Stevie G Is Back: Gameweek 8 Fantasy Review

Nothing is feeling better than to score a goal after returning t the
starting XI for the first time in over 6 months.

Liverpool 1-1 Man Utd
LIV: They must be blaming themselves for not taking care of their rivals. They did play well, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game, but the finishing was basically... sucks. Until Andy Carroll hit the expectations on him Liverpool will continue to struggle with this fact.

Adam played extremely well - one of the best game I've seen so far, and is WITH Gerrard on the field. No coexist problems. Great sign to hold him, and certainly bad sign for Carroll.

MUN: Ferguson benched most of his aces - while it's understandable, it's surprising as their opponent is none other than Liverpool. Played overly defensive in my opinion as they were pressed by Liverpool throughout the game.

Welbeck and Chicharito combined for the equaliser. Both are good but I can't see them on the field together frequently with Rooney certainly will dominate one of the two starting forward spots.

Pick: Adam, Welbeck, Chicharito
Watch: Gerrard


Man City 4-1 Aston Villa
MCI: Splendid even without starting Silva, Nasri and Dzeko. Balotelli played an important part in it with an instinctive bicycle kick. Talented but fierce competition upfront will continue to limit his playing time as Aguero returns.

Same goes to Adam Johnson and Milner. Cheap in fantasy, super productive, but will spend a lot of time on the bench.

Captain Kompany scored a goal and a bonus. Still the best City defender to own in my opinion.

AST: Outclassed by Man City. Agbonlahor got a good one-on-one chance but somehow failed to score. His speed and form should continue to produce more fantasy scores though.

Warnock scored the consolation and had another good chance before that. But don't get blind to own him as Villa's defence is not as solid as expected.

Pick: Kompany, Agbonlahor
Watch: Warnock, Balotelli


Norwich 3-1 Swansea
NOR: Great game by Pilkington and Morrison after they squandered so many chances at Old Trafford last week. Pilkington certainly has good finishing. Holt can only blame himself after failing to impress. He lead scorer last season really has no place to stand currently.

SWA: Scott Sinclair continued his fine form as he assisted one for Danny Graham who scored in two games in a row. Both deserve to be monitored.

Pick: Sinclair
Watch: Pilkington, Morrison, Graham


QPR 1-1 Blackburn
QPR: Two rather unpopular players (Helguson and Mackie) combined for the goal. Nothing much to tell here.

BLA: 11 points for Samba, but you must be gutted to pick him based on just one game.

Stoke 2-0 Fulham
STO: Britannia continues to become an untouchable stadium. I believe that owning a Stoke defender (or more) is a must at this point. Shawcross and Begovic are the best choices.

In terms of offence, it's heavily focused on Walters and Etherington - nothing much to confuse you once you've decided to pick a Stoke attackers.

FUL: Not very similar to the level they played last week. Perhaps due to the frightening Britannia's aura.

Pick: Etherington, Shawcross, Walters, Begovic


Wigan 1-3 Bolton
WIG: Al-Habsi's owners must feel happy as the stopper picked up 8 points thanks to his fantastic performance which includes a penalty save.

Having said that, nothing else in Wigan has really impressed me.

BOL: N'gog is showing some great football here with a goal and a foul which earned Bolton a missed penalty. Give him some more time and he might push Klasnic away from starting XI.

The same goes for Eagles. He overpowered Wigan on his own feet. Tremendous.

Pick: Eagles
Watch: Al-Habsi, N'gog
Avoid: WIG players


Chelsea 3-1 Everton
CHE: Sturridge has once again become the key man to the victory. Incredible. Ramires scored one too as he continued to provide good fantasy return with his great runs.

No clean sheets again - Bosingwa owners will surely be frustrated.

EVE: Osman played some good football there. Drenthe was more offensive than what I'd expected. And Vellios' 2 goals in just merely 35 minutes of Premier League exposure is just admirable.

Pick: Sturridge, Ramires, Mata
Watch: Vellios, Drenthe, Osman


West Brom 2-0 Wolves
WBA: Clean sheet are never bad but I doubt people will actually pick their defenders.

Brunt was the main man of the show as he finally showed the display of a key offensive midfielder should have.

WOL: They lost for 5 consecutive games after a great league opening. Big troubles, big confidence crisis.

Get rid of them.

Pick: Brunt
Watch: Odemwingie
Avoid: WOL players


Arsenal 2-1 Sunderland
ARS: Hail captain Van Persie for his great all-round performance. A quick opening goal and a free kick goal are enough for the victory.

But the team in general are still very disappointing - the cohesion is not good enough.

SUN: Seb Larsson scored through a free kick as he once again shown why spot kick takers are worth to be held in your team.

Pick: Van Persie, Larsson


Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham
NEW: Rock solid. I certainly like the way they play. Dominated despite not earning 3 points.

It's also a must to hold a Newcastle defender or goalkeeper at this point, and I think Krul is the best choice.

Ba scored 5 in 3. From a possible flop at gameweek 1 he has developed into a monstrous presence.

TOT: Hail those who didn't drop Adebayor as he started and earned 8 points after being classified as doubtful before the game.

Van der Vaart and Defoe were the usual suspects again, nothing too surprising.

Pick: Ba, NEW defence, Adebayor, VdV
Watch: Defoe

Full-Time: "THE CRAZY" Gameweek 3 Fantasy Review

Wayne Rooney killed the match with 3 set pieces. Ultimate performance at
Old Trafford.

CRAZY! With just 11 goals produced from 6 matches at Saturday, the game between Manchester United and Arsenal alone produced 10 goals (MUN 8-2 ARS)!!! Prior to that Manchester City also thrashed Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane! A super duper unbelievably insane Premier League Sunday. Supreme feast for fans.

Man Utd 8-2 Arsenal
MUN: Complete dominance by the Red Devils as they thrashed the Gunners perhaps too easily. Defence was too easy to pass through as Rooney and co fully capitalised the spaces available to them. Ruthless.

Rooney is spectacular. 2 easy free kicks plus another penalty ensures that Dzeko will not distant himself away in his pursuit of golden boot. Ashley Young is even more productive in fantasy, providing 2 cheap assists by setting up both Rooney's free kicks before completing his third to Park beside scoring 2 entertaining goals. Nani also broke his duck with 1 goal and 1 assist in this reaping game.

Welbeck scored the opener but was unfortunate to get injured during the first half. Anderson and Cleverly continues to boss the midfield and are both cheap and decent picks from the team. Still I would put Rooney and Young plus a defender (Jones, Evans, Smalling) from United as the wisest fantasy picks from United.

De Gea saved a penalty but was at fault for letting Walcott's attempt went in - still not convincing.

Pick: Rooney, Young, MUN defence
Potential Pick: Nani, Cleverly, Anderson


ARS: Horrendous display throughout the game. Midfield was non-existent, defensive positioning was even worse than relegation candidates, and chances were wasted as if they came for free.

Ramsey was perhaps one of the worst players on field - he only knew how to hold the ball and turn around as he received them instead of making some penetrative passes. Jenkinson got yet another red as Wenger perhaps has broken his career record of conceding red cards in 3 straight league games. The way Arshavin wasted a one-on-one effort was also terrible - how did he managed to score 4 at Anfield years ago with this kind of performance?

To sum it up it's probably all Wenger's fault for not altering his tactics with the absence of Fabregas and Nasri. They looked even worse than a League One team when defending against Manchester United.

Drop: ARS players


Tottenham 1-5 Man City
TOT: The team looked totally not on form despite the fact that Modric started the game. They got some good chances but several of them were denied by the woodwork. Rather unfortunate but yet they still don't deserve to win this one.

I would say wait for one or two gameweeks to reassess them when the fixtures are slightly easier.

MCI: Dzeko is simply incredible. Four goals which clearly illustrated how all-rounded he are - left tap, right tap, difficult header of pure class and long-range shoot. He's bringing the best of him after he left Wolfsburg.

Nasri performed a hat-trick of assists on his debut game for City, suggesting that Wenger's tactics are limiting his potential. With so many talent upfront he could as well bang in a lot of fantasy points through his beautiful assists.

Other players like Aguero, Yaya Toure, Barry and Silva all performed well as well in this most expensive offensive package, and it will be difficult to choose who to lead your line.

Pick: Dzeko, Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Yaya Toure


Liverpool 3-1 Bolton
LIV: A masterclass display by Liverpool with all those free-flowing passes. Suarez continues to carry the team forward with all his creativity but he will need to improve his one-on-one skills after missing two golden chances. Still one of the must own fantasy player despite that.

Henderson was a completely different person than the first two games as he blended perfectly with others and definitely owned the first half of the game. His opener was very important and he is fairly rewarded with 3 bonus points.

Adam also scored after assisted the corner for Skrtel and is looking more and more deserved to be price £9.0m in fantasy. Skrtel's introduction was a "perfect accident" for me and he played really well as right back.

Carragher made a silly mistake which costed 4 points from each of the defenders (especially Enrique). It does wonder me whether Coates will push the vice-captain out of starting XI.

Pick: Suarez, Adam
Potential Pick: Henderson, Downing, Skrtel

BOL: Owen Coyle's squad were completely outmatched. Nothing much to say but Klasnic's third goals in three games certainly suggest that he's the king of all third-choice strikers.

Pick: Klasnic


Aston Villa 0-0 Wolves
AST: They were wasting quite an amount of chances here and there against the disciplined Wolves. Something for them to reflect.

WOL: Another solid display by them suggesting that you can trust on Wolves defence now with R Johnson leading the line.

Potential Pick: WOL defence


Wigan 2-0 QPR
WIG: Two medium-range strike by Di Santo suggest that he can outshine Rodallega this season. Moses failed to deliver fantasy points yet again. It's testing your patience.

Potential Pick: Di Santo


QPR: The defeat is rather expected. Hopefully Joey Barton will pull them up a level in next game.

Blackburn 0-1 Everton
BLA: Offensive productivity is a concern as they failed to score any after committed around 20 shots and 2 penalties. That was bitterly penalized through Arteta's penalty.

A strong relegation candidate in my opinion.

Drop: BLA players


EVE: Not very convincing on the field. They'll need to play better against oppositions like Blackburn to fetch a better ranking. Baines collected 3 bonus points - an encouraging sign to own him.

Potential Pick: Baines


Chelsea 3-1 Norwich
CHE: Not really convincing for the win, but AVB won't be unhappy as long as his side claimed 3 points. Drogba fall was the fall of the century anyway. Bosingwa should sit firmly as AVB's first choice right back after yet another fantastic display especially the opening goal.

Mata was the difference between 1 point and 3 points with his good footwork. Something Chelsea's had been missing since the departure of Arjen Robben.

And finally, drop Torres until he broke his duck.

Pick: Bosingwa, Mata
Potential Pick: Lampard
Drop: Torres


NOR: Brave display by the Canaries. Holt finally scored but was at my bench (unfortunately). Didn't look shy to attack. Good game.

Potential Pick: Holt


Swansea 0-0 Sunderland
SWA: Sinclair hit the woodwork once with his thunderous shot - bad news. Not too bad although they failed to register their first goal in the Premier League.

Potential Pick: Sinclair


SUN: Mediocre. Wes Brown claimed 2 bonus points apart from clean sheet points, and is a great £4.5m defender to pick.

Pick: Brown


Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
NEW: The best day for Best to score two impressive goals. Cabaye is showing more and more significance through his midfield leadership and set pieces. It's just a matter of time to see a fantasy boom from him.

Potential Pick: Cabaye, Best


FUL: Senderos was dropped this time for Briggs - he's not that sure as a starter. Dempsey scored his first goal, but it remains to be seen whether he fits his price tag.

West Brom 0-1 Stoke City
WBA: Been dominated for the whole game and yet lost due to one silly mistake by Foster. Long could have make it 3 goals in 3 games but was prevented to do so by Begovic. Brunt continues to look solid in the offensive department.

Potential Pick: Long, Brunt
Drop: Foster


STO: Easy goal by Shotton but it was Walters who deserve more attention in fantasy with his assist.

Potential Pick: Walters

Brilliant Welbeck Thrashed Tottenham

Absolutely brilliant assist by Danny Welbeck as Anderson scored the second goal for Manchester United during their 3-0 thrash against Tottenham Hotspur.

Welbeck actually scored the opening header before backheeled to Anderson for the second. Fantastic game by him.

Will he still start the game with Chicharito close to return? Manchester United simply has too much talent in the house.

It's surprising as well for United to pick up a clean sheet with second string defence.

Pick: Rooney

Potential Pick: Welbeck

The Crazy Premier League Weekend and El Clasico

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid
Ronaldo will regret for what he said before the game.

Unbelievable. The strongest ever Real Madrid in history under the hands of Jose Mourinho still couldn't handle Barcelona. Goals from Xavi, Pedro, Villa (2) and Suarez ensured a perfect victory for the Catalans.

Meanwhile, the Premier League weekend is as entertaining as El Clasico with all 20 teams scored for the first time in the Premier League history. Here are the highlights:

• Arshavin finally found some great form with a stunning display against Aston Villa. On the other side, Clarke almost made himself the man of the match as he led the Villans to reduce the three goal deficit into one.
• Big disappointment towards Elmander and Davies as they failed to scored against Blackpool at Reebok Stadium. M. Davies should really pass all his fantasy points to K. Davies since there are only 0.1% of managers benefiting from his 10 points.
• Everton gave us a big shock to lose 1-4 against West Brom at home. Disgrace. Tim Cahill however continued his consistency with his header goal.
• Dempsey and Larsson scored one for each side as Fulham and Birmingham held draw at Craven Cottage.

Luis Nani and Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian scored a whopping 25 fantasy points while the Portuguese contributed 12.

• Who else can be the star of the week other than the five-goal-Berbatov? He became the fourth player and also the first foreign player to score five goals in one game. Fantastic display after a nine match goal drought. Anyway, Blackburn playing style has been awful this season against superior oppositions.
• Congratulations to Manchester United as this win cemented them two points above Chelsea and also wrote off all the goal difference deficits against the defending champion.
• Manchester City painfully lost two points after a last-gasp equaliser by Stoke City.
• West Ham finally escaped from the curse of draws, beating Wigan 3-1. Piquionne, Parker and Obinna were the heroes, as usual.
• I had correctly predicted one goal each for Bent and Welbeck but Sunderland lost 2-3 to Wolves.
• Snow didn't manage to halt Chelsea's game against Newcastle but the Blue Lions' lost their lead after another disappointing offensive display by them. Drogba has now goalless for 10 hours and 36 minutes on the pitch - the second worst record of his career.
• Liverpool got punished for their failure to capitalise golden chances before Lennon scored a stoppage time goal. Johnson did well to control Bale, but Konchesky is just no match for Lennon in terms of speed. Tottenham had once again recovered three points from losing position, accounting for a total of 16 this season.
• Van der Vaart is injured once again. He will be sidelined for longer this time with his hamstring problem.