Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 38

Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 38

So here we are at the end of the road. It’s been long, it’s been great and frustrating, yet it’s always been fun. And a rest is never a bad thing, especially when you know that we get to do it all over again in three months time. Yep, there is always the chance to go better next season, to act on the lessons we have learnt from this campaign – but of course much of the excitement is the unexpected. Who will be next season’s surprise package? Can Leicester go all “dilly ding, dilly dong” again, or will they be hamstrung by their Champions League campaign plus the pressure of having to defend their trophy? Will we see a resurgence from Chelsea? Can United get past the halfway line in less than 47 passes? We’ll have Pep at City (unless his lawyers find an escape clause) and Antonio Conte at Chelsea, it’ll be Jurgen Klopp’s first full season in charge at Anfield. What will the summer hold for LVG and Arsene Wenger? We’ll have three new clubs to try and work out. So much to get excited about. And of course some goodbyes – we’ve said farewell for now to Aston Villa, Norwich and Newcastle while the likes (and dislikes) of Brendan Rodgers, Dick Advocaat, Tim Sherwood (yippeeee), Gary Monk, Steve McClaren, Remi Garde, Roberto Martinez and of course Jose Mourinho have all been among those to lose their jobs this season, while Watford announced that QSF will leave at the end of the season, as of course will Manuel Pellegrini. But let’s not concentrate on that – I don’t do goodbyes. We’ve of course seen the Premier League’s greatest story in Leicester City. And arguably best of all, we’ve seen justice finally prevail for the victims and their families of Hillsborough.

Please be reminded that the deadline this week is on Sunday at 14.00hrs (UK time) – an hour before kick off.

It’s been a pleasure bringing you Team Talk this season – for those I have upset/offended/mortally wounded (Gooners, Scousers, Villans, the odd Manc etc), I say “get over it” – all I write is in jest and nothing will change next season. So without a hint of goodbye, but more “à bientôt”, all that remains, and for the last time this season is to go Around the Grounds to see what the managers have had to say. Have a great summer.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa (Sun 15 May 15.00)
Man United’s loss at West Ham in midweek confirmed Champions League qualification for Arsenal for the 19th consecutive season, though of course it’s not been a happy season at the Emirates with the disillusionment towards Arsene Wenger reaching an all-time high. Or low. Whatever. For Villa of course, the season has been even worse and they face tough times ahead, but as they say, sometimes one needs to take a step back to take the next steps forward and Villa fans will be hoping that this is the case. A home win will be heavily expected with many if not most FPL managers tripling up on Gooner coverage and looking forward to a rout of goals and a clean sheet too. The fixture form tends to agree – Arsenal have won the last five meetings between the two, with the last two at the Emirates finishing 4-0 and 5-0. Looking for a hot tip? Look not further then our old mate Olivier Giroud who has scored in each of his last five appearances vs Villa and of course returned to form last week with a goal and assist in the draw at Man City.

Wenger says that Mesut Ozil is available after recovering from the minor hip injury that ruled him out of last week’s match at the Etihad. Per Mertsacker, Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are ruled out while the manager said he hasn’t yet decided whether or not to start Jack Wilshire, with the hop-a-long midfielder keen on proving his fitness in front of the Euros.

Villa have doubts over Alan Hutton, Ciaran Clark and Kieran Richardson, while striker Rudy Gestede has more chance of playing after he returned to training today. Aly Cissoko is available again after suspension and Mark Bunn is likely to continue in goal, if you care.

[divider_1px]

Chelsea vs Leicester (Sun 15 May 15.00)
A guard of honour for Claudio Ranieri at Stamford Bridge – how ironic, yet how deserving for the manager of the season of the team of the season. The title is well wrapped up of course, the trophy already taking centre stage at the previously dusty trophy room of the King Power Stadium. And now the Champions of 2015/16 get to finish their amazing season at the home of the Champions of 2014/15. It’s been a season of bizarrely differing fortunes at both clubs and while Leicester will want this season to last forever, the Blues will be wanting the campaign to end as soon as possible. It was the usual duo of Mahrez and Vardy who were the undoing of Chelsea in December, but previous to that the Foxes hadn’t beaten the Blues in eight meetings – in fact since 2001, when Chelsea were managed by, yes…..Ranieri himself.

Gus Hiddink confirms that Diego Costa remains out with his hamstring injury, though there is better news of keeper Thibaut Courtois who has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the midweek draw at Liverpool. Annoyingly, Hiddink failed to mention Branislav Ivanovic or Willian, though both are believed to be struggling to recover from injury. John Terry fans will be pleased to know that the club have offered the defender a new one year deal, which he is currently talking over with his family….and likely a few other player’s families too. Terry misses Sunday’s match due to suspension, while Loic Remy and Kurt Zouma are both sidelined with injury.

Ranieri reports no fresh injuries from last week’s match. Jamie Vardy’s hamstring scare at the end of the game was just cramp and he is fine to play, while Danny Drinkwater is available again after serving his suspension. Only Robert Huth is a definite absentee as he is still banned. The Thinkerman is looking forward to returning to Stamford Bridge and hopes “my old fans are happy with me”! He is calling on his players to adopt the same attitude they have had all season and to play like Champions.

[divider_1px]

Everton vs Norwich (Sun 15 May 15.00)
Relegation for the Canaries was confirmed in the week as Sunderland dispatched Everton with some comfort, rendering this match fairly redundant in interest levels unless of course you fancy one last gamble on the super striker that graced Goodison this season – I’m talking about Steven Naismith of course. Thursday saw Everton finally put Roberto Martinez, and the fans, out of their misery and the Toffees will be managed by a combination of Joe Royle David Unsworth on Sunday – it’s like stepping back to the 90’s, maybe they’ll play Paul Rideout and Big Dunc up front. For Norwich they will have to deal with life in the Championship, though of all the clubs to be relegated, they are probably more equipped to do that that any, seeing as though they were there very recently. The Canaries have failed to win on any of their last eight trips to Goodison, but not even I am going to predict what happens in this one with the shackles off for both teams.

David Unsworth took the presser and said the temporary management team are determined to pick a side which will give the fans something to cheer about on Sunday. Unsworth confirmed that Tim Howard will play in goal, while Phil Jagielka returned to training today and could feature. Seamus Coleman will be assessed on Saturday but Gerard Deulofeu is confirmed as being out.

Despite relegation, Norwich will want to try and end the season with a flourish if possible. The midweek win over Watford was their most impressive performance for a long time and manager Alex Neil may decide to name an unchanged side. Alex Tettey, Timm Klose, Jonny Howson and Andre Wisdom are all ruled out through injury.

[divider_1px]

Man Utd vs Bournemouth (Sun 15 May 15.00)
Not for the first time this season, we begin the United intro with, “Oh dear, oh dear.” With Champions League qualification within touching distance, United appear to have thrown it away – or at the very least they have handed the initiative back to City. They can look back and claim to be victims of a horrendous injury list this season, or victims of escaped animals at Upton Zoo, but the fact remains they have been the creators of their own downfall. Yet, the Reds still need to win on Sunday on the off chance that their noisy neighbours will come a cropper at Swansea, so they must put their midweek disappointment aside. Bournemouth have little to play for except pride and they’ll want to finish the season on a positive note – their run of three successive defeats was ended by a 1-1 draw with West Brom last week and they’ll have the confidence of knowing they beat United 2-1 at home in December.

LVG says that Adnan Januzaj has been injured in training and will miss Sunday’s match, while Matteo Darmian remains out. There are no other new injuries to report, but Michael Carrick could come back into midfield. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luke Shaw remain sidelined with injury and Marouane Fellaini is suspended. With United having to win to have any chance of a top four spot, it would be a surprise if Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford didn’t start.

The Cherries have no fresh injuries for the trip to Old Trafford, but defenders Tyrone Mings, Adam Smith and Sylvain Distin remain unavailable. Manager Eddie Howe says he “might shuffle things around” for the final game.

[divider_1px]

Newcastle vs Spurs (Sun 15 May 15.00)
Some people love Newcastle, some don’t – but whatever your feelings, one cannot be slightly sad to see this great club, located in a city that lives and breathes for football, being dragged through the mire by poor management. And by management I mean ownership, not Rafa Benitez. Of course the Toon have been flirting outrageously with relegation for much of the season, but like a cheap date in a Romford nightclub, she finally succumbed to the deviling reach of relegation. Poor old Rafa couldn’t even sort them out – the fat Spanish waiter unable to serve the main course for survival in the short time he was given. From Real Madrid to relegation in a matter of months is a big drop, but when Newcastle are the only team not to beat Aston Villa once this season, many will argue they got what they deserved. Spurs are the visitors this week and they come hoping to secure 2nd place and finish above Arsenal for the first time since 1995 – having not won any of their last three matches they will be keen to finish the season on a high note and will likely be relieved that the Toon’s fate has been decided already. Interestingly, the away team has won the last five matches between the two, but while all eyes may be on Harry Kane, it may be worth noting that Nacer Chadli has scored in the previous two meetings at St James’ Park.

Newcastle have delayed their presser until Saturday afternoon as they continue to come to terms with relegation. On that basis we would urge you to keep an eye out for any specific team news as it emerges. Tim Krul, Rob Elliot, Massadio Haidara and Fabricio Coloccini all remain out.

Mauricio Pochettino reports no new injuries for Spurs, but they will again have to do without the suspended midfield duo of Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli, while Nabil Bentaleb remains sidelined with a knee injury. Harry Kane is a goal clear of both Jamie Vardy and Sergio Aguero in the shoot out for the Golden Boot and clinching the award on Sunday would be a small consolation following their recent fall off in the league.

[divider_1px]

Southampton vs Crystal Palace (Sun 15 May 15.00)
Three wins on the spin has kept alive Southampton’s hopes of a Europa League place and they’ll be wanting to finish the season off in style. Palace finally confirmed safety last weekend and will now be fully focused on the FA Cup Final in a week’s time and therefore a home win should be a fairly safe bet especially when you bear in mind that Palace haven’t won a league match on the road since mid-December. Fixture form should fly out of the window here as Palace have won three of the last four vs the Saints including a Cup win at St Mary’s in January.

Saints’ boss Ronald Koeman confirms that Jordy Clasie is the only absentee as the midfielder is suffering from a groin injury. Sadio Mane has recovered from illness which saw his early departure at Spurs last week, while either Oriol Romeu or James Ward-Prowse are the likely replacements for Clasie alongside Victor Wanyama.

The Lord implies there may be a few changes to the line-up this week, with Wembley clearly on his mind. Joe Ledley and Wilfried Zaha are definitely ruled out, but Pardew did also emphasise the big swing in finishing positions (and thus prize money) – the Eagles could climb or fall a maximum of two positions, so the rewards are there. My least favourite manager did recognise Southampton as the form team of the league right now and then chose to talk about Emmanuel Adebayor – not sure of the connection, but maybe it points to the striker getting some game time this weekend. Yohan Cabaye and Mile Jedinak are unlikely to be risked as they are both carrying knocks, while thr Lord says that Julian Speroni will start in goal.

[divider_1px]

Stoke vs West Ham (Sun 15 May 15.00)
The Hammers go up to Stoke having said farewell to Upton Park in the week and seeing off Man United in the process and it remains to be seen how much the emotion and effort they put in vs United has taken out of them. Stoke are without a win in six matches and even lost to Palace last week, though we have seen before many a strange result on the last day of the season – cast your minds back twelve months to the final day of last season when Liverpool were soundly thrashed 6-1 by the Potters. Anything is possible, though it may well be worth noting the last three meetings between these two have all ended in draws.

The Potters will continue to be without Jack Butland, Ibrahim Afellay and Stephen Ireland who broke his leg in training this week and could be out for up to 9 months. There is better news of Glen Johnson and Shay Given who are both available again after recovering from injury with manager Mark Hughes saying it would be good for Johnson especially to get some game-time after being out for so long. Marc Wilson remains out.

With the Hammers still hoping for European qualification, expect Slaven Bilic to name a strong squad, with an unchanged line-up very likely. Adrian continues to struggle with a calf injury so Darren Randolph is likely to continue in goal. It remains to be seen if Bilic retains more confidence in Andy Carroll than the rest of us.

[divider_1px]

Swansea vs Man City (Sun 15 May 15.00)
There we were all expecting a City masterclass on the final day, especially with no Champions League left to rotate for and with Swans manager Francesco Guidolin resting Ashley Williams for the rest of the campaign. But without Williams and Siggy or Taylor or Rangel or Montero or Paloschi, the Swans only went and thrashed Champions League chasing West Ham at the Boleyn. So what happens here, frankly, is anyone’s guess! City do have a great record vs the Welshies, having won six and drawn the other of the last seven meetings, but interestingly FPL favourite Sergio Aguero hasn’t scored in any of those.

The best news out of Swansea this week is our resident Romeo, Francesco Guidolin has signed a new two-year deal, so unless he balls things up, we’ll get to have plenty of fun with him next season, though not as much fun as he has been having with Signora Guidolin. Team news is dominated by who will be left out of the Swans line-up – Ashley Williams and keeper Lukasz Fabianski are confirmed to be rested while Gylfi Sigurdsson and Neil Taylor may again be given the day off. Not that it mattered last week at West Ham, those who came in did especially well and Guidolin is looking for a repeat performance, dirty boy, which would give the Swans a fifth straight win at the Liberty.

City go to Wales without the injured David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta, while Aleksandar Kolarov is also doubtful. Expect therefore Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy to occupy the full back roles. Samir Nasri is described by Manuel Pellegrini as “working as normal” – so many jokes here, but it’s the last day and I must be kind.

[divider_1px]

Watford vs Sunderland (Sun 15 May 15.00)
Think what you will of Sunderland and Big Sam, but how they come alive when they really need to. Their last ten matches has seen just one defeat and three wins in their last five has secured Premier League survival for yet another season. Wednesday’s win over Everton also gave the locals the added joy of relegating neighbours Newcastle to add some pomp to the ceremony and Big Sam preserves his record of never being relegated from the Premier League – how the Toon may be regretting ever letting him go. The season has been a success for Watford with many tipping them to go straight back down, but their form in the first half of the season was enough to keep them up, but sadly wasn’t enough to please the owners who have announced that QSF will leave at the end of the season. So, let me get this right – your team is backed to get relegated, but they defy the odds and reach the semi finals of the FA Cup – yet that’s not good enough. Wow. It’s a tough old world out there. Back to the game and the shackles are off, safety guaranteed – could we just see Watford and Sunderland play out an entertaining match to finish things off? Well, now there’s a thought!

QSF gave no team news in his last presser for the club but expects Sunday to be “emotional and really special in the last match with the fans.” Etienne Capoue and Valon Behrami are both ruled out through injury, while Nathan Ake may be recalled after coming off the bench in the defeat at Norwich.

Big Sam turned up to his presser in good heart, though still hungover! It was a big night both on and off the pitch on Wednesday and it would appear not much sleep was had by anyone – and quite rightly so. The manager said that he has been impressed by the U21s this season and with survival achieved he will use Sunday’s match to give some of them the opportunity to see if they can perform at the highest level – or at least vs Watford. What this means in terms of the senior players we don’t yet know – he may play some of them, but none are assured, so be careful if you are relying on the likes of Jermain Defoe, Vito Mannone or PvA.

[divider_1px]

West Brom vs Liverpool (Sun 15 May 15.00)
With eyes firmly focused on their Europa League final on Wednesday, don’t expect much from your Liverpool contingent this weekend. They travel to the Hawthorns fresh off their midweek draw with Chelsea which saw Jurgen Klopp give his first team given a run out – not something we can expect on Sunday! The Baggies come into the game safe from the drop, but winless since beating Man Utd in GW29 and without a win vs Liverpool in five meetings, though the two played out a 2-2 draw at Anfield in December. The last two meetings between the two at the Hawthorns have both ended in a draw.

Jonny Evans and Darren Fletcher are expected to shake off minor niggles to feature on Sunday, but the Baggies will again be without Chris Brunt, James Morrison and Alex Pritchard. Attacking midfielder Stephane Sessegnon will be given every chance to shake off illness and Saido Berahino will be hoping for a start in order to impress and place himself in the shop window for a summer move.

Klopp gave the usual line of needing to “pick a team capable of winning” at West Brom, but his comments in midweek about having fresh legs for the weekend imply to wholesale changes in front of Wednesday night. The German did say that Danny Ings, Jordan Henderson and Divock Origi have a slight change of returning but he will make late decisions on the trio based on advice from the medical staff. So, it’s guesswork time again and frankly, it’s your decision whether you play, bench or sell your Liverpool assets – to help you out, this was their starting XI for the midweek draw with Chelsea: Mignolet. Clyne, Lovren, Toure, Moreno. Lallana, Milner, Can, Coutinho, Firmino. Sturridge – personally, I would be surprised if any of these eleven players start at the Hawthorns as the Europa League final is prioritised.

[divider_1px]

Suspension Report for Game-week 38

Those players suspended this week are:

John Terry (Chelsea)
Robert Huth (Leicester)
Marouane Fellaini (Man Utd)
Dele Alli (Spurs)
Mousa Dembele (Spurs)

[divider_1px]

Thanks for reading Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 38. This article was written by Cookie

Follow @SteveCook9

[divider_1px_dashed]

[divider_1px_dashed]

[divider_1px_dashed]

[row][span6]

Vote on our Captain Poll Now

[/span6][span6]




[/span6][/row]

[divider_1px_dashed]

Before you disappear from the site or move on to the next article, we’d like to point out a brand new game for the Euro’s brought to us in conjunction with Fanager who will be bringing us all a Euro 2016 Fantasy Football game like no other, and we’d love it if you guys would join us.

To pre-register your interest, please click the Fanager banner above and enter your name and e-mail address to get involved – it take less than 30 seconds. Once registered, they’ll soon be in touch to advise you of when the game is ready to explore and play, so please get involved, register your email address and tell a friend.
[divider_1px_dashed]