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Showing posts with label Fantasy Premier League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy Premier League. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Friday, 10 January 2014
Yahoo! Premier League: Late Fitness Check - Week 21
Late Fitness Check - Week 21Friday, January 10, 2014
The festive season is over but the hangover is still very much with us. In this article, Michael Cox points out that it appears that approximately 25% of the players in the Premier League are listed on the PhysioRoom.com Injury Report that includes players that are both definitely out or at significant risk of missing out. That's a lot of players and that doesn't include the ones that are in dire need of a rest or are suffering from diminished results as a result of fatigue. Every season this phase of the season is difficult for fantasy managers because points come from unexpected places as players who haven't been mainstays are fresh play against those who have been logging big minutes. You need look no further than Wilfried Bony's performances over the last couple of weeks as an example. He hadn't looked great early on against Premier League competition when both he and the competition were fresh. Now, with the Swansea forward fresh and getting used to the Premier League at the same time as defenders are tiring he looks much better. Gary Hooper is a solid fit for this category as well.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
This isn't to say that you should be going out and buying players who have underperformed over the first half of the season because all of them will do better. What it does mean is that you should lower your expectations slightly on the players who have been playing every week and not beat yourself up on the occasional week when the points come from unexpected sources. Last week was one of those weeks so don't overreact and assume that very good players are all of a sudden useless.
Here is a rundown of the injury and suspension news with the implications for your fantasy team:
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Fulham v Sunderland - Fulham will have Clint Dempsey (listed as a forward at 9.58) available to boost the attack as well as the possibility of Brede Hangeland and Maarten Stekelenberg returning from injury. Dempsey is a solid fantasy option who has typically done well when able to play regularly behind a lead forward. Sunderland also gets good news as Steven Fletcher will be available to start and should boost the Black Cats' scoring options. Given the defensive weaknesses on both sides, both Dempsey and Fletcher (9.1) are solid options if you need a player at a discount.
Hull City v Chelsea - Apparently the entire Hull City team (OK, nine unnamed players) are at risk do to an illness that they may or may not recover from in time for the match with Chelsea. How ready those players are to compete (whether they are playing at less than 100% or make way for reserves) will be critical to Hull's ability to maintain their strong record at home. Chelsea, for their part, are close to full strength with only Lampard and Ivanovic absent. This should mean that Ashley Cole will keep his spot on the left with Azpilicueta on the right.
Manchester United v Swansea City - The huge news here continues to be the absence of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. We saw what United were (or weren't) able to do against Swansea in the League Cup. Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj are the two Red Devils players likely to be of value to fantasy managers but I'd rate them as middling options while Wilfried Bony has shown that he's more than able to overcome United's defense. Other absentees worth noting from this one are Phil Jones, Marouane Fellaini, Rio Ferdinand, Nani, Ashley Young and Fabio from Manchester United and Jonathan De Guzman, Nathan Dyer, Roland Lamah, Dwight Tiendalli, Pablo Hernandez, Gary Monk, Michel Vorm, and Michu for Swansea. If you were wondering where that 25% number came from, these two teams are certainly contributing more than their share.
Southampton v West Bromwich - Southampton are getting healthier as the face the Baggies. Artur Boruc may return to the line-up and joins Ricky Lambert and Gaston Ramirez as questions. Pablo Osvaldo (suspended) and Victor Wanyama (injury) are both definitely out. For West Brom the key absences that will be a boost to the Saints chances of scoring a few goals at home are Billy Jones, Goren Popov and Youssuuf Mulumbu. With West Brom already leaky these absences increase my interest in Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez.
Everton v Norwich City - Everton aren't at full strength with Ross Barkley and Leighton Baines questionable with injuries and Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin even less likely to feature. While potential replacements like Oviedo and Alcaraz are reasonable options, my take is that the potential absences put Everton's defense and specifically Tim Howard's value at significant risk. I like Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas to generate points at the attacking end for the Toffees and if you want either Seamus Coleman or to take a flier on Oviedo then those might be reasonable bets but overall, I don't the Everton defense.
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace - Some recovery from the injury bug for Spurs with Andros Townsend, Lewis Holtby, and Gylfi Sigurdsson available (but likely to be on the bench) but Jan Vertonghen, Sandro, Paulinho, Younes Kaboul, and Erik Lamela are out. Fortunately Spurs are significantly deep that this shouldn't be a major issue with their chances to get a home win against a struggling team. No incredibly meaningful injuries for Palace but that doesn't change my interest in Christen Eriksen and potentially Adebayor, Walker or Lloris (as an alternative to Tim Howard).
Cardiff City v West Ham United - I like Cardiff City for a clean sheet at home against Big Sam's struggling men and there's nothing in the injury report that disuades me from that line of thought. Andy Carroll does have a chance of featuring but he'd be kicking off a LOT of rust for him to be an interesting option. The Hammers will have an honest-to-goodness center back playing which is a nice change until you consider how poorly Roger Johnson did the last time he made a switch to a relegation-threatened Premier League team. Peter Whittingham is also a very interesting option given the frequency with which the Hammers have been shipping goals in recent weeks.
Get all of your Premier League news at RotoWorld
Newcastle v Manchester City - Playing Manchester City is not the time to be missing defensive starters and the Magpies will be missing Mathieu Debuchy, Davide Santon, and Fabricio Coloccini...ouch. Newcastle can be at least a little happy that Sergio Agueo is still out but the Argentine's absence hasn't slowed down the City scoring barage. There are no other significant absences for City and I wouldn't bet on a clean sheet but I wouldn't shy away from City attackers.
Stoke City v Liverpool - The big news here is that Daniel Sturridge is available again. If he does start (and there's no guarantee that he won't be eased back into the line-up with a substitute appearance) there may be some rust here so I wouldn't go overboard even with the potential of Jack Butland being in net for struggling Stoke City. Elsewhere, Liverpool's most fluid center back Daniel Agger is out for a month which will hurt the Reds' transition from defending to attacking. This will certainly be a transitional period for Liverpool in the eyes of fantasy managers - with Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge rejoining an attack that has seen Jordan Henderson improve significantly and Philippe Coutinho continue to round into form. It is likely that all will start along with Luis Suarez but where the points come from will remain to be seen.
Aston Villa v Arsenal - Arsenal haven't been scoring as freely as they were earlier in the season but the returns of Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud who will hopefully be at least a little rested should help. It may also help that Ron Vlaar and Nathan Baker may miss out in the center of the Villa defense. Arsenal will be missing Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner while Thomas Vermaelen, Keiran Gibbs, and Aaron Ramsey are all doubtful. In this situation, Nacho Monreal becomes a very solid defensive option for under 10 and if you're willing to assume that Wenger will want some speed in Walcott's absence then Serge Gnabry might be a risk worth taking if you need an inexpensive midfielder. If you have the budget, I'd be focusing on guys like Christen Eriksen and Adam Lallana who are more proven and more likely to start (at home against poor opposition) but if they are too expensive then Gnabry is worth considering in that group with Januzaj and Whittingham.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Weekly Picks: AM's Week 21 Player Picks
AM's Week 21 Player Picks
Thursday, January 09, 2014
It's good to be back after the break for the FA Cup last weekend. The festive fixtures turned out very well for both Tottenham and AM FC,
as Tim Sherwood grabbed two fine away wins at Southampton and Old
Trafford and my Yahoo team climbed in to the Top 500 overall. I'm hoping
both teams will be able to keep that momentum going as we come in to
Week 21.
Now before I get in to that, I want to remind you to join the Rotoworld PL Yahoo Private Leagues. Starting in a couple of weeks we'll be using the weekly performance stats in each league to run a knock-out Cup competiton with some quite excellent prizes and will also be awarding prizes to the winners of the leagues, so it's well worth getting involved. Click here for more details and beware spaces are limited, so you'll need to move quickly.
Let's look at the week ahead ...
Get all of your Premier League news at RotoWorld
Week 21 Fixtures
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Cardiff City v West Ham
Everton v Norwich
Fulham v Sunderland
Hull City v Chelsea
Man Utd v Swansea
Newcastle v Man City
Southampton v West Brom
Stoke v Liverpool
Tottenham v Crystal Palace
The fixtures that look most promising are Arsenal away at Aston Villa, Tottenham at home to Crystal Palace, Everton at home to Norwich and Liverpool away at Stoke. All four of the teams in bold are playing well in the league and know they must win these sorts of games against struggling sides to keep themselves in the mix at the top of the table. I'm confident they'll all win comfortably so will have at least one player from Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool in my Week 21 Yahoo team.
Manchester United's struggles are well documented but they could have Wayne Rooney and / or Robin van Persie back this weekend and that would probably be enough to get revenge on Swansea. David Moyes has seen his men lose three in a row but I just can't see that becoming four, although ask me again if we get confirmation that both star men remain out. In Wales, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Cardiff side will fancy their chances of beating a West Ham in disarray after another hammering in midweek, and I reckon Southampton will have enough attacking quality in their team to dispatch West Brom in front of the home fans.
On paper Hull v Chelsea and Newcastle v Manchester City should both end up as narrow away wins, but Hull and Newcastle can be difficult to beat at home so it's not one to load up on. A Chelsea or Manchester City attacker could prove good value though, and the Hull v Chelsea game is the early Saturday kick-off, so if you want to include a Chelsea a representative we'll get starting line-ups before the Yahoo deadline. Follow me on twitter as I'll ensure these are tweeted out as soon as they're available here in the UK.
I'd avoid Fulham v Sunderland, as it could end as a drab draw and it's hard to see many fantasy points about - unless Dimitar Berbatov is in the mood.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
With all that in mind, click over to the Week 21 player recommendations on the next page ...
Now before I get in to that, I want to remind you to join the Rotoworld PL Yahoo Private Leagues. Starting in a couple of weeks we'll be using the weekly performance stats in each league to run a knock-out Cup competiton with some quite excellent prizes and will also be awarding prizes to the winners of the leagues, so it's well worth getting involved. Click here for more details and beware spaces are limited, so you'll need to move quickly.
Let's look at the week ahead ...
Get all of your Premier League news at RotoWorld
Week 21 Fixtures
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Cardiff City v West Ham
Everton v Norwich
Fulham v Sunderland
Hull City v Chelsea
Man Utd v Swansea
Newcastle v Man City
Southampton v West Brom
Stoke v Liverpool
Tottenham v Crystal Palace
The fixtures that look most promising are Arsenal away at Aston Villa, Tottenham at home to Crystal Palace, Everton at home to Norwich and Liverpool away at Stoke. All four of the teams in bold are playing well in the league and know they must win these sorts of games against struggling sides to keep themselves in the mix at the top of the table. I'm confident they'll all win comfortably so will have at least one player from Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool in my Week 21 Yahoo team.
Manchester United's struggles are well documented but they could have Wayne Rooney and / or Robin van Persie back this weekend and that would probably be enough to get revenge on Swansea. David Moyes has seen his men lose three in a row but I just can't see that becoming four, although ask me again if we get confirmation that both star men remain out. In Wales, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Cardiff side will fancy their chances of beating a West Ham in disarray after another hammering in midweek, and I reckon Southampton will have enough attacking quality in their team to dispatch West Brom in front of the home fans.
On paper Hull v Chelsea and Newcastle v Manchester City should both end up as narrow away wins, but Hull and Newcastle can be difficult to beat at home so it's not one to load up on. A Chelsea or Manchester City attacker could prove good value though, and the Hull v Chelsea game is the early Saturday kick-off, so if you want to include a Chelsea a representative we'll get starting line-ups before the Yahoo deadline. Follow me on twitter as I'll ensure these are tweeted out as soon as they're available here in the UK.
I'd avoid Fulham v Sunderland, as it could end as a drab draw and it's hard to see many fantasy points about - unless Dimitar Berbatov is in the mood.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
With all that in mind, click over to the Week 21 player recommendations on the next page ...
continue story »
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Weekly Picks: First XI: Week 21 Player Picks
First XI: Week 21 Player Picks
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
And we're back. But we never went away.
After a polar vortex of matches over the holidays, the week off from Premier League action felt... well, certainly anti-climatic. But we still had FA Cup matches over the weekend, and League Cup matches midweek. There was still news and action and transfers and rumours. It just all felt a little... background.
But now we're back and it's time to take your first crack at a line-up for this weekend's Premier League matches. Here's mine:
1. Dimitar Berbatov - Back on New Years Day after a month out and he scored. Again. That makes four consecutive matches in which he's played in which he's scored (3) or assisted a goal (1). We appear to getting the motivated Berbatov, which probably coincides with the opening of the January transfer window. But who cares what his motivation are, we're fantasy managers not Fulham fans. Sunderland are playing Manchester United midweek, so surely a trip to Fulham is a trap game for them, as the emotion and travel takes their toll. So unless he transfers to Arsenal, or any of the number of other clubs to which he's been linked, he'll be in my line-up for Sunderland's visit to Craven Cottage.
2. Luis Suárez - Number seven on your team sheet, number one in your hearts... and captain poll.
3. Jay Rodriguez - Behind Eden Hazard (always a rotation risk, and at Hull which isn't easy) and Papiss Cisse (which is a statistical anomaly), Dimitar Berbatov is the in-form striker in the League (see above). Behind him is Nicolas Anelka off his brace against West Ham, and then Jay Rodriguez. I'm going with JRod as he was guaranteed a start before Ricky Lambert got hurt and Dani Osvaldo got himself suspended. He's also got a nice match-up with West Brom coming to St Mary's. I think matches against Everton and Chelsea have suppressed his form and hi price, and he looks a good bet to return to his scoring form of a month ago.
4. Serge Gnabry - A bit of a flyer here, but with Theo Walcott out for six-months and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just back in training, Gnabry seems poised for a run in the Arsenal team. He played on the right-side of the attack against Spurs in the FA Cup with Walcott shifted inside. At Aston Villa, Wenger's only other option would be to play Jack Wilshere there, and that doesn't seem likely. I think my first choice out of the Arsenal midfield would be Santi Cazorla, but for the price, Gnabry is assured a least a bench spot in my side, and likely a starting role.
5. Steven Gerrard - If I do go for Gnabry over Cazorla, then I have the money to bring Gerrard back into my team. Before he was injured, he was returning a steady stream of points from set-pieces and assists. Now that's he's made his comeback - as a substitute against Hull and as a starter against Oldham in the FA Cup - that should resume against Stoke City at the weekend. Jordan Henderson could be another bet from Liverpool's midfield, if Gerrard's return allows him to play in the attacking role he played in so well last month.
6. Aaron Lennon
7. Christian Eriksen - After Emmanuel Adebayor, these two have been the main beneficiaries of the Tim Sherwood era at Spurs. Both have scored goals in the last few weeks, and Eriksen has monopolised the set-pieces (not penalties, however) since he returned from injury. A home match against Crystal Palace should see them continue their recent form, and I don't mind doubling up on one team in this case.
8. Joel Ward - The Spurs choices above, however, do not diminish my expectations for Joel Ward. In fact, if he matches up against Eriksen (or more likely Danny Rose when Eriksen drifts centrally) Ward will earn his fair share of fantasy points from his usually spotless defensive work. And if he can get forward and isolated on Rose in attack, there may be more joy.
9. Vincent Kompany - I'm always a bit reticent to back Manchester City on the road, but Kompany should still return value. A clean sheet wouldn't surprise me if indeed Yohan Cabaye misses out with injury, but Kompany could also get his head to a corner or free-kick in Fabricio Coloccini's absence.
10 Nacho Monreal - This pick depends on Kieran Gibbs' health come game time, but if he's still out, Monreal is a great pick. An more attacking choice than Gibbs, he'll give Leandro Bacuna fits all match.
11. Joe Hart - See Kompany, Vincent above. This is a occasion where I have the player at a discount and would like to keep him long term. Manchester City isn't always a sure thing on the road, but more often than not, they'll win the match (at least not lose) and those points are valuable when they keep a goalkeeper from returning negative points. Of course a clean sheet could be in the off, and of course we'll be hoping for that too.
After a polar vortex of matches over the holidays, the week off from Premier League action felt... well, certainly anti-climatic. But we still had FA Cup matches over the weekend, and League Cup matches midweek. There was still news and action and transfers and rumours. It just all felt a little... background.
But now we're back and it's time to take your first crack at a line-up for this weekend's Premier League matches. Here's mine:
1. Dimitar Berbatov - Back on New Years Day after a month out and he scored. Again. That makes four consecutive matches in which he's played in which he's scored (3) or assisted a goal (1). We appear to getting the motivated Berbatov, which probably coincides with the opening of the January transfer window. But who cares what his motivation are, we're fantasy managers not Fulham fans. Sunderland are playing Manchester United midweek, so surely a trip to Fulham is a trap game for them, as the emotion and travel takes their toll. So unless he transfers to Arsenal, or any of the number of other clubs to which he's been linked, he'll be in my line-up for Sunderland's visit to Craven Cottage.
2. Luis Suárez - Number seven on your team sheet, number one in your hearts... and captain poll.
3. Jay Rodriguez - Behind Eden Hazard (always a rotation risk, and at Hull which isn't easy) and Papiss Cisse (which is a statistical anomaly), Dimitar Berbatov is the in-form striker in the League (see above). Behind him is Nicolas Anelka off his brace against West Ham, and then Jay Rodriguez. I'm going with JRod as he was guaranteed a start before Ricky Lambert got hurt and Dani Osvaldo got himself suspended. He's also got a nice match-up with West Brom coming to St Mary's. I think matches against Everton and Chelsea have suppressed his form and hi price, and he looks a good bet to return to his scoring form of a month ago.
4. Serge Gnabry - A bit of a flyer here, but with Theo Walcott out for six-months and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just back in training, Gnabry seems poised for a run in the Arsenal team. He played on the right-side of the attack against Spurs in the FA Cup with Walcott shifted inside. At Aston Villa, Wenger's only other option would be to play Jack Wilshere there, and that doesn't seem likely. I think my first choice out of the Arsenal midfield would be Santi Cazorla, but for the price, Gnabry is assured a least a bench spot in my side, and likely a starting role.
5. Steven Gerrard - If I do go for Gnabry over Cazorla, then I have the money to bring Gerrard back into my team. Before he was injured, he was returning a steady stream of points from set-pieces and assists. Now that's he's made his comeback - as a substitute against Hull and as a starter against Oldham in the FA Cup - that should resume against Stoke City at the weekend. Jordan Henderson could be another bet from Liverpool's midfield, if Gerrard's return allows him to play in the attacking role he played in so well last month.
6. Aaron Lennon
7. Christian Eriksen - After Emmanuel Adebayor, these two have been the main beneficiaries of the Tim Sherwood era at Spurs. Both have scored goals in the last few weeks, and Eriksen has monopolised the set-pieces (not penalties, however) since he returned from injury. A home match against Crystal Palace should see them continue their recent form, and I don't mind doubling up on one team in this case.
8. Joel Ward - The Spurs choices above, however, do not diminish my expectations for Joel Ward. In fact, if he matches up against Eriksen (or more likely Danny Rose when Eriksen drifts centrally) Ward will earn his fair share of fantasy points from his usually spotless defensive work. And if he can get forward and isolated on Rose in attack, there may be more joy.
9. Vincent Kompany - I'm always a bit reticent to back Manchester City on the road, but Kompany should still return value. A clean sheet wouldn't surprise me if indeed Yohan Cabaye misses out with injury, but Kompany could also get his head to a corner or free-kick in Fabricio Coloccini's absence.
10 Nacho Monreal - This pick depends on Kieran Gibbs' health come game time, but if he's still out, Monreal is a great pick. An more attacking choice than Gibbs, he'll give Leandro Bacuna fits all match.
11. Joe Hart - See Kompany, Vincent above. This is a occasion where I have the player at a discount and would like to keep him long term. Manchester City isn't always a sure thing on the road, but more often than not, they'll win the match (at least not lose) and those points are valuable when they keep a goalkeeper from returning negative points. Of course a clean sheet could be in the off, and of course we'll be hoping for that too.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Player Analysis: Fantasy PL Bench Options
Fantasy PL Bench Options
Monday, January 06, 2014
As we saw during a busy December, the bench in the Yahoo!
Fantasy Premier League game can actually be quite useful. Plenty of
managers were forced to tinker their lineups to rest star players and to
account for injuries. Many of the changes were unexpected and I ended
up with two different zero pointers because I lacked a quality bench.
With a £150M budget, fantasy managers can afford to stash a few options on the bench to avoid getting blanks. I’ll recommend some extremely cheap players below, many of which I would not start in my first XI. These players will most likely get playing time in the near future and be able to give you a few points subbing in for players rested or left out of the lineup unexpectedly. Expect players on this list to cost no more than about £5-6M and don’t expect double-digit point returns. If you have leftover money, I would strongly recommend getting someone who costs a little more than the players below and is an actual consistent performer for your top bench spot.
Kelvin Davis (goalkeeper) – The Southampton backup’s last two outings were discouraging, negative four and negative seven points, but they drove his price to the minimum - £1M. Southampton played at Everton and then against an on fire Chelsea squad, both superior teams. They were missing Nathaniel Clyne and Victor Wanyama in both games, both of which were a big part of the Saints’ good defense at the beginning of the season. Clyne and Wanyama are expected back for the next Premier League match and Davis should have a relatively healthy defense in front of him. Artur Boruc still has no timetable to return and the Saints next five Premier League opponents are West Brom, Sunderland, Arsenal, Fulham, and Stoke City. Considering the price, there is no better bench goalkeeper at the moment.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
Kolo Toure (defender) – Toure is filling in for the injured Mamadou Sakho and will be a good option while Sakho is out. Sakho’s has a chance to return this weekend, so make sure you check his status before spending the money on Toure. (£5.57M as of Jan 5).
Steven Taylor/Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (defenders) – Mathieu Debuchy is suspended for two more games for the red card he received against West Brom and Fabricio Coloccini is out for up to six weeks. These are the most likely replacements but they come in the £6-8M price range and that’s quite a bit to spend on a bench player, certainly more than I’m willing to spend. If you have the extra cash, don’t be afraid to spend it here and have a reliable backup for the near future.
John Obi Mikel (midfielder) – Another player who is filling in for an injury. Mikel will be Frank Lampard’s main replacement and Lampard is expected to be out until at least January 29th. Mikel gets most of his points from defensive stats but can also add a goal from time to time as he showed in Chelsea’s latest FA Cup match. With the expected regular role, Mikel can be a very good bench option at £5.38M. You can also choose to go with Michael Essien, who is less than half his price, but whether or not Essien gets any playing time is a toss up, making him very unreliable.
Alou Diarra (midfielder) – Diarra just returned from a bad knee injury to make his second appearance of the season (the first one was in week one). He is currently filling in on defense, where West Ham are fighting a series of injuries, but can also play in the defensive part of midfield. The Hammers just signed defender Roger Johnson, meaning Diarra’s playing time could decrease quickly, but I think he is a must own player for your bench considering he is currently the cheapest midfielder at £1.64M.
Tomas Rosicky(midfielder) – I know Rosicky’s record speaks against him with only 20 points in 12 games, but five of those were him coming on as a substitute. Arsenal are going through an extremely rough time with injuries and Theo Walcott was just ruled out for the season. Rosicky will be partially relied upon to create plays and score a few goals and considering he is only worth £3.37M, I wouldn’t mind keeping him on the sidelines.
Victor Wanyama(midfielder) – Wanyama has been out with injury but is expected back this weekend or next. His price is a little higher than most players on this list (£6.84M) but he averaged 6.8 points per game in his last five games and will be a full-time starter as soon as he returns. He can be a “first off the bench” type of player.
James Ward-Prowse (midfielder) – A bit expensive at £6.82M but probably best player under £7M. He had a bit of a rough stretch recently but schedule gets easier and I’d expect to see improvement.
Hopefully you find some of these players useful and strengthen your bench. Personally, I don’t like to spend more than £3-4M on a bench player and will probably only keep Alou Diarra and Thomas Rosicky from this list, along with the cheapest possible player I can find in the third bench spot. If I have leftover cash, I will look at putting Wanyama or Ward-Prowse in my top bench spot.
With a £150M budget, fantasy managers can afford to stash a few options on the bench to avoid getting blanks. I’ll recommend some extremely cheap players below, many of which I would not start in my first XI. These players will most likely get playing time in the near future and be able to give you a few points subbing in for players rested or left out of the lineup unexpectedly. Expect players on this list to cost no more than about £5-6M and don’t expect double-digit point returns. If you have leftover money, I would strongly recommend getting someone who costs a little more than the players below and is an actual consistent performer for your top bench spot.
Kelvin Davis (goalkeeper) – The Southampton backup’s last two outings were discouraging, negative four and negative seven points, but they drove his price to the minimum - £1M. Southampton played at Everton and then against an on fire Chelsea squad, both superior teams. They were missing Nathaniel Clyne and Victor Wanyama in both games, both of which were a big part of the Saints’ good defense at the beginning of the season. Clyne and Wanyama are expected back for the next Premier League match and Davis should have a relatively healthy defense in front of him. Artur Boruc still has no timetable to return and the Saints next five Premier League opponents are West Brom, Sunderland, Arsenal, Fulham, and Stoke City. Considering the price, there is no better bench goalkeeper at the moment.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
Kolo Toure (defender) – Toure is filling in for the injured Mamadou Sakho and will be a good option while Sakho is out. Sakho’s has a chance to return this weekend, so make sure you check his status before spending the money on Toure. (£5.57M as of Jan 5).
Steven Taylor/Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (defenders) – Mathieu Debuchy is suspended for two more games for the red card he received against West Brom and Fabricio Coloccini is out for up to six weeks. These are the most likely replacements but they come in the £6-8M price range and that’s quite a bit to spend on a bench player, certainly more than I’m willing to spend. If you have the extra cash, don’t be afraid to spend it here and have a reliable backup for the near future.
John Obi Mikel (midfielder) – Another player who is filling in for an injury. Mikel will be Frank Lampard’s main replacement and Lampard is expected to be out until at least January 29th. Mikel gets most of his points from defensive stats but can also add a goal from time to time as he showed in Chelsea’s latest FA Cup match. With the expected regular role, Mikel can be a very good bench option at £5.38M. You can also choose to go with Michael Essien, who is less than half his price, but whether or not Essien gets any playing time is a toss up, making him very unreliable.
Alou Diarra (midfielder) – Diarra just returned from a bad knee injury to make his second appearance of the season (the first one was in week one). He is currently filling in on defense, where West Ham are fighting a series of injuries, but can also play in the defensive part of midfield. The Hammers just signed defender Roger Johnson, meaning Diarra’s playing time could decrease quickly, but I think he is a must own player for your bench considering he is currently the cheapest midfielder at £1.64M.
Tomas Rosicky(midfielder) – I know Rosicky’s record speaks against him with only 20 points in 12 games, but five of those were him coming on as a substitute. Arsenal are going through an extremely rough time with injuries and Theo Walcott was just ruled out for the season. Rosicky will be partially relied upon to create plays and score a few goals and considering he is only worth £3.37M, I wouldn’t mind keeping him on the sidelines.
Victor Wanyama(midfielder) – Wanyama has been out with injury but is expected back this weekend or next. His price is a little higher than most players on this list (£6.84M) but he averaged 6.8 points per game in his last five games and will be a full-time starter as soon as he returns. He can be a “first off the bench” type of player.
James Ward-Prowse (midfielder) – A bit expensive at £6.82M but probably best player under £7M. He had a bit of a rough stretch recently but schedule gets easier and I’d expect to see improvement.
Hopefully you find some of these players useful and strengthen your bench. Personally, I don’t like to spend more than £3-4M on a bench player and will probably only keep Alou Diarra and Thomas Rosicky from this list, along with the cheapest possible player I can find in the third bench spot. If I have leftover cash, I will look at putting Wanyama or Ward-Prowse in my top bench spot.
Friday, 3 January 2014
Matchday Wrap Up: Holiday Season Review
Holiday Season Review
Thursday, January 02, 2014
The holiday season was extremely busy with Premier League
fixtures and we were lucky enough to see four sets of matches in less
than two weeks. Instead of reviewing the weekend, I’ll try to look at
some important trends we saw through the holiday season and give my two
cents on what that means going forward.
1. Tottenham might not be out of a Champions League spot contention, but Manchester United probably are
Tottenham and Manchester United were having similar struggles up to this point in the season, but Wednesday’s match between the two showed the difference. Lets look at Tottenham first. Spurs fired André Villas-Boas and put Tim Sherwood in his place. I was not a big fan of the hire and I’m still not completely sold on Sherwood but we have definitely seen improvements in Tottenham’s play. Christian Eriksen recently said Sherwood gives them “more freedom” and makes it sound like Villas-Boas tried to do too much. Freedom can sometimes be a good thing and the win over Manchester was certainly a step in the right direction. It will be very tough to beat out one of the current top four teams for a spot in the Champions League, but Tottenham can certainly challenge for it or at the least earn a top six finish, which should be acceptable considering a mid-season change of manager and the lack of Gareth Bale.
Manchester United’s struggles are being attributed to David Moyes and I think with good reason (partially). The club is still struggling against good opposition (their four game winning streak was against teams in 10th, 11th, 15th, and 19th place) and they are making mistakes they shouldn’t be. Jonny Evans attributed the fact that they were “too open” at home for the two Tottenham goals on Wednesday and that’s something that should be fixed by Moyes. Do I think Moyes should go? No. Moyes came from a smaller club where strategy is a bit different and is still adjusting to being in charge of such a big club, but Manchester fans will just have to accept they probably aren’t getting a top four spot this year. There is also a lot of blame to be put on their sub-par roster. They’ve missed their arguably best player, Robin van Persie, and his return could spark something, but I think sixth or seventh place will be in the books for United unless they sign some major talent in January.
2. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City have one big thing in common – depth
These three teams had a very good stretch over the holidays despite missing some important players. Arsenal missed Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, and Aaron Ramsey for some games, City missed Sergio Aguero, and Chelsea missed David Luiz, Frank Lampard, and Branislav Ivanovic. Neither of them missed a beat as they separated themselves from the pack and there is now a four point gap between third place Chelsea and fourth place Liverpool. The difference came from roster depth, as Liverpool missed Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard while the other clubs didn’t flinch. The depth will continue to play a huge role in the title race and it seems Arsenal are trying to add another striker to make sure they have enough fire power to stay ahead of Chelsea and City.
3. Southampton’s squad just isn’t deep enough
The Saints started the season red hot and were in the top four several weeks into the season. In this article, I said one of the main reasons for their success was their consistency and lack of injuries. As injuries started piling up, the Saints started losing. They’ve only earned five points in their last nine games, but have missed Artur Boruc, Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama, Jose Fonte, Nathaniel Clyne, Dani Osvaldo among others for at least one of those nine games. The only scenarios I see where Southampton get a top six finish is if:
4. Depth is not only important in the Premier League
Depth seemed to be so important during the tight schedule in the Premier League but it was also important for our fantasy squads. With the heavy rotation and heavy injury rate, having deep fantasy teams proved to be important. I took two different zero pointers because I didn’t have enough valuable players on my bench. The Premier League schedule gets easier, but there will be European and FA Cup matches that will also cause some unexpected rests. Many people have been taking advantage of the huge budget to get the best 11 players possible, but during tight windows, make sure to have at least one or two viable bench options on your squad.
1. Tottenham might not be out of a Champions League spot contention, but Manchester United probably are
Tottenham and Manchester United were having similar struggles up to this point in the season, but Wednesday’s match between the two showed the difference. Lets look at Tottenham first. Spurs fired André Villas-Boas and put Tim Sherwood in his place. I was not a big fan of the hire and I’m still not completely sold on Sherwood but we have definitely seen improvements in Tottenham’s play. Christian Eriksen recently said Sherwood gives them “more freedom” and makes it sound like Villas-Boas tried to do too much. Freedom can sometimes be a good thing and the win over Manchester was certainly a step in the right direction. It will be very tough to beat out one of the current top four teams for a spot in the Champions League, but Tottenham can certainly challenge for it or at the least earn a top six finish, which should be acceptable considering a mid-season change of manager and the lack of Gareth Bale.
Manchester United’s struggles are being attributed to David Moyes and I think with good reason (partially). The club is still struggling against good opposition (their four game winning streak was against teams in 10th, 11th, 15th, and 19th place) and they are making mistakes they shouldn’t be. Jonny Evans attributed the fact that they were “too open” at home for the two Tottenham goals on Wednesday and that’s something that should be fixed by Moyes. Do I think Moyes should go? No. Moyes came from a smaller club where strategy is a bit different and is still adjusting to being in charge of such a big club, but Manchester fans will just have to accept they probably aren’t getting a top four spot this year. There is also a lot of blame to be put on their sub-par roster. They’ve missed their arguably best player, Robin van Persie, and his return could spark something, but I think sixth or seventh place will be in the books for United unless they sign some major talent in January.
2. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City have one big thing in common – depth
These three teams had a very good stretch over the holidays despite missing some important players. Arsenal missed Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, and Aaron Ramsey for some games, City missed Sergio Aguero, and Chelsea missed David Luiz, Frank Lampard, and Branislav Ivanovic. Neither of them missed a beat as they separated themselves from the pack and there is now a four point gap between third place Chelsea and fourth place Liverpool. The difference came from roster depth, as Liverpool missed Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard while the other clubs didn’t flinch. The depth will continue to play a huge role in the title race and it seems Arsenal are trying to add another striker to make sure they have enough fire power to stay ahead of Chelsea and City.
3. Southampton’s squad just isn’t deep enough
The Saints started the season red hot and were in the top four several weeks into the season. In this article, I said one of the main reasons for their success was their consistency and lack of injuries. As injuries started piling up, the Saints started losing. They’ve only earned five points in their last nine games, but have missed Artur Boruc, Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama, Jose Fonte, Nathaniel Clyne, Dani Osvaldo among others for at least one of those nine games. The only scenarios I see where Southampton get a top six finish is if:
- They get and keep all their starters healthy soon (extremely unlikely) or
- They purchase some more talent in January
4. Depth is not only important in the Premier League
Depth seemed to be so important during the tight schedule in the Premier League but it was also important for our fantasy squads. With the heavy rotation and heavy injury rate, having deep fantasy teams proved to be important. I took two different zero pointers because I didn’t have enough valuable players on my bench. The Premier League schedule gets easier, but there will be European and FA Cup matches that will also cause some unexpected rests. Many people have been taking advantage of the huge budget to get the best 11 players possible, but during tight windows, make sure to have at least one or two viable bench options on your squad.
Matchday Wrap Up: Holiday Season Review
Holiday Season Review
Thursday, January 02, 2014
The holiday season was extremely busy with Premier League
fixtures and we were lucky enough to see four sets of matches in less
than two weeks. Instead of reviewing the weekend, I’ll try to look at
some important trends we saw through the holiday season and give my two
cents on what that means going forward.
1. Tottenham might not be out of a Champions League spot contention, but Manchester United probably are
Tottenham and Manchester United were having similar struggles up to this point in the season, but Wednesday’s match between the two showed the difference. Lets look at Tottenham first. Spurs fired André Villas-Boas and put Tim Sherwood in his place. I was not a big fan of the hire and I’m still not completely sold on Sherwood but we have definitely seen improvements in Tottenham’s play. Christian Eriksen recently said Sherwood gives them “more freedom” and makes it sound like Villas-Boas tried to do too much. Freedom can sometimes be a good thing and the win over Manchester was certainly a step in the right direction. It will be very tough to beat out one of the current top four teams for a spot in the Champions League, but Tottenham can certainly challenge for it or at the least earn a top six finish, which should be acceptable considering a mid-season change of manager and the lack of Gareth Bale.
Manchester United’s struggles are being attributed to David Moyes and I think with good reason (partially). The club is still struggling against good opposition (their four game winning streak was against teams in 10th, 11th, 15th, and 19th place) and they are making mistakes they shouldn’t be. Jonny Evans attributed the fact that they were “too open” at home for the two Tottenham goals on Wednesday and that’s something that should be fixed by Moyes. Do I think Moyes should go? No. Moyes came from a smaller club where strategy is a bit different and is still adjusting to being in charge of such a big club, but Manchester fans will just have to accept they probably aren’t getting a top four spot this year. There is also a lot of blame to be put on their sub-par roster. They’ve missed their arguably best player, Robin van Persie, and his return could spark something, but I think sixth or seventh place will be in the books for United unless they sign some major talent in January.
2. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City have one big thing in common – depth
These three teams had a very good stretch over the holidays despite missing some important players. Arsenal missed Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, and Aaron Ramsey for some games, City missed Sergio Aguero, and Chelsea missed David Luiz, Frank Lampard, and Branislav Ivanovic. Neither of them missed a beat as they separated themselves from the pack and there is now a four point gap between third place Chelsea and fourth place Liverpool. The difference came from roster depth, as Liverpool missed Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard while the other clubs didn’t flinch. The depth will continue to play a huge role in the title race and it seems Arsenal are trying to add another striker to make sure they have enough fire power to stay ahead of Chelsea and City.
3. Southampton’s squad just isn’t deep enough
The Saints started the season red hot and were in the top four several weeks into the season. In this article, I said one of the main reasons for their success was their consistency and lack of injuries. As injuries started piling up, the Saints started losing. They’ve only earned five points in their last nine games, but have missed Artur Boruc, Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama, Jose Fonte, Nathaniel Clyne, Dani Osvaldo among others for at least one of those nine games. The only scenarios I see where Southampton get a top six finish is if:
4. Depth is not only important in the Premier League
Depth seemed to be so important during the tight schedule in the Premier League but it was also important for our fantasy squads. With the heavy rotation and heavy injury rate, having deep fantasy teams proved to be important. I took two different zero pointers because I didn’t have enough valuable players on my bench. The Premier League schedule gets easier, but there will be European and FA Cup matches that will also cause some unexpected rests. Many people have been taking advantage of the huge budget to get the best 11 players possible, but during tight windows, make sure to have at least one or two viable bench options on your squad.
1. Tottenham might not be out of a Champions League spot contention, but Manchester United probably are
Tottenham and Manchester United were having similar struggles up to this point in the season, but Wednesday’s match between the two showed the difference. Lets look at Tottenham first. Spurs fired André Villas-Boas and put Tim Sherwood in his place. I was not a big fan of the hire and I’m still not completely sold on Sherwood but we have definitely seen improvements in Tottenham’s play. Christian Eriksen recently said Sherwood gives them “more freedom” and makes it sound like Villas-Boas tried to do too much. Freedom can sometimes be a good thing and the win over Manchester was certainly a step in the right direction. It will be very tough to beat out one of the current top four teams for a spot in the Champions League, but Tottenham can certainly challenge for it or at the least earn a top six finish, which should be acceptable considering a mid-season change of manager and the lack of Gareth Bale.
Manchester United’s struggles are being attributed to David Moyes and I think with good reason (partially). The club is still struggling against good opposition (their four game winning streak was against teams in 10th, 11th, 15th, and 19th place) and they are making mistakes they shouldn’t be. Jonny Evans attributed the fact that they were “too open” at home for the two Tottenham goals on Wednesday and that’s something that should be fixed by Moyes. Do I think Moyes should go? No. Moyes came from a smaller club where strategy is a bit different and is still adjusting to being in charge of such a big club, but Manchester fans will just have to accept they probably aren’t getting a top four spot this year. There is also a lot of blame to be put on their sub-par roster. They’ve missed their arguably best player, Robin van Persie, and his return could spark something, but I think sixth or seventh place will be in the books for United unless they sign some major talent in January.
2. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City have one big thing in common – depth
These three teams had a very good stretch over the holidays despite missing some important players. Arsenal missed Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, and Aaron Ramsey for some games, City missed Sergio Aguero, and Chelsea missed David Luiz, Frank Lampard, and Branislav Ivanovic. Neither of them missed a beat as they separated themselves from the pack and there is now a four point gap between third place Chelsea and fourth place Liverpool. The difference came from roster depth, as Liverpool missed Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard while the other clubs didn’t flinch. The depth will continue to play a huge role in the title race and it seems Arsenal are trying to add another striker to make sure they have enough fire power to stay ahead of Chelsea and City.
3. Southampton’s squad just isn’t deep enough
The Saints started the season red hot and were in the top four several weeks into the season. In this article, I said one of the main reasons for their success was their consistency and lack of injuries. As injuries started piling up, the Saints started losing. They’ve only earned five points in their last nine games, but have missed Artur Boruc, Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama, Jose Fonte, Nathaniel Clyne, Dani Osvaldo among others for at least one of those nine games. The only scenarios I see where Southampton get a top six finish is if:
- They get and keep all their starters healthy soon (extremely unlikely) or
- They purchase some more talent in January
4. Depth is not only important in the Premier League
Depth seemed to be so important during the tight schedule in the Premier League but it was also important for our fantasy squads. With the heavy rotation and heavy injury rate, having deep fantasy teams proved to be important. I took two different zero pointers because I didn’t have enough valuable players on my bench. The Premier League schedule gets easier, but there will be European and FA Cup matches that will also cause some unexpected rests. Many people have been taking advantage of the huge budget to get the best 11 players possible, but during tight windows, make sure to have at least one or two viable bench options on your squad.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Breaking News: Team News - Week 20
Team News - Week 20
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Early New Year's Day Kickoff
Swansea City v Manchester City
Swansea City XI: Tremmel, Rangel, Chico, Williams (c), Davies, Canas, de Guzman, Shelvey, Hernandez, Routledge, Bony
Substitutes: Zabret, Tiendalli, Amat, Taylor, Pozuelo, Lamah, Vazquez
Changes: Rangel and Routledge in for Tiendalli and Lamah
Manchester City XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov, Navas, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Negredo, Dzeko
Substitutes: Pantilimon, Lescott, Garcia, Clichy, Boyata, Rodwell, Milner
Changes: Zabaleta, Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Nasri and Negredo in for Boyata, Clichy, Garcia, Milner and Silva
New Year's Day Tea Time Kickoffs
Arsenal v Cardiff City
Arsenal XI: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Arteta, Flamini, Wilshere, Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski
Substitutes: Fabianski, Vermaelen, Jenkinson, Rosicky, Ryo, Gnabry, Bendtner
Changes: Monreal, Arteta, and Podolski in for Gibbs, Rosicky and Giroud
Cardiff City XI: Marshall; McNaughton, Caulker (C), Turner, John; Whittingham, Medel, Kim, Noone, Mutch; Campbell
Substitutes: Lewis; Hudson, Cornelius, Smith, Gunnarsson, Cowie, Maynard
Changes: McNaughton in for Theophile
Crystal Palace v Norwich City
Crystal Palace XI: Speroni, Mariappa, Gabbidon, Delaney, Ward, Bolasie, Jedinak, Dikgacoi, Puncheon, Chamakh, Jerome
Substitutes: Price, Moxey, Parr, Jonny Williams, Bannan, Gayle, Phillips
Changes: Dikgacoi and Chamakh in for Parr and Bannan
Norwich City XI: Ruddy; Whittaker, Turner, Bassong (c), Olsson; Fer, Johnson; Snodgrass, Hoolahan, Redmond; Hooper
Substitutes: Bunn, Martin, R Bennett, Josh Murphy, Becchio, Elmander, van Wolfswinkel
Changes: Whittaker and Turner in for Martin and R. Bennett
Fulham v West Ham United
Fulham XI: Stockdale; Riether, Amorebieta, Senderos, Riise; Duff, Parker, Sidwell, Richardson; Taarabt, Berbatov
Substitutes: Kasami, Kacaniklic, Hughes, Dejagah, Bent, Bettinelli, Dembele
Changes: Riether, Senderos, Duff, Parker, Richardson, Taarabt and Berbatov in
West Ham United XI: Jaaskelainen, McCartney, Nolan (c), Collison, Maiga, Taylor, Noble, O'Brien, Diarra, Demel, Diame
Substitutes: Adrian, Jarvis, Rat, Downing. C.Cole, J.Cole, Potts
Changes: Collison, Maiga, Demel, Taylor, Diarra in for Rat, Tomkins, Jarvis J. Cole and C. Cole
Liverpool v Hull City
Liverpool XI: Mignolet, Johnson, Cissokho, Skrtel, Agger, Lucas, Henderson, Coutinho, Aspas, Sterling, Suarez
Substitutes: ones, Rossiter, Kelly, Toure, Moses, Alberto, Gerrard
Changes: Cissokho and Aspas in for Sakho and Allen
Hull City XI: McGregor, Figueroa, Bruce, Chester, Davies, Meyler, Huddlestone, Koren, Livermore, Sagbo, Elmohamady
Substitutes: Harper, Rosenior, Graham, Fryatt, Boyd, Faye, Quinn
Changes: Bruce and Meyler in for Rosenior and Boyd
Southampton v Chelsea
Southampton XI: K. Davis (c), Chambers, Fonte, Lovren, Shaw, Cork, Schneiderlin, S. Davis, Lallana, Rodriguez, Ramírez
Substitutes: Gazzaniga (GK), Clyne, Yoshida, Lambert, Ward-Prowse, Hooiveld, Gallagher
Changes: Schneiderlin and Ramirez in for Ward-Prowse and Lambert
Chelsea XI: Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry (c), Cole; Mikel, Ramires; Schurrle, Mata, Hazard; Torres
Substitutes: Schwarzer, Kalas, Essien, Oscar, Willian, Eto'o, Ba
Changes: Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Schurrle, Mata and Torres in for Ivanovic, Luiz, Lampard, Willian, Oscar and Eto’o
Stoke City v Everton
Stoke City XI: Sorensen; Cameron, Shawcross (c), Wilson, Pieters; Walters, Nzonzi, Adam, Whelan, Assaidi; Crouch
Substitutes: Butland, Muniesa, Pennant, Palacios, Jones, Arnautovic, Ireland
Changes: Wilson, Whelan and Adam in for Wilkinson, Palacios and Ireland
Everton XI: Howard (c), Baines, Mirallas, McCarthy, Lukaku, Barry, Barkley, Pienaar, Coleman, Stones, Alcaraz
Substitutes: Robles, Hibbert, Jelavic, Oviedo, Naismith, Osman, Vellios
Changes: Howard, Mirallas, Barry, Pienaar and Stones in for Robles, Naismith, Oviedo, Osman and Distin
Sunderland v Aston Villa
Sunderland XI: Mannone, Celustka, Bardsley, Diakite, Roberge, Cattermole (C), Ki, Colback, Ji, Giaccherini, Fletcher
Substitutes: Dossena, Larsson, Gardner, Johnson, Altidore, Borini, Pickford
Changes: Celustka, Colback, Ji and Fletcher in for Dossena, Larsson, Altidore and Borini
Aston Villa XI: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Luna, Westwood, Bacuna, Weimann, Delph, Agbonlahor, Benteke
Substitutes: Steer, Sylla, El Ahmadi, Kozak, Albrighton, Tonev, Donacien
Changes: Vlaar and Benteke in for Clark and Tonev
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United
West Bromwich Albion XI: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Mulumbu, Yacob, Amalfitano, Sessegnon, Brunt, Anelka
Substitutes: Myhill (gk), Vydra, Berahino, Gera, Morrison, Long, Lugano
Changes: Yacob, Amalfitano and Sessegnon in for Lugano, Morrison and Berahino
Newcastle United XI: Krul; Debuchy, Coloccini (c), Williamson, Santon; Cabaye, Tiote, Sissoko; Remy, Shola Ameobi, Gouffran
Substitutes: Elliot, Haidara, Yanga-Mbiwa, S.Taylor, Anita, Ben Arfa, Cisse
Changes: Shola Ameobi in for Anita
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Yahoo! Premier League: Late Fitness Check - Week 20
Rather than spending column inches rehashing 2013 (I think I
covered most of that in my Thanksgiving post anyway), I'm going to spend
a few minutes discussing what I'm looking forward to in 2014. Of
course I'm looking forward to my son continuing to grow and develop -
he's only 15 months old but thanks to a little encouragement from dad
and watching a steady diet of Premier League matches on weekend
mornings, he has been kicking a ball for months and has recently started
something that reasonably approximates dribbling (without my prompting
I'd like to add before anyone worries that I'm already turning into THAT
dad). No, what you are probably more interested in (outside of me
stopping with the rambling and getting on to the injury and suspension
news and analysis) is some thoughts related to sports, soccer, and
specifically the Premier League so here we go:
1) I am looking forward to seeing what Manchester United and David Moyes can do with a roster that is befitting of a club of their stature. While Sir Alex was an incredible manager and left with a great flourish he left things in a pretty miserable state of affairs roster-wise. I don't know whether it will happen in January or over the summer but I'd like to see what Moyes can do with top class players. Many are pointing out that Everton are performing better in the standings and on the pitch than their old bosses' new team but few are pointing out in the same breath that Everton's players are also better. Can Moyes succeed at a "big club"? I'd hate to pretend we know the answer to that until he has "big club" players.
2) I'm interested to find out if Chelsea, and specifically Jose Mourinho, can win anything important without superior resources. Mourinho outspent everyone to titles the last time he was in England. I'm certainly not implying that he isn't a good manager because we've seen others do far less when given the same resources by Chelsea. Still, given what is being spent in transfer fees and wages, the bar is incredibly high and Arsenal are currently ahead of them in the table and Manchester City are ahead of them with the oddsmakers. There's also the feeling that it is finally time for the old guard at Chelsea to make way and it isn't clear that Mourinho has a plan in place for the transition. That plan may make itself clear come January but unless Chelsea defy the oddsmakers and win this season it seems like it could turn into a bit of a wasted season.
3) I'm interested to find out if Liverpool can sustain their first half results. Luis Suarez is on an incredible scoring pace and has Liverpool near the top of the table. Two concerns that jump out at me that I'll be interested to see play themselves out. First, what happens if Suarez's form inevitably dips? Can Liverpool continue to win without him scoring at a Messi/Ronaldo-like clip? Second, is discovering whether Liverpool can manage to pick up some points against those around them in the table. The Reds have been ruthless in beating the also-rans of the Premier League and hats off to them for that but with Manchester United starting to creep up and Everton showing that they are for real as well, Liverpool will have to get all three points from their big matches in the second half of the season if they are to secure Champions League football for next season.
4) How can the league get any more interesting? If you look at the table, there is only one club that has more than a one match cushion between them and clubs above them and below them in the table (if you haven't looked lately, it is Southampton who is nestled securely in the nineth spot with five points to eighth and four points to tenth). Every week brings the potential of upheaval in the table and with the possible exception of Manchester City if they can keep Kompany and Aguero healthy over the second half of the campaign, everyone seems flawed enough that things are likely to remain bunched regardless of what happens in January.
5) The three teams I support the most are all at various stages of renaissance as we close 2013 and I can't wait to see what happens next. Arsenal accumulated the most points in the Premier League over the course of 2013 (second half of last season and the first half of this season) and while no trophies are handed out for that, I'm endlessly curious to see how they approach the January window and the second half of the first season in ages where there is genuine hope around the Emirates and among Gooners everywhere. The Eagles (that's NFL for those who don't follow American football) have a new coach, a new way of doing things, and have dramatically turned their fortunes around in a season where they were expected to be pretty poor. With an unexpected playoff game this Saturday the season has already been a success but even though we're playing with house money, I'm intrigued to see how far it can go. Finally, DC United of Major League Soccer has shown signs of life in the off-season after perhaps the most dismal season from any professional sports team I've ever supported (which is saying something since I grew up with some horrible teams across all sports in Philadelphia). I don't think DC United will be world-beaters in 2014 but if they can be significantly better and get their stadium project on track then there will be reason to hope again for a franchise that was, at one time, the only one I supported that brought me any joy and certainly the only one that has brought much joy to the Washington, DC metro area in years.
OK, now on to the final injury analysis of 2013 and it's going to be a big one with a fair number of high profile injuries:
Arsenal v Cardiff City - Arsenal may have an appealing-looking match-up but there are a lot of injury issues here that may confound things. Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, and Keiran Gibbs are all out. Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen, and Jack Wilshere have all been listed as questionable but all three trained today and should be available. Walcott and Lukas Podolski should be particularly interesting for fantasy managers against a Cardiff City team that has been much better at home than on the road.
Crystal Palace v Norwich City - Gary Hooper was listed as questionable at the Norwich press conference this morning but the late word is that he will be fit for the trip to Selhurst Park. With Palace playing much better under Tony Pulis this seems like an ideal time to go for a Palace defender (ahem, Joel Ward).
Fulham v West Ham United - Fulham and West Ham are both a bit of a mess at this point. Fulham just let up six goals to Hull (yes, you read that right) and West Ham are riddled with injuries including all three of their center backs - James Tomkins, Winston Reid and James Collins. What a mess. You'd think Fulham might be able to capitalize on the Hammers' injury woes but they are uncertain over the availability of Dimitar Berbatov and Adel Taarabt who, while not world beaters, may be their two best attacking players. Yikes.
Liverpool v Hull City - I hate the word "could", as in Steven Gerrard "could" make his return to action. If Gerrard were back against a Hull team that Liverpool will be out for blood against after losing their earlier match-up, I'd be in on him in a second. The presence of that word "could" makes me feel a lot less good about things. Line-up won't be announced until after the fantasy roster deadline so no help there either. I'm going to stay away and hate myself for it later when he plays and scores.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - Wayne Rooney hasn't trained since missing the match against Norwich which hasn't prevented David Moyes from listing him as a possible participant against Spurs. Robin van Persie and Phil Jones are definitely out for United as is Paulinho, Sandro, Andros Townsend, Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen for Spurs. Rooney's presence or absence dramatically changes who I'm interested in fantasy-wise for United. If Rooney plays then I'm interested in Rooney, Welbeck and Januzaj, if he doesn't play then I'm worried that they will look as bad as they did against Norwich except they'll be doing it against a better Spurs team. Tough call but I'm likely to stay away.
Southampton v Chelsea - Southampton are slowly getting fitter with only Boruc and Wanyama out among the preferred eleven while Chelsea are suffering from some key absences at the back with Ivanovic (injury) and Luiz (accumulation suspension) both out. That will leave Chelsea's back four as the rusty Ashley Cole, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta (playing his natural position for the first time in a while). Honestly, I don't like Chelsea's chances of a clean sheet on the road against the Saints so the real question is whether they (or my NFL Eagles) can outscore the Saints (sorry for another NFL reference but it worked well with the sentence and I'm really excited they're in the playoffs). No real insight into who is likely to start in attack but it is hard to deny Eden Hazard given his recent form.
Stoke City v Everton - It is going to be tough for Stoke to go into this one missing Asmir Begovic but he's really the only significant absence for fantasy purposes. Hard to imagine Stoke exploiting the absence of Phil Jagielka or fantasy managers being TOO interested in Jags regardless.
Sunderland v Aston Villa - Not much of definitive use from the reports here. Benteke is still uncertain as is Ron Vlaar who hold the keys to Aston Villa being a decent team at the front and back respectively. Given that neither are definitely available, it is hard to get too excited about drafting players from either team into your fantasy squad.
Swansea City v Manchester City - This is the early one so City's like-up should be available before the fantasy deadline which is good news. Swansea is still without Vorm and Michu making City's chances to score a bunch and keep a clean sheet look better than they already were. I'll be trying my best to be awake to see the City starting line-up and makes some changes as appropriate to take advantage of what I expect to be a convincing away win.
West Bromwich v Newcastle - Shane Long is expected to be fit which is good news for the Baggies who need his goals as well as a reason to sit Nicholas Anelka after his run-in with good taste over the weekend. It isn't clear what West Brom will decide on Anelka but the presence of Long and last week's strong performance from Berahino certainly gives them some options. Nothing to report from the Newcastle side of this one. Looks like an away win to me as Newcastle rebound after Sunday's narrow loss to Arsenal.
1) I am looking forward to seeing what Manchester United and David Moyes can do with a roster that is befitting of a club of their stature. While Sir Alex was an incredible manager and left with a great flourish he left things in a pretty miserable state of affairs roster-wise. I don't know whether it will happen in January or over the summer but I'd like to see what Moyes can do with top class players. Many are pointing out that Everton are performing better in the standings and on the pitch than their old bosses' new team but few are pointing out in the same breath that Everton's players are also better. Can Moyes succeed at a "big club"? I'd hate to pretend we know the answer to that until he has "big club" players.
2) I'm interested to find out if Chelsea, and specifically Jose Mourinho, can win anything important without superior resources. Mourinho outspent everyone to titles the last time he was in England. I'm certainly not implying that he isn't a good manager because we've seen others do far less when given the same resources by Chelsea. Still, given what is being spent in transfer fees and wages, the bar is incredibly high and Arsenal are currently ahead of them in the table and Manchester City are ahead of them with the oddsmakers. There's also the feeling that it is finally time for the old guard at Chelsea to make way and it isn't clear that Mourinho has a plan in place for the transition. That plan may make itself clear come January but unless Chelsea defy the oddsmakers and win this season it seems like it could turn into a bit of a wasted season.
3) I'm interested to find out if Liverpool can sustain their first half results. Luis Suarez is on an incredible scoring pace and has Liverpool near the top of the table. Two concerns that jump out at me that I'll be interested to see play themselves out. First, what happens if Suarez's form inevitably dips? Can Liverpool continue to win without him scoring at a Messi/Ronaldo-like clip? Second, is discovering whether Liverpool can manage to pick up some points against those around them in the table. The Reds have been ruthless in beating the also-rans of the Premier League and hats off to them for that but with Manchester United starting to creep up and Everton showing that they are for real as well, Liverpool will have to get all three points from their big matches in the second half of the season if they are to secure Champions League football for next season.
4) How can the league get any more interesting? If you look at the table, there is only one club that has more than a one match cushion between them and clubs above them and below them in the table (if you haven't looked lately, it is Southampton who is nestled securely in the nineth spot with five points to eighth and four points to tenth). Every week brings the potential of upheaval in the table and with the possible exception of Manchester City if they can keep Kompany and Aguero healthy over the second half of the campaign, everyone seems flawed enough that things are likely to remain bunched regardless of what happens in January.
5) The three teams I support the most are all at various stages of renaissance as we close 2013 and I can't wait to see what happens next. Arsenal accumulated the most points in the Premier League over the course of 2013 (second half of last season and the first half of this season) and while no trophies are handed out for that, I'm endlessly curious to see how they approach the January window and the second half of the first season in ages where there is genuine hope around the Emirates and among Gooners everywhere. The Eagles (that's NFL for those who don't follow American football) have a new coach, a new way of doing things, and have dramatically turned their fortunes around in a season where they were expected to be pretty poor. With an unexpected playoff game this Saturday the season has already been a success but even though we're playing with house money, I'm intrigued to see how far it can go. Finally, DC United of Major League Soccer has shown signs of life in the off-season after perhaps the most dismal season from any professional sports team I've ever supported (which is saying something since I grew up with some horrible teams across all sports in Philadelphia). I don't think DC United will be world-beaters in 2014 but if they can be significantly better and get their stadium project on track then there will be reason to hope again for a franchise that was, at one time, the only one I supported that brought me any joy and certainly the only one that has brought much joy to the Washington, DC metro area in years.
OK, now on to the final injury analysis of 2013 and it's going to be a big one with a fair number of high profile injuries:
Arsenal v Cardiff City - Arsenal may have an appealing-looking match-up but there are a lot of injury issues here that may confound things. Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, and Keiran Gibbs are all out. Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen, and Jack Wilshere have all been listed as questionable but all three trained today and should be available. Walcott and Lukas Podolski should be particularly interesting for fantasy managers against a Cardiff City team that has been much better at home than on the road.
Crystal Palace v Norwich City - Gary Hooper was listed as questionable at the Norwich press conference this morning but the late word is that he will be fit for the trip to Selhurst Park. With Palace playing much better under Tony Pulis this seems like an ideal time to go for a Palace defender (ahem, Joel Ward).
Fulham v West Ham United - Fulham and West Ham are both a bit of a mess at this point. Fulham just let up six goals to Hull (yes, you read that right) and West Ham are riddled with injuries including all three of their center backs - James Tomkins, Winston Reid and James Collins. What a mess. You'd think Fulham might be able to capitalize on the Hammers' injury woes but they are uncertain over the availability of Dimitar Berbatov and Adel Taarabt who, while not world beaters, may be their two best attacking players. Yikes.
Liverpool v Hull City - I hate the word "could", as in Steven Gerrard "could" make his return to action. If Gerrard were back against a Hull team that Liverpool will be out for blood against after losing their earlier match-up, I'd be in on him in a second. The presence of that word "could" makes me feel a lot less good about things. Line-up won't be announced until after the fantasy roster deadline so no help there either. I'm going to stay away and hate myself for it later when he plays and scores.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - Wayne Rooney hasn't trained since missing the match against Norwich which hasn't prevented David Moyes from listing him as a possible participant against Spurs. Robin van Persie and Phil Jones are definitely out for United as is Paulinho, Sandro, Andros Townsend, Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen for Spurs. Rooney's presence or absence dramatically changes who I'm interested in fantasy-wise for United. If Rooney plays then I'm interested in Rooney, Welbeck and Januzaj, if he doesn't play then I'm worried that they will look as bad as they did against Norwich except they'll be doing it against a better Spurs team. Tough call but I'm likely to stay away.
Southampton v Chelsea - Southampton are slowly getting fitter with only Boruc and Wanyama out among the preferred eleven while Chelsea are suffering from some key absences at the back with Ivanovic (injury) and Luiz (accumulation suspension) both out. That will leave Chelsea's back four as the rusty Ashley Cole, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta (playing his natural position for the first time in a while). Honestly, I don't like Chelsea's chances of a clean sheet on the road against the Saints so the real question is whether they (or my NFL Eagles) can outscore the Saints (sorry for another NFL reference but it worked well with the sentence and I'm really excited they're in the playoffs). No real insight into who is likely to start in attack but it is hard to deny Eden Hazard given his recent form.
Stoke City v Everton - It is going to be tough for Stoke to go into this one missing Asmir Begovic but he's really the only significant absence for fantasy purposes. Hard to imagine Stoke exploiting the absence of Phil Jagielka or fantasy managers being TOO interested in Jags regardless.
Sunderland v Aston Villa - Not much of definitive use from the reports here. Benteke is still uncertain as is Ron Vlaar who hold the keys to Aston Villa being a decent team at the front and back respectively. Given that neither are definitely available, it is hard to get too excited about drafting players from either team into your fantasy squad.
Swansea City v Manchester City - This is the early one so City's like-up should be available before the fantasy deadline which is good news. Swansea is still without Vorm and Michu making City's chances to score a bunch and keep a clean sheet look better than they already were. I'll be trying my best to be awake to see the City starting line-up and makes some changes as appropriate to take advantage of what I expect to be a convincing away win.
West Bromwich v Newcastle - Shane Long is expected to be fit which is good news for the Baggies who need his goals as well as a reason to sit Nicholas Anelka after his run-in with good taste over the weekend. It isn't clear what West Brom will decide on Anelka but the presence of Long and last week's strong performance from Berahino certainly gives them some options. Nothing to report from the Newcastle side of this one. Looks like an away win to me as Newcastle rebound after Sunday's narrow loss to Arsenal.
Weekly Picks: First XI: Week 20 Player Picks
First XI: Week 20 Player Picks
Monday, December 30, 2013
Don't stop now, it's just getting good!
You're almost there!
You can do this!
If you can read this, you're too close.
Ok, maybe that last one doesn't belong. However, I feel like we need to start today's column with a little reassurance for the fantasy manager. The brave soul who has weathered deadline after deadline through this dark period. Not injury news, nor rotation worries, nor suspension threat will keep you from making your transfers, choosing your captain, and picking up your points.
A bit of house-keeping: as is the norm at this time of year, there is rotation needed to get through the sheer amount of news and the quick succession of gameweeks. To that end, I am taking care of the player picks for week 20. There is no truth to the rumour, however, that Neal will miss out on writing up the injuries and suspensions due to a niggling groin injury.
The fixture list for this round looks like this:
Swansea v Man City
Arsenal v Cardiff
Crystal Palace v Norwich
Fulham v West Ham
Liverpool v Hull
Southampton v Chelsea
Stoke v Everton
Sunderland v Aston Villa
West Brom v Newcastle
Man Utd v Tottenham
There's potential points from many of these matches with Arsenal and Liverpool at home to promoted sides, Manchester City at a wobbly Swansea, Everton at Stoke, and then a host of relegation six-pointers that could go any number of ways.
So let's assemble a team, and run the rule over the candidates for each spot, starting with the forwards.
1. Luis Suarez - Two consecutive 8-point returns. Not bad for a mere mortal striker, but a shocking fall from grace for Suarez. Of course those were probably two of the tougher away games on the schedule and now he faces Hull City. Despite Hull's big win against Fulham, and developing "tough to beat" reputation, they've been relying on their home form for points and have only one win and two draws on the road. Liverpool's attacking midfielders will come into our thoughts for this match too, especially Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling. Jordan Henderson was shifted out of his more attacking role and may again be needed to fill in deeper in midfield or on the flanks, decreasing his appeal for me.
2. Alvaro Negredo - It seems likely that Negredo will be restored to the starting XI after only coming off the bench against Crystal Palace. Indeed, with David Silva suspended, and Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic injured, we may see Negredo partner Edin Dzeko. So don't sell the Bosnian if you have him on the cheap from last week. They're equally priced now, so go with your heart and pick the one you think will shine.
3. Edin Dzeko - Just kidding. I love Manchester City's potential, but I'm probably not picking two strikers when they're on the road. Swansea have been shakey at times, but Manchester City can make hard work of things away from the Etihad.
3. Modibo Maiga - Just kidding? Nope. Maiga came into the match as a halftime substitute for Carlton Cole against West Brom and scored one and created another in quick succession. I would expect that he's earned a start against Fulham, who will be reeling from their loss to Hull, and who have allowed more goals at Craven Cottage than any other home side. He's also cheap as chips, which will help if you want to fill your bench with real players, or if you're looking to ship out the injured Mesut Ozil.
Other candidates for me would include Gabby Agbonlahor at Sunderland, as Villa's counter-attacking style works well on the road; Loic Remy at West Brom; Romelu Lukaku at Stoke, despite his habit of not scoring when we expect him to; Lukas Podolski, who was rested at the weekend and hosts Cardiff, Eden Hazard, who may be finding some consistency for Chelsea, and Marouane Chamahk hosting Norwich.
Moving into the midfield...
4. Ross Barkley - He's been a consistent performer, even when coming off the bench. That is my worry with him, as Everton have Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar available after being introduced from the bench at Southampton, and Gareth Barry back from suspension. Stoke continue to be a good home side, so this match has limited appeal, but someone is going to get points from Everton's midfield and it will most likely be Barkley.
5. Theo Walcott - A tough match for Arsenal against Newcastle, but Walcott's set-piece duty return an assist in addition to to two shots on target. Now he gets rudderless Cardiff at the Emirates. As he's just returned from an injury-layoff, and with Olivier Giroud in need of a rest and Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil injured... he's as nailed on a play as you can get. (Famous last words, right?)
6. Yannick Bolasie - Crystal Palace host Norwich, so their players are attractive. Perhaps surprisingly, there are several midfield options to choose from: Mile Jedinak has been a consistent point-getter, while Jason Puncheon and Barry Bannan provide creativity. However, I'm going for Bolasie as he's been more consistent over the last few matches than Puncheon, and better than Bannan. I couldn't argue with Jedinak, but Bolasie has the higher ceiling.
7. Yohan Cabaye - Cabaye didn't return many points at Arsenal, but that's too be expected. Travelling to West Brom should be a more favourable match-up, with the Baggies in relegation form. They shipped three to West Ham of all teams! Cabaye has been playing more advanced, with Cheik Tiote and Vurnon Anita holding down the center of the park, and that would bode well for Cabaye's potential. Hatem Ben Arfa may be pushing for a start, and he would be a cheaper, if riskier, option.
Other midfield options include Steven Pienaar, Christian Eriksen, who is in good form but travels to Manchester United, Adel Taarabt, rested at the weekend but maybe shut out of the team, Kevin Nolan at Fulham, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri who look set to feature against Swansea, and Ki Sung-Yueng who is suddenly Sunderland's talismanic player.
Now, the case for defence.
8. Joel Ward - Moved into midfield, and despite "the rules" this has been a bad thing for his fantasy value. He's just not getting the volume of tackles won. Palace are also not keeping clean sheets recently, but hosting Norwich is as good a time as any to get back into that habit. On current form, he may not be worth his market price, but he's in my team and I do expect the good returns to continue.
9. Vincent Kompany - Ward and Mathieu Debuchy are the top point-getters in defence, but Vincent Kompany is the form player in the category. He didn't score, but did keep a clean sheet this time. With Demichelis still out, and considering his importance to Manchester City and the way they play, I can't see him getting rested or rotated.
10. Mathieu Debuchy - See Ward, Joel above. Top fantasy player with a good matchup. What's not to love?
Not making the cut, but under consideration, are the other Manchester City defenders including Aleksander Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta; Arsenal defenders with Laurent Koscielny being the most consistent; and the cheap Aly Cissokho, who may be needed as Liverpool host Hull.
In net...
11. Joe Hart - Hart took a beating from Cameron Jerome but came out ahead as the Palace striker had to be taken off with an injured knee. Hart, and his broken face, continued on and made some great saves. There's a slight chance that Hart can't face Swansea, but it would show great faith in their keeper to let him play. And after what he's been through, he's due a little support.
Wojciech Szczęsny would be my pick of the premium keepers, while Tim Krul and Julian Speroni are good mid-priced options. David Stockdale Jussi Jääskeläinen and Thomas Sorensen are your budget options, but could get you a -6 as easily as a +9.
Good luck this week, and please let us know your picks in the comments.
You're almost there!
You can do this!
If you can read this, you're too close.
Ok, maybe that last one doesn't belong. However, I feel like we need to start today's column with a little reassurance for the fantasy manager. The brave soul who has weathered deadline after deadline through this dark period. Not injury news, nor rotation worries, nor suspension threat will keep you from making your transfers, choosing your captain, and picking up your points.
A bit of house-keeping: as is the norm at this time of year, there is rotation needed to get through the sheer amount of news and the quick succession of gameweeks. To that end, I am taking care of the player picks for week 20. There is no truth to the rumour, however, that Neal will miss out on writing up the injuries and suspensions due to a niggling groin injury.
The fixture list for this round looks like this:
Swansea v Man City
Arsenal v Cardiff
Crystal Palace v Norwich
Fulham v West Ham
Liverpool v Hull
Southampton v Chelsea
Stoke v Everton
Sunderland v Aston Villa
West Brom v Newcastle
Man Utd v Tottenham
There's potential points from many of these matches with Arsenal and Liverpool at home to promoted sides, Manchester City at a wobbly Swansea, Everton at Stoke, and then a host of relegation six-pointers that could go any number of ways.
So let's assemble a team, and run the rule over the candidates for each spot, starting with the forwards.
1. Luis Suarez - Two consecutive 8-point returns. Not bad for a mere mortal striker, but a shocking fall from grace for Suarez. Of course those were probably two of the tougher away games on the schedule and now he faces Hull City. Despite Hull's big win against Fulham, and developing "tough to beat" reputation, they've been relying on their home form for points and have only one win and two draws on the road. Liverpool's attacking midfielders will come into our thoughts for this match too, especially Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling. Jordan Henderson was shifted out of his more attacking role and may again be needed to fill in deeper in midfield or on the flanks, decreasing his appeal for me.
2. Alvaro Negredo - It seems likely that Negredo will be restored to the starting XI after only coming off the bench against Crystal Palace. Indeed, with David Silva suspended, and Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic injured, we may see Negredo partner Edin Dzeko. So don't sell the Bosnian if you have him on the cheap from last week. They're equally priced now, so go with your heart and pick the one you think will shine.
3. Edin Dzeko - Just kidding. I love Manchester City's potential, but I'm probably not picking two strikers when they're on the road. Swansea have been shakey at times, but Manchester City can make hard work of things away from the Etihad.
3. Modibo Maiga - Just kidding? Nope. Maiga came into the match as a halftime substitute for Carlton Cole against West Brom and scored one and created another in quick succession. I would expect that he's earned a start against Fulham, who will be reeling from their loss to Hull, and who have allowed more goals at Craven Cottage than any other home side. He's also cheap as chips, which will help if you want to fill your bench with real players, or if you're looking to ship out the injured Mesut Ozil.
Other candidates for me would include Gabby Agbonlahor at Sunderland, as Villa's counter-attacking style works well on the road; Loic Remy at West Brom; Romelu Lukaku at Stoke, despite his habit of not scoring when we expect him to; Lukas Podolski, who was rested at the weekend and hosts Cardiff, Eden Hazard, who may be finding some consistency for Chelsea, and Marouane Chamahk hosting Norwich.
Moving into the midfield...
4. Ross Barkley - He's been a consistent performer, even when coming off the bench. That is my worry with him, as Everton have Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar available after being introduced from the bench at Southampton, and Gareth Barry back from suspension. Stoke continue to be a good home side, so this match has limited appeal, but someone is going to get points from Everton's midfield and it will most likely be Barkley.
5. Theo Walcott - A tough match for Arsenal against Newcastle, but Walcott's set-piece duty return an assist in addition to to two shots on target. Now he gets rudderless Cardiff at the Emirates. As he's just returned from an injury-layoff, and with Olivier Giroud in need of a rest and Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil injured... he's as nailed on a play as you can get. (Famous last words, right?)
6. Yannick Bolasie - Crystal Palace host Norwich, so their players are attractive. Perhaps surprisingly, there are several midfield options to choose from: Mile Jedinak has been a consistent point-getter, while Jason Puncheon and Barry Bannan provide creativity. However, I'm going for Bolasie as he's been more consistent over the last few matches than Puncheon, and better than Bannan. I couldn't argue with Jedinak, but Bolasie has the higher ceiling.
7. Yohan Cabaye - Cabaye didn't return many points at Arsenal, but that's too be expected. Travelling to West Brom should be a more favourable match-up, with the Baggies in relegation form. They shipped three to West Ham of all teams! Cabaye has been playing more advanced, with Cheik Tiote and Vurnon Anita holding down the center of the park, and that would bode well for Cabaye's potential. Hatem Ben Arfa may be pushing for a start, and he would be a cheaper, if riskier, option.
Other midfield options include Steven Pienaar, Christian Eriksen, who is in good form but travels to Manchester United, Adel Taarabt, rested at the weekend but maybe shut out of the team, Kevin Nolan at Fulham, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri who look set to feature against Swansea, and Ki Sung-Yueng who is suddenly Sunderland's talismanic player.
Now, the case for defence.
8. Joel Ward - Moved into midfield, and despite "the rules" this has been a bad thing for his fantasy value. He's just not getting the volume of tackles won. Palace are also not keeping clean sheets recently, but hosting Norwich is as good a time as any to get back into that habit. On current form, he may not be worth his market price, but he's in my team and I do expect the good returns to continue.
9. Vincent Kompany - Ward and Mathieu Debuchy are the top point-getters in defence, but Vincent Kompany is the form player in the category. He didn't score, but did keep a clean sheet this time. With Demichelis still out, and considering his importance to Manchester City and the way they play, I can't see him getting rested or rotated.
10. Mathieu Debuchy - See Ward, Joel above. Top fantasy player with a good matchup. What's not to love?
Not making the cut, but under consideration, are the other Manchester City defenders including Aleksander Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta; Arsenal defenders with Laurent Koscielny being the most consistent; and the cheap Aly Cissokho, who may be needed as Liverpool host Hull.
In net...
11. Joe Hart - Hart took a beating from Cameron Jerome but came out ahead as the Palace striker had to be taken off with an injured knee. Hart, and his broken face, continued on and made some great saves. There's a slight chance that Hart can't face Swansea, but it would show great faith in their keeper to let him play. And after what he's been through, he's due a little support.
Wojciech Szczęsny would be my pick of the premium keepers, while Tim Krul and Julian Speroni are good mid-priced options. David Stockdale Jussi Jääskeläinen and Thomas Sorensen are your budget options, but could get you a -6 as easily as a +9.
Good luck this week, and please let us know your picks in the comments.
Monday, 30 December 2013
Weekly Picks: First XI: Week 20 Player Picks
First XI: Week 20 Player Picks
Monday, December 30, 2013
Don't stop now, it's just getting good!
You're almost there!
You can do this!
If you can read this, you're too close.
Ok, maybe that last one doesn't belong. However, I feel like we need to start today's column with a little reassurance for the fantasy manager. The brave soul who has weathered deadline after deadline through this dark period. Not injury news, nor rotation worries, nor suspension threat will keep you from making your transfers, choosing your captain, and picking up your points.
A bit of house-keeping: as is the norm at this time of year, there is rotation needed to get through the sheer amount of news and the quick succession of gameweeks. To that end, I am taking care of the player picks for week 20. There is no truth to the rumour, however, that Neal will miss out on writing up the injuries and suspensions due to a niggling groin injury.
The fixture list for this round looks like this:
Swansea v Man City
Arsenal v Cardiff
Crystal Palace v Norwich
Fulham v West Ham
Liverpool v Hull
Southampton v Chelsea
Stoke v Everton
Sunderland v Aston Villa
West Brom v Newcastle
Man Utd v Tottenham
There's potential points from many of these matches with Arsenal and Liverpool at home to promoted sides, Manchester City at a wobbly Swansea, Everton at Stoke, and then a host of relegation six-pointers that could go any number of ways.
So let's assemble a team, and run the rule over the candidates for each spot, starting with the forwards.
1. Luis Suarez - Two consecutive 8-point returns. Not bad for a mere mortal striker, but a shocking fall from grace for Suarez. Of course those were probably two of the tougher away games on the schedule and now he faces Hull City. Despite Hull's big win against Fulham, and developing "tough to beat" reputation, they've been relying on their home form for points and have only one win and two draws on the road. Liverpool's attacking midfielders will come into our thoughts for this match too, especially Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling. Jordan Henderson was shifted out of his more attacking role and may again be needed to fill in deeper in midfield or on the flanks, decreasing his appeal for me.
2. Alvaro Negredo - It seems likely that Negredo will be restored to the starting XI after only coming off the bench against Crystal Palace. Indeed, with David Silva suspended, and Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic injured, we may see Negredo partner Edin Dzeko. So don't sell the Bosnian if you have him on the cheap from last week. They're equally priced now, so go with your heart and pick the one you think will shine.
3. Edin Dzeko - Just kidding. I love Manchester City's potential, but I'm probably not picking two strikers when they're on the road. Swansea have been shakey at times, but Manchester City can make hard work of things away from the Etihad.
3. Modibo Maiga - Just kidding? Nope. Maiga came into the match as a halftime substitute for Carlton Cole against West Brom and scored one and created another in quick succession. I would expect that he's earned a start against Fulham, who will be reeling from their loss to Hull, and who have allowed more goals at Craven Cottage than any other home side. He's also cheap as chips, which will help if you want to fill your bench with real players, or if you're looking to ship out the injured Mesut Ozil.
Other candidates for me would include Gabby Agbonlahor at Sunderland, as Villa's counter-attacking style works well on the road; Loic Remy at West Brom; Romelu Lukaku at Stoke, despite his habit of not scoring when we expect him to; Lukas Podolski, who was rested at the weekend and hosts Cardiff, Eden Hazard, who may be finding some consistency for Chelsea, and Marouane Chamahk hosting Norwich.
Moving into the midfield...
4. Ross Barkley - He's been a consistent performer, even when coming off the bench. That is my worry with him, as Everton have Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar available after being introduced from the bench at Southampton, and Gareth Barry back from suspension. Stoke continue to be a good home side, so this match has limited appeal, but someone is going to get points from Everton's midfield and it will most likely be Barkley.
5. Theo Walcott - A tough match for Arsenal against Newcastle, but Walcott's set-piece duty return an assist in addition to to two shots on target. Now he gets rudderless Cardiff at the Emirates. As he's just returned from an injury-layoff, and with Olivier Giroud in need of a rest and Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil injured... he's as nailed on a play as you can get. (Famous last words, right?)
6. Yannick Bolasie - Crystal Palace host Norwich, so their players are attractive. Perhaps surprisingly, there are several midfield options to choose from: Mile Jedinak has been a consistent point-getter, while Jason Puncheon and Barry Bannan provide creativity. However, I'm going for Bolasie as he's been more consistent over the last few matches than Puncheon, and better than Bannan. I couldn't argue with Jedinak, but Bolasie has the higher ceiling.
7. Yohan Cabaye - Cabaye didn't return many points at Arsenal, but that's too be expected. Travelling to West Brom should be a more favourable match-up, with the Baggies in relegation form. They shipped three to West Ham of all teams! Cabaye has been playing more advanced, with Cheik Tiote and Vurnon Anita holding down the center of the park, and that would bode well for Cabaye's potential. Hatem Ben Arfa may be pushing for a start, and he would be a cheaper, if riskier, option.
Other midfield options include Steven Pienaar, Christian Eriksen, who is in good form but travels to Manchester United, Adel Taarabt, rested at the weekend but maybe shut out of the team, Kevin Nolan at Fulham, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri who look set to feature against Swansea, and Ki Sung-Yueng who is suddenly Sunderland's talismanic player.
Now, the case for defence.
8. Joel Ward - Moved into midfield, and despite "the rules" this has been a bad thing for his fantasy value. He's just not getting the volume of tackles won. Palace are also not keeping clean sheets recently, but hosting Norwich is as good a time as any to get back into that habit. On current form, he may not be worth his market price, but he's in my team and I do expect the good returns to continue.
9. Vincent Kompany - Ward and Mathieu Debuchy are the top point-getters in defence, but Vincent Kompany is the form player in the category. He didn't score, but did keep a clean sheet this time. With Demichelis still out, and considering his importance to Manchester City and the way they play, I can't see him getting rested or rotated.
10. Mathieu Debuchy - See Ward, Joel above. Top fantasy player with a good matchup. What's not to love?
Not making the cut, but under consideration, are the other Manchester City defenders including Aleksander Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta; Arsenal defenders with Laurent Koscielny being the most consistent; and the cheap Aly Cissokho, who may be needed as Liverpool host Hull.
In net...
11. Joe Hart - Hart took a beating from Cameron Jerome but came out ahead as the Palace striker had to be taken off with an injured knee. Hart, and his broken face, continued on and made some great saves. There's a slight chance that Hart can't face Swansea, but it would show great faith in their keeper to let him play. And after what he's been through, he's due a little support.
Wojciech Szczęsny would be my pick of the premium keepers, while Tim Krul and Julian Speroni are good mid-priced options. David Stockdale Jussi Jääskeläinen and Thomas Sorensen are your budget options, but could get you a -6 as easily as a +9.
Good luck this week, and please let us know your picks in the comments.
You're almost there!
You can do this!
If you can read this, you're too close.
Ok, maybe that last one doesn't belong. However, I feel like we need to start today's column with a little reassurance for the fantasy manager. The brave soul who has weathered deadline after deadline through this dark period. Not injury news, nor rotation worries, nor suspension threat will keep you from making your transfers, choosing your captain, and picking up your points.
A bit of house-keeping: as is the norm at this time of year, there is rotation needed to get through the sheer amount of news and the quick succession of gameweeks. To that end, I am taking care of the player picks for week 20. There is no truth to the rumour, however, that Neal will miss out on writing up the injuries and suspensions due to a niggling groin injury.
The fixture list for this round looks like this:
Swansea v Man City
Arsenal v Cardiff
Crystal Palace v Norwich
Fulham v West Ham
Liverpool v Hull
Southampton v Chelsea
Stoke v Everton
Sunderland v Aston Villa
West Brom v Newcastle
Man Utd v Tottenham
There's potential points from many of these matches with Arsenal and Liverpool at home to promoted sides, Manchester City at a wobbly Swansea, Everton at Stoke, and then a host of relegation six-pointers that could go any number of ways.
So let's assemble a team, and run the rule over the candidates for each spot, starting with the forwards.
1. Luis Suarez - Two consecutive 8-point returns. Not bad for a mere mortal striker, but a shocking fall from grace for Suarez. Of course those were probably two of the tougher away games on the schedule and now he faces Hull City. Despite Hull's big win against Fulham, and developing "tough to beat" reputation, they've been relying on their home form for points and have only one win and two draws on the road. Liverpool's attacking midfielders will come into our thoughts for this match too, especially Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling. Jordan Henderson was shifted out of his more attacking role and may again be needed to fill in deeper in midfield or on the flanks, decreasing his appeal for me.
2. Alvaro Negredo - It seems likely that Negredo will be restored to the starting XI after only coming off the bench against Crystal Palace. Indeed, with David Silva suspended, and Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic injured, we may see Negredo partner Edin Dzeko. So don't sell the Bosnian if you have him on the cheap from last week. They're equally priced now, so go with your heart and pick the one you think will shine.
3. Edin Dzeko - Just kidding. I love Manchester City's potential, but I'm probably not picking two strikers when they're on the road. Swansea have been shakey at times, but Manchester City can make hard work of things away from the Etihad.
3. Modibo Maiga - Just kidding? Nope. Maiga came into the match as a halftime substitute for Carlton Cole against West Brom and scored one and created another in quick succession. I would expect that he's earned a start against Fulham, who will be reeling from their loss to Hull, and who have allowed more goals at Craven Cottage than any other home side. He's also cheap as chips, which will help if you want to fill your bench with real players, or if you're looking to ship out the injured Mesut Ozil.
Other candidates for me would include Gabby Agbonlahor at Sunderland, as Villa's counter-attacking style works well on the road; Loic Remy at West Brom; Romelu Lukaku at Stoke, despite his habit of not scoring when we expect him to; Lukas Podolski, who was rested at the weekend and hosts Cardiff, Eden Hazard, who may be finding some consistency for Chelsea, and Marouane Chamahk hosting Norwich.
Moving into the midfield...
4. Ross Barkley - He's been a consistent performer, even when coming off the bench. That is my worry with him, as Everton have Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar available after being introduced from the bench at Southampton, and Gareth Barry back from suspension. Stoke continue to be a good home side, so this match has limited appeal, but someone is going to get points from Everton's midfield and it will most likely be Barkley.
5. Theo Walcott - A tough match for Arsenal against Newcastle, but Walcott's set-piece duty return an assist in addition to to two shots on target. Now he gets rudderless Cardiff at the Emirates. As he's just returned from an injury-layoff, and with Olivier Giroud in need of a rest and Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil injured... he's as nailed on a play as you can get. (Famous last words, right?)
6. Yannick Bolasie - Crystal Palace host Norwich, so their players are attractive. Perhaps surprisingly, there are several midfield options to choose from: Mile Jedinak has been a consistent point-getter, while Jason Puncheon and Barry Bannan provide creativity. However, I'm going for Bolasie as he's been more consistent over the last few matches than Puncheon, and better than Bannan. I couldn't argue with Jedinak, but Bolasie has the higher ceiling.
7. Yohan Cabaye - Cabaye didn't return many points at Arsenal, but that's too be expected. Travelling to West Brom should be a more favourable match-up, with the Baggies in relegation form. They shipped three to West Ham of all teams! Cabaye has been playing more advanced, with Cheik Tiote and Vurnon Anita holding down the center of the park, and that would bode well for Cabaye's potential. Hatem Ben Arfa may be pushing for a start, and he would be a cheaper, if riskier, option.
Other midfield options include Steven Pienaar, Christian Eriksen, who is in good form but travels to Manchester United, Adel Taarabt, rested at the weekend but maybe shut out of the team, Kevin Nolan at Fulham, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri who look set to feature against Swansea, and Ki Sung-Yueng who is suddenly Sunderland's talismanic player.
Now, the case for defence.
8. Joel Ward - Moved into midfield, and despite "the rules" this has been a bad thing for his fantasy value. He's just not getting the volume of tackles won. Palace are also not keeping clean sheets recently, but hosting Norwich is as good a time as any to get back into that habit. On current form, he may not be worth his market price, but he's in my team and I do expect the good returns to continue.
9. Vincent Kompany - Ward and Mathieu Debuchy are the top point-getters in defence, but Vincent Kompany is the form player in the category. He didn't score, but did keep a clean sheet this time. With Demichelis still out, and considering his importance to Manchester City and the way they play, I can't see him getting rested or rotated.
10. Mathieu Debuchy - See Ward, Joel above. Top fantasy player with a good matchup. What's not to love?
Not making the cut, but under consideration, are the other Manchester City defenders including Aleksander Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta; Arsenal defenders with Laurent Koscielny being the most consistent; and the cheap Aly Cissokho, who may be needed as Liverpool host Hull.
In net...
11. Joe Hart - Hart took a beating from Cameron Jerome but came out ahead as the Palace striker had to be taken off with an injured knee. Hart, and his broken face, continued on and made some great saves. There's a slight chance that Hart can't face Swansea, but it would show great faith in their keeper to let him play. And after what he's been through, he's due a little support.
Wojciech Szczęsny would be my pick of the premium keepers, while Tim Krul and Julian Speroni are good mid-priced options. David Stockdale Jussi Jääskeläinen and Thomas Sorensen are your budget options, but could get you a -6 as easily as a +9.
Good luck this week, and please let us know your picks in the comments.
Matchday Wrap Up: Weekend Wrap Up: Week 19
Weekend Wrap Up: Week 19
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Things are busy around the Premier League and here at Rotoworld
at this time of the year and we’re doing everything we can to keep you
ready for every game. We just finished the third set of games in just
over a week’s worth of time and we have another gameweek on New Years
Day. I’ll keep this wrap up short and just try to mention most scores
and some fantasy relevant information from the matches.
West Ham and West Brom opened up the weekend with a 3-3 shootout that saw a lot of fantasy contributions. West Ham are missing some defenders and have a goalkeeper controversy at the moment so Dimitar Berbatov might be an interesting option on Wednesday if healthy(interesting but very, very risky option). Aston Villa and Swansea tied 1-1 and no one really impressed too much. Villa’s Christian Benteke could be returning when Villa visit Sunderland on Wednesday but he’s in really poor form and it would be extremely risky to play him in fantasy.
Hull City destroyed Fulham 6-0 and once again showed they are much better at home than on the road. The Tigers visit Liverpool next so the fantasy appeal there is very little. Fulham are struggling mightily right now and there aren’t any reliable fantasy options on their team right now. Manchester City continued to play well at home with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace and I would consider a few of their players for their next match at Swansea. Yaya Toure was rested and is very likely to return to the lineup, making him an appealing choice.
The other Manchester club also continued their winning ways with a 1-0 victory at Norwich. Manchester United are on a winning streak right now and get a big test against Tottenham next. Wayne Rooney missed the game yesterday; he status is 50/50 for the Spurs clash but I think he’ll end up playing. Check our player news before Wednesday for an update and get him in your squad if he’s likely to play. Cardiff and Sunderland had a fantastic game at Cardiff City Stadium that saw plenty of action going both ways. Cardiff seemed to have the game under control but Sunderland made a late comeback to tie the game 2-2. That was the final score and both teams shared a point that didn’t help them too much in the relegation battle.
Sunday’s action was even better. Everton beat Southampton 2-1 and find themselves back in the top four. Romelu Lukaku scored his first goal in six games and considering he is very streaky, I wouldn’t mind using him next week at Stoke City. Ross Barkley was great again and is also up for consideration next time out. The Saints have a tough match against Chelsea and I would avoid them right now.
Arsenal defeated Newcastle 1-0 at St James’ Park and showed a lot of composure in winning a scrappy game on the road. They missed Aaron Ramsey and will hope he returns sooner rather than later. Mesut Ozil also missed the game and will probably miss out on Wednesday with a shoulder problem.
The two late Sunday games were just as entertaining as the first two. Chelsea edged out Liverpool in a tightly contested game. Liverpool took the early lead but Chelsea had things turned around by halftime and defended for their lives in the second half. Suarez was kept scoreless for the second game in a row but he’s too good to not use when Liverpool host Hull City next week. Frank Lampard left with an injury and will miss some time. Branislav Ivanovic also left injured but will miss very little time if any. In another part of London, Tottenham beat Stoke City in comfortable fashion. The team is improving under new manager Tim Sherwood but have a long way to go if they want to challenge for a top four spot. Next week’s match at Old Trafford will be a good test but it’ll be a game in which I would want no part in fantasy wise. I wouldn’t feel comfortable using anyone not named Wayne Rooney.
We’ll have a player picks post and an injuries and suspensions column for you in the next two days so make sure to check in and get ready before Wednesday. In the meantime, Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve as you get ready for the next set of matches.
West Ham and West Brom opened up the weekend with a 3-3 shootout that saw a lot of fantasy contributions. West Ham are missing some defenders and have a goalkeeper controversy at the moment so Dimitar Berbatov might be an interesting option on Wednesday if healthy(interesting but very, very risky option). Aston Villa and Swansea tied 1-1 and no one really impressed too much. Villa’s Christian Benteke could be returning when Villa visit Sunderland on Wednesday but he’s in really poor form and it would be extremely risky to play him in fantasy.
Hull City destroyed Fulham 6-0 and once again showed they are much better at home than on the road. The Tigers visit Liverpool next so the fantasy appeal there is very little. Fulham are struggling mightily right now and there aren’t any reliable fantasy options on their team right now. Manchester City continued to play well at home with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace and I would consider a few of their players for their next match at Swansea. Yaya Toure was rested and is very likely to return to the lineup, making him an appealing choice.
The other Manchester club also continued their winning ways with a 1-0 victory at Norwich. Manchester United are on a winning streak right now and get a big test against Tottenham next. Wayne Rooney missed the game yesterday; he status is 50/50 for the Spurs clash but I think he’ll end up playing. Check our player news before Wednesday for an update and get him in your squad if he’s likely to play. Cardiff and Sunderland had a fantastic game at Cardiff City Stadium that saw plenty of action going both ways. Cardiff seemed to have the game under control but Sunderland made a late comeback to tie the game 2-2. That was the final score and both teams shared a point that didn’t help them too much in the relegation battle.
Sunday’s action was even better. Everton beat Southampton 2-1 and find themselves back in the top four. Romelu Lukaku scored his first goal in six games and considering he is very streaky, I wouldn’t mind using him next week at Stoke City. Ross Barkley was great again and is also up for consideration next time out. The Saints have a tough match against Chelsea and I would avoid them right now.
Arsenal defeated Newcastle 1-0 at St James’ Park and showed a lot of composure in winning a scrappy game on the road. They missed Aaron Ramsey and will hope he returns sooner rather than later. Mesut Ozil also missed the game and will probably miss out on Wednesday with a shoulder problem.
The two late Sunday games were just as entertaining as the first two. Chelsea edged out Liverpool in a tightly contested game. Liverpool took the early lead but Chelsea had things turned around by halftime and defended for their lives in the second half. Suarez was kept scoreless for the second game in a row but he’s too good to not use when Liverpool host Hull City next week. Frank Lampard left with an injury and will miss some time. Branislav Ivanovic also left injured but will miss very little time if any. In another part of London, Tottenham beat Stoke City in comfortable fashion. The team is improving under new manager Tim Sherwood but have a long way to go if they want to challenge for a top four spot. Next week’s match at Old Trafford will be a good test but it’ll be a game in which I would want no part in fantasy wise. I wouldn’t feel comfortable using anyone not named Wayne Rooney.
We’ll have a player picks post and an injuries and suspensions column for you in the next two days so make sure to check in and get ready before Wednesday. In the meantime, Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve as you get ready for the next set of matches.
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Breaking News: Team News - Week 19
Team News - Week 19
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Early Saturday Kickoff
West Ham United v West bromwich Albion
West Ham United XI: Jaaskelainen, McCartney, Nolan, Tomkins, Jarvis, Rat, Noble, O'Brien, Diame, C.Cole, J.Cole
Substitutes: Adrian, Collison, Maiga, Taylor, Diarra, Demel, Chambers
Changes: Jaaskelainen and Rat in for Adrian and Collins
West Bromwich Albion XI: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Lugano, Ridgewell; Morrison, Mulumbu, Brunt; Anelka, Berahino
Substitutes: Myhill (GK), Vydra, Dawson, Sessegnon, Sinclair, Yacob, Amalfitano
Changes: Jones, McAuley, Mulumbu, Brunt, Anelka and Berahino in for Dawson, Reid, Amalfitano, Yacob, Gera and Vydra
Saturday Tea Time Kickoffs
Aston Villa v Swansea City
Aston Villa XI: Guzan, Lowton, Clark, Baker, Luna, Westwood, Bacuna, Weimann, Delph, Agbonlahor (c), Tonev
Substitutes: Steer, Helenius, Bowery, Sylla, El Ahmadi, Kozak, Albrighton
Changes: Westwood, Bacuna and Tonev in for El Ahmadi, Albrighton and Kozak
Swansea City XI: Tremmel, Tiendalli, Williams (capt), Chico, Davies, Canas, de Guzman, Shelvey, Hernandez, Lamah, Bony
Substitutes: Zabret, Rangel, Amat, Britton, Pozuelo, Routledge, Vazquez
Changes: Tiendalli, Chico, Davis, De Guzman, Hernandez, Lamah and Bony in
Hull City v Fulham
Hull City XI: McGregor, Chester, Davies, Rosenior, Figueroa, Huddlestone, Livermore, Elmohamady, Boyd, Koren, Sagbo
Substitutes: Harper, Bruce, Faye, McShane, Meyler, Fryatt, Graham
Changes: Rosenior, Koren and Boyd in for Bruce, Meyler and Graham
Fulham XI: Stockdale; Zverotic, Hughes, Amorebieta, Riise; Dejagah, Sidwell, Karagounis, Kasami; Ruiz; Rodallega
Substitutes: Bettinelli, Kacaniklic, Richardson, Boateng, Riether, David, Bent
Changes: Zverotic, Riise, Dejagah, Karagounis, Ruiz and Rodallega in
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Manchester City XI: Hart, Boyata, Kompany (C), Nastasic, Clichy, Garcia, Fernandinho, Navas, Silva, Milner, Dzeko
Substitutes: Pantilimon, Lescott, Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Rodwell, Negredo, Nasri
Changes: Boyata, Nastasic, Clichy, Garcia, Milner and Dzeko for, Negredo, Yaya Toure, Lescott, Zabaleta, Nasri, and Kolarov
Crystal Palace XI: Speroni, Mariappa, Gabbidon, Delaney, Parr, Ward, Jedinak, Bannan, Puncheon, Bolasie, Jerome
Substitutes: Price, Moxey, Campana, Jonny Williams, Phillips, Gayle, Chamakh
Changes: none
Norwich City v Manchester United
Norwich City XI: Ruddy; Martin, R Bennett, Bassong (c), Olsson; Fer, Johnson; Snodgrass, Hoolahan, Redmond; Hooper
Substitutes: Bunn (GK), Whittaker, van Wolfswinkel, Elmander, Garrido, Becchio, Josh Murphy
Changes:
Manchester United XI: De Gea, Smalling, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Young, Cleverley, Carrick, Giggs, Kagawa, Hernandez
Substitutes: Lindegaard, Anderson, Welbeck, Fabio, Fletcher, Zaha, Januzaj
Changes:
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