Showing posts with label Rafael Benitez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rafael Benitez. Show all posts

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Kick-Off: Gameweek 16 Fantasy Preview

The Blues' three musketeers failed to bring their team to the round of 16 despite a emphatic victory.
Chelsea won 6-1 in their last Champions League fixture of the season, sitting only third in group standings as Manchester City couldn't even qualify for Europa League after yet another loss, ending only with 3 points without a victory. Is English influence on Europe football diminishing?

GAMEWEEK 15 HIGHLIGHTS

GAMEWEEK 15 TOP SCORERS
  1. Michu (£7.8m, 16 pts): After some period of silence, the Spaniard rediscovers his goalscoring form with 4 goals in 4 games. Expect the buy bandwagon to return.
  2. Wayne Rooney (£11.8m, 16 pts): Unfortunately to Robin Van Persie's (£13.8m, 6 pts) owners, Rooney is still the primary penalty taker of the team. Certainly needs drag the battle to determine who's the boss at Old Trafford.
  3. Daniel Agger (£6.4m, 15 pts): 31 points in his last 4 FPL games, which include 6 bonus points. The Dane is certainly showing some fine form here and the upcoming fixtures look pretty fantasy friendly too.
  4. Jermaine Defoe (£8.3m, 13 pts): Don't look like he will lose his position as Spurs' first choice forward as least for this season. Solid pick.
  5. Demba Ba (£8.2m, 13 pts): Scored an important brace to end Newcastle's poor run of 4 consecutive defeats. Looks awesomely consistent as his maximum goal drought is only 2 league matches so far.

DOUBLE GAMEWEEK: Sunderland and Reading
This double gameweek has little meaning actually, as both teams do not have any big scorers. Still, start their players if you happen to own them anyway as 180 minutes of action will give you 4 points even if they don't contribute any goals, assists or clean sheets.

FEATURED: Manchester City v Manchester United @ Etihad
The battle for top comes in a pretty critical moment as City host United at home.

The gap between the Manchesters is now 3 points wide, and a win is much needed for City to ensure that this is still at least a two-horse race. The battle for the forward spots is pretty intense now, though I am pretty sure that Sergio Aguero (£11.0, 1 pt) will pin down one of the places to play against the Red Devils. David Silva (£9.4m, 2 pts) is a much more rotation-proof figure in City's offence, but he may not be fit enough to play following a hamstring injury.

For the away side, injury is plaguing the midfielders so expect Wayne Rooney to play in the hole supporting Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez (£7.5m, - pts) or Danny Welbeck (£7.8, 1 pt) upfront.

I am not too convince about City winning at home with such mediocre form recently, so I guess I will vote for a draw.

Prediction: MCI 1-1 MUN

TEAM FOCUS: Chelsea
Martin O'Neill's team is struggling recently and it presents a great chance for Rafa Benitez to grab his first Premier League win as Chelsea's manager.

The Blues thrashed Nordsjaelland 6-1 in the Champions League, with Fernando Torres (£9.4m, 5 pts) rediscovering his form by scoring 2 goals. That could serve as a great momentum for him to get back on the scoring track.

Juan Mata (£9.5m, 7 pts) also scored a goal against Nordsjaelland and will be hopeful to replicate his scoring form too.

Benitez should really start winning to avoid premature axing by Roman Abramovich...

Prediction: SUN 0-2 CHE

PLAYER FOCUS: Michu
Michu has been very streaky so far this season, so he may go with full ammunition this weekend and bag one goal or two again against Norwich.

GAMEWEEK 16 DREAM TEAM
Cesar
Sean Morrison — Mertesacker — Cuellar
 Gardner — McAnuff— Michu (C) — Mata
Le Fondre — Berbatov — Torres (VC)
Subs: Gazzaniga — Lallana   Rangel  Nelsen 

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Kick-Off: Gameweek 13 Fantasy Preview

Roman Abramovich certainly loves the personnel from Merseyside.

A week of sackings as Roberto Di Matteo became the first Premier League manager to be discharged from his job this season following a 0-3 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League. Shocking. Replacing him is ex-Liverpool gaffer Rafael Benitez, until the end of the season.

The Blues of London certainly need a miracle to progress to the next round now, while the Blues of Manchester — Manchester City — are officially out of the tournament. Both Manchester United and Arsenal have secured their progress though.

Also being sacked is Queen Park Rangers' ex-manager Mark Hughes, after such a horrible season with only 4 points despite having a more than decent squad. He is then quickly replaced by Harry Redknapp, one of the best manager since Premier League's establishment 20 years ago.

Let's see how these sides respond in the Premier League as we head into the 13th gameweek of the season.

GAMEWEEK 12 TOP SCORERS
  1. Carlos Tevez (£9.4m, 19 pts): Explosive. The Argentine is now leading the fantasy scoreboard and looks set to become the first player to break the 100-point milestone.
  2. Jose Enrique (£5.7m, 18 pts): Looks superb to play out of position. If he can lock down the left wing spot he could be the next fantasy hot cake.
  3. David Silva (£9.3m, 16 pts): And finally the Spaniard scored something which tallies with his price. Needs a few more of such performance to regain fantasy managers' confidence though.
  4. Santi Cazorla (£9.4m, 13 pts): The expected one to perform when Arsenal perform.
  5. Adam Le Fondre (£4.8m, 13 pts): A good, low-cost benchwarmer in your fantasy team considering his penalty duties.

FEATURED: Chelsea v Manchester City @ Stamford Bridge
Rafa Benitez will have a tough start at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea face league leaders Manchester City.

The Blues have gone four matches without a win and will definitely hope for a change under the new gaffer. Fernando Torres (£9.5m, 2 pts) is the man on the radar now as he had flourished well under the leadership of Benitez and will hope to replicate the same thing again.

Frank Lampard (£8.4m, - pts) and John Terry (£6.6m, - pts) will continue to spend time with the physios, and thus offensive burden will continue to lay heavily on Juan Mata (£9.6m, 1 pt) and Eden Hazard (£10.1m, 7 pts) while defensively it will continue to leak in my opinion.

Roberto Mancini certainly has huge pressure after witnessing the sack of Roberto Di Matteo and will go all out to deliver the necessary result to avoid following Di Matteo's footsteps. Carlos Tevez (£9.4m, 19 pts), David Silva (£9.4m, 16 pts) and Sergio Aguero (£11.0m, 11 pts) will continue be Mancini's main weapon to rely on if they are to get something from London this Sunday.

Tough one to call given the uncertainty that new manager gives, but I believe City should be able to knock down unsettled Chelsea.

Prediction: CHE 1-2 MCI

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester United
A managerial change at Queens Park Rangers, but I don't think that will change Manchester United status as the most fantasy friendly team this week.

United went for a full rotation in Champions League defeat against Galatasaray and will have their elites fully prepared for a full scale demolition. Wayne Rooney (£11.7m, - pts) will be fit for the clash, though Robin Van Persie (£13.7m, 2 pts) remains the best pick of the team and perhaps across the league as well for this week's FPL captain.

The Rangers don't score a lot of goals, so it's likely for Rafael Da Silva (£6.4m, 1 pt) and co to get some good returns.

Prediction: MUN 3-0 QPR

PLAYER FOCUS: Kone
Wigan will host Reading who have only kept one clean sheet so far this season, so I think Arouna Kone (£6.5m, 2 pts) has quite the chance to get something from the game and become a decent pick for this gameweek.

Luis Suarez (£10.3m, 11 pts) continues to get popularity among fantasy managers as well as with his unstoppable form, scoring 5 goals in last 4 Premier League games.

GAMEWEEK 13 DREAM TEAM
Al-Habsi
Rafael — Shawcross — Enrique
Adam Johnson — Cazorla — Sterling — Bale
Tevez (VC) — Van Persie (C) — Suarez
Subs: Begovic — Pablo Hernandez   Mertesacker  Cuellar

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