Cruising City: Gameweek 9 Fantasy Review

"Why always me?" Balotelli just never stops creating chaos. Both on
and off the pitch.

Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City
MUN: Never can I imagine there'll be worse loss than Liverpool 4-1 demolition of Old Trafford to United. BUT the calamitous performance by United defenders has successfully renewed such embarrassing record.

The biggest question is of course "Why Johnny Evans but not Vidic or Jones?" Always and always I rate Jones as the best youngsters on the back among the young blood of Red Devils. Evans? Obviously the worst. And he just did it again.

The decision to not sub Phil Jones in immediately after Evans' red card is yet another disastrous decision. No matter how good Ferdinand is it's impossible for him to guard two forwards altogether - and Ferdinand was poor, if not terrible. That's just ridiculous.

To sum it up it's really the rare bad tactical decisions by Sir Alex Ferguson that made the team looked awfully awful.

MCI: Play calmly and shown resolute defence before the red. Tackles were timed to perfection and Richards has really locked Young very well. He did well up front too.

All three of Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli scored. The latter is showing some exceptional form despite having just burned his home recently. However, with the habit of Mancini to keep his forwards when he's sure of victory, their fantasy ceilings will be affected.

Silva as usual is the most consistent and important performer for the team, so grab him quickly before he becomes unaffordable.

Pick: Aguero, Balotelli, Silva, Richards
Drop: Ferdinand, Evans


QPR 1-0 Chelsea
QPR: Surprise surprise! QPR won but did they really play well? For sure not!

They are up by two men before half time and yet? It was Chelsea who's more adventurous and nearer to the second goal of the game.

All I can say is disgrace to Neil Warnock's team. When you are two men more than you opponent you should attack like a monster. Not only the didn't, they are struggling to defend in the second half.

Worth noting though is the fact that Helguson somehow squeezed through the starting XI and is capitalising his chances well.

CHE: Nothing much to comment as two red cards had effectively limited their performance.

Drogba's red pretty much mean that Sturridge's position in starting XI is almost certain, while Bosingwa's red should give chance to Luiz. Unfortunately, the Blues are struggling to keep a clean sheet lately and thus making Luiz not worthy as a fantasy defender.

Pick: Sturridge
Watch: Helguson
Drop: Bosingwa, Drogba


Liverpool 1-1 Norwich
LIV: They got 20+ shots and yet only a goal - finishing ability remains a big problem for Dalglish to be solved. Suarez just never stops wasting chances - that has to be stopped.

The team certainly needs a layoff man like Zamora and Carroll's inability to blend into the team certainly won't help.

NOR: Pilkington assisted this time as the young man continued to impress. Holt scored his second goal of the season surprisingly and I do wonder whether he is a big game guy.

Watch: Suarez, Pilkington


Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City
ARS: It's really all about Van Persie at this team. The captain came from the bench to decide the game with two goals. Incredible. Unbelievable. C Ronaldo-esque fantasy performance.

Ramsey is as productive as always and should be bought as direct replacement for Arteta who played to deep to score. Gervinho is good as well up front for setting up both Van Persie's goals. Great attacking selections at Arsenal.

STO: The team just never stops revolving around Walters in offence. Their sluggish away form just couldn't improve, however.

Pick: Van Persie, Ramsey, Gervinho, Walters


Fulham 1-3 Everton
FUL: Not their day really with Zamora missed a golden chance.


EVE: 16 points from Drenthe from his first Premier League start. He certainly looked must more offensive than I had imagined and is set to become a hot fantasy bargain.

Pick: Drenthe


***I am not giving full game by game reviews as I am very busy recently.

Kick-Off: Gameweek 9 Fantasy Preview

Aguero returns wonderfully.

Overview
Both Manchester clubs have finally earned themselves their first victory in Champions League group stage respectively as they set for the first grand match of the season at Old Trafford in this coming Sunday. A pretty good Champions League midweek for Premier League clubs in fact as all four participants won. Rooney, Aguero, Ramsey and Torres (still not available) were the big man from respective teams.

Game of the Week: MANCHESTER UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY

Can De Gea pass the second
test after passing the first one
against Liverpool?

The first decisive game that can alter the direction where the Premier League trophy will go at May next year. Manchester United will take on the challenge against league leader and also their "noisy neighbours" Manchester City at Old Trafford.

City are really cementing themselves as a giant club currently, sealing 22 from possible 24 league points so far. The money spent by the Sheikhs has really given them incredible squad depth - players like Balotelli and Adam Johnson can easily make it through the starting XI of any other Premier League clubs, but yet they sit on City's bench frequently.

Silva and Nasri will continue to act as the dual-core processor at City - their supplies will be the very crucial factor in determining the outcome for City at Old Trafford. Aguero, who just scored the winning goal for City coming on through bench, shall give some hard time to United's defence.

The host Manchester United are doing fine too this season, but their form has dipped a bit recently. A lucky win against Norwich plus a difficult draw against Liverpool clearly shown that they are starting to struggle as the fixtures get more compact for them.

Rooney will lead the line as usual with Nani and Young providing the width. But will they play 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 against the ever threatening City? Hard to tell.

Vidic will really have to be in 100% focus if he starts. He has bad discipline history in big games (remember the red card hat-trick against Liverpool) so he simply has to be more alert about that.

I would have gone for a home victory a week ago, but the recent performance by United simply doesn't give me the confidence for that. Mancini has quite a chance to break United's 100% Premier League home record.

Prediction: MUN 1-1 MCI
Pick: Rooney, Aguero


Fantasy Game of the Week: QPR v CHELSEA

Meireles surely hopes to lock in
a first team place at Chelsea.

Sure, Liverpool are at home against Norwich, but with Norwich on form and Liverpool not so solid on the back so far, I'll rather go with Chelsea who just won 5-0 in the Champions League.

Torres scored more than one goal for the first time for Chelsea but is still unavailable for this week's Premier League action. No worries though, as both Sturridge and Drogba are more than ready to fill the Spaniard's boots, with on form Meireles providing the supplies behind them.

Lampard and Mata are perhaps the most safe player to start, but you do need to pay some good premiums for them (Lampard is super expensive and Mata don't seem to have a high ceiling yet). Ramires' injury has certainly paved a way to Meireles for a sure-starter, so you should really consider him who comes at a much cheaper price.

Defensively I still don't trust Terry and co, so it's really the Blues' attackers who matter.

Prediction: QPR 1-3 CHE
Pick and Captain: Sturridge, Meireles, Lampard
Pick: Mata
Drop: QPR defence, Ramires


Pick and Avoid
Pick and Captain:

1. Suarez/Adam/Gerrard - Against Norwich it's always a good choice to pass the armband any one of them.
2. Adebayor/Van der Vaart - They are against one of the worst defence of the league.
3. Van Persie - A no-brainer for his form.
4. Demba Ba - Scored 5 goals in 3 games and should score again against Wigan.

Pick:

1. Ramsey - Good form.
2. Best - Form is not as good as Ba.
3. Agbonlahor - Never fails to shine.
4. NEW defence - Rock solid.

Avoid:

1. NOR defence - Don't think they can escape from Anfield with no damages on the back.
2. BLA players - Awful all the way.

Transfer Traffic
Green light (buy):

1. Van der Vaart/Adebayor - Both are dictating Tottenham's offence.
2. Ba - Newcastle are playing extremely fine with him the key player upfront.
3. Ramsey - Cheap and productive.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Pilkington - Not really a good time to bring him in despite the form.
2. Adam - Watch whether he will be sacrificed to make way for Gerrard.
3. Arteta - Playing too deep.

Red light (sell):

1. Dzeko - Out of favour.
2. Downing - Played decently but somehow failed to contribute anything up till now.

Gameweek 9 Dream Team

Krul

Enrique -- Warnock -- R Taylor

Adam -- Van der Vaart -- Ramsey -- Meireles(VC)

Suarez -- Adebayor(C) -- Ba

Subs: Vorm -- Eagles -- Assou-Ekkoto -- Boyata

Kick-Off: Gameweek 8 Fantasy Preview

Wayne Rooney lost his cool for England. Can he control his temper
against Manchester United and Everton's arch-rival Liverpool?

Overview
A long break for the UEFA Cup qualifier with England confirmed a spot in the finals. But Wayne Rooney's red card certainly is a blow for England as it means that he will possibly miss all the group stage of the European's top national tournament. Worries for Capello then.

This gameweek is certainly another good period to use your wildcard. With players like Adebayor and Aguero gone doubtful/injured and players like Nani and Nasri who are both on form, I would advise you to use the wildcard without hesitation should you need it.

Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v MANCHESTER UNITED

Luis Suarez to whack
Man Utd again?

Nothing in England is greater than this derby. Manchester United, who knocked Liverpool off their perch on May this year, will seek for a victory to push themselves further in front of their arch-rivals in terms of the number of top-flight league trophies.

The Red Devils are definitely having an extremely fine league run, scoring 19 league points out of 21 which include an astonishing 8-2 victory against Arsenal. Rooney is setting his sight for the Golden Boot definitely, with Hernandez and Welbeck competing to become the ace's partner. All three are studs if start.

On the midfield we have Ashley Young and Nani who are both constant threat to any defence. Martin Kelly (whom I prefer over Glen Johnson in this game) and Jose Enrique will need to be 100% (or perhaps 110%) focus to stop them from attacking. Not to be forgotten is Valencia who can deliver precise cross for the forwards to deal the finishing blow.

On the other side, Suarez will want to repeat his feat on the same game last season as he is definitely the most threatening player to Manchester United. His mazy runs should be dealing hell lots of troubles for United's defence led by Phil Jones and co.

The most anticipated one if of course the return of Steven Gerrard to the starting XI after a hell long 7 months. Can he bring instant impact and kiss the camera again like last time at Old Trafford? Big answer to fill in.

I think United's form will match Anfield's home advantage. It can go anywhere, but I'm going in for a scoring draw.

Prediction: LIV 2-2 MUN
Pick: Rooney, Nani, Suarez


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v ASTON VILLA

Edin Dzeko is hopeful to regain
his starting spot.

The top pack teams are all facing tricky oppositions this week, but let's focus on Mancini's squad which will host on form Villa at Etihad Stadium.

Attacking options are becoming much easier at City as Aguero suffers an injury - Dzeko should become Mancini's first choice forward. Balotelli may or may not start depending on Mancini's tactics, while Nasri should accompany Silva to supply the forward(s) after showing some magnificent form both in club and country.

On the other hand, Agbonlahor continues to be McLeish's strongest chip to steal some points from one of the joint leaders of the league as his speed and confidence should give some hard time to Kompany and co.

Given will be eager for a payback to his former club, but City's strength and home advantage will be too strong for him to protect his square.

Prediction: MCI 2-0 AST
Pick and Captain: Silva, Dzeko
Pick: Nasri




Pick and Avoid
Pick:

1. Ramsey - Playing in a more advanced role than Arteta.
2. Sturridge - Cheap and promising.
3. Sinclair - Starting to shine.
4. QPR players - Blackburn are pathetic enough for them to bounce back.
5. Odemwingie, Long - Should be getting goals at home.

Avoid:

1. Aguero, Adebayor - Doubtful.
2. Sagna - Long term injury.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Ramsey - Cheap and fruitful.
2. Nasri - On hot streak.
3. Dzeko - Set for sure start.

 Yellow light (watch):

1. A Young - Form is dipping.
2. Sturridge - See if he starts most of the time.
3. Andrew Johnson - See whether he hits his high.

Red light (sell):

1. Aguero - People are dumping him.

Gameweek 8 Dream Team

Hart

Enrique -- A Ferdinand -- Bosingwa

Silva (C) -- Nani -- Ramsey -- SWP (VC) -- M Petrov

Dzeko -- Odemwingie

Subs: Vorm -- A Johnson -- Shawcross -- Tamas

Full-Time: Gameweek 6 Fantasy Preview

Demba Ba rocked St James' Park with his hat-trick.

Manchester City 2-0 Everton
MCI: Solid performance which saw them back on level terms with neighbour Manchester United. Both Dzeko and Aguero failed to score at this round though, with Balotelli and Milner the one who broke the deadlock. Silva continues to show his second to none fantasy consistency. Great buy.

EVE: Good job for holding City up for so long but City has just too much class at Etihad Stadium. Take note that Tim Cahill injured himself. Though it's a short one the upcoming tough fixtures suggest that you should drop him sooner rather than later.

Pick: Silva, MCI defence
Drop: Cahill


Arsenal 3-0 Bolton
ARS: The victory was expected but a clean sheet was indeed a big surprise. Van Persie was the key man as expected, contributing 2 important goals. Song's goal is impressive - it showed that he can be technical at times. Ramsey contributed 10 points too with 2 good assists.

Note to worth is Wilshere's expected absence for five months after completing an operation.

BOL: Two straight red cards in a row now as Bolton sat at the bottom of the table. Their hellish fixtures are going to end next week after the clash against Chelsea, and you should reevaluate them after that.

Pick: Van Persie
Watch: Ramsey
Drop: Weather


Chelsea 4-1 Swansea
CHE: Torres finally backed to his good old self, but he jinxed himself for yet another time after conducting a silly two-footed tackle. Before that he was almost perfect, with his opening goal indicating how good is his ball control and the incisive pass showing how important is his presence.

Ramires was the key man as well as he almost hat-tricked. If he can improve his finishing, I think he can become a very good second striker with his athleticism.

Defence wise the Blues are very shaky to set pieces. Beware.

Lampard was benched - not a part of AVB's integral plan anymore?

SWA: Not a day for Scott Sinclair as he was given no chance by his previous team.

Pick: Ramires
Drop: Lampard


Liverpool 2-1 Wolves
LIV: Suarez was influential once again but was quite frustrated by Dalglish's decision to sub him out early. His goal was simply a display of true class. Carroll played one of his better games at Liverpool with one shot on post. Bad luck.

The team still waste a lot of chances - something that need to be greatly improved to increase their competitiveness.

WOL: The form seems to dip already - a sign to sell?

Pick: Suarez
Watch: Carroll, Gerrard


Newcastle 3-1 Blackburn
NEW: Great performance by Ba. Unexpected hat-trick - cool. Best also provided something with his cross for Ba's opener. The striking department will start to show some uncertainties with such kind of competition, especially when Ben Arfa's return could influence Pardew to play 4-5-1 more often.

BLA: Junior Hoilett continues to show that he's the man capable of doing a lot of damage upfront for Blackburn.

Pick: Ba, Best
Watch: Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Hoilett
Drop: BLA defence


West Brom 0-0 Fulham
WBA: Good attacking display but perhaps lack of some luck to score. Mulumbu was surprisingly impressive at offence - maybe a good 5th midfielder for your team.

FUL: Many chances from many players but just didn't have the luck. You got to admire Schwarzer for his superiority.

Watch: Mulumbu, Schwarzer


Wigan 1-2 Tottenham
WIG: They failed to threaten Spurs too much. Diame's dribble and goal was fantastic though.

TOT: Adebayor didn't score in this game but created 1. Solid return, great prospect.

Both Van der Vaart and Bale scored suggesting that the duo are back in action. Bale clearly deserves your observation after having opening his account this season.

Pick: Adebayor, VdV
Watch: Bale, Diame
Drop: WIG defence


Stoke City 1-1 Man Utd
STO: Britannia once again has shown its supremacy after yet another extension of home unbeaten run by Stoke. Strong attacking display after trailing. Respect.

MUN: Luck for too against them as Chicharito was the latest to join red crescent army along side with Rooney. Nani's goal was yet another state of the art shot though.

Pick: Nani, Walters
Watch: Crouch, Welbeck


QPR 1-1 Aston Villa
QPR: Traore is rather silly to give a free penalty to Aston Villa. Quite good in build up play though, although they only draw the game through an own goal.

AST: Dunne broke the record of top own goal scorer in Premier League with 10 OGs. Agbonlahor continued his undivided influence, while Bannan surprisingly took the spot kick.

Pick: Barton, Agbonlahor
Drop: Traore

Norwich 2-1 Sunderland
NOR: Holt once again featured only from bench suggesting that he is a fantasy flop now. I would say avoid Norwich players for now as they don't seem to have any focal point to attack. Nonetheless, Morrison deserves some mention here as he recorded 14 points from the last 2 games.

SUN: Defence was awful as both goals are due to defensive errors.

Watch: Morrison
Drop: Holt

Goodbye Fabregas: A Big Loss for Fantasy Premier League

Fabregas is happy as his move to Barcelona is close to completion.

The prolonged saga has finally ended. Arsenal's ex-captain, Francesc Fabregas, is ready to join La Liga champion FC Barcelona after the club reached an agreement with Arsenal (finally).

The record holder for Arsenal's first team youngest appearance and youngest first team goalscorer wants to return to his mother club since last year, and after an extended war with Arsenal, Wenger has no choice but to let him go.

The Spaniard's departure is a big loss for FPL managers as he is one of the fantasy commodity with "big gun" status, capable to score over 200 points provided he is fit to play for 90% of the season. Hopefully players such as Ramsey and Wilshere will be able to step up and replace Fabregas' role in providing ammunition to Van Persie.

You will not be forgotten, Fabregas.