooney
The key to take down Arsenal?

Manchester United v Arsenal
The battle for first remains intense this week as Manchester United awaits Arsenal at the Theatre of Dreams.

The Red Devils had just gone to the summit two weeks ago but that was quickly overtaken by Arsenal due to the delay of United's game against Blackpool. But now they will have the chance to regain their position should they win the Gunners this coming Monday.

Wayne Rooney, who has scored in both meetings against Arsenal last season, will be Arsenal's biggest threat. His recent form has been fine, with only goals lacking from him. More importantly, his presence also relieves defenders' pressure against Berbatov, allowing him to attack more freely.

Meanwhile, Wenger's side will have enough confidence to break United's unbeaten spell this season. Samir Nasri has been in an incredible form while Andrei Arshavin finds perfect cohesion with the French. Both of them are winning factor for Arsenal currently in the absence of captain Cesc Fabregas - who will most probably return only on the next match.

Manchester United usually wins important matches at home, and judging Arsenal's poor record in their last 10 games against United and Chelsea - W0 D1 L9 - things should be working for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Prediction: MANU 2-0 ARS


The Rest

• Aston Villa v West Brom (2-1) - A good chance for Villa to snatch three points with both Odemwingie and Brunt doubtful for this game.
• Everton v Wigan (2-1) - Both Tim Cahill and Charles N'Zogbia should be on the list of goalscorers.
• Fulham v Sunderland (1-1) - The draw specialist to draw again?
• Stoke City v Blackpool (2-2) - The Seasiders to preserve their good away record in the premiership.
• West Ham v Man City (1-0) - The Hammers to grab the chance to punish City in the absence of their captain Carlos Tevez.
• Newcastle v Liverpool (0-3) - Torres will want to open a big scoring feast to celebrate for the birth of his son. Newcastle's internal disputes will only make things worse for them.
• Bolton v Blackburn (2-1) - Bolton to back on track after a miserable week.
• Wolves v Birmingham (1-2) - Gardner showed some good form last week and I expect that to continue.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Fernando Torres
Newcastle in a big trouble this week.

Captain Picks

• Torres - Motivated to score and that becomes much easier with Newcastle's managerial problems.
• Rooney - Good record against Arsenal.
• Agbonlahor - Time to wake up from his long silence.

Buys-In

• Torres - With happy feelings comes happy form.

Sells-Out

• Chelsea's players - Bad fixtures ahead.
• Newcastle's players - Massive uncertainties at St. James' Park.

Squad of XV

GK: Friedel

DF: Kyrgiakos, Baines, Vidic

MF: Maxi, Bale, Nani, Etherington, Cahill

F: Torres(C), Elmander

Subs (in order): Jaaskelainen, Ridgewell, Albrigton, Luke Young

Captain: Torres

Emergency Captain: Value

Starting XI Value: £82.5m

Total Team Value: £102.6m

The Sacking of Chris Hughton and The Possible Return of David Beckham to EPL

Chris Hughton
Got sacked ridiculously.

Newcastle fans are furious as their manager Chris Hughton was sacked.

Why? Because he took Newcastle back to the Premier League? Or because he took the team sitting comfortably at the middle of the league table up till now?

There is growing resentment towards the Magpies' management, with their ace striker Carroll removed from the "untouchable" list in the transfer market.

Whether his successor is Pardew, O'Neill, Shearer or others is not what really matters; the owners of the club have made themselves in a deep shit and they will have to figure out how to escape from it.

David Beckham
To return to EPL?

Meanwhile, David Beckham says that he is ready to return to EPL soon, with Tottenham his favourite destination.

The reason for that is that Beckham's deceased grandpa was a big fan of Tottenham and he wanted Beckham to play at White Hart Lane as the home team.

Does that mean Tottenham will continue to be overflown by attacking talents?

Sunday Sparks

Maximiliano Rodriguez
Says welcome to fans who thank him for the decisive goal.

Here's some brief words about what happened in the past 30 hours in English top-flight football:

• Arsenal only managed to score in final minutes for a win. Quite a sad case for me as I was captaining Chamakh. Song scored in three consecutive games. Looking good.
• Chelsea wasn't much better than their London counterpart, won by the same margin. Both Malouda and Drogba are much less striking as compared to them in the first five games. Bosingwa didn't play at all, which was another sad case for me.
• Everton won Yakubu's once-in-a-blue-moon goal. Arteta and Cahill once again gained their owners six points each.
• Dempsey fired two to become Saturday's top pointer, sitting on top of fluke-goal scorer Nani.
• Wolves shocked us with a comeback victory. Adebayor goaled through a penalty anyway.
• Nani made one and fired one to give three points to Manchester United. A quite exciting match-up with Park and Van der Vaart making on-post attempts. VdV might be out for a week or two with his in-game injury. On a side note, Berbatov also lost his sparks like Malouda and Drogba.
• Aston Villa and Birmingham played a goalless draw. Awesome for Foster-and-co owners.

Kevin Nolan
Meet the king of St James.

• Newcastle thrashed Sunderland. Amazing. Nolan wore the hat but take a look at Ameobi. Two goals and two assists. Looked much better than the consolation man (he always made an assist for me when I needed it the most) two years before. However, he will need more playing time before you can consider him.
• Liverpool won a 50-50 game. Torres was lost until the moment when N'gog was brought on. The trident of the former two and Maxi was great and it was no coincidence that the latter scored. Great job by Maxi and as usual, Kyrgiakos the tower of set pieces.