Nemanja Vidic Out for Five Weeks

Looks like both Ferdinand and Vidic won't be available until September ends.

Big blow. Manchester United's captain, Nemanja Vidic, has a more serious injury than expected and will out for up to five weeks.

Both Vidic and Ferdinand were injured during the victory against West Brom last Sunday. This may cause serious difficulties to Ferguson's side for winning games, especially when the young De Gea is still unsettled at Old Trafford.

Nevertheless, the injury of the duo will pave way for youngsters such as Chris Smalling (£5.5m), Phil Jones (£5.5m) and Johnny Evans (£4.5m) to step up as fantasy bargains, though it remains intriguing whether they can fill up their seniors' boots.

Gameweek 31 Fantasy Preview

Robin van Persie
Sustained an injury but the club is optimistic that he will play this Saturday.

So the international games are over and we've lost one of the best fantasy commodity - Gareth Bale. Meanwhile, Liverpool has also confirmed the loss of Martin Kelly for the rest of the season. With Van Persie, Tevez and some other big names doubtful for the game this weekend, it will be a major headache for fantasy managers.

The Dutch were obviously the strongest team this week, with Premier League stars Dirk Kuyt and Van Persie both on the score sheet. Carroll has also scored his first goal since he left Newcastle. But can they bring their form back to their clubs? We shall see.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Scott Parker
Can his form halt United's progress?

All Games

• West Ham v Man Utd (2-2) - United stumble at away. That's too usual.
• Birmingham v Bolton (1-0) - Bolton has nothing much to fight for. That's very opposite for the Brums.
• Everton v Aston Villa (2-1) - Everton has been pretty solid at Goodison Park recently.
• Newcastle v Wolves (3-1) - Big Mick will miss Kevin Doyle.
• Stoke City v Chelsea (2-3) - Carlo will certainly want to retain his chance to win the Premier League.
• West Brom v Liverpool (1-2) - The golden trio - Suarez, Carroll and Kuyt will outshine Roy Hodgson.
• Wigan v Tottenham (1-2) - Spurs must win this if they are to feature in the Champions League next season.
• Arsenal v Blackburn (3-0) - Obviously the match of the week. Unfortunately Van Persie is doubtful, and there will be a dilemma of whether or not to captain him.
• Fulham v Blackpool (2-1) - Charlie Adam has been declared fit to face Fulham, but I still expect a home win.
• Man City v Sunderland (2-1) - The Black Cats' form is too bad for Manchester City to lose.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Dirk Kuyt
Possessed by Superman recently.

Captain Picks

• Van Persie - Should bang in a couple of goals, if he features.
• Kuyt/Suarez - This partnership is in incredible form.
• Van der Vaart - Bale will out for this one, so it's all his show again.

Buys-In

• Kuyt/Suarez - Too great to miss.
• Lampard/Luiz - Easy games ahead.

Sells-Out

• Meireles - With the strikers on form, there's less reliance for his offensive service.

Squad of XV

GK: Foster

DF: Ridgewell, Coleman, Carragher

MF: Nani, Parker, Kuyt, Lampard, Van der Vaart

F: Van Persie, Suarez

Subs (in order): Almunia, Best, Jose Enrique, Aaron Hughes

Captain: Van Persie

ECS: Value

Gameweek 29 Fantasy Preview

Martin Kelly
Guess that he's not lonely with so many players such as Van Persie, Fabregas, Cahill etc. accompanying him on the sidelines.

Thank you for staying loyal with FPLZ as we now enter the decisive period of the season. The following weeks will be very crucial in determining your fantasy excellence.

February has been a fantastic fantasy month for me as I am scoring a hefty 338 points in this single month, resulting a February rank of 548. My overall ranking has also rocketed from 218,183 to 27,445. It must be the best fantasy position I have ever achieved ever since I played FPL.

But there will be hell lots of headaches in managing my fantasy team in March, with the number of injuries and suspensions. And I believe it will cause a lot of trouble to you as well. Now let's see some of the best fantasy commodities who are with the red cross army currently:

• Van Persie (six weeks)
• Kelly (three weeks)
• Tim Cahill (three weeks)

Combined with the suspension of Adam and Vidic, those who own plenty of them must be feeling the pressure of doing multiple transfers. Do remember that Everton and Birmingham are playing twice this week. Good luck.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Dimitar Berbatov
Will he score goals start?

Liverpool v Manchester United

Kenny Dalglish will like to seek for a revenge for the defeat his suffered from his debut return as Liverpool manager this week against Manchester United.

Numerous big stars will miss out on this grand fixture including Kelly, Agger, Ferdinand and Vidic. Carroll is expected to feature on this game and it is sure that he will capitalise on the absence of United's best centre backs if he does feature.

Meanwhile, the one and only player who has hat-tricked Liverpool this season - Berbatov is doubted to get a spot to play against Liverpool. United is expected to play with five midfielders and if that's the case, I have to say that Rooney who's in better form should start.

In the absence of Vidic and Rio, I think it's hard for United to get away from Anfield with any points. Neither Smalling/O'Shea nor Smalling/Brown combination makes me feel confident.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd

The Rest

• Birmingham v West Brom (2-1) - The Brums to win. A solid one.
• Arsenal v Sunderland (3-1) - With Bendtner on form, the Gunners can forget about Van Persie now.
• Bolton v Aston Villa (2-2) - The Villans clearly have better form, but remember that Bolton is fighting for a Europa spot currently.
• Fulham v Blackburn (1-0) - Time to escape from draw streaks for the Cottagers.
• Newcastle v Everton (1-0) - Somehow I feel that Everton will fall on this one.
• West Ham v Stoke City (3-0) - Demba Ba and Hitzlsperger are too strong at the moment.
• Man City v Wigan (4-0) - Clearly the most fantasy friendly match of the week. But it's still unsure who will lead the line.
• Wolves v Tottenham (1-2) - It will not be easy for Tottenham against a team that fights for survival.
• Blackpool v Chelsea (2-3) - The win against United will give the Blues a lot of confidence to win this one.
• Everton v Birmingham (1-1) - It's expected to be a narrow scoreline.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Nikola Zigic
The tower is on red hot form.

Captain Picks

• Tevez/Balotelli - Obvious choices this week. Of course, Tevez is always the safest bet.
• Bendtner - Arsenal's supply will focus on him.
• Zigic - Huge potential with a gameweek double.

Buys-In

• Everton players - Good run of fixtures ahead.
• Birmingham players - Same reason as Everton.
• Bendtner - Leading the line for Gunners.
• Hitzlsperger/Demba Ba - On their highs.

Sells-Out

• Van Persie/Kelly/Tim Cahill - Injured.
• Kolo Toure - Suspended due to drug violation.

Squad of XV

GK: Foster

DF: R Johnson, Baines, Zabaleta

MF: Arteta, Hitzlsperger, Lampard, Nasri

F: Zigic, Tevez, Bendtner

Subs (in order): Szczesny, Coleman, Dempsey, Djourou

Captain: Tevez

ECS: Value

Sunday Sparks

It was an entertaining goal feast on Saturday with Manchester City and Arsenal on fire but all the games on Sunday ended with draws! Here are some highlights:

Saturday games

• Ivanovic became the top fantasy scorer of the week with his goal, assist and clean sheet. The Serb is now only five points behind his fellow team mate, who topped the fantasy defender's table for the first third of the season - Ashley Cole.
• Of course, congratulations to Chelsea for finally regaining some stability. Malouda got three bonus points but Drogba, still, in misery.

• Tevez became the hero again after scoring a fantastic goal dribbling past several defenders. A great fantasy captain this week. Dzeko had a decent start as well with one assist.
• On a side note, the Kolarov curse continues - he has never got a clean sheet since December, when City has got four.



Theo Walcott (left) and Robin Van Persie
Each got 16 points, how about you?

• Arsenal pushed Grant's nearer to execution after a marvellous performance by Walcott and Van Persie. Both are undervalued and will be fantastic bargains.
• Defender helped Stoke City to goal again. Not Huth this time, but Higginbotham.
• A goal feast happened in the clash between West Brom and Blackpool, as expected. My loyalty to Odemwingie finally pays as he scored a brace and claimed two bonus points.
• The only draw of Saturday was Wigan-Fulham encounter. A good move for those who took in Dempsey early for the forthcoming gameweek double as he scored eight fantasy points.

Sunday games

Martin Kelly
Played more solid than Glen Johnson on the right.

• Much promised by Liverpool on the first half of Merseyside derby but defensive problems once again took the team down. Kuyt was the top fantasy scorer of the game with 12 points.
• One man note watching is Martin Kelly - he has started all three games under Kenny Dalglish and looked very solid. A pretty good bargain for the coming gameweek double with his £4.2m price tag.

Rafael da Silva
Perfect plan for the next gameweek spoilt due to his red.

• The promising game between Tottenham and Manchester United turned out to be not so promising as both side were held by goalless draw. Fortunately I own Vidic though, as he earned eight points from the game.
• Those who had already bought Rafael for the coming gameweek double will be frustrated with his double yellow. Better luck next week.
• Two other games on Sunday were both ended with 1-1 draws. Gyan and Nolan scored a goal each as they continue to improve their rankings in fantasy table.

Good luck on your preparations for the next week...

Blackpool v Man Utd: POSTPONED

Snow brings disaster to those who made early transfers to bring in United's players.

A bad news for Nani, Rooney, Berbatov, Vidic etc. owners - their will not play this week due to heavy snow at Blackpool.

This leaves Arsenal's players as the obvious captain selections. Good luck.