Juan Mata’s move to Manchester United ensures that, much like in Fantasy football, it has been another week in which the creative, attacking players have hogged the headlines. Every now and again though, we like to switch the attentions to the men at the back, and so this look at the forthcoming midweek matches is […]
Category Archives: GW previews
GW22 Preview: Reuniting Liverpool’s deadly SAS could be key to Fantasy Premier League glory
Jan 16
The only surprising thing about the fact that 53.1% of Fantasy bosses now own Liverpool’s Luis Suarez (£13.4m) is that there are 46.9% who don’t. The Uruguayan was at it again at Stoke last weekend, scoring twice as the Reds survived a madcap game in rainy conditions to win 5-3. For the final 25 minutes […]
GW21 Preview: With Arsenal’s Walcott woe, Tottenham’s Eriksen could be a wildcard wonder
Jan 9
So the FA Cup third round has been and gone, leaving nothing but the memories of a few shocks, a pink football and the damage done the ligaments of Theo Walcott’s left knee. Yes, just as the Arsenal man was beginning to hit his stride this season he’s been cruelly cut down for the rest […]
GW20 Preview: Back Liverpool’s Luis Suarez to bring in the New Year with goals
Dec 30
The chaos of the festive fixture programme is now dying away somewhat, with just the New Year’s Day matches left for Fantasy bosses to get through. Saturday’s resting and rotation of several of the game’s big hitters made it a tough weekend for all, but things should return to normal for the first matchday of […]
GW19 Preview: Alvaro Negredo can shine in Manchester City’s clash with Crystal Palace
Dec 27
He may have had fortune on his side with the winner that saw off Liverpool on Boxing Day, but providing that he’s fully recovered from those exertions then Manchester City’s Alvaro Negredo (£9.7m) might not need luck to impress against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The forward’s winning goal against the determined Reds owed much to […]
GW18 Preview: Wayne Rooney can take armband as Luis Suarez faces Manchester City
Liverpool have been too far up the table to really take much notice of their great rivals Manchester United this season, but as Brendan Rodgers’ Reds and their star man face a couple of tricky games on the road, David Moyes’ key performer could come to the fore.
Such has been his mastery of all that he’s surveyed this season, there will still be Fantasy bosses who opt to give Luis Suarez (£13.2m) – a player now owned by almost 50% of managers, and one who has registered a staggering 77 points in his last four games (or 154 if he was your captain throughout) – the captaincy as Liverpool go the fortress Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day, but some tasks might prove to be beyond even him.
Instead it could pay to focus on United forward Wayne Rooney (£11.3m), who recovered from an apparent injury to register two assists in the win over West Ham, and who has a couple of simpler assignments on the horizon than Liverpool’s Uruguayan.
As Suarez goes to City and then Chelsea before the New Year, Rooney faces matches first at Hull and then Norwich, before following those up with home clashes against a hit-and-miss Tottenham and an uninspiring Swansea.
If United are to get back in touch with current league leaders Liverpool and the rest of the chasing pack then they are perhaps going to have to pick up 12 points out of those available 12, and Rooney will certainly be key to those efforts in the continued absence of Robin van Persie through injury.
Danny Welbeck (£7.1m) will be a key man too, and with youngster Adnan Januzaj (£4.9m) starting the last three league games he could also be a useful cheap addition should you need one.
Elsewhere, that summit meeting between Manchester City and Liverpool will see the hosts as huge favourites given their terrific home record this season.
With Sergio Aguero still out it’ll be Alvaro Negredo (£9.7m) and Edin Dzeko (£6.7m) who Manuel Pellegrini turns to for goals, but Yaya Toure (£9.8m) scored against the Reds in each of the last two seasons and found the net with a penalty and a free-kick in his last two games.
Also scoring for fun is the Everton defender Seamus Coleman (£6.3m), who has netted in three of his last five matches as well as helping keep two clean sheets.
Blues players should be given serious consideration on Boxing Day as they welcome rock bottom Sunderland to Goodison Park, where Romelu Lukaku (£8.8m), Kevin Mirallas (£7.3m) and Ross Barkley (£5.1m) could all be in the points.
Another of the division’s form players is the Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye (£6.5m), who has registered the full three bonus points in two of his last three games and will be a key man as the Geordies host Stoke at St. James’s Park.
Yet Cabaye’s 8.7% ownership looks massive when you compare it to the measly 1.3% currently enjoyed by Tottenham’s Emmanuel Adebayor (£7.7m).
The Togolese forward came in from the cold to score twice in Spurs’ 3-2 win at Southampton, and as the North Londoners face home games with first West Brom and then Stoke before the New Year his differential potential could be huge for your team.
Adebayor should certainly be considered as a serious alternative to Olivier Giroud (£8.8m), for whom the goalless draw with Chelsea marked a fourth start without a goal and extended a run of just three strikes in his last 12 Premier League games.
Aaron Ramsey (£7.6m) has now netted just twice in his last seven too, with plenty of pressure surely placed on both as the Gunners go to West Ham.
GW17 Preview: Man Utd’s Danny Welbeck can step in for Sergio Aguero and nail Hammers
The calf injury sustained by Sergio Aguero in Manchester City’s madcap 6-3 win over Arsenal will have given plenty of Fantasy bosses a dilemma over this week, but the answer could be lying on the other side of the city.
Obviously every Fantasy boss who has any ambition of doing well this season needs to have Luis Suarez (£12.9m) in their team – more on him later – but if Aguero’s injury has left you one South American down in your strike force, then replacing him with one of England’s forward might well be the way to go.
Fresh from scoring twice in a morale-boosting 3-0 win at Aston Villa – and that League Cup win at Stoke’s Winter wonderland – Danny Welbeck (£7.0m) and Manchester United head into a festive run of fixtures which looks as though it’ll be kind to them, starting with the visit of West Ham to Old Trafford on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney (£11.1m) registered an assist in that Villa game, and he did look to be the logical choice to replace Aguero until injury made him a doubt for the weekend, ensuring that Welbeck is currently considered to be United’s only fully-fit forward.
In the continued absence of the injured Robin van Persie, the doubt over Rooney and also problems with Javier Hernandez (£7.2m), then United will be looking to Welbeck for inspiration ahead of a match that they will expect to win as they chase the teams above them in the table.
West Ham have drawn one and lost three on the road since their memorable 3-0 win at Tottenham in October, a run which culminated in them shipping four goals at Anfield in their last away game.
Scoring goals is also a problem for them, with just six netted in the nine games since that Spurs win – three of which coming in one match against struggling Fulham. Such a record means that the likes of Phil Jones (£5.8m) and Jonny Evans (£5.0m) should also come into your considerations this weekend.
Anyway, what were we saying about Suarez?
Ah yes, Liverpool’s main man continues to score goals and rack up Fantasy points for fun, with his tally of 61 in the last three games alone proving more than all but 11 of the other forwards in the game have managed all season, with the likes of Roberto Soldado (£8.6m), Dimitar Berbatov (£7.0m) and Christian Benteke (£8.8m) all amongst those outside the 11.
Suarez’s next opponents – or should that be victims? – are Cardiff City at Anfield, and whilst he should obviously take your captain’s armband, Jordan Henderson (£5.9m), Raheem Sterling (£4.9m) and defender Jon Flanagan (£4.5m) could be worthy additions after their Spurs heroics. Liverpool do go to Manchester City and Chelsea next though.
The Blues face Arsenal in a huge clash on Monday night, and although the Gunners will still be licking their wounds following the six-goal mauling by City, they will at least welcome the return to goalscoring form of Theo Walcott (£9.1m), who registered his first two goals of the season last weekend.
Aguero’s absence might mean a chance for Edin Dzeko (£6.7m) as City go to Fulham, whilst there will be even more emphasis on Everton’s Romelu Lukaku (£8.6m) at Swansea following a hamstring injury to Gerard Deulofeu (£5.4m) in the victory over Fulham.
The sacking of Andre Villas-Boas following Tottenham’s heavy loss to Liverpool will put even more pressure on Spurs as they go to Southampton, and a Saints side containing the talents of Jay Rodriguez (£5.9m) are likely to cause them problems. The England forward has scored three goals in his last four games.
The most recent of those came in the draw at Newcastle, and the Geordies will expect to get back to winning ways as they go to Crystal Palace, where they’ll be helped by the return of the influential Yohan Cabaye (£6.5m) from suspension.
GW16 Preview: Everton’s Romelu Lukaku to fire against Fulham
Dec 12
Whilst one team in west London continues to misfire, another one could well be on the end of the latest battering administered by their rivals’ best forward. Yes, it remains a curious fact in this Premier League season that Chelsea’s most effective frontman is currently being seen in the blue of another club, not that […]
GW15 Preview: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez simply has to be backed to nail Hammers
We’ll make no apologies for failing to be very original, but after urging you all to make Luis Suarez (£12.4m) your main man for Gameweek 14, we’re going to do so again.
Suarez’s stunning display and four goals – three of which will surely be contenders for Goal of the Month – in Liverpool’s 5-1 victory over Norwich City on Wednesday will live long in the memories of all who were fortunate enough to witness it, and ahead of the visit of West Ham United to Anfield on Saturday there simply isn’t a better captain choice than the Uruguayan.
There were plenty of astonishing statistics doing the rounds on Wednesday night – Suarez has now scored 11 goals in his last four games against Norwich, something that could only bring a rueful smile and a shake of the head from John Ruddy when he embraced him at full-time – but there are others to consider ahead of the weekend too.
After missing Liverpool’s first three home league games of the season through suspension, Suarez has now scored an incredible 10 goals in his four Anfield appearances during this campaign.
Having only scored twice as a team in those three home games their star forward was absent for at the start of the campaign, Liverpool have now hit 16 goals in their last four games on their own turf, something that is sure to worry a West Ham side who lost at Crystal Palace last time out and have only won once away all season.
Another huge blow to the Hammers will be the absence of midfielder Ravel Morrison (£5.1m) through suspension.
The former Manchester United man would have been looking forward to taking on the Reds, but without him and with Suarez in this kind of other-worldly form, there only looks to be one result on the horizon at the weekend. And one man whose goals will provide it.
Elsewhere, there is a former Liverpool player who might just help to fill the Morrison-sized hole in your team.
Swansea’s Jonjo Shelvey (£5.3m) was terrific in racking up 14 points in the 3-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday, and with three goals and three assists this season he is certainly a player to be keeping an eye on.
The Swans face a home game with Hull on Monday night and then go to a Norwich side who will potentially still be dazed from the Suarez show, and Shelvey can take advantage as his team try and break into the top half.
That Swansea-Hull game at the Liberty Stadium is the last of the weekend, but you could argue that the most important will be the first.
Manchester United have slipped to ninth following three winless games, and after the defeat to Everton the bad news keeps coming for David Moyes, who’ll be without the suspended Wayne Rooney (£11.2m) for the home clash with Newcastle.
The Scot will be desperate for Robin van Persie (£13.8m) to return to fitness for that game, which could see Danny Welbeck (£7.0m) make a third start in a row.
There will be plenty of people who fancy Everton to get a result at Arsenal following their win at United, and unlikely Old Trafford hero Bryan Oviedo (£4.3m) will surely keep his place for the trip to the Emirates.
However, the final say there is more likely to come from Mesut Ozil (£10.3m), who scored his first goal in six in the Hull win. Nicklas Bendtner (£6.5m and selected by a huge 0.0% of teams) will drop back to the bench.
Chelsea and Manchester City will be seeking to keep pace with the Gunners at the top as they face two more tricky away games having come through Wednesday night unscathed.
City go to a Southampton side who are suddenly falling away a little, and Alvaro Negredo (£9.3m) will surely return to the visitors’ team in place of Edin Dzeko (£6.8m), whilst Yaya Toure (£9.6m) will be as crucial as ever.
Chelsea are at Stoke, and although that will bring familiar challenges they are likely to be overcome if Eden Hazard (£9.6m) demonstrates the brilliant form he showed in the win at Sunderland.
He didn’t quite reach the levels set by Suarez on Wednesday, but frankly who can?
GW14 Preview: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez to torture Canaries again
Don’t be alarmed by the headline, this isn’t the story of the latest misdemeanour from a player who has had a chequered history in England, but rather about what he’s going to do to his favourite opponents.
Liverpool’s Luis Suarez (£12.3m) might have struggled along with the rest of his teammates in Sunday’s defeat at Hull City, but that will be meaningless when Norwich City come to Anfield on Wednesday night.
The forward has scored seven goals in his last three matches against the Canaries, and as Chris Hughton’s side come to Merseyside the Uruguayan has scored six goals in the three home league matches he’s played this season.
That kind of form is impossible to ignore ahead of a match which Liverpool will need to win following their weekend setback in Yorkshire, where the absence of Daniel Sturridge was keenly felt.
But with five wins from six Anfield assignments this season, 13 goals in their last three matches against Norwich, 11 strikes in their three most recent home games and Suarez in such form against these opponents, Brendan Rodgers will expect to see his team return to winning ways in the quickest possible time.
The Reds boss might well decide to change things around for the contest, but one constant in his team this season remains Jordan Henderson (£5.9m). The midfielder scored in the 5-0 win over Norwich last season, and has played in every minute of every one of Liverpool’s league games during this one.
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Elsewhere during this midweek programme of fixtures, two of the weekend’s happiest teams will meet at the Emirates Stadium.
With the spectres of Chelsea and Manchester City lurking behind them, Arsenal will expect nothing less than a win as Hull come to North London.
When they’ve got a player such as Aaron Ramsey (£7.4m) in their team though, that victory could well be assured.
It is highly likely that the Welshman will have gone up in price by the time the match at the Emirates kicks off on Wednesday, ensuring that he will have risen by a staggering £2m since the opening weekend of the season. Six in every 10 Fantasy Premier League teams include him, and with his two goals in the victory over former club Cardiff last Saturday it is easy to see why.
Tuesday’s only match is a London derby between Crystal Palace and West Ham at Selhurst Park, where Mohamed Diame (£4.7m) will be seeking to build on his weekend performance and goal against the league’s bottom club.
Further up the table, Manchester City go to West Brom fresh from a 3-0 victory over Swansea that was inspired by two goals from Samir Nasri (£8.1m).
Having been regarded as merely a squad player for much of his time at City, the Frenchman is blossoming under the tutelage of Manuel Pellegrini and the continued absence through injury of David Silva.
It might surprise many to find out that Nasri has figured in every one of City’s league games this season, starting nine of the last 10 after coming off the bench in the first three. After his two strikes against Swansea and a goal in the Champions League last week, he can punish a West Brom side who’ve conceded 10 goals in their last five games.
The game of the week probably comes at Old Trafford, where Manchester United boss David Moyes faces up to Everton for the first time since leaving the club in the summer.
Plenty will dub the contest as a battle between Wayne Rooney (£11.1m) and Romelu Lukaku (£8.0m), but United winger Antonio Valencia (£7.1m) has started the last four in the league and could enjoy himself down the right flank in the absence of the injured Leighton Baines from the Everton side.
Injuries have also affected Swansea recently, and as they welcome an in-form Newcastle to the Liberty Stadium their lack of firepower could be punished against a side who’ll include the in-form Loic Remy (£8.1m) and Yoan Gouffran (£6.3m).
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