Kick-Off: Gameweek 36 Fantasy Preview

Awardsss: Gareth Bale is the winner of PFA Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.

Gareth Bale (£10.7m, 12 pts) was all over the headlines after clinching a hat-trick of awards. Astounding. In the European football we saw Bayern completed a 7-0 sweep against Barcelona. The end of an era?

Let's back to our fantasy business anyway with another double gameweek awaiting us...

FEATURED: Manchester United v Chelsea @ Old Trafford
Reigning champions Manchester United will welcome the challenge of Chelsea at the Theater of Dreams.

With nothing else to compete for, the Red Devils will go all out against their new rivals since Roman Abramovich purchased the London club last decade. Robin Van Persie (£13.8m, 8 pts) continues to be the biggest threat and the player of the year of every Manchester United fans. Nonetheless, fantasy managers should take into account of the possibility of "experiments" by Sir Alex Ferguson as he prepares the team for the next season — rotations can possibly harm your fantasy returns from this team.

On the other side, Fernando Torres (£9.3m, - pts) led his side to reach the final of Europa League, and may give United's defence a tough run. Rotations are also a heavy downside here with such compact fixtures for the Blues, but at least Rafa Benitez's side have two games this gameweek to earn fantasy points.

David Luiz (£6.6m, 6 pts) is one good investment to consider, with his defence greatly improved compared to when he was initially at Stamford Bridge and his threatening long range efforts.

There are a lot of uncertainties in this game so let's just stick with a scoring draw.

Prediction: MUN 2-2 CHE

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester City
Sure, Tottenham have better reason to go all out, but City's fixtures are relatively much easier and they need to warm up for their FA Cup final too.

Carlos Tevez (£9.3m, 2 pts) is the obvious pick upfront despite scoring none in the last two games. Yaya Toure (£8.2m, 10 pts) will provide support from the back, and is also a good option for you in this double gameweek.

Defensively it seems rather negative for me against West Brom who have in-form Romelu Lukaku (£6.7m, 15 pts), though Swansea's rather weak offence recently presents the Citizens the chance to clinch a clean sheet.

Prediction: SWA 1-2 MCI, MCI 3-1 WBA

PLAYER FOCUS: Bale
Of course you have to go for Super-Bale, who still has all the reasons to fight for this season. His halo of glories will make his days tougher in front of his opponents, but nonetheless these should not be a problem for him.

GAMEWEEK 36 DREAM TEAM

Robles

Luiz — Dawson — Zabaleta

Bale (C) — Coutinho — Mata — Yaya Toure

Defoe — Tevez (VC) — Lukaku

Subs: Vorm — Walcott — Boyce — Azpilicueta

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 24 Fantasy Preview

Wilfried Zaha to join Manchester United in a £15m move from Crystal Palace.

So Wilfried Zaha confirms his move to Manchester United, though the 20-year-old winger/forward will stay at Crystal Palace in a loan deal until the next summer. Meanwhile at neighbouring city Liverpool are on the verge of getting Inter Milan 20-year-old midfielder Philippe Coutinho. Not quite a silent transfer window.

The FA Cup is producing lots of surprises last weekend, including Tottenham's shock defeat to Leeds United and Oldham's even more incredible victory over Liverpool. Shocks.

GAMEWEEK 23 HIGHLIGHTS

• Arsenal players flourished in this double gameweek following a 5-1 maul over West Ham in the replacement fixture. Theo Walcott (18 pts), Lukas Podolski (17 pts), Olivier Giroud (15 pts) and Santi Cazorla (12 pts) were the outstanding performers.
• Clint Dempsey scored a last-gasp equaliser to cut down Manchester United's lead over Manchester City to five points.
• Liverpool produced another magnificent victory over their favourite prey Norwich as Daniel Sturridge scored 3 in his first 3 appearances with the Reds.

GAMEWEEK 23 TOP SCORERS

1. Theo Walcott (£9.4m, 18 pts): Not only that the forward is brilliant, but he is also consistent recently. Definitely my first pick from Arsenal.
2. Lukas Podolski (£8.3m, 17 pts): Lacks the consistency despite looking brilliant. Will need to do more to impress fantasy managers.
3. David Silva (£9.4m, 16 pts): Can the midfield maestro kick-start his season with this kind of performance? His price is definitely not bad for now.
4. Olivier Giroud (£7.8m, 15 pts): He improves steadily and certainly looks better to own now than before, though still not that value to money when there are cheaper candidates around such as Steven Fletcher (£7.1m, 13 pts).
5. Jonathan De Guzman (£5.8m, 15 pts): A rare striking performance from the midfielder. His price is not at the competitive range though so I do not recommend him.

FEATURED: Arsenal v Liverpool @ Emirates
Both sides are only 3 points away from each other and it's expected to be a tough match-up.

The Gunners are slowly following the footsteps of declining Liverpool, with Top 4 looking to be a not-so-easy task for them this season with Tottenham and Everton in front of the pecking order. But Liverpool are even worse as they are yet to beat any top 10 sides this season.

Theo Walcott will continue to be the greatest threat for Arsenal and is set to create havoc in Liverpool's defence which usually fails miserably against the top offensive sides. This should open up some decent chances for Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud — who scored twice against Brighton last weekend — to score as well.

Meanwhile it will be up to the S.S. partnership — Luis Suarez (£10.5m, 9 pts) and Daniel Sturridge (£7.4m, 6 pts) — to deal some wound to the Gunners' defence. Philippe Coutinho could already be a Red by then, but I don't expect him to get deployed immediately in Brendan Rodgers' system.

Certainly an interesting brawl, but Swansea are the only lesser side to have won at Emirates this season, and so I am going for a home win.

Prediction: ARS 2-1 LIV

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester United
It's too enticing to not go for Manchester United this week, with Southampton the visitors to Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have only lost once this season at home, and won the rest. I have no reason to believe why they will lose points against the side who are just four points away from relegation zone.

Robin Van Persie (£14.1m, 9 pts) continues to be the most trusted fantasy forward with 45% of ownership and should definitely be your first captain choice this week. I still don't see any other good offensive fantasy assets for United anyway so I will stick to Patrice Evra (£7.2m, 1 pt) or Rafael Da Silva (£6.0m, 1 pt) as the second player to own from the Red Devils.

Should not have a hard time dealing with the Saints.

Prediction: MUN 4-0 SOU

PLAYER FOCUS: Silva
With Yaya Toure (£7.7m, - pts) left the team for African Cup of Nations and Samir Nasri (£8.0m, 1 pt) going out of form, David Silva (£9.4m, 16 pts) is the most reliable man from City's midfield and should play a pivotal role against Queens Park Rangers.

GAMEWEEK 24 DREAM TEAM

Begovic

Azpilicueta — Zabaleta — Evra

 Mata — Silva (VC) — Fellaini — Walcott

Van Persie (C) — Tevez — Fletcher

Subs: Guzan — De Guzman —  Wilkinson — Clark

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 18 Fantasy Preview

Total ownage: Chelsea progressed to the semi-finals of League Cup after giving Leeds a five-goal-demolition.

It's certainly a roller-coaster month for Chelsea as they finished off Leeds United in style after a shock Club World Cup defeat to Corinthians. Can they kick-start a good league run with such form?

GAMEWEEK 17 HIGHLIGHTS

• Manchester United maintained their six-point lead after a solid victory over Sunderland. Robin Van Persie (£13.8m, 12 pts) was the hero again with a goal and an assist.
• Santi Cazorla (£9.7m, 23 pts) scored his first Premier League hat-trick as Arsenal recorded an emphatic away win at Madejski Stadium.
• Queens Park Rangers finally got their first victory of the season as Adel Taarabt (£5.6m, 14 pts) scored a both goals for Harry Redknapp's side.
• Marouane Fellaini (£7.7m, 2 pts) is suspended for four games after a Zidane-esque headbutt effort against Ryan Shawcross (£5.8m, 5 pts).

GAMEWEEK 17 TOP SCORERS

1. Santi Cazorla (£9.7m, 23 pts): A hat-trick is always wonderful. Class.
2. Christian Benteke (£6.6m, 15 pts): Killed Liverpool with 2 goals as the striker continues to cement his starting position for Villa.
3. Jan Vertonghen (£6.3m, 15 pts): Scored his second goal of the season as the shows some very good offensive potential.
4. Adel Taarabt (£5.6m, 14 pts): Should play an important role for QPR's defiance against relegation.
5. Lukas Podolski (£8.2m, 14 pts): Played the supportive role in Cazorla's heroic show. Decent.

FEATURED: Swansea v Manchester United @ Liberty
League leaders Manchester United will travel to Swansea in their attempt to at least retain their lead against second-placed City by six points.

Michu (£8.0m, 2 pts) is the man on form now for the home side as he scored 5 goals in the last 4 league games. A big man to mark for Nemanja Vidic (£6.6m, 1 pt), who has just recovered from a long-term injury, and co.

Nonetheless, the Swans have not been doing well defensively so it presents a fair opportunity for Robin Van Persie to take the lead against Michu in the Golden Boot race. Expect the star striker to induce some fear into the home side's defence with Wayne Rooney (£12.0m, 7 pts) pulling the strings from behind.

Should be a quite challenging match, but I think the Red Devils should go through.

Prediction: SWA 0-2 MUN

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester City
City certainly don't want to see their derby rivals Manchester United to extend the lead against them, and should really seize Reading totally.

Yaya Toure (£8.0m, 10 pts), the African player of the year for two successive year, is the hot man this gameweek with more than 130,000 gameweek transfers in currently, and should play a major role in tearing the Royals' defence, while David Silva (£9.4m, 6 pts) will play the supportive role as usual.

Up front it should be Carlos Tevez (£9.5m, 2 pts) partnering Sergio Aguero (£11.0m, 5 pts) once again and you can expect them to tap in some goals.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 RDG

PLAYER FOCUS: Mata
Juan Mata (£9.5m, - pts) has been very integral in Benitez's offensive tactics, so expect him to deliver some magic against Aston Villa this Sunday.

GAMEWEEK 18 DREAM TEAM

Reina

Zabaleta — Ivanovic — Walker

 Snodgrass — Taarabt — Mata (C) — Yaya Toure

Van Persie — Tevez — Suarez (VC)

Subs: Jaaskelainen — Sterling —  Demel — Fonte

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Saturday Screamers: BerbaTOP at London

Berbatov hitting the second goal from the spot in Fulham's 3-0 victory against West Brom.

20 goals were produced in 8 Premier League games yesterday! Here are some highlights:

• BerbaTOP. Former Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov (£7.0m, 10 pts) was the man in Fulham's comprehensive victory over West Brom, scoring the first 2 goals for the team. Looks like a great value buy with as his price is certainly much lower than what his ability suggests. Good to go if you are low on budget.
• Also providing super value returns is budget midfielder Alex Kacaniklic (£4.6m, 9 pts), who provided 2 assists. Certainly one of the best fifth midfielder across FPL at the moment.
• Meanwhile, Arsenal recorded a whopping 6-1 victory over Southampton, with Yao Gervinho (£7.3m, 12 pts) the top scorer with 2 goals. Not so sure about his prospect yet, as I believe he is quite susceptible to rotation.
• Lukas Podolski (£8.5m, 6 pts) is the man that you should go for instead as he scored a direct free kick goal and was the main reason for Southampton's first own goal of the match. The German certainly played well as a centre forward and left Olivier Giroud (£8.8m, 1pt) pondering on the bench.
• Kieran Gibbs (£5.8m, 8 pts) provided 2 assists, while Santi Cazorla (£9.2m, 5 pts) carried forward his fine form with another assist. The only poor performer was Wojciech Szcznesny (£5.5m, 2pts) who made a silly mistake and costed the whole defensive line precious clean sheet points.
• At Old Trafford we saw Manchester United thrashed Wigan 4-0, with Alexander Buttner (£5.5m, 14 pts) providing a superb penalty box dribble plus narrow angle goal.
• "Chicharito" Javier Hernandez (£7.5m, 7 pts) missed a penalty but compensated with a goal and an assist later, while Paul Scholes (£5.3m, 8 pts) scored yet another goal in this 700th game as a Red Devil.
• Owners of Robin Van Persie (£13.5m, 1 pt) will surely be disappointed, as the Dutch only featured as a substitute and provided nothing for the day, which is definitely an unacceptable return for his price.
• Meanwhile, Asmir Begovic (£5.0m, 4 pts) made numerous fantastic saves as defending champions Manchester City had to satisfy with a draw at Britannia Stadium.
• Newcomer Javi Garcia (£5.5m, 6 pts) has shown fine aerial ability with a header goal plus another near header goal, but in long-term Yaya Toure (£8.2m, 2pts) continues to be the best pick among City midfielders after yet another superb display.
• Poor finishing and calamitous defence continues to haunt Liverpool as the Reds are yet to enjoy their first victory this season after a 1-1 draw with Sunderland. Raheem Sterling (£4.5m, 5 pts) delivered fantasy points finally after some fantastic displays.
• Luis Suarez (£9.4m, 5 pts) scored the equaliser for Liverpool, but Steven Fletcher (£7.0m, 6 pts) is the better man to own at the moment with 3 goals already in 2 games for Sunderland.
• Swansea were back on earth as they succumbed a 0-2 defeat to Aston Villa. Matthew Lowton (£4.5m, 11 pts) and Christian Benteke (£6.5m, 5 pts) provided the 2 goals, but one should take more time to assess their fantasy potential before deciding whether or not to get them.
• West Ham enjoyed their third clean sheet of the season in only four games after a goalless draw with Norwich, while Chelsea's attacking elites failed to get the ball pass Julio Cesar (£5.0m, 7 pts) in an intense derby at Loftus Road.

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 3 Fantasy Preview

Can Carlos Tevez continue to fire?

It was Chelsea and Swansea players who bossed the gameweek again with Hazard, Torres, Rangel and Michu all scoring double digit scores. Interestingly though, fantasy managers continue to jump into Hazard and Torres' bandwagon, despite Chelsea will take no part in gameweek 3 due to European Super Cup fixture against Athletico Madrid. Will the price rises worth more than the points sacrificed? Time will tell.

Do take note that Reading will play no part in gameweek 3 as well. My advice: plan your transfer wisely.

GAMEWEEK 2 TOP SCORERS

1. Angel Rangel (£5.1m, 14 pts): Scored a rather lucky goal and secured yet another clean sheet. Not bad to own though I believe Ashley Williams (£5.0m) will be a better pick in long run with his tendency to collect higher scores in EA Sports PPI than his defensive teammates (which means higher chances to claim bonuses).
2. Eden Hazard (£9.9m, 13 pts): Recorded his sixth assist and first league goal. This lad simply dominates and is on his way to become the next C. Ronaldo — the automatic fantasy captain — in FPL.
3. Carlos Tevez (£9.6m, 12 pts): Continued to dominate in Sergio Aguero's absence. A wonderful pick as I mentioned earlier this week.
4. Fernando Torres (£10.1m, 11 pts): Hazard simply made him alive. Great great stuff from El Nino.
5. Benoit Assou-Ekkoto (£6.5m, 11 pts): Pretty good offensively, but I still cannot trust Andre Villas-Boas yet especially in defence.

TRANSFER UPDATES

• Kevin Mirallas (Olympiakos to Everton): Had a dream debut for Everton against Leyton Orient in Capital One Cup fixture. Worth scouting with his price of £7.5m.
• Cesar Azpilicueta (Marseille to Chelsea): Could challenge Branislav Ivanovic's (£6.7m) position as right-back. Priced £6.0m.
• Nuri Sahin (Real Madrid to Liverpool): Great addition for Liverpool, though it remains unknown how effective he will be.
• Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea to QPR): Available at £5.0m, he will need to deliver offensively to compensate for QPR's fragility in defence.
• Julio Cesar (Inter Milan to QPR): Another ambitious signing. Perhaps he can give more clean sheets to QPR.
• Adam Johnson (Manchester City to Sunderland): He will get good playing minutes to show his fantasy effectiveness. Good fantasy price at £7.0m.
• Ki Sung-Yueng (Celtic to Swansea): Second Asian to join Premier League this season. Hopefully his footwork is as handsome as his k-pop face.

FEATURED: Liverpool v Arsenal @ Anfield
I was wrong last week about Liverpool's chance against Manchester City. They played pretty well offensively, only to be pulled down by their defensive errors. This week they will continue to play at home against Arsenal, who are both yet to score and concede any goals this season.

Nuri Sahin is still not listed in FPL — until we know his price only can we determine his value. He is good in long pass though. Luis Suarez (£9.5m) and Steven Gerrard (£9.5m) continue to be Liverpool's main fantasy force, though their value can only be justified if Brendan Rodgers' tiki-taka starts to flourish.

As for Arsenal, their defence are reaping a lot of points for fantasy managers. Thomas Vermaelen (£7.0m) is the usual luxurious pick to own, while Carl Jenkinson (£4.6m) has provided a super value alternative to fantasy managers. Both are good picks.

While in offence, Olivier Giroud (£8.9m), Lukas Podolski (£8.4m) and Santi Cazorla (£9.0m) should be able to take advantage of the Reds' porous defence, though I believe Liverpool should also make Arsenal concede with home advantage.

Prediction: LIV 1-1 ARS

TEAM FOCUS: Manchester City and Manchester United
Both clubs in Manchester have great fixtures this week, but let's talk about City who will play at home first. Against Queens Park Rangers who are notoriously poor on defence, they have all the chance to score. You can do much worse than getting Carlos Tevez (£9.5m), David Silva (£9.9m) and Yaya Toure (£8.0m) and play them.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will travel to St. Mary's Stadium in their attempt to take 3 points from Southampton. Robin Van Persie (£13.2m) and Shinji Kagawa (£8.6m) are two obvious picks given Wayne Rooney's (£11.9m) injury which will ruled him out for 8 weeks. Not so hype on their defenders though, given their shaky performance against Fulham.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 QPR, MUN 3-1 SOU

PLAYER FOCUS: Adebayor, Ba, Cisse and Michu
Tottenham are going to face Norwich at home this week, so one would expect their attacking pack to shine. I like the prospect of Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.6m) more though, as Rafael Van der Vaart (£8.9m) and Gylfi Sigurdsson's (£8.9m) roles are still relatively unknown in Andre Villas-Boas tactics and Gareth Bale (£9.5m) is struggling to find his form.

Newcastle will deal with Aston Villa who struggle under Paul Lambert's reign, so one would expect the front duo — Demba Ba (£7.7m) and Papiss Cisse (£9.5m) — to contribute fantasy points. Hatem Ben Arfa (£7.6m) should also perform.

Michu (£7.1m) continues to be my weekly pick meanwhile, until his performance suggests otherwise.

STATUS UPDATES

• Wojciech Szcznesny (£5.5m): Unknown (75% playing).
• John Terry (£6.9m): Muscle injury (75% playing).
• Rio Ferdinand (£5.9m): Groin injury (50% playing).
• John Arne Risse (£5.5m): Knock (75% playing).
• Younes Kaboul (£5.4m): Knee injury (unknown return date).
• Lucas Leiva (£4.9m): Thigh injury (unknown return date).

GAMEWEEK 3 DREAM TEAM

Hart

Rafael — Williams — Coloccini

Michu — Kagawa — Ben Arfa — Yaya Toure

Adebayor — Van Persie (VC) — Tevez (C)

Subs: Al-Habsi — Hangeland — Kacaniklic — Figueroa

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Sunday Aftermath: From Hero to Zero

Martin Skrtel was influential on both ends of pitch... One of the ends was a wrong end unfortunately.

Dramatic game at Anfield on Sunday as we saw Liverpool fantastic offence got jeopardized by their shabby defence. Here's my notes on yesterday's game:

• Martin Skrtel (£6.0m). The defender got all the flashlights as he dictated the game with one atomic header and one assist — to Carlos Tevez (£9.4m) unfortunately.
• Tevez once again became the hero for Manchester City, capitalizing both defensive errors of the Reds and recorded one goal and one assist. Great, great underpriced fantasy acquisition, especially when Sergio Aguero (£11.2m) is injured and QPR are the next team on City's fixtures.
• Brendan Rodgers started Raheem Sterling (£4.5m) instead of Stewart Downing (£6.4m) on the left flank surprisingly, and that has paid great dividends. The 17-year-old winger played as if he's a Premier League veteran — calm, composed, and low on errors. Might be the best £4.5m player to own if he can squeeze Downing away from starting XI.
• Luis Suarez (£9.5m) scored the first direct free-kick goal (watch here) of Premier League this season. A very beautiful goal. If and only if he can be more accurate in shooting on open play and provide more in fantasy terms...
• Yaya Toure (£8.0m) continued his spectacular and scored 9 fantasy points. The lad seems to be a better pick than David Silva (£10.0m) at the moment, who only featured as a substitute and broke his fantasy managers' heart.
• As for Arsenal, they failed to grab a goal once again and stuck 0-0 against Stoke City. Thomas Vermaelen (£7.0m) continued to shine though, getting yet another clean sheet and 2 bonus points. Still one of the most productive defender in the luxurious line.
• Meanwhile, Carl Jenkinson (£4.6m) continued to provide super-productive fantasy return for his price, scoring 16 points in aggregate — on par with his new captain Vermaelen. But can he maintain his position when Bacary Sagna (£5.5m, expected to return on 02 September) returns? Big question mark to answer.
• Michael Kightly (£5.5m) of Stoke also continued his fine form, scoring 5 bonus points in 2 games. Looks like the killer-passer in League Championship years ago (check his historical stats here) is getting back his magic feet.
• As for late Saturday game, Eden Hazard (£9.8m) combined with Fernando Torres (£10.1m) for both of Chelsea's goals in their win over Newcastle. The duo are attaining the "must have" status in FPL, with fantasy managers continue to jump into the bandwagon to get him despite Chelsea having no game in gameweek 3.
• Juan Mata (£9.4m), on the other hand, continued to disappoint fantasy wise, having played too deep to contribute any goals or assists.

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Finale: Gameweek 38 Fantasy Preview

Congratulations Chelsea!

Overview
Title race? Still on. Survival struggles? Still fighting. Champions League spot? Still in contest. All these make a wonderful finale to this season's Premier League. Exciting.

Game of the Week: Manchester City v Queens Park Rangers

Title hopes on his shoulder.

Three points is a must for both sides: the home side is eager to lift the top flight league trophy since 1968, while the away is hoping to maintain its spot at the Premier League to preserve the pride as last season's League Championship winner, especially when the other two promoters (Swansea and Norwich) were freed from relegation threats much earlier this season.

Aguero and Tevez should lead the line as usual to crush QPR's much fragile defence, with supports coming in from Silva and Yaya Toure. Defensively they should continue to be resolute, like how they held off in-form Papiss Cisse last game.

I can't see how QPR is going to go against all odds and crush City's title hopes. A pray for Bolton to not win sounds more realistic to me.

Prediction: MCI 2-0 QPR
Pick and Captain: Aguero
Pick: MCI defence, Silva, Tevez, Yaya Toure


Fantasy Game of the Week: Chelsea v Blackburn

Great ending for El Nino?

Blackburn has already relegated - this means they would play purely for the sake of entertainment. Chelsea, meanwhile, has nothing to fight for in this very last gameweek of the season and will surely play with less seriousness. Expect some big scoreline.

Torres could lead the line and score a hat-trick again just like what he did against QPR weeks before. Looking good for his price of  £9.9m. Yakubu on the other side looks to be a good investment as well, except that he will be facing Terry who needs to put on his best to lock a spot in England's 2012 Euro team sheet.

A big scoreline in the waiting.

Prediction: CHE 4-2 BLA
Pick and Captain: Torres
Pick: Mata, Yakubu
Drop: Defences


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain
Rooney - Still chasing City.
Van Persie - Needs to lock on third place for Arsenal.

Pick
P Cisse - Always a good choice.
Van der Vaart - Still fighting for Champions League spot.

Gameweek 38 Dream Team

Vorm

Clichy -- Evra -- Walker

Mata -- Silva -- Valencia -- Van der Vaart

Aguero (C) -- Rooney (VC) -- P Cisse

Subs: Sorensen -- Sigurdsson -- Bosingwa -- Skrtel

Kick-Off: Gameweek 26 Fantasy Preview

Rafa Benitez: Man in favour to replace Andre Villas-Boas should
Roman Abramovich decides to sack the young manager.

Overview
Champions League quarter-finals are set to be without Premier League clubs this season after Arsenal's humiliating 0-4 defeat and Chelsea's 1-3 loss against Italian sides AC Milan and Napoli respectively. Chelsea's gaffer Andre Villas-Boas will receive even greater pressure as Champions League knock-out will surely make his job even close to its end. He's on 1/2 now to be the next Premier League manager to go.

Do be reminded that League Cup final between Liverpool and Cardiff City will take place this weekend so there will be no league fixture for the Reds. Bench Liverpool's players or sell them if necessary. You should also be alerted (if you did not get informed earlier) that Valencia is injured, while super defender Assou-Ekkoto is doubtful for this week's match.

Game of the Week: ARSENAL v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Big hopes on
Oxlade-Chamberlain again.

The Gunners will host Tottenham this week as it looks like only Champions League qualification can salvage the club's terrible season.

Arsenal has already been knock out from both local cup tournaments (Carling Cup and FA Cup), and it seems inevitable that they will exit Champions League after being swept down 0-4 by AC Milan. Though they are now sitting fourth in the league, they only led fifth placed Chelsea via goal difference and thus cannot afford to lose more points.

Henry has returned to United States so the team will continue to rely on captain Robin van Persie and bright starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to do wonders in offence. Assou-Ekkoto might be absent so Walcott might have the chance to dominate through Arsenal's right flank.

Their London derby rival meanwhile, is not without problems. Rumours of the club's manager possible employment as England's manager never stops circulating around. As for the players, ex-Gunner Adebayor should be available along with Van der Vaart, but how is the offence is going to be setup remains unknown with Saha around.

Considering Arsenal's rather stable home form, the Gunners should be capable of holding Tottenham off. Not so positive for a home win though.

Prediction: ARS 1-1 TOT
Pick: Van Persie, Adebayor
Drop: ARS defence


Fantasy Game of the Week: MANCHESTER CITY v BLACKBURN ROVERS

Yaya Toure is pivotal in
both City's attack and defence.

Blackburn - the side which never fails to leak goals. What could possibly better for City than to face them at home?

Amazingly the Rovers are yet to collect their first Premier League clean sheet this season. That's a great news for City's attackers, who should be pretty much back on track in offence after crushing Porto 4-0 in Europa league.

Tevez will be back in 2-3 weeks according to Mancini but the return of Yaya Toure serves more importance. It was no coincidence that City won easily with the Ivorian player around as his absence to play African Cup of Nations was reflected in City's recent mediocre results. Now that he's back, City should once again shows better form in league games.

Not to show disrespect Blackburn, but even with Yakubu around, City with Toure is just too tough for them to face.

Prediction: MCI 4-0 BLA
Pick and Captain: Aguero, Silva
Pick: Dzeko, MCI defence, Yaya Toure
Drop: BLA players


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

• Ba - Very reliable and clinical.
• Rooney - More responsibility with in-form Valencia not around.

Pick:

• Sturridge - Mata has a suspected finger injury going on, so Sturridge is apparently the safest pick.
• NEW defence  - Should be able to get a good result this time.
• Zamora - Should be motivated to score against Martin Jol's team.
• McClean/ Sessegnon - Sunderland now plays like a top four side, and the duo are the leading casts.
• Nani/ Young  - The duo should operate the flanks in the absence of Valencia.

Drop:

• BOL defence/ WOL defence - Both having tough tests this week.
• NOR defence - Rarely any team can withstand Manchester United's offence.
• EVE players/ LIV players - Not playing this week.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

• Sessegnon/ McClean - Buy in trend continues to bloom.
• Yaya Toure - £7.5m is a very enticing price for his quality.
• Ba - Very loved by fantasy managers.
• MCI defence - Clean sheet probability should increase thanks to Yaya Toure's return.
• Aguero - Back in form.

Yellow light (watch):

• Cleverley - It remains to be told whether he will be as productive as before he was injured.
• Pogrebnyak - Seems to be effective in Martin Jol's strategy.

Red light (sell):

• Valencia - Injured.
• Terry - Injured.
• LIV players - Not playing this week, Arsenal next week.
• Major League Soccer loaned players (Keane, Henry, Donovan) - End of contract.

Gameweek 26 Dream Team

Hart

Simpson -- O'Shea -- Shawcross

Silva -- Nani -- McClean -- Sessegnon

Ba (VC) -- Aguero (C) -- Rooney

Subs: Sorensen -- Moses -- G Cahill -- Caldwell

Kun On Fire: City Displaying the Aura of Title Favourites

Easy victory for Manchester City. They were so dominant throughout the game against Swansea. If not for Vrum's saves Swansea would had lost the game completely during the first half.

Check for Aguero - he played for less than 30 minutes from the bench, and recorded 2 goals and 1 assist in such a limited time for his Premier League debut! No adapting problems - good signal for fantasy managers.

Also doing well are Dzeko, Silva and Yaya Toure. Who will lead City's fantasy offence apart from Aguero? Though I believe it should be Silva, the other two are not too far behind.

Be sure that you own Manchester City players, one each at offence and defence department. It is crucial for your fantasy destiny.

Pick: Aguero, Silva, Yaya Toure, MCI defence
Potential Pick: Dzeko

Kick-Off: Gameweek 1 Fantasy Preview

North London in chaos.

Overview
Riots were all over England as Premier League begun its new season countdown. Fortunately the situation is controlled now, with only the game at White Hart Lane (Tottenham v Everton) being postponed due to its location which is very near to the origin of the riot.

9 games are expected to play this Saturday. Are you ready yet?

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

1. Aston Villa (@FUL, BLA, WOL, @EVE, NEW, @QPR, WIG) - Apart from away game to Fulham and Everton, these are pretty easy for the Villans. Bent, N'Zogbia and Given should be a part of your team if you want a good start for the next two months.
2. Chelsea (@STO, WBA, NOR, @SUN, @MNU, SWA, BOL) - What an easy start for AVB. Apart from the visit to Old Trafford and possibly Stadium of Light as well, the rest will most probably give them easy 3 points.

In hell run:

1. Bolton (@QPR, MCI, @LIV, MNU, NOR, @ARS, CHE) - Fighting 5 of the top 6 last season in two months is definitely a crazy task for Owen Coyle. They should feel proud if they are not at the bottom of the league after these 7 games.
2. Blackburn (WOL, @AVL, EVE, @FUL, ARS, @NEW, MCI) - The opening game against Wolves is somewhat crucial for them. For the next 6 games the Rovers are either visiting tough home teams or getting visited by tough teams.
3. Tottenham ( - , @MNU, MCI, @WOL, LIV, @WIG, ARS) - Packed against title rivals in their first 7. Home games will be crucial in deciding their target for this season.
4. Stoke (CHE, @NOR, @WBA, LIV, @SUN, MNU, @SWA) - The Potters are only good at home... Their first few visitors to Britannia are damn tough.

Jordan Henderson to face
his former club this week.

Game of the Week: LIVERPOOL v SUNDERLAND
Henderson will play against his old club as Liverpool plan to make a brilliant start for their new campaign.

Both clubs have splashed significant amount of money in the transfer market. However, compared to the signings of Liverpool, it is obvious that Sunderland's newcomers are one level below of Liverpool's.

I am not seeing a clean sheet here, but at Anfield, the Reds should open their season with 3 solid points.

Carroll and Downing are the safest fantasy picks for Liverpool currently; as for Sunderland, take Larsson or Gyan if you are expecting away goals.

Prediction: LIV 3-1 SUN
Pick as captain: Carroll
Pick: Downing, Larsson, Gyan
Drop: SUN defenders


Fantasy Game of the Week: MAN CITY v SWANSEA

Goals or reds from Balotelli?

A super tough game to begin the Premier League journey. Swansea, the newcomer, will visit to Manchester to fight the best defence in the Premier League.

Compared to the mega budget City, Swansea's squad is as thin as paper. It looks like a mission impossible for them to beat City on the road.

It is obvious to start all City players you have. Aguero is still lack of match fitness, so stay away from him as for now. The only man at Swansea worthy for a fantasy start this gameweek is Scott Sinclair.

Prediction: MCI 3-0 SWA
Pick as captain: Balotelli, Silva, Yaya Toure
Pick: MCI defenders, Dzeko
Drop: SWA players


Pick and Drop

Nani should get a head start in
fantasy scoreboard.

Pick as captain:

1. Rooney, Nani, Young - Man Utd visits WBA, the poorest defence unit of last season, this week.
2. Van Persie - Confirmed to be available after all the injury doubts. Fabregas and Nasri's transfer sagas should not affect him.

Pick:

1. Malouda, Lampard - Chelsea is in spectacular form throughout pre-season.
2. Taarabt, QPR defenders  - They are facing much deteriorated Bolton at home. Wait to see Neil Warnock's preferred forward selections though.
3. Rodallega - Norwich shouldn't be too tough for him.

Drop:

1. BOL defenders - Away clean sheet seems impossible.
2. Torres - AVB is more keen to use Drogba currently.
3. David Luiz, Ivanovic - Both not fit for this week.
4. Fabregas, Nasri - Goodbye soon.
5. EVE and TOT players - How to score points with no games to play?

Transfer Traffic

GW 1 special: recommended initial squad

Given -- Al-Habsi

Kompany -- Rafael -- Enrique -- Hughes -- Gabbidon

Nani -- Yaya Toure -- N'Zogbia -- Taarabt -- Sinclair

Drogba -- Bent -- Holt

Budget: £99.0m

*It is advised to left some extra money in the bank for acquisition of expensive, on form players without taking any penaltied transfers.

Gameweek 1 Dream Team

Hart

Kompany -- Alex -- Gabbidon

Malouda -- Nani (VC) -- Downing -- Yaya Toure -- Taarabt

Carroll (C) -- Balotelli

Subs: Al-Habsi ---- Rodallega -- Samba -- Briggs

Gameweek 36 Fantasy Preview

Wayne Rooney v Lionel Messi
The replay of 09 Final will commence at Wembley.

Therer you go. Barcelona v Manchester United. La Liga #1 v Premier League #1. Great match-up promised. Hopefully I will be watching a football game then, not a battle for Oscar awards.

Last week it was Kuyt and Suarez who led the show, as expected. However, Simon Davies stole the gameweek #1 with 16 fantasy points as Fulham will host Liverpool this week. Interesting.

This week will only be more exciting with Tottenham and Manchester City's going head-to-head on their replacement fixture and Chelsea visiting Old Trafford in an attempt to drag the Red Devils down from the summit. Great great fights are promised.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Fernando Torres
Can he conquer Old Trafford like what he has done before with Liverpool?

Manchester United v Chelsea
Climax of the season. Should United wins, the title goes to them for sure; should Chelsea take three points, they will be on the driving seat to recrown themselves.

Ferguson has deployed his second string players against Schalke during the second leg of the Champions League - a decision which both rested his players ahead of this game and allowed benchwarmers to express themselves. That is, Chelsea won't have any fitness advantages against them.

On the other hand, while Chelsea has already recorded five consecutive league victories, their actual performance on the field were less convincing. They could have easily lost to West Ham should the Hammers were able to grab their chances, while the win against Tottenham was just so controversial.

Both are very good at defence, but Chelsea have to keep attack to continue their title hunt. A scoring draw for me.

Prediction: Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea

The Gameweek Doublers

• Manchester City (Everton @ away, Tottenham @ home) - Not an easy one for a double. Everton are tough, as always, while Tottenham will have all the reason to give out all of their hearts for the game. Prediction: Everton 1-1 Man City, Man City 2-2 Tottenham
• Tottenham Hotspur (Blackpool @ home, Man City @ away) - Should be very comfortable against Blackpool. You should pool at least one of the Tottenham attackers. Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Blackpool, Man City 2-2 Tottenham

The Rest

• Aston Villa v Wigan (2-0) - Ashley Young to send Wigan down?
• Bolton v Sunderland (2-0) - Sturridge is doubtful. If he starts he is one of the captain material for this week.
• Newcastle v Birmingham (2-0) - As usual, Birmingham fails to impress anybody away.
• West Ham v Blackburn (2-1) - Win this or get lost. A game of unrivaled importance for the Hammers.
• Wolves v West Brom (1-2) - Farewell game for Big Mick?
• Stoke City v Arsenal (2-3) - Proceed with caution. Stoke had been causing troubles and troubles to the Gunners every time they met.
• Fulham v Liverpool (2-2) - Craven Cottage is never a fun place to visit.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Sylvie Van der Vaart
Captain his husband.

Captain Picks

• Van der Vaart - Double game with one against one of the poorest defence in the league.
• David Silva - Dictates City offence in the absence of Tevez.

Buys-In

• Van der Vaart - Tottenham still has reason to win.
• Toure Yaya - Cheap and effective.

Sells-Out

• Nani - Less influential now with Valencia on form.

Squad of XV

GK: Jaaskelainen

DF: Kolarov, Dawson, Gary Cahill

MF: Silva, Yaya Toure, Van der Vaart, A Young, Modric

F: Bent, Van Persie

Subs (in order): Friedel, Ameobi, Walker, Coloccini

Captain: Van der Vaart

ECS: Value

Treble Gone Away From United

Gnegneri Yaya Toure
Scored the only goal to take Manchester City to Wembley.

An unfortunate day for Manchester United as they were outshone by their local rivals Manchester City.

Yaya Toure scored the only goal of the game but the Red Devils can only have themselves to blame for. Berbatov especially, has wasted a big deal of chances at the beginning of the game.

It looks like Mancini will win a trophy to secure his place. Good luck.