Guest Post: Suck League Fantasy Football: Celebrating the players on the lowest rung of the season rankings by @TaylorJ427 Fantasy football is a game of strategy, statistical number crunching, and a little bit of luck. You can spend hours trying to optimize your lineup, balancing budget limitations with player performance to find […]
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GW34 Preview: Everton pair can make your Double Gameweek a breeze
It’s a bit of a stealth Double Gameweek, this.
Because of the FA Cup semi-finals, two teams don’t play at all, whilst of the four who play twice, one are away to the current league leaders and two of the others have spent all of their season in the lower reaches of the table. One of them is currently rock bottom.
All of which leads you to one team this week, and luckily they are a team bang in form.
Everton know that over the next week they can cement their claims for a top four finish and Champions League football next season.
Following their sixth win in a row against Arsenal last weekend, Roberto Martinez’s Blues now go to a slumping Sunderland before following that up with a home game against a carefree Crystal Palace who are pretty much assured of their Premier League status for next season.
Because of the opportunity for Everton goals, the eyes are immediately drawn to forward Romelu Lukaku (£9.0m), who is sure to see his ownership rate rise over the coming days.
The Belgian recorded a double figure points score for the fourth time this season and the second time in three games in the demolition of the Gunners, and wherever he ends up playing next season the on-loan Chelsea man appears determined to shoot Everton into the top four during this one.
Lukaku has received strong attacking support from the likes of Steven Naismith (£4.6m) and Kevin Mirallas (£7.6m) in recent weeks, but the Blues’ defence also deserves some attention given that they are facing two of the lowest scorers in the division.
Everyone knows about how well Seamus Coleman (£6.9m) has done this season, but his young teammate John Stones (£4.1m) has come into the team in the last six matches, and it’s no coincidence that Everton have won all of those games.
Stones has been excellent since coming in for the injured Phil Jagielka, and this week it could pay to partner him with Coleman in your defence as the Blues look to keep things tight at the back.
Of the other teams facing Double Gameweeks, Manchester City head into what is surely the match of the season against Liverpool on Sunday and then follow that up with the much more winnable contest at home to Sunderland.
The Anfield meeting will of course be on a knife edge, and whilst you really can’t confidently predict which way it will go, the opportunity of some extra points for City players before they go into the Sunderland game means that they really can’t be ignored.
David Silva (£9.5m) has been excellent since moving into the No. 10 position behind the main striker, usually Edin Dzeko (£7.2m), but after his goal against Southampton it is perhaps Samir Nasri (£8.2m) who warrants the most attention.
The Frenchman will be a key goal threat at Anfield, and will also fancy his chances of impressing against Sunderland, a match which – like Everton v Crystal Palace – takes place now after it was postponed due to high winds in February.
Elsewhere, the big relegation battle between Fulham and Norwich at Craven Cottage could see Steve Sidwell (£5.3m) impress for the home side, whilst Stoke City look like being the latest team to profit from the fact that Newcastle United appear to have packed up for the season. Marko Arnautovic (£5.1m) and Peter Odemwingie (£5.4m) could impress at the Britannia Stadium.
West Brom’s Morgan Amalfitano (£4.2m) has rediscovered some of his early season form in the past few weeks and he could be worth a gamble as the Baggies host Tottenham, whilst after he returned from the bench in dismal circumstances at Goodison Park last Sunday, Arsenal could give Aaron Ramsey (£6.9m) a start in their match against West Ham.
Off the Mark: Liverpool must seize the moment, because who knows when it’ll come around again?
As you’re probably aware by now, Liverpool haven’t won the league title for 24 years, with their most recent success confirmed with a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers on April 28th 1990.
Raheem Sterling wouldn’t be born for another four-and-a-half years, Jon Flanagan for three, Philippe Coutinho for two and Jordan Henderson for another two months. Joe Allen was six weeks old, and Daniel Sturridge seven months.
No-one back then would have thought that Liverpool would still be waiting for another league title 24 years down the line, but then the same thing would have been said about Manchester United when they won the league in 1967. They had to wait until 1993 for their next one, and then it seemed like they never stopped winning for 20 years.
United have had a poor season by their standards this time around, but no-one is suggesting they’ll disappear from the title picture for the next two-and-a-half decades. Football works in cycles though, and Liverpool will be aware of that too.
Put simply, it is incredible that the Reds are in this position, top of the Premier League table and five games away from ending that 24-year wait.
The club’s supporters can often get ridiculed for their fanatical and devoted nature, but you wouldn’t have found one who believed that this was possible back in the summer.
Brendan Rodgers, for all of his positivity, was still viewed with suspicion, Luis Suarez had stayed but was just one more meltdown away from being shipped out – and plenty wanted him gone. Steven Gerrard was too old, the rest of them were too young, the new signings weren’t good enough, the best players had chosen to sign for someone else, and Kolo Toure had rocked up. Apprehension ruled over expectation.
But then the football started, and what great football it was.
Sturridge, in isolation at first, couldn’t stop scoring. Suarez hit the ground running and never stopped. Gerrard imperious, Henderson metronomic, Coutinho, Sterling relentless. They couldn’t defend their way out of a paper bag, obviously, but that only added to the fun.
Whenever someone scored against them (and I think a paper bag actually managed it at one point) you just got the sense that they were setting themselves up to be breached twice, three times at the other end.
More recently though, and as emphasised by the win at West Ham, there seems to be a steeliness added to Liverpool’s game, a ruthless streak has kicked in. They’ve won nine games in a row and they are aware of the consequences of what happens if they get to 14.
It is these qualities that they’ll need to show against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
They aren’t going to blow City away like they have done the vast majority of visitors this season – although if they do? Wow – and so instead it is going to be grim determination which gets them through.
Every team who has gone through a long title drought has matches such as these.
For United it was the victory over Sheffield Wednesday 21 years ago this week which ended with a last gasp Steve Bruce winner and Alex Ferguson and Brian Kidd leaping onto the pitch. More recently, Manchester City beat United 1-0 thanks to a Vincent Kompany header in April two years ago. This is the game where suddenly everything crystallises and it all becomes real.
The current City vintage will head to Anfield with confidence. They are still the title favourites and rightly so. A draw would put them firmly in the driving seat and in charge of their own destiny.
But there’s a feeling that this is the game, this is the time for those Liverpool players. And if they’re not going to do it now then will they ever?
Two-and-a-half decades worth of footballers have gone before them, and none of them won the club a league title.
If that run is going to end, then it ends here and now. Well, on Sunday anyway.
But what’s a few days when you’ve been waiting 24 years?
Play the name and shame Arsenal game
I’ve got a game for you to play.
I want you to look through the Arsenal teamsheet from Sunday’s non-performance at Everton and choose how many of the XI you’d keep at the club next season. Given who was out injured and that Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were only on the bench, when in a particularly ruthless mood I’ve ended up with two.
It’s clear that the Gunners need an overhaul, and it is probably time that it comes from the very top.
Arsene Wenger has been a fantastic figure at the club and deserves immense respect, but you just wonder if a parting of the ways is now what’s best for everyone.
Back the Baggies to boing
West Bromwich Albion are just starting to show a little bit of the fight they needed to demonstrate much earlier in the season, and suddenly look a lot more likely to stay up.
That escape act can continue on Saturday when they host a Tottenham side who managed an impressive win over Sunderland but have been disappointing on the road of late, with the Tim Sherwood situation hardly helping.
Champions League: Chelsea and Manchester United still standing
Apr 8
We did toy with the idea of running an individual Champions League game… But realistically we already struggle to keep up to speed with the Hollyoaks omnibus as it is! That’s why FantasyYIRMA recommends Fantasy iTeam if you are looking for Champions League Fantasy Action. Check out their free app and start building your […]
Everton v Arsenal: LINEUPS and Preview
Apr 6
The battle for 4th moves to Goodison Park as Everton look to put serious pressure on the Gunners by @BETFUZE Everton: Howard, Baines, Distin, Coleman, Stones, Mirallas, McCarthy, Barry, Osman, Naismith, Lukaku Subs: Robles, Hibbert, McGeady, Deulofeu, Barkley, Garbutt, Alcaraz Arsenal: Szczesny, Monreal, Vermaelen (c), Mertesacker, Sagna, Flamini, Arteta, Rosicky, Podolski, Cazorla, Giroud […]
Premier League 3PM kick offs: CONFIRMED LINEUPS
Apr 5
Love this bet! http://t.co/lXbor4r4N4 #QuickScoreYIRMA pic.twitter.com/h3baUsA2Do — FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) April 5, 2014 ASTON VILLA TEAM: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Bertrand, Westwood, Bennett, Bacuna, Albrighton, Weimann, Holt FULHAM TEAM: Stockdale; Riether, Hangeland, Heitinga, Amorebieta; Diarra, Sidwell; Kasami, Holtby, Richardson; Woodrow CARDIFF TEAM: Marshall; Theophile-Catherine, Caulker (C), Turner, Taylor; Medel, Mutch, Daehli, Zaha; Campbell, […]
Manchester City’s sparkling David Silva to continue golden form
As the Premier League title race enters a crucial stage, the big players are starting to make even bigger contributions for their teams.
The perceived wisdom is that the battle at the top is now going to be between Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea – despite what Jose Mourinho thinks – and all three clubs have players capable of earning them crucial points.
Take City, who go into Saturday’s game at home to Southampton off the back of picking up four points from back-to-back away games at Manchester United and Arsenal.
Key to earning those points was the Spanish international David Silva (£9.4m), who shone in the 3-0 win at Old Trafford and then gave his side the lead at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday with a close range finish.
Although clearly one of the most gifted players in the Premier League, Silva has often been overlooked by many from a Fantasy football point of view due to his comparative lack of goals when stacked up against other attacking midfielders. He’s currently in just 7.9% of teams.
His strike at Arsenal was his sixth of the season though, and with Manuel Pellegrini opting to play the World Cup winner behind front man Edin Dzeko (£6.9m) in recent weeks, Silva has found himself getting into attacking positions more and more.
At the time of writing it isn’t clear whether Sergio Aguero (£12.0m) will be fit to face Southampton at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, but even if he isn’t then City shouldn’t worry and will probably field the same team they started with in their last two games.
Silva has been a key part of those selections, and with City players likely to be crucial to your team for the rest of the season given that they face two double Gameweeks (the first of which comes next week) then he could be seen as a more than useful addition.
Samir Nasri (£8.1m) and of course Yaya Toure (£10.4m) will of course be crucial too, as City look to utilise their midfield power in their bid for glory.
Elsewhere, City’s title challengers Liverpool head into the weekend on top of the table and will be looking to stay there when they go to West Ham on Sunday.
Everyone knows who the main men for the Reds are, but Jordan Henderson (£6.5m) continues to impress and grabbed a goal against Tottenham, whilst Glen Johnson (£5.7m) has picked up two assists in his last three games and registered 11 points in that 4-0 win over Spurs.
Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle (£6.9m) should start at home to Stoke, against whom he scored twice earlier in the season, whilst arguably the match of the weekend sees fifth-placed Everton host an Arsenal side they’ve got their eye on overtaking and reaching the Champions League ahead of.
A tight clash is expected, but Gerard Deulofeu (£5.4m) has now started four of Everton’s last five games in the league, and after scoring in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in December he’ll be determined to give home fans something else to shout about before he returns to Barcelona in the summer.
One player who could also be on the move at the end of the season is Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke (£8.7m), and after he had a day to forget at Manchester United he could take out his frustrations on a Fulham side who now seem destined for the drop.
Juan Mata (£9.2m) managed his first goal for Manchester United in that 4-1 win over Villa last weekend, and he’ll be worth keeping an eye on as the Red Devils go to a Newcastle side who seem to have mentally switched off for the season already, whilst although they had that day to forget at Anfield last weekend, Tottenham should get a result at home to Sunderland on Monday when Nacer Chadli (£6.8m) may continue in his advanced midfield role.
The Belgian international would be a huge gamble for your team, with Christian Eriksen (£6.5m) perhaps a safer and cheaper option.
PSG v Chelsea: Lineups and Preview
Apr 2
Champions League Preview: PSG v Chelsea Wed, 2nd April, 19:45 Two of the most richest clubs left in the Champions League face each other at the Parc des Princes and with plenty playing along with Champions League Fantasy Football we are looking forward to this match up!! TEAM LINEUPS AVAILABLE FROM 1HR PRIOR TO […]
Off the Mark: Why Premier League experience counts in the battle at the bottom
Take a look at the three teams currently residing in the Premier League relegation zone, and indeed at West Brom, the team just outside it. What have they got in common?
The Baggies, Sunderland, Cardiff and Fulham all replaced their managers during this season – Fulham did it twice – and all four men now in charge of those respective clubs are currently in their first ever Premier League managerial role. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
This new quartet aren’t alone amongst the 20 managers at the 20 clubs in the top division in the land.
Tottenham’s Tim Sherwood and Swansea’s Garry Monk are also in their first Premier League roles, actually their first managerial roles full stop. Monk and Swansea, who always had a decent enough points cushion from the moment they dispensed with Michael Laudrup, picked up a good win over Norwich last time out but had gone winless in nine before that, whilst the less said about Sherwood’s tenure at Tottenham the better. We probably said enough last week, anyway.
There’s also Manuel Pellegrini, but the money available to him at Manchester City ensures that he’ll never truly be a failure on a grand scale. He’s been told to win the Premier League, and he’s got City into a good position to do just that. And besides, he’s vastly experienced elsewhere.
It is at the bottom of the division where this lack of experience in the vagaries of the British game can be shown up though.
At this stage of the season when every point needs to be scrapped for and every goal seems to be worth double, having that knowhow of this division is only going to stand you in good stead.
Of course some of these managers aren’t novices. Fulham’s Felix Magath has been in charge of plenty of clubs in his homeland, including Bayern Munich, whilst West Brom’s Pepe Mel took Real Betis into the Europa League this season.
Both have been good managers elsewhere and both will probably go on to be so again, but are they the right men for their clubs at this particular time? Magath was out of work for 18 months before being jettisoned into Fulham. What sort of preparation can he have done for the role?
It’s a different story for Cardiff’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Sunderland’s Gus Poyet.
Solskjaer, an extremely decorated player thanks to his storied spell with Manchester United, doesn’t want a Premier League relegation on his stellar CV, and in truth he never really should have been given the chance to. Hopefully there will be a good manager in there somewhere, and he started off well in his native Norway, but this really isn’t the time to be taking a punt on someone.
Of the quartet of clubs we’ve mentioned, Sunderland perhaps have the best man for this sort of situation in Poyet, who cut his managerial teeth at Brighton. Defeats such as the one against West Ham on Monday won’t help though, and his side now face a huge challenge to climb out of trouble given their difficult away fixtures.
The chairmen at these four clubs must be looking at the jobs that the likes of Tony Pulis, Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce have been doing this season and feel more than a little envious – that’s indeed if Vincent Tan is capable of emotion. Indeed, there’s a good argument to suggest that Crystal Palace are the only Premier League club to have benefitted from a mid-season managerial change in this campaign.
This isn’t supposed to be a tub-thumping rally cry backing the mediocre British manager, they’ll always find jobs somewhere regardless, but gaining that experience of this division and this culture seems vital to success in the Premier League, look at Roberto Martinez, Mauricio Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers. Don’t look at David Moyes, as it will ruin the argument.
This season’s relegation battle seems to be all about who can arrest poor form first, as none of the teams involved are particularly inspiring.
And when they need points more than ever before, shouldn’t club chairmen have gone with the tried and tested to try and pick them up?
Heads you lose, Pardew
Ever since Alan Pardew’s headbutt on Hull’s David Meyler, Newcastle have scored one goal in four matches, conceding eight.
It is another worrying run in a 2014 which featured eight winless matches prior to a small turnaround and three wins in four, but as their players appear to have gone on a collective holiday judging by the non-performances against Everton and Southampton, surely it is time for a “conscious uncoupling” between Pardew and his vanity project.
The Premier League wants its old, entertaining Newcastle back.
Everton and Arsenal to share spoils
We’re massively in profit now thanks to Peter Odemwingie scoring the only goal of Stoke’s victory last week, and this time we are turning our attentions to Sunday’s big meeting between Everton and Arsenal.
In a huge match in the context of a top four finish, the Gunners will be looking to show the improved form they displayed in the second half against Manchester City last week, and they can build on that to earn a point at Goodison Park to keep Everton at arm’s length.
The draw is 9/4 with BetMcLean.com, whilst it’s a tempting 11/2 for the match to finish 1-1.
Manchester United v Bayern Munich: CONFIRMED LINEUPS & PREVIEW
Apr 1
MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Büttner, Valencia, Carrick, Fellaini, Giggs, Rooney, Welbeck Lindegaard, Hernandez, Nani, Young, Fletcher, Januzaj, Kagawa BAYERN MUNICH: Neuer – Ribéry, Martinez, Robben, Rafinha, Boateng, Lahm, Müller, Alaba, Schweinsteiger, Kroos | Starke – van Buyten, Mandzukić, Shaqiri, Pizarro, Götze, Hojbjerg. Champions League Preview: Manchester United v Bayern Munich, Tue 1st […]
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