Team news available from 1:05pm depending on club announcement Liverpool Team Mignolet, Johnson, Flanagan, Skrtel, Sakho, Gerrard, Allen, Lucas, Coutinho, Sterling, Suarez Subs: Jones, Toure, Agger, Cissokho, Alberto, Aspas, Sturridge Chelsea Team Schwarzer; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Kalas, Cole; Lampard, Mikel, Matic; Salah, Ba, Schurrle. Subs: Hilario, Ake, Cahill, Van Ginkel, Baker, Willian, Torres […]
Blog Archives
LINEUPS & Preview : Manchester United v Norwich
Apr 26
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM: De Gea; Jones, Vidic (c), Ferdinand, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa; Welbeck, Rooney. Subs: Lindegaard, Smalling, Mata, Chicharito, Nani, Young, Fletcher. NORWICH TEAM:Ruddy; Whittaker, Martin (c), Turner, Olsson; Johnson; Fer, Howson; Snodgrass; Redmond, van Wolfswinkel. Subs: Bunn (GK), Hooper, Gutierrez, Elmander, R Bennett, Tettey, Josh Murphy. #GIVEAWAY We've […]
Weekly Round Up: Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all featured
Apr 26
It’s been a busy week here with FantasyYIRMA.com and with only 3 fantasy gameweeks remaining the end of the season is firmly in sight. If you are playing catch up in your mini-leagues now is the time to Gamble! Here’s a run through of our posts this week – As always we welcome your comments […]
GW36 Preview: Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski could offer valuable points in closing weeks
Now removed of the pressure associated with a title race, Arsenal seem to have gone back to playing attractive, attacking football, at least if the second half against West Ham and the Hull game which followed are anything to go by.
Also key to those Gunners victories has been the presence of Lukas Podolski (£7.8m) in the starting lineup, with the German managing to double his tally of Premier League goals output for the season in the space of six days last week.
Owned by just 2.3% of Fantasy bosses at the time of writing, the key problem with selecting Podolski for your team has always been the fact that he tends not to last the full 90 minutes for Arsenal, but he did just that against West Ham and was withdrawn with just seven minutes left against Hull.
Arsene Wenger appears to have noted that his side play better with another attacking threat playing off Olivier Giroud (£8.5m), and although both Mesut Ozil (£9.5m) and Aaron Ramsey (£7.2m) have returned from their injuries in recent weeks and both are worth considering for selection, Wenger surely has to keep Podolski in his team based on recent form.
The Gunners are now widely expected to sew up their usual spot in the top four in the coming weeks, as they host Newcastle on Monday, then face a home game with West Brom before going to Norwich on the final day.
Podolski will be key to that effort as they bid to go into the FA Cup final in the greatest possible mood, and having more than made his point to his manager in recent weeks, he could make your team a few more before the end of the campaign.
https://twitter.com/ZOO/statuses/459632656754290688
Elsewhere, another potentially decisive Premier League weekend will see Liverpool host Chelsea knowing that a win would place them within touching distance of the Premier League title.
Of course this will be a hugely difficult game for the Reds, but the form of Raheem Sterling (£5.8m) is proving impossible to ignore, and he could again be turned to in another clash which is sure to have Anfield rocking.
The fact that six clubs face double Gameweeks next week should be uppermost in your thinking though, especially given that Manchester City are one of them and are refusing to give up on their title challenge.
Sergio Aguero (£12.5m) has bounced back from injury and scored in the win over West Brom on Monday, and although City face a tough trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday and Aguero perhaps isn’t quite 100% fit yet, he is still one of the top performers in the division even when he’s not in full working order.
David Silva (£9.8m) got injured in that game and things don’t look good for him, but Samir Nasri (£8.6m) remains in fine fettle and he’ll be crucial if City are going to continue to have a say in the destination of the title.
Another side who double up in Gameweek 37 are Sunderland, and following their stunning win at Chelsea they’ll be bouncing into this weekend’s crucial game at home to Cardiff full of confidence.
Fabio Borini (£6.2m) proved his worth to the club with the winning penalty at Stamford Bridge, but perhaps it will pay to back winger Adam Johnson (£6.4m) to rediscover some of the form that he found earlier in the season and impress in a match which is bound to go a long way towards deciding who’ll stay in the Premier League for next season.
Chelsea back in Champions League action tonight
Apr 22
Champions League: Semi Final Preview The first match up sees Atletico Madrid host Chelsea… Atletico have never lost at home to an English side, but Mourinho knows a bit about unbeaten home records and will hope to change that. Sadly for them, it looks like Hazard will miss out, after missing training this morning. At […]
Off the Mark Special: David Moyes and Manchester United were never right for each other
And so it came, with a devastating thump, after a visit to his former stomping ground Goodison Park.
Manchester United had taken David Moyes from Everton in the summer because of the good work he had done on that particular patch of Merseyside, stabilising the club and generally making them a nuisance for the bigger sides in the land.
But that is really all they were. A nuisance. And only ever one when they played at home, too.
Whenever Moyes’s Everton faced a big game or a big opportunity they would often go into their shells and fail to grasp the nettle. In 11 years at Goodison Moyes never won a trophy, a Merseyside derby at Anfield, an away match at any of the other big clubs or even many friends. He did well to keep Everton in the mix for the European places whilst lacking the capital of some of their rivals, but as was evident from the boos he received on Sunday, by the end he wasn’t as universally liked as many would have had you believe.
All of which made Manchester United’s decision to appoint him in the summer a very strange one, until you consider who it was who made it.
Sir Alex Ferguson will quite rightly have seen something of himself in Moyes when he decided upon his replacement. And not just because he’s a fellow Scot.
In 1986 when Ferguson came down to Manchester from Aberdeen he would have shared that same hunger, desire and ability to organise a team as Moyes undoubtedly has, but the football landscape has changed so much since then. Ferguson should know that, as he’s someone who helped change it.
Quite rightly regarded as one of the greatest managerial figures there’s ever been in the game – perhaps even the greatest – Ferguson will nonetheless tell you that the secret behind his longevity at United was surrounding himself with other minds and opinions. Steve McClaren, Carlos Queiroz and Mike Phelan were just three of his sounding boards and there were more.
Moyes has his trusted lieutenants too of course, and brought Steve Round and Phil Neville on board when he got the United job, but a failure to keep hold at least one of Phelan or Rene Meulensteen, the men Ferguson left behind, was his first error. It was to prove the first of many.
At a time in football when flexibility, tactical awareness, flair and daring are proving so successful across Europe’s major leagues and in continental competition, Moyes went to Old Trafford with a firm belief that his rigid methods at Everton would translate. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
This season United have basically lost to every talented team they’ve played, with the honourable exception of Arsenal. Make of that what you will.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Everton all beat them twice. Chelsea, Tottenham, Olympiakos and Bayern Munich once. Swansea knocked them out of the FA Cup, Sunderland out of the League Cup, West Brom and Newcastle won at Old Trafford for the first time in decades.
The defeats might have been easier for the club’s fans to take if they could see their team playing attractive, expansive football, but there was absolutely no sign of that, and nor was there an indication that any was coming.
And yet through it all, there was this mistaken belief – a belief bordering on arrogance – that everything would eventually be okay because this was Manchester United.
But Manchester United shouldn’t be seventh in the table, 23 points behind leaders Liverpool and providing fodder for Twitter jokers who have somewhat jealously watched them constantly win for 20 years. That belief eventually eroded, and then Moyes was laid bare.
Change was necessary at the club, and so it seems to have come to pass.
Moyes will forever remain a curious footnote in United’s history, and the club’s supporters must now worry just how much of the future he’ll have affected too.
Because the next appointment they make simply can’t be the wrong one again.
GW35 Preview: Liverpool’s Luis Suarez is facing Norwich. You know what to do.
After the drama of last weekend, Liverpool’s title challenge rolls on to Norfolk this time around, and there’ll be at least one man who’ll be pleased it does.
Luis Suarez (£13.3m) has scored a staggering 11 goals in his last four matches against the Canaries, including hat-tricks on his only previous two visits to Carrow Road and four goals against the same opposition at Anfield in December.
The Uruguayan’s often jaw-dropping goalscoring rate might not be at the same level it has often been at the moment, with just one strike in his last four games, but as the Reds chase what would be a remarkable title success he is certain to be determined to fire them there.
You could argue that Suarez is fortunate to be facing Norwich at all after narrowly escaping a red card against Manchester City, but he could be coming up against them without his strike partner Daniel Sturridge (£10.4m) in tow after the forward limped off in the same game.
At the time of writing the extent of Sturridge’s injury isn’t known, but if he doesn’t play then that will only add extra attacking responsibility to the shoulders of Philippe Coutinho (£8.5m) and Raheem Sterling (£5.7m), but as both have shown in recent weeks they are more than capable of handling the pressure.
One man who definitely won’t be playing for Liverpool is the suspended Jordan Henderson (£6.5m), with his three-game ban for the red card picked up against City now ruling him out for until the final game of the season.
Speaking of City, they can’t be counted out of the title race at all just yet, especially now they’ve got Sergio Aguero (£12.2m) back from injury, a return which has soften the blow of losing the injured Yaya Toure (£10.5m) for a couple of games.
As they showed at Anfield though, the inspiration behind all of their good work at the moment is the brilliant David Silva (£9.9m), a player who has really found his form in the closing weeks of the season and one who should really have a higher Fantasy ownership percentage than 14%.
He’ll be vital as City host West Brom on Monday night in a match they simply have to win to stay in the title race, whilst Chelsea also face a similar must-win (and probably will win) match at home to Sunderland on Saturday.
As usual, the attention is on Chelsea’s forwards ahead of the contest, with that baton now passed to Demba Ba (£7.4m) following his crucial goals against Paris-Saint Germain and Swansea.
Elsewhere, perhaps the game of the weekend sees David Moyes return to Goodison Park with Manchester United, a match which Everton will fancy their chances in as they continue to chase the Champions League.
Young defender John Stones (£4.2m) has kept his place in the team despite the return to fitness of Phil Jagielka, whilst Steven Naismith (£4.7m) continues to make his presence felt upfront. United remain largely friendless in the Fantasy game, although at least Juan Mata (£9.1m) has started to shine.
Cardiff’s latest attempt at climbing out of trouble sees them host Stoke in what is simply a must-win game, and whilst Peter Odemwingie (£5.5m) will fancy getting one over the club he started the season at, the hosts will be looking to Jordon Mutch (£5.0m) to inspire them to a much-needed three points.
Fulham, another club in relegation trouble, may have picked up important points lately through the goals of Hugo Rodallega (£5.0m), but they face a tough visit to a Tottenham side who will be inspired by the recent performances of Christian Eriksen (£6.8m).
Off the Mark: Demba Ba deserves moments in the spotlight, now he needs to leave Chelsea to find more
Less is more, some say. It’s why there were only ever 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers and 14 of The Office. As another well-worn saying goes, always leave them laughing.
Sometimes though, just leaving them full stop is the best option.
Up until the past week, Demba Ba has been Chelsea’s best-paid supporter this season, the Senegalese forward afforded one of the best seats in the house as he got to watch Eden Hazard, Oscar and the like strut their stuff and make prolonged assaults on winning both the Premier League and Champions League.
Sure, Ba would get a chance to get onto the pitch occasionally – a few minutes here, a couple of touches there, two goals against Tottenham Hotspur, you know, the usual stuff – but he wasn’t really part of the team. He wasn’t really part of Jose Mourinho’s plans. He was just there. Another name, another number, another pay cheque to a club who can afford to dole out as many as they want.
Mourinho, utilising that special ability he has to put himself at the front and centre of each and every thing that his team does, has often been critical of his forwards this season, but you got the sense that he was never really singling out Ba. Doing so would be like blaming a weatherman for global warming, or Brazil for the Cuban Missile Crisis. It would just look out of place.
Coming off the back of his priceless strike against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, the winning goal that Ba scored against Swansea in the Premier League last weekend was absolutely vital to Chelsea’s title hopes. It has put those hopes back in their own hands, with logic now dictating that a win at Liverpool in 11 days’ time would see them become favourites again.
The Liberty Stadium saw what was only Ba’s third Premier League start of the season, whilst he scored his fourth goal. It was a big goal, but if Chelsea are to overhaul Liverpool and win the league, then how much of a part has he actually played?
The same can be said of the Champions League run too, as we now have the bizarre notion that Chelsea’s two most important goals of the season were scored by a man who has barely featured.
If, as expected, both Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o depart the club in the summer, with a shiny new £50m+ forward brought in – a Diego Costa or a Radamel Falcao – then Ba might well be put under pressure to stay and play second fiddle again. Chelsea would undoubtedly want him too.
But the forward is far too good a player to be forced into this situation again, and regardless of what the club say to him he should look to escape through the transfer window once it opens.
Ba could take inspiration from the man he effectively replaced at Stamford Bridge, Daniel Sturridge, who sensed an opportunity to leave and join a club and manager who believed in him in Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers.
As we saw at Newcastle, a fit, firing and most importantly selected Ba can be one of the best forwards in the Premier League, and he is certain to have more than a few suitors. Everton, should they be unable to secure Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea permanently, and Tottenham, if they are going to give up on the disastrous Roberto Soldado experiment, immediately spring to mind.
Perhaps Ba will decide that he’s had enough of England and leave for pastures new, but that would be a huge shame for Premier League fans if he does.
The forward is a player who deserves to be seen, to be appreciated, and most of all to play.
Come the summer he’ll find himself at front and centre of the shop window, and must hope for a caring buyer.
***
Norwich think it’s all over…
I was at the Fulham v Norwich game on Saturday, and whilst the 90 minutes itself wasn’t the most enthralling, what was perhaps most important was the reaction of the Norwich players come full-time.
Upon the final whistle, the likes of Nathan Redmond, Robert Snodgrass and Martin Olsson looked shell-shocked, with some sinking to their knees. It was as though the club had already been relegated.
With fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal to come, many think they already have of course, but is there not the possibility that they could pick up a couple of points somewhere there?
Judging by those reactions, some of the players think they are down already.
***
Fulham can fire at Spurs
West Brom were seconds away from landing our bet last weekend only for Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen to equalise late on, and we’re going to take on Spurs again on Saturday.
Fulham make the trip to White Hart Lane desperate for points, and they can pick up something at a ground they won at last season.
If you’re feeling brave, BetMclean.com have Felix Magath’s side at 5/1 to win, although the 11/8 Draw or Fulham Double Chance might be the way to go. They are also 10/3 to win on the Draw No Bet market.
Which Fantasy Footballers drive which Fantasy Motors??
Apr 13
We all have a favourite football player don’t we – one that will always have a place in our fantasy starting eleven barring injury. (Personally mine is West Ham’s Mark Noble! ) We all have a favourite supercar too. You know, the one we’d take for a test spin the day after a lottery win. […]
WIGAN vs ARSENAL: Confirmed Lineups and Preview
Apr 12
Reigning Champions Wigan take on Arsenal at Wembley to reach the FA Cup final By @BETFUZE Wigan Team Carson, Perch, Boyce, Ramis, Crainey, McArthur, McEachran, McManaman, Beausejour, Gomez, Fortune Subs Al Habsi, Barnett, Caldwell, Maloney, Espinoza, Collison, Powell Arsenal Fabianski, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski, Sanogo Subs Szczesny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Kallstrom, […]
FantasyYIRMA - Fantasy Football FPL 