Manchester United: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Young, Mata, Hernandez. Subs: Amos, Smalling, Valencia, Fellaini, Januzaj, Welbeck, Van Persie. Sunderland: Mannone, Vergini, Alonso, O’Shea, Brown, Cattermole, Larsson, Colback, Johnson, Borini, Wickham Subs: Bardsley, Altidore, Ba, Giaccherini, Bridcutt, Scocco, Ustari. Whether or not Ryan Giggs’ tenure in charge of Manchester […]
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GW37 Preview: Manchester United and City play twice!
UPDATE Friday 2nd May: Wayne Rooney is now a potential injury doubt for Manchester United’s game against Sunderland.
In his Press conference at 10am this morning, manager Ryan Giggs has said Rooney will be assessed over the next 24 hours before a final decision is made.
Whether or not Ryan Giggs’ tenure in charge of Manchester United stretches beyond these few weeks remains to be seen, but the Welshman could hardly have wished for a better start to his managerial career than the one he got last weekend.
All thoughts of David Moyes were banished at Old Trafford as United strolled to a 4-0 victory over a troubled Norwich City, with smiles returning to faces which has only seen scowls for the vast majority of this season.
Key to those smiles was Wayne Rooney (£11.7m), who returned to form with two goals as his side blew their relegation-threatened visitors away.
Both Rooney and United will have the chance to keep the goals flowing when they entertain both Sunderland and Hull City in the next week, with all three clubs making up half of the sides who face Double Gameweeks in this penultimate week of the Fantasy Premier League season.
Of the six, United have surely been dealt the best hand with two home matches against a side struggling near the bottom of the table then a mid-table Hull outfit who are now just hanging around for the FA Cup final.
Either one or both of those matches seem certain to feature goals for Rooney, whilst some of United’s other attacking talents should also be eyed. Juan Mata (£9.7m) may have only come off the bench last weekend but he scored twice, whilst despite being in and out of the team for the vast majority of his career in England, Shinji Kagawa (£7.1m) has now started five of the last six matches, and all of the last four.
Further back in the team, there is the potential for some more points from Giggs’ men too.
Selecting United defenders has never been a task for the faint-hearted, but the one man you can usually rely on in the side is Patrice Evra (£6.5m), with the Frenchman no doubt keen to put in some good performances at the end of what could be his final season at Old Trafford.
The left-back is ageing and might not be the player he once was, but as United double up this week he could provide valuable points.
Elsewhere, the other side of in Manchester also face two matches this week, with theirs of course being far more important.
With Liverpool’s loss at home to Chelsea opening up the title race once more, City know that only perfection will be needed from here.
They face a huge clash at Everton on Saturday before the slightly gentler task of hosting Aston Villa, and you can be sure that Yaya Toure (£10.3m) will be fit and firing for both of them.
Any concerns over Toure’s potential injury were dispelled with that wonderful lung-bursting run and finish in the win at Crystal Palace, and his influence will be crucial as City go into two matches in which they simply cannot drop points.
Sergio Aguero (£12.7m) will also be key of course, but it has been Edin Dzeko (£7.1m) who has been in the greater form recently and he’ll also be a threat.
Of the other sides facing two matches this week, some interesting options leap out.
Having drawn at City and won at Chelsea, Sunderland surely won’t feel too overawed heading to Manchester United, and if you don’t believe that Rooney, Evra and co are the men to back there then either Fabio Borini (£6.2m) and Connor Wickham (£4.6m) could be useful, whilst Hull’s front two of Shane Long (£5.5m) and Nikica Jelavic (£6.5m) are another pair who need to be respected.
Back in the land of those that only play once this week, Swansea’s Wilfried Bony (£7.3m) has been in inspired form of late and will look to be so again as the Swans host Southampton, whilst Eden Hazard (£10.3m) could return to Premier League action for Chelsea against Norwich.
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 […]
Premier League Preview: West Ham v Manchester United
Mar 22
Manchester United will be hoping their victory against Olympiakos will have a positive impact on their league form, starting against West Ham. Don’t forget to follow @BETFUZE on Twitter Andy Carroll scored last week and will be confident of repeating the feat against a fragile Man Utd defence Manchester United come into the game on […]
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.
GW6 Preview: All aboard the Rooney (Head) BandWagon!!
Sep 26
https://twitter.com/ZOO/statuses/383254815880388608 A mixed week for Manchester United got better around 87 minutes into their Manchester derby loss on Sunday, and they’ve got a man in a headband to thank for it. Wayne Rooney (£10.7m) has returned to form, with four goals in four games in all competitions since he returned from his head injury, a […]
Wayne Rooney’s bang on target for Man Utd: Fantasy Football GW3
Sep 18
Friend of the site and regular contributor @Shots_on_target is doing some great work with the team at Inside FPL InsideFPL are dedicated to bringing you expert analysis and unique services to help you dominate your mini-league. Sign up for their FREE newsletter and Fantasy Price change notifications at INSIDE FPL Highly recommend the Fixture […]
Off the Mark: Why Wayne Rooney should stay at Manchester United
Aug 14
It isn’t the summer without a good transfer saga, and this time around we’ve had three. Alright, Cesc Fabregas tried to muscle his way in there are at one point, but no-one ever believed his credentials. There have really only been three gossip column kings in the summer of 2013. Yet for all the talk […]
Fantasy Football GW34 preview: Has Michu’s magic returned?
The sun is shining and Michu (£8.0m) is scoring goals. It suddenly feels like August again doesn’t it?
Swansea’s Spaniard made one of the most spectacular entrances into Fantasy Premier League that we can remember, scoring four goals in his first three games and finishing the year 2012 on 13 strikes. All whilst handily listed as a midfielder.
The goals saw his Fantasy price rocket up from an initial £6.5m, with his ownership percentage increasing each week as a result. However since a goal against Manchester United just before Christmas, Michu has scored just four in 12 games since then. As a player who doesn’t contribute many assists (just two in that time and three all season), the Spaniard started to lose support.
The early season additions to many teams still sees his ownership percentage at a huge 44.1%, above the likes of Luis Suarez (39.8%), Robin van Persie (37.8%) and indeed everyone else, and after a recent return to goalscoring form there will be even more managers who are willing to take him on board in the closing weeks of the season.
Strikes against Tottenham and Norwich in the past two weeks have taken Michu’s tally to 17 goals this campaign, and after Swansea missed out on playing last weekend he has a double gameweek on the horizon in a bid to find even more.
This weekend though he faces a home game against a Southampton side who have failed to win away at a team ranked above them in the table all season, and so Michael Laudrup’s side will be confident of delivering a victory which will keep them in the top half of the table.
Michu is almost certain to be key to those hopes.
Elsewhere on a Saturday which is likely to go a long way towards determining who will be relegated this season, Norwich host a struggling Reading outfit who still look set to go down despite goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (£3.9m) earning them a point from a goalless draw with Liverpool last weekend.
Like Michu, Robert Snodgrass (£6.3m) scored in the last game at Carrow Road – Norwich’s 2-2 draw with Swansea – and the Scottish midfielder is likely to be a key element to the Canaries’ attempts to break down the Royals on Saturday, when Snodgrass will be looking to improve on his record of five goals and six assists this season.
FA Cup finalists Wigan are another side battling the drop, and although they could find it tough this weekend as they return to London to face West Ham, they do so offer intriguing cheap forward options in Arouna Kone (£6.6m) and Callum McManaman (£4.5m).
QPR simply have to beat struggling Stoke if any hope of them staying up is to remain, and so Loic Remy (£5.9m) is certain to be one to watch, whilst Sunderland’s Adam Johnson (£6.7m) is sure to be key to his side’s hopes of a second successive win as they host a strong Everton outfit.
Sunday’s matches bring together four of the top seven in a couple of big-hitting clashes, and whilst Tottenham will be hoping for the return to fitness of Gareth Bale (£10.5m) ahead of their match against Manchester City, it is a return to form that Suarez (£11.1m) will be after as Liverpool host Chelsea. After hitting 11 goals in 10 matches, the Uruguayan now hasn’t managed any in his last four.
Monday night will see Manchester United expect a victory from their home clash with Aston Villa, and whilst Van Persie (£13.6m) managed to find the net for the first time in 12 and a half hours of football for United against Stoke last weekend, it could be Wayne Rooney (£12.1m) who steals the show this time.
Stationed in a deeper role against Stoke, Rooney will be determined to return to a position further forward here, and he could just make struggling Villa pay.
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