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GW5 preview: More than Arfa chance! Featuring MVF’s Adam Richman?? Yes, Really!
Gameweek 5 preview: More than Arfa chance
You’re still here then? You haven’t decided to throw in the towel after the trials and tribulations of last weekend? I salute you.
I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d gone. It was a Gameweek which saw barely any goals for the usual suspects, the early substitutions of others and a late appearance off the bench for everyone’s favourite expensive Dutchman. You might as well have picked your team by tossing 11 coins.
It’ll be different this week though, as the clubs return to action following midweek European appearances no doubt refreshed and ready to earn you some points.
One man who’ll certainly be prepared is the Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, who misses his side’s Europa League trip to Portugal due to a European suspension which dates back to his Marseille days.
That means he’ll be fresh for Norwich’s visit to Tyneside on Sunday afternoon, when Alan Pardew’s men will be expecting to earn a victory for only the second time in this Premier League season and the first since the opening day.
The fortuitous draw at Everton did at least highlight that the Magpies are made of resilient stuff this season, and given that Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Jonas Gutierrez and the admittedly under the weather Papiss Cisse were also all left out of the squad to travel to Madeira and face Maritimo, Pardew’s key men will all be fit and raring to go for the visit of the former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton and his side.
Admittedly a player who can struggle when his side are under the cosh as they were at Everton, Ben Arfa picked up 10 points in Newcastle’s opening home game of the season against Tottenham, and then nine in the second against Aston Villa.
The Frenchman loves the Tyneside air, and he could well make Norwich suffer in it come Sunday afternoon.
Elsewhere over this Premier League weekend, eyes are inevitably drawn to the most super of super Sundays as Liverpool take on Manchester United at Anfield before Manchester City host Arsenal.
The focus in the former clash is likely to be just as much on the off-field matters as on-field ones, but Liverpool will be determined to give their old rivals a stern test as they go in search of a first win of the league season. They might not get it here, and the tight nature of the contest makes it difficult to recommend any player from either side. The same can be said of the match at the Etihad Stadium, although City should do enough to win.
For Fantasy football purposes – and that is why we’re here – both matches should be avoided, but the same can’t be said for Chelsea’s clash with Stoke at Stamford Bridge.
The early season pacesetters may have suffered the blow of letting their lead over Juventus slip on Wednesday night, but they’ll be determined to come out fighting after dropping their first Premier League points of the season at QPR last weekend. Petr Cech and his defenders will be confident of a clean sheet, and whilst it has been a whole week since Eden Hazard made an assist, perhaps it’ll be the returning Juan Mata who comes to the fore on Saturday – particularly if Oscar is out injured.
After recommending him last week, Dimitar Berbatov didn’t let us down with two goals against West Brom, and the Bulgarian will fancy hitting the back of the net again when Fulham go to Wigan. If you’ve got slightly more to spend though then perhaps it could be better invested in Jermain Defoe, who overcame the indignity of having to play in that terrible Tottenham away shirt to score twice against Reading last Sunday.
If he can get over that, then QPR at home should be a doddle.
Gameweek 5 Preview – EXTRA TIME
As a special addition to our GW5 preview, Fantasy Yirma had the pleasure of speaking to Man Versus Food legend Adam Richman this week. Now that he has thrown in the fork on eating challenges he has discovered a love for all things Fantasy Football.
Adam plays the Telegraph version of the game here in the UK so first things first – we must get him in the official game also next time!
Speaking about the season so far, Adam has a strong team and you can tell he takes his Fantasy Football seriously when as a Spurs fan he is loaded up with Chelsea players. It’s reassuring to hear that Adam is facing a lot of similar dilemmas as us with his team at the moment with question marks over Swansea and Fulham players giving him food for thought this week.
We asked Adam to select a Captain for GW5, (or predict the GW-MVP-ESPN style, gotta love an acronym or three) and here were his thoughts.
“This week Chelsea will dominate I think” Key Player? “more than likely Hazard”
Thanks to Adam for speaking with @fantasyyirma this week, and good luck this season.
The gauntlet has been thrown down for you to join the Yirma mini- league next season! 🙂
Guest Post: Midfield Selection Advice (By @shots_on_target)
Many thanks to our guest post from @shots_on_target . If you would like to get involved and write your own guest post for Fantasy Yirma feel free to contact us via email, twitter or directly on the site
A few days ago I took a look at 5 budget midfielders whose performances in the Premier League had caught my eye, based on their FPL points to date plus their underlying stats that led to those points. ( http://shotsontarget.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/5-budget-midfield-options.html )
The midfield options for an FPL side are one of the most important areas of the team. Upfront can tend to pick itself at times and many elect to play a 3 man defence so the midfield is all important and a potential conundrum.
This article looks at some midprice options, ones that offer no surprise to anyone reading this I’m sure, but their attention is warranted, both on FPL points scored and underlying stats. In a future post (soon) I am going to look at the 5 midfielders in this price range that have come in under the radar.
What to expect of a midprice midfielder?
I’m putting midprice at £6.0 – 8.0m. Based on the rationale outlined in the budget midfielder’s post, I’m gonna aim for a target of 150 FPL points, or roughly 4 pts/game. This will require an offensive points tally of about 60 points, which equates to 10+ goals, or 5 goals and 10 assists.
Looking at last season the kind of players who were getting close or exceeding this tally in the midprice bracket were Ben Arfa, James Morrison, Sessengon, Yaya Toure and Walters – so not too many.
Here’s a look at players this year that are showing some early promise. There are no surprises but I’ve taken their current form based on underlying stats only and projected expected points scored in their next 6 fixtures. I’ve also extrapolated this points projection to a price value based on ?1m netting you 20 pts, as explained a little in the budget midfielder’s post.
Any comments, queries or suggestions, do let me know. Thanks 🙂
Hatem Ben Arfa – Newcastle (£7.7m)
The most expensive player in this list and rightly so from his form end of last season. I remember reading a piece in the Observer last year that one day he might be “the best player in the world” (his words). He’s certainly an option in this price range. He’s scored two goals this season from only two shots on target but Newcastle have not had the easiest of fixtures so there’s sure to be more to come. Upcoming fixtures are mixed.
Next 6 fixtures: EVE (A) NOR (H) RDG (A) MUN (H) SUN (A) WBA (H)
Current Form Projected Points =27 pts 4.5pts/game Projected Value= £8.5m
Damien Duff – Fulham (£6.1m)
Good old Damien Duff. I don’t know what to make of him really. Fairly unfashionable fantasy option despite his advanced role in a fairly attacking team. This season he had a good game against Norwich at home on the opening day, as may be expected, with 2 key passes, 2 shots and 1 on target (1 goal) but followed that up in two tricky away games against Utd and West Ham with a further key pass, 3 shots, 2 on target, including a goal at Old Trafford. To be honest I would not own him although Fulham’s upcoming fixtures offer hope. Too unfashionable 😉
.
Next 6 fixtures: WBA (H) WIG (A) MCI (H) STO (A) RDG (A)
Current Form Projected Points = 26pts, 4.3 pt/game. Projected Value = £8m
Marouane Fellaini – Everton (£6.9m)
Asa lifelong Evertonian I love this guy. Who remembers his Zidane like pirouette against City a couple of years ago? Moyes has been playing him up front in support of Jelavic since Tim Cahill’s form declined last year. He’s scored 2 goals so far and been more involved in the attacking play than any other Everton player. He’s shown he can score goals in the past too. Midway through his first season Moye’s shoe-horned him up front due an all too frequent striker crisis… He bagged 8 goals in 20 something games. This is having played as a defensive midfielder his whole life. Quality. No real tricky fixtures in the next 6 either, and that includes Liverpool 🙂
Next 6 fixtures: NEW (H) SWA (A) SOT (H) WIG (A) QPR (A) LIV (H)
Current Form Projected Points = 31pts, 5.2 pt/game. Projected Value = £9.8m
Kevin Nolan – West Ham (£6.1m)
The only really thing you need to say about Kevin Nolan is … the guy scores goals. Senior career stats are bobbing about the 1 goals in 4 games mark and under Allardyce and playing off Carroll he should thrive, as he’s shown already with two goals. He is well priced and still a differential. If he was in my team I would be delighted. Can he get 10 goals this season? I doubt it, maybe 6-8 and a few assists, but with some tasty looking fixtures on the horizon he is my value for money pick in this price range.
Next 6 fixtures: NOR (A) SUN (H) QPR (A) ARS (H) SOT (H) WIG (A)
Current Form Projected Points = 29pts, 4.8 pt/game. Projected Value = £9.1m
Michu – Swansea (£7.3m)
Michu, Michu, Michu. I am pleased to Michu. Michu were here. I Michu already. A fantasy darling in the making, scoring 15 goals in La Liga last year and 4 already in the Prem. this season. He’s scored with every shot he’s had on target and no one expects him to keep up this goal return but he is still at the sharp end in a very good attacking team. Clearly a bargain at ?6.5m he still offers value after a ?0.8m price rise, however, the fixtures are starting to stiffen up. Don’t hold on too long if the Swansea’s bubble starts to burst, he’s not superman,
Next 6 fixtures:AVL (A) EVE (H) STO (A) RDG (H) WIG (H) MCI (A)
Current Form Projected Points = 25pts, 4.2 pt/game. Projected Value = ?7.9m
Conclusion
Of these 5 I own Michu and have owned him since GW1, and am obviously chuffed with his FPL points so far. Delighted! But I am itching to cash in. I don’t think he can keep this form up, although he’ll probably achive the same ballpark points tally as the others on this list. But you have to take a look Fellaini and Nolan as money saving alternatives. Give me a free transfer and I’d swap my Michu for Fellaini.
Guest Blogger Profile: @shots_on_target
Football and stats fan who finds nirvana within the game of fantasy football!!
Visit his blog for
#FPL key stats, rankings, analysis and point forecasts http://shotsontarget.blogspot.co.uk/
Guest Post: Current Yirma Champion reflects on season so far.
Thanks to current Yirma champion Tom for providing his insight into the season so far. Tom finished in the top 250 last season (Out of over 2.7m players) We are already contemplating copying his team 😉
First of all, an apology for my reply to a question raised in my previous post. I believe I advised the unfortunate user to watch out for Cazorla and Giroud of Arsenal, only for me to go and start with Podolski on opening day.
It’s an interesting time as after only 3 weeks we’ll see a massive differentiation of wildcard use. Some will have played it, some will be playing it right now in this two week window, whilst others attempt to hold their nerve and save it for a rainy (or, as the case may be, snowed off) day. There is no correct strategy here but whichever direction you go in, ensure you have a mixture of the players in form mixed with those who may be creeping under the radar with excellent fixtures coming up.
I’d imagine the likes of Michu, Hazard and Tevez will have found their way into just about every team by now so I won’t mention them. Any player who has scored a goal thus far will have been brought into the limelight so the likes of Nolan, Fellaini, Piennar, Fletcher, etc) will also be making their way into squads, but what about those who haven’t fired yet?
An obvious example of an underperforming team is Tottenham. I haven’t given up on them yet and with Adebayor surely pushing for a start this weekend, things will improve. Dempsey may or may not prove to be a hindrance but I believe there are goals here if you are brave enough to pick a Spurs attacking player.
As a Villa fan I tend to stay away from what inevitably turns to disappointment, but signs of life have surfaced and the team outclassed Newcastle last time out and were held to a draw only by a rocket from Ben Arfa. I’m not sure I’d advocate shelling out on Bent or Bentake up top just yet, but there are certainly goals to be had with a fantastic upcoming schedule.
On similar lines, Dimitar Berbatov poses some interesting questions. It’s another wait and see but if he can get regular games and dictate play surely he’s in line for a great season. Cisse and Ba didn’t become terrible players overnight and should pick up last season’s goalscoring exploits very soon, whilst Danny Graham must be given a little faith despite being completely overshadowed by his midfield so far.
And what about Robin Van Persie? A player plucked from obscurity and thrust into the Premier League spotlight. Well, not quite. I don’t believe in ‘must have’ players in this game, especially at his extreme price when we don’t know how he fits into plans when Rooney comes back and Champions League rotation kicks in. Saying all that, I have him slotted neatly in my team and it would be hard to recommend against him for anyone with a wildcard this week. For those without, I wouldn’t break the rest of my team just to have him no matter what he does against Wigan this weekend. After that fixtures stiffen up and rotation is right around the corner.
I’ve avoided the wildcard this week despite some obvious flaws in my squad. The first bullet point in my last post argued that you should pick players who will play. So naturally I stuck De Gea in goal. Ryan Bennett was an unfortunate pick as he was replaced by newly signed Bassong at Norwich after the GW1 window shut, whilst my GW3 signing Ashley Williams has now been left at the heart of a completely shattered defensive unit. Apart from that I was extremely fortunate to start with Tevez, Hazard and Michu which meant that I wasn’t chasing bandwagons and had the pleasure of seeing other teams panicking to transfer them in. For those yet to wildcard, I salute you, and I hope we will be able to keep up and make our move later in the season? This is where the men are sorted from the boys.
There’s a draft coming from that bloody window!!!
Closing time: The frantic ending to the transfer window
The music has stopped, the bouncers are putting chairs on the tables and there are football managers staggering around and looking for whatever they can get their hands on.
Alright, maybe that is a bit extreme, but the last few hours of the transfer window can often have the feel of a local nightclub with a questionable reputation. Virtually everyone is available if you’ve got the right moves, but you might pick up somebody you’ll regret in the morning.
Ever since the introduction of summer and winter transfer windows, it is the closure of both rather than the opening which always makes big news.
Sky television have turned the bi-annual event into a frantic soap opera all of their own, as men and women in a TV studio shout to reporters stationed in car parks full of expectant youngsters, all of whom are waiting to hear the news that a tireless midfielder from Feyenoord has passed his medical and completed his season-long loan. Cue the cheers.
The quality of these pantomimes have been on a steady decline since 1st September 2008, the day that the city of Manchester welcomed Robinho and Dimitar Berbatov to their two Premier League football clubs amidst the kind of against-the-clock drama that Jack Bauer usually monopolises.
The fact that now, two-and-a-half years after Robinho last kicked a ball for Manchester City, his unwitting co-star Berbatov surely stands on the verge of leaving Manchester United wouldn’t even have been considered back then. Both players, at £30m plus the rest, were going to be superstars for their new clubs, regardless of what anybody thought.
Berbatov’s performances at United can be debated over until all involved are blue in the face, but it would take a really convincing argument to state that he was worth the money that United shelled out on him back then, whilst it might take a hypnotist to convince you that Liverpool were right to spend a similar amount two-and-a-half years later on Andy Carroll, another who could be on the move again this week.
Yet at the time it was all about the thrill of spending. The clubs were operating against the clock and wanted to make their move, Liverpool in particular following their windfall from the Fernando Torres sale to Chelsea.
Were they not operating against the clock the club would not have shelled out the cash that they did on Carroll. The player was a confirmed target, but the Reds were happy to wait until the summer for him to get in their taxi. The offer they got for Torres sped up a manic process.
And that is what the final few hours of the transfer window are. Manic.
Clubs blinded by the thrill of the chase and the money involved make huge moves, and they are often false ones. QPR stayed up by the narrowest of margins last season after spending big in each window, almost creating new teams as they did so and removing the character and team spirit which had got them to the Premier League in the first place.
Staging the end of the window after the first matches of the league season doesn’t exactly help matters either, and can lead to players refusing to play for their clubs in a bid to force through moves as seen in the cases of Luka Modric and Clint Dempsey.
One of those got his transfer, and the other one will eventually. Players know that if they flirt with moves for long enough they’ll get what and who they want.
Maybe ultimately that’s what everyone desires.
The player gets his move, the manager gets to experience the thrill of the chase, the fans get to watch the drama unfold. In the background, the agent counts his money.
All of them were in the dodgy nightclub in the first place, so they must have known that it would end like this.
No-one goes home early and alone on deadline day, after all.
Gameweek 3 preview: The value of Sterling
Gameweek 3 preview: The value of Sterling
What were you doing when you were 17? Actually, on second thoughts I don’t want to know.
Whatever it was, unless you’re Michael Owen or Steven Gerrard it’s unlikely that you were running about the Anfield turf with a brilliantly youthful innocence and what looks to be a genuine love of seeing the ball at your feet.
Raheem Sterling has got that, and he showed it during his 90 minute display in the red of Liverpool against Manchester City last Sunday afternoon.
Now this is a Fantasy football blog. We are here to try and give you advice about what to do with your team. So of course I’m not going to say that Sterling should immediately be transferred in and made captain ahead of Liverpool’s match with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, but the teenager’s £4.5m price tag should raise interest from Fantasy bosses who like to get a squad player who will provide real value.
Thinking long term, Sterling’s value will only go up, and so if you can afford the luxury of bringing in a player who will supplement your squad rather than star in it, then there aren’t many better choices than Liverpool’s new young talent.
The team he plays in looked good last weekend, and there will be many who fancy them to beat a so far scoreless Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, when Nuri Sahin (WHY IS THERE STILL NO PRICE??) is likely to make his English and Fantasy football debut against the team he looked set to join all summer, especially with Lucas Leiva now injured again. Martin Skrtel (£6.0m) remains a popular choice despite last weekend’s error.
His backpass allowed Carlos Tevez (£9.5m) to score at Anfield, and with the Argentinean’s value already up by £0.5m since the start of the season, Fantasy bosses would be wise to add him to their squad before it’s too late. Tevez is a good bet to impress when City host QPR at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.
Just what their neighbours Manchester United will do following the injury to Wayne Rooney remains to be seen, although the blow creates a perfect opportunity for the Fantasy game’s most expensive player Robin van Persie (£13.1m) to settle into his stride at his new club, whilst Shinji Kagawa (£8.6m) is another who could thrive in Rooney’s absence. United should beat Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Gameweek 3’s key problem is the absence of a Chelsea fixture of course – although Eden Hazard could still find a way to make an assist – and so if Fantasy bosses have a free transfer available and the funds to bring in a big name for one week only, they could well settle on Tottenham’s fixture against Norwich at White Hart Lane.
Spurs have misfired under Andre Villas-Boas so far, but with Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.6m) and Rafael van der Vaart (£8.9m) looking to fire against the Canaries that could all change here. Gareth Bale (£9.5m) might be the man to turn to if you can afford to replace Hazard and then buy him back at an inflated price though.
Elsewhere, many Fantasy bosses will be looking a Newcastle’s home match against struggling Aston Villa as a chance for Papiss Cissé (£9.5m) to rediscover last season’s prolific goalscoring form, but it is Hatem Ben Arfa (£7.6m) who has picked up the most points in the Magpies team and could be set to impress again.
It has been Swansea and Everton who have impressed everyone this season, and although both have winnable games again this weekend, it is the Blues players who travel to West Brom who might offer the prospect of more points in the long-term.
Marouane Fellaini (£6.8m) and Nikica Jelavić (£8.5m) have started as they mean to go on.
@Mark_Jones86
BONUS POINTS GALORE…. GW2
SUNDAY 26TH AUGUST
| Stoke City |  |
0 – 0 |  |
Arsenal | |
| Liverpool |  |
2 – 2 |  |
Man City | |
As with last week – Bonus points are up very early… we figure the PL guys will get bored by week4 and bonus points will revert back to monday mornings.. so enjoy while it lasts!!
| Defenders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Ivanovic | CHE | 6.6 | 5 |
|
Baines | EVE | 7.0 | 5 |
|
Collins | WHM | 5.0 | 3 |
|
Cahill | CHE | 6.5 | 3 |
|
Figueroa | WIG | 4.5 | 3 |
| Midfielders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michu | SWA | 6.8 | 4 |
|
Kightly | STO | 5.5 | 3 |
|
Hazard | CHE | 9.7 | 3 |
|
Fellaini | EVE | 6.6 | 3 |
|
Pienaar | EVE | 6.5 | 3 |
| Forwards Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Torres | CHE | 10.0 | 4 |
|
Odemwingie | WBA | 7.0 | 3 |
|
Van Persie | MUN | 13.0 | 3 |
|
Petric | FUL | 6.1 | 3 |
|
Zamora | QPR | 6.4 | 3 |
| Swansea |  |
3 – 0 |  |
West Ham | |
| Aston Villa |  |
1 – 3 |  |
Everton | |
|
|||||
| Man Utd |  |
3 – 2 |  |
Fulham | |
|
|||||
| Norwich |  |
1 – 1 |  |
QPR | |
|
|||||
| Southampton |  |
0 – 2 |  |
Wigan | |
| Tottenham |  |
1 – 1 |  |
West Brom | |
|
|||||
| Chelsea |  |
2 – 0 |  |
Newcastle | |
| Defenders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ivanovic | CHE | 6.6 | 5 |
|
Baines | EVE | 7.0 | 5 |
|
Collins | WHM | 5.0 | 3 |
|
Cahill | CHE | 6.5 | 3 |
|
Figueroa | WIG | 4.5 | 3 |
| Midfielders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michu | SWA | 6.8 | 4 |
|
Kightly | STO | 5.5 | 3 |
|
Hazard | CHE | 9.7 | 3 |
|
Fellaini | EVE | 6.6 | 3 |
|
Pienaar | EVE | 6.5 | 3 |
| Forwards Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Torres | CHE | 10.0 | 4 |
|
Odemwingie | WBA | 7.0 | 3 |
|
Van Persie | MUN | 13.0 | 3 |
|
Petric | FUL | 6.1 | 3 |
|
Zamora | QPR | 6.4 | 3 |
NIFFTY LEAGUE IS BACK!!
Since 2007 more than 800 people have had a go on YIRMA.
The NIFFTY LEAGUE (Northern Ireland Fantasy Football Through Yirma) started in January 2012 as an invitational Head to Head version of the main game.
Reset and raring to go for the new season NIFFTY is back!
Capped this year at 38 people we have a great mixture of Northern Ireland legends, current Internationals, local radio personalities and the 20th most influencial man in Northern Ireland…
We feel the NIFFTY League has an impressive line up!! Keith Gillespie, Warren Feeney, Grant McCann and Michael O’Connor have almost 200 International Caps for Northern Ireland and much is expected of their teams!
Alan Simpson Vs Stephen Clements is the NI radio grudge match – battle of the airwaves!! I imagine a forfeit for the loser of this pairing could be quite entertaining….
With several fantasy football enthusiasts and of course the Fantasy Yirma Admin team of @ryano83 @mark_jones86 and @pedro_lamb this league promises to throw up some good matches and produce some questionable banter on twitter.
Click here for the full round up! https://fantasyyirma.wordpress.com/niffty-league/
*@ryano83
Follow us on @fantasyyirma for #NIFFTY updates
NIFFTY League players:
TIPS OUT FOR YIRMA!! GW2
Tips out for Yirma…
Gameweek 2:
@pedro_lamb
1. Newcastle to beat Chelsea 11/2 LOST BET
2. Everton to beat Villa 7/5 WON BET
3. Southampton to win by exactly 2 goals 5/1 LOST BET
@mark_jones86
1. QPR to beat Norwich 11/5 LOST BET
2. Defoe to score at anytime 5/6 LOST BET
3. Arsenal to beat Stoke 11/10 LOST BET
@ryano83
1. Norwich to beat QPR 11/8 LOST BET
2. Villa v Everton Draw 9/4 LOST BET
3. Swansea to beat West Ham 23/20 WON BET
FY Tipster Challenge
Here within the Fantasy Yirma administration team, we like to pretend we have money. With that in mind we have devised a FY Tipster selection competition.
The loser from the Admin team at the end of the season will pay the £50 prize fund for the mini league!!!
| FY Tipster | GW1 Spend | GW1 Return | Total Spend | Total Return | % Difference |
| @pedro_lamb | £30 | £0 | £30 | £0 |
0% |
| @mark_jones86 | £30 | £0 | £30 | £0 |
0% |
| @ryano83 | £30 | £32.50 | £30 | £32.50 |
108.3% |
Rules:
Each player must place 3 £10 bets (Monopoly) per gameweek. (singles only)
The bet can be on any individual result/market/outcome with the only proviso being that you must stipulate the odds at time of selection submission and it must be from the same odds provider.
In practice this means your 3 £10 bets can be across 3 fixtures or 3 markets within one match.
We challenge everyone to make 3 selections also and we will include this in our table. Make your selection in the comments below.
Get your tips out for Yirma!!!
15 Transfers That Shocked English Football!!
We are delighted to be working in tandem with http://www.footysays.com
Following on from Robin van Persie’s completed move from Arsenal to Manchester United, here’s a look at 15 more transfers which shocked English football.
Click here for full article https://fantasyyirma.wordpress.com/fy-guest-posts/
Written by @Lewbob91 for @Footysays
Fantasy Yirma: Gameweek 1 preview
Gameweek 1 preview: The story of the Blues
By now you’ll have clocked it. There can’t really be a Fantasy player who hasn’t.
The 2012/13 season will kick-off with the European champions gracing us with a double Gameweek.
It can’t really get any better can it? You’ve got all those great Chelsea players to choose from and the chance to score double points with each and every one of them, and quadruple with your captain – be it Eden Hazard, Juan Mata or Ross Turnbull. The world is your expensive, Russian oil money-purchased oyster.
Yet is it that simple? Chelsea’s matches against first Wigan and then Reading certainly look winnable, but players should be mindful that the price for the Blues doubling up on Gameweek 1 is that they’ll miss out on Gameweek 3, when Roberto di Matteo’s side (if he’s still there by then) will have swanned off to Monaco to take on Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
So the question facing Fantasy bosses all summer has been whether or not to load up on Chelsea players for the first couple of Gameweeks or to stay away. The answer can be found in an annoying club song, because as far as this Gameweek is concerned – Blue is the colour.
Chelsea’s best players are all expensive enough for you to easily be able to find replacements once they miss out on playing in that third Gameweek, and so at least two and perhaps three of Di Matteo’s boys should be in your starting XI come the big kick-off on Saturday.
As for who those players are, well the Blues’ midfield can now be considered a minefield due to all the players that they have at their disposal in there, and whilst it’s tempting to go with the £9.5m pair of Hazard and Mata, perhaps the old stager Frank Lampard (£9.0m) could come up trumps at the start of yet another campaign.
The usual suspects at the back for Chelsea will feature heavily on plenty of Fantasy teamsheets, as will Fernando Torres (£10.0m), a strong captaincy choice at the start of a huge season personally.
As is the nature of the game, when one team has a double Gameweek then another must too, and its newly-promoted Reading who take the honours as 2012/13 kicks off.
They won’t be expected to take anything from Stamford Bridge next Wednesday, but their Saturday fixture at home to Stoke does offer the potential of a clean sheet for goalkeeper Adam Federici (£4.5m, and a useful substitute in your team) and the defenders. They are likely to start with a back four of Ian Harte, Alex Pearce (both £4.5m), Kaspars Gorkss and Chris Gunter (both £4.0m).
Further forward, the Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak (£5.0m) has proved popular due to his success at Fulham last season, whilst midfielder Danny Guthrie (£4.5m) is a good signing for the Royals and has a goal or two in him.
Elsewhere across the division as the big kick-off approaches, the potential for a stalemate between Newcastle and Tottenham should have you looking at nobody but goalkeepers and defenders from the pair, whilst wins are predicted for Arsenal and Liverpool as they start the season at home to Sunderland and away at West Brom respectively. Reds new boy Joe Allen (£5.5m) has proved a popular buy with one in four of Fantasy players selecting him.
Manchester City start the defence of their crown with what could be a goal-filled success at home to Southampton – Carlos Tevez, at £9.0m, looks even more of a steal after that Community Shield goal – whilst Manchester United can take advantage of Everton’s often slow start to the season when they go to Goodison Park on Monday night.
All eyes might be on Robin van Persie (£13.0m) there, but it is the return of Nemanja Vidic (£7.0m) which should have Fantasy bosses cheering.
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