Whether you had a good or indifferent GW13 there is little opportunity to dwell on it now as GW14 starts in earnest on Tuesday night as Crystal Palace host West Ham to kick us off again on the merry-go-round that is fantasy football. We will as ever cast an eye over the next four weeks to give you an indication as to who we feel will prosper and who will possibly falter and tell you which players we feel may do likewise. Of paramount importance though is that you are aware that this week’s deadline is on Tuesday night at 7.30pm.
Favourable Fixtures
LIVERPOOL – Norwich (H), West Ham (H), Tottenham (A), Cardiff (H)
A surprise defeat at Hull on Sunday has dented slightly what was looking to be a very promising start to the season for Liverpool. Their fans will be hoping it was just a blip though and these things can happen. Their upcoming fixtures should see them rebound nicely from this setback.
Three home games in the next four put Liverpool firmly at the top of the favourable fixtures list this week. Add in that those home games are against Norwich, West Ham and Cardiff and we expect that there will be plenty of investment in Liverpool players over the next few weeks. Liverpool are looking irresistible at home right now having notched 11 goals in their last 3 at Anfield. A visit to White Hart Lane in GW16 is their only road trip in this sequence but given that Spurs are struggling to score and Liverpool have scored 4 in their last two away then we suspect this game could well bear fruit for them as well.
Tips
With that run of fixtures we expect there will be plenty of chances for clean-sheets coming up so if you have Simon Mignolet then we suggest you play him but many may be tempted to double up for this run. With Glen Johnson now back and fit having started the last three, he usually offers some good attacking potential whilst Jon Flanagan has filled in at left-back in the last two now so could be a very cheap way to capitalise on this fixture run.
Further forward Steven Gerrard is Liverpool’s Mr Consistent still after all these years and leads their midfield points scoring by quite some distance. Apparently not the driving force he once was but 3 goals and 5 assists so far as well as being on most set-pieces he still makes a compelling case for inclusion in our sides. Phillippe Coutinho had a five week lay-off but had started the last three prior to the Hull game and he will be looking to push Gerrard in terms of production for the rest of the season. A derby day goal was his first of the season but we expect he may well kick on from here and begin to replicate the promise he showed at the end of last season. Assuming his latest ankle injury is a minor one, and judging by the woeful performances of his stand-ins Moses and Sterling on Sunday, then he will not have much trouble regaining his place once fit.
That’s it for our Liverpool tips, we can’t think of anyone else. No? Oh ok, go on then. Luis Suarez. Not got him? Get him. Especially at home. Probably captain him. Enough said.
MAN UNITED – Everton (H), Newcastle (H), Aston Villa (A), West Ham (H)
Much like Liverpool, Man United now enjoy a run of three games from the next four at home. Everton on Wednesday could well be tricky for many reasons. The visitors will be sure to be fired up facing their ex-boss for the first time and may be out to prove a point and arrive at Old Trafford in good spirits having thumped Stoke at the weekend. Don’t discount Moyes having his boys fired up as well though for the same reasons. This one could be a cracker! Beyond that though United would expect to take full advantage of next three. Newcastle are themselves finding some form but trips to Villa and West Ham at home look good on paper for them.
Tips
Patrice Evra is once again United’s outstanding points scorer in defence which is largely down to his consistency of starts compared to his team-mates but he has also chipped in with a goal and two assists so far. United have only managed a surprising three clean sheets so far this season but this may be due in part to not having a settled back-line.
One of the stranger quirks of recent seasons has been the lack of any United midfielders that have warranted inclusion in our fantasy teams and this season is no different. If Shinji Kagawa is afforded some decent game time then he may well emerge from the pack but Moyes seems uncertain as to how to fit him in, barely playing him and then when he does seemingly out of position, which is a massive shame given the glimpses we have been afforded and his undoubted quality as evidenced from his spell with Dortmund.
Wayne Rooney is the obvious choice up top for United at the moment. 8 goals and 7 assists so far suggests he is bang in form and owned by only a surprisingly low 17% of fantasy managers he is a touch of a differential still. RvP seems to be struggling with any number of injury complaints as of late but if he can return to fitness, then he too warrants our attention again having scored 4 and assisted 2 in his last four starts.
MAN CITY – West Brom (A), Southampton (A), Arsenal (H), Fulham (A)
In contrast to Liverpool and United, City have three away in the next four and their home game is against title rivals Arsenal. Despite this we feel that City are building momentum and this little spell could tell us if they are genuine title contenders which they surely must be? Their away form has been patchy but this cannot continue if their home displays are any indication of what is to come from them. This is not an easy set of fixtures by anyone’s imagination but we would not be surprised to see them come through it and emerge near the top of the league come Christmas.
Tips
City’s defence is a bit of a lottery but the imminent return of Vincent Kompany could finally give us at least one nailed on starter each week assuming he stays healthy this time!
In midfield Yaya Toure is proving to be as consistent as anyone in the league and his new found free kick speciality is delighting his fantasy managers no end. Jesus Navas arrived with a word of caution for fantasy managers as his goal rate was poor in Spain but his brace against Spurs has shown his potential in this respect and he could well put himself firmly in our thinking should that form continue. Samir Nasri has never been the same player as the one who left Arsenal since his big pay rise move to the Etihad but he seems to be firmly in favour with Pellegrini and his two goals on Sunday will only further cement this.
Sergio Aguero is the obvious choice up top so we will not dwell on him too much as his appeal is obvious and immediate and hard to ignore. The intriguing alternative is his strike partner Alvaro Negredo. We shall leave you with an interesting stat on Negredo. He has only completed 90 minutes on four occasions this season for City yet he has managed 6 goals and 3 assists. At £3.1m less than Aguero he could prove to be an excellent cheaper differential
THE BEST OF THE REST…
West Brom host City in GW14 but then have Norwich (H), Cardiff (A) and Hull (H) to follow. Gareth McAuley is West Brom’s leading scorer so far from a fantasy point of view but Sessegnon, Amilfitano and Long are all vying for our attentions at the moment.
Swansea are another that have three home fixtures in the next four. Newcastle, Hull and Everton all visit the Liberty and their away fixture is Norwich. Europa concerns do seem to be a factor for Swansea and seem to be impacting negatively on their FPL season. Three at home in four though may afford them the opportunity to get their season back on track. They may need to find a striker from somewhere though unless they decide go down the West Ham / Spain route!
Difficult Fixtures
FULHAM – Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (H), Everton (A), Man City (H)
Having finally parted company with Martin Jol, Fulham will be hoping that a new manager can turn their season around. Rene Meulensteen is that man and will be hoping that he can last longer than he did at Anzhi (16 days)! He may want to do the good old ‘new manager’ trick though and stay in the stands for a few games as their next four look a bit daunting to say the least! Villa at home may be their best chance of points in this run as Spurs and City at home offer little hope and Everton away probably none!
EVERTON – Man Utd (A), Arsenal (A), Fulham (H), Swansea (A)
Having dispatched with Stoke so easily Everton will be looking to cement their place in the top four but their ambition will be severely tested this week with trips to both Old Trafford and the Emirates within a few days. Should they come away from that double header still in the top four then maybe the Fulham and Swansea games might not start to look too bad for them.
ARSENAL – Hull (H), Everton (H), Man City (A), Chelsea (H)
Being top of the league does not make you immune from a challenging run of fixtures and that’s what Arsenal have coming up make no mistake! Hull will be no pushovers fresh from their fantastic victory over Liverpool and then the next three may well define Arsenals season one way or another. They will do well to come out of that lot with anything like the lead at the top that they currently enjoy but if they do then we have serious title contenders on our hands. Time will tell…
BE WARY OF…
Southampton are a success story so far but exactly how far they have come will, and is, being tested at the moment. Aston Villa (H), Man City (H), Newcastle (A), Spurs (H) is a challenging run for them and may well indicate whether they are serious challengers for the European slots or not.
Sunderland have a way to go to climb out of the bottom three and their upcoming fixture list may suggest that this challenge is still some way off. Chelsea and Spurs at home are followed by a trip to West Ham and then they host Norwich at home. The last one being their only decent fixture on paper and even then it’s by no means guaranteed by any stretch.
Fixture Fun
As mentioned in the intro, it is worth repeating – THIS GAME -WEEK BEGINS ON TUESDAY AT 7.30PM!
We shall be back with another Tips / Fixtures article later on in the week to prepare you for GW15 on Saturday but until then…
Good luck everyone!
This article was written by inittowinit
Don’t have Migs, will Johnson be a must?
Also noticed Pool have Spurs, Chelsea and City away in their next 6 fixtures. Not all easy, I’d say. Plus they’re all away games. >.<
I’d probably have a Liv defender over the next few weeks, maybe flanagan if you fancy a gamble
Yeah, need him or Johnson. Though, I see myself replacing them when their fixtures get hard during Xmas. Anyway tnx.
is Boruc > Mignolet
Zabaleta > Evans worth a 4 point hit?
Love Zabs but I need both players scoring points and City have 3 away games in the next 4 and their only home game is at Arsenal.
Is Johnny Evans a guaranteed start for Utd? He’s played 5 90mins in the last 6 GW’s.
Thoughts?
azzaok – I don’t think thats worth a -4 in my opinion. Depends who your other keeper is of course and if its a non-starter than yes maybe. Evans looks like he is for now with Vidic and Ferdinand rotating around him but who knows!
my other keep is Harper who is redundant now McGregor is back so i’m unsure!
Think it’s probably worth -4 for 2 players likely to get clean sheets in the next 4-5 weeks than an injured and bad-fixtured Boruc and Zab with City’s away record.
I hate that teams rotate as much as they have this season! Driving me crazy!
Hey guys..
Please someone talk me out of doing this…?
After tomoz I’ll have 2 FT to play
To get wally
This is what I’m thinking
Mings > Marshall
Dawson > Flanagan
Ivanovic > Moxey
Ravel > WALLY….,!!!
-8 hit wadya think..team linked…?
Rash…
Full retard. 😉
Raziel…
Just be careful with your opinions…do appriecate people’s feedback
But I hope you wasn’t calling me a Retard…? Thats offensive,
Let’s show some respect…ok
Bigpopz, apologies for that. I am pretty certain that one was lost in translation. Raz does not normally say anything as offensive as that came across. I am sure he will clarify tomorrow if he sees this. Sorry mate.
http://youtu.be/RDXTJa6TrKE
nin with the right video at the right time!
Will having both Walcott and Ramsey in the team be worth it?
Wenger has already stated that he wants to start rotating players so having two Mids from that squad may be risky. One or the other for me so not worth the -8.
1. there are cheaper routes into the cardiff defence than marshall
2. flanagan is temporary in the lfc defence that keeps shuffling
3. would not really rate palace defence a lot.
so just for getting walcott in you will be disturbing your entire defence consisting of chelsea, liverpool and tottenham players. all three have a great run ahead for a few gameweeks and i am pretty sure they will get in a LOT of clean sheets.
think about it! hemight not even start every match considering the options wenger has.
Jasprit….
Expertly put my friend…
That’s the sort of feedback I was asking for..
Thanks a lot.
Not for minus eight when he hasn’t even started yet!
I agree though, he is utter class, but I’ll wait till he’s nailed on – too expensive to have in your team when he might only have ten mins ina game.
Wenger likes hm alot though so I expect him to be back to the first team by new year.
So yeah, get him after he starts scoring!
Bigpopz – Nah mate,scrap this idea,if you look at the big picture it’s weakening 3 positions to improve 1..I’m sure there’s an easier and more positive way to get Theodore in than this..
NIN
Your right chap it’s crazy !!
Just Got feeling Wally’s gonna score big, don’t wanna miss Bandwagon….
I could do straight swap with Yaya or Hazard….but wanna keep them too…suppose you can only have so much talent in the team before the money runs out… Cheers anyway
Bigpopz – Precisely,we only have 5 spots for mid’s so we cant have them all haha,i’d rather bring him in when i’m sure he’s starting,and fit and up to speed again,if that means missing a good week from him then so be it,he’s on my radar too but i don’t think i’ll bring him in until this mad schedule is done with.
Blimey!
I nearly caught a cold there, didn’t realise GW14 started tomorrow.
Guys,
Can you take a look at my team:
Boruc (Myhill)
Clyne; Coleman; Zabaletta; (Tunrer (Cardiff); Chester)
Hazard; Oezil’ Brady; Morrison (Whittingham)
Aguero; Suarez; Lukaku
I was seriously considering Zab>Gabbidon, but then Zab picked up 9 points yesterday.
Any other suggestions, I’d consider a points hit for a double game week.
Thanks guys!
Can still make changes tomorrow evening. I think?
Not really got time before 7.30pm tomorrow Raz.
Can you help mate?
Ok, I’ll give it a fast look. Not even certain what I want to do with my own squad. My brain is bugging me. All pros have cones. Anyway, let’s see.
I’d replace Boruc since he picked up an injury I hear? Out for 6 weeks? Let someone confirm that.
Coleman has 2 hard fixtures coming up. Could also replace him. Rest should be fine though Ozil could be rested. Depending on FT’s I’d only make changes in defense at the moment if I were you.
Thanks Raz, I’ve changed Boruc for Marshall and Coleman for Gabiddon.
had to take another 8 point hit this week.
couldn’t help it really as literally half my team wasn’t in the starting 11 of their respective teams.
hoping for a miracle to get me back in the game now.
what do you guys think of this:
cech
clyne(sou) – pieters(sto) – turner(car)
cabaye – ozil – hazard – ravel morrison
rooney – suarez(c) – aguero
bench- barkley, baker, rosenior
Good but there are a few problems:
1)Chelsea def hasn’t kept a clean sheet in a while – defenders are only good at the moment of attacking potencial at Chelsea
2) I don’t see clyne keeping many clean sheets for a while
3)Barkley has to go – not enough mins anymore
4) baker I don’t think will play much now Luna’s back and villa def is rubbish anyway
But other than that, looks very good – cant go wrong with the strikers and I like the cabaye pick too
Hope this helps.
You lot are crazy. If I didn’t need to make a transfer this gw I would have saved it as we are going to see some big squad rotations I think!!
I think you are right there chris!
Innit, would you do boruc -> gazzinga & bacuna -> Gerard?
100%
My point exactly!
Bob, for a hit? Who is your other GK?
Never spoke about keepers so much in my life!!!
My other gk is migs and no, I have 2 ft
I’d only bring Gazza in if Davis is your other keeper.
Right.
Who did you do in the end Kop?
Speroni 😮
Kop can I have some advice or any others
2ft with 0.3 in the. Bank
Boruc (Henderson)
Terry Dawson Demel (Chico and chambers)
Yaya toure Ramsey Brady Lallana (Amalfitano)
Amalfitano out Morrison in maybe
Marshall out of Cardiff city for a goalie and would anyone drop Yaya to hazard and then drop Amalfitano to ravel Morrison both Chelsea and man city have good fixtures on Wednesday and can get some goals so not quite sure with Yaya move
Missed out forwards silly me I have Suarez aguero Rooney
Marshall is worth consideration as Cardiff have some decent fixtures coming up.
Personally I wouldn’t do Yaya to Hazard as Yaya has been so consistent all season. I wouldn’t swap Amalfitano for Morrison either as West Brom upcoming fixtures are easier than West Hams.
So I could keep the free transfer till Saturday and just do one move boruc out Marshall in or anyone else who comes in to consideration at 5.1 or less
can anyone recamend a 4 mil keeper then (going back to the original question)?
and amr77, get mcgregor if you can afford him!
and defo keep yaya
other options include:
guzan, & krul
those three are the three best ones imo in that pricerange
NiN do you think theses moves are alright at the bottom sorry for annoying everyone and really appreciate the feedback
Cheers billis
it’s alright!
i personally think you’re getting a bargain with him at 4.4mil!
Should I just make the goalie move and keep 2ft for Saturday?