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While Wayne Rooney was cooling his heels, Javier Hernandez scored a winning double for Manchester United. Just when they were worried of losing more points, the Mexican stood up to claim all three for Manchester United? How many people had him in their fantasy football side?
What about Fernando Torres? Was anyone brave enough to include him? It would have been justified and your faith rewarded after he scored the winner against Blackburn. Just his second goal of the season but you have to get going sometime.
Samir Nasri was on song for Arsenal as was Alex Song. It was Nasri’s fourth goal for the season and more importantly, Arsenal kept a clean sheet.
A comfortable win for Chelsea but Didier Drogba wasn’t to be found on the goalscorer’s sheet. This time it was Florent Malouda and Solomon Kalou. The two now have seven and five goals respectively.
As predicted, Rafael Van der Vaart was the man for Tottenham. His goal levelled things up for Spurs against Everton.
If you are going to choose anyone from Newcastle then Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll look to be the guys. Both scored on the weekend against West Ham to take their goal tally to four and five goals respectively.
All in all it was a reasonably entertaining weekend of football. Looking ahead the pick of the games would be Manchester United hosting Tottenham. It will be a great test to see where Spurs are. They are currently just outside the top four and are playing well enough to beat United.
It is still only October but Manchester City look to be the real deal. They are playing good football both domestically and in Europe. They are sitting in second place on the Premiership, just two behind Chelsea.
Their game against Arsenal this weekend is an intriguing clash of the old versus the new. Arsenal are still in the top four so won’t be a pushover but instead of playing like an upstart, Manchester City are filling the role of the established side.
Clearly the man of the moment is Carlos Tevez. He has seven goals in the league and is the form of his career. Emmanuel Adebayor hasn’t yet scored in the Premier League this season but after his hat-trick last night in the Europa League has he refound his goal scoring touch?
The defence is also in good form and has only conceded two goals in league matches at home.
For Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas still has a way before returning to the stellar heights he hit last year. For now, it’s the new names for Arsenal that are doing the job. Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh have three goals each. Of course Theo Walcott had scored four from three games until injury struck.
Away from home this year, Arsenal have a record of five points from four games with four scored and five against. In terms of personnel, Arsenal will be without the suspended Jack Wilshere while Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey are all injured .
Elsewhere Tottenham vs Everton looms as an entertaining match. Even though Spurs lost 4-3 to Inter Milan they came back from a man down and a four goal deficit. So they will be on a high of sorts while Everton have won their last two after a very sluggish start.
Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Gareth Bale are all worth inclusion in your fantasy football side. Rafael van der Vaart didn’t play midweek and is definitely worth including. He is a major part of the reason why Spurs are doing so well.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are all playing in lower-profile matches. Against Stoke, Wolves and Blackburn respectively. The games are all important for their own reasons. United as they need to make a statement of the Wayne Rooney drama of the week.
Liverpool would love Rooney for taking the limelight off them that they hogged this week. They host Blackburn and obviously the points are critical to them. Then there is Chelsea who are trying to stay ahead of the pack.
Back to City, when they hosted Arsenal last year, the man of the moment was Adebayor. Will it be that way again?
Sir Alex Ferguson is used to getting his own way. Typically players will do anything to play for Manchester United. Very rarely will someone want to leave when they are a first-team player in the prime of their career. Truth be told, United haven’t really recovered from the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and this latest news is sure to rock the team. Then again, they have probably known about it for a while and most likely it has been one of the reasons for their poor form.
It has been an incredibly intense 3-4 months for Wayne Rooney. First there was all the drama of the World Cup and his poor performances there. Following that were the revelations of his infidelities and now comes the announcement that he wants to leave Old Trafford. Who knows how long he will still be a Manchester United player for? Till then, is he worth picking for your fantasy football side?
To date he only has one league goal and that was a penalty against West Ham. Nothing from open play. This time last year he already has six goals and was on his way to a 26 goal season.
If Rooney goes and join former team-mate Carlos Tevez at Manchester City, not only will Ferguson’s blood boil but City will have an unbelievable strike force. Tevez is already in rare form and in combination with Rooney would be quite the offensive power. The two sides meet on November 10 which isn’t that far away. It will be an even more explosive game than normal.
And what of United? Currently they have three players with more than one goal. Dimitar Berbatov has six, Nani has three and Darren Fletcher has two. United’s woes in front of goal is why they have dropped so many points. Chelsea have five players with two or more goals and Arsenal has four. Apart from Nani and Berbatov, you might think twice about selecting any United players for your fantasy football team. They just aren’t the side they used to be.
Is Rooney in the future capable of matching the feats of Rooney in the past. Can he be as good as this player?
How are you feeling after the latest round of fantasy football? As euphoric as David Moyes’ after Everton’s first win of the season or as low as Roy Hodgson after another loss leaves Liverpool in the bottom three?
As fired up as Roberto Mancini with a win that took them to second or as despondent as Arsene Wenger after their loss to Chelsea?
This week was an interesting week. There were goals to Didier Drogba, Carlos Tevez and Tim Cahill. Rafael van der Vaart scored twice for Tottenham and he looks to be a quality signing for Spurs. Likewise, he would be a great selection for your fantasy football side. With three goals, he is their leading scorer in the league.
With an away win and a clean sheet, it was a great weekend for those who selected Everton players. Not so much for Liverpool players especially Fernando Torres who limped off with an injury of sorts.
Manchester United had a frustrating 0-0 trip to Sunderland. The same kind of tenacity that Steve Bruce had as a player, he now has as a manager.
International games means there is a week off until the next round of matches. Already the standout looks to be the Merseyside Derby which will be taking place on Sunday at Goodison Park. With both of these sides on six points and in the bottom four of the ladder, a loss to either couldn’t come at a worse time. For Roy Hodgson, he could be facing the sack should they lose to their blue rivals. That’s how high the stakes are.
Stakes are always high in fantasy football but as a manager, that is something you don’t have to put up with.
Reports have emerged today that Manchester City have losses of £121 million. This is what it would be like to play fantasy football in real life – simply buy any player you want. Even in fantasy football there are rules. Last year Manchester City bet the house on making the top four – they missed out by the narrowest of margins and that would have been one of the most expensive failures in the history of sport.
Still they are continuing on from where they left off last year with big signings and are currently in fourth spot. They are home to Newcastle this week in a game they would be hopeful of winning. They have a massive squad but they need it because of injuries. Pablo Zabaleta tweaked his hamstring in the game against Juventus; Jerome Boateng looks to be over his knee injury but would need to be given some game time. It would be a risk to throw him straight into the fray. Then you have Mario Balotelli, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Micah Richards all suffering from various ailments.
For City, it will feel like deja vu, given the similarity in tops between Juventus and Newcastle. Carlos Tevez is leading the way with four goals and you should pick him for your fantasy side. He is playing well and should be good for either a goal, an assist or both.
The big game of the weekend is the Chelsea – Arsenal one. Both sides had good wins in Europe midweek and now is the time when teams have to shuffle between domestic and European play. These games are always feisty as this clip demonstrates:
Again you need to take injuries into account. Chelsea will be without Frank Lampard while the likes of Salomon Kalou, Jose Bosingwa and Yossi Benayoun are doubtful. The Gunners will be missing Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Aaron Ramsey who all leave big boots to replace.
Manchester United are away to Sunderland who are a difficult nut to crack at the Stadium of Light. United will be without Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs while Michael Carrick is doubtful.
Steven Gerrard is back for Liverpool after being rested for the European tie. He is definitely worthy inclusion in your side. Just ask Manchester City!
So there is just one weekend of the English Premier League season. Where did it go? Chelsea have the advantage in the race for the premiership. In their final game they will be playing Wigan at home in a game they should comfortably win. Manchester United will host Stoke but they will know that they will be relying on 15th placed Wigan for a massive upset. With all of the matches taking part at the same time, there will be a lot of checking scores via other means.
In terms of fantasy football, this is your last chance to get things right before the season comes to an end. There is still the World Cup, but in terms of the Premiership this is it. You will need to closely monitor all of the line-ups and injury reports as many players may be out. For instance, will Fulham risk their stars for the Arsenal game knowing the biggest game in the history of the club is coming up? Still having said that, they rebounded from their Europa League victory over Hamburg with a 3-2 win against West Ham.
Robin van Persie scored against Blackburn only underlining how badly he was missed when he was out due to injury. He could be a good selection for the Fulham game.
As is Didier Drogba, he is tied for the leading scorer with Wayne Rooney. Expect him to score at least a couple against Wigan.
With the bottom three teams having already been decided most focus is on top of the table starting with who is going to get that fourth Champions League spot. Obviously much of the say regarding that will happen before the weekend with Tottenham travelling to Manchester to take on Manchester City. This has been labeled as the biggest game in the history of both clubs.
Liverpool have lost their grasp on that fourth spot and the people by Merseyside will be quite unimpressed about not playing in the Champions League next season. Aston Villa challenged for a while but in the end Manchester City and Spurs are the most deserving for it. Should be a classic encounter and we will have more about it tomorrow.
There is no doubt that Arsenal are struggling. They have lost their last two matches. Now they have nothing to play for and another trophy-less season is what is in store for them. Not even a semi-final.
Injury has definitely played a part. They lost Robin van Persie in November for five months; Aaron Ramsey in February for the rest of the season; Cesc Fabregas went down in the Champions League quarter-final to Barcelona to miss the final six weeks of the season. Then there are the various other injuries and niggles which have afflicted them.
Losing Fabregas is a huge blow. He is their leading scorer in the league with 15 goals. Andrei Arshavin is next with nine followed by Van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen tied on seven. Van Persie is the third leading scorer even though he hasn’t played since November! That doesn’t speak well for the Arsenal players in front of goal. Eduardo only has three goals, as does Theo Walcott one of which came last weekend against Wigan. Williams Gallas scored in each of the opening three matches of the season and hasn’t scored since.
The funny thing is that Arsenal has scored the exact same number of goals as Manchester United.
Still it is clear when you are looking for a goalscorer, you should think very carefully about choosing any Arsenal player who isn’t Fabregas. When Fabregas is out, no only does Arsenal miss his goals but his assists. With 15, he has the most assists in the Premier League. So not only does he score but he creates opportunities for all of those around him.
Maybe it is too harsh to focus on the offence – after all, they scored two goals against Wigan only to let in three in the final 10 minutes. Arsenal only has 12 clean sheets for the year which is equal fifth-most for the year.
It really is true not you start but how you finish as Arsenal scored 10 goals in its first two games of the year; 17 goals in their first five matches; 24 in its first seven. It has 12 goals from their last seven matches. Unless you have a good reason for it, steer clear from choosing Arsenal players for their goal-scoring abilities or lack thereof.
Looking forward to this weekend’s match against Manchester City, it may be a dead rubber for Arsenal, but they will have plenty to play for following their lost to City earlier in the year. Forgot what happened? This should jog your memory.
What an amazing weekend of Premier League action! Chelsea losing to Tottenham, Manchester United defeating Manchester City in injury time for the third time this season and Arsenal falling in a heap against Wigan. You would have thought Arsenal’s 2-0 lead was safe but to leak three goals in the final 10 minutes of the match signified that Arsenal’s season is over.
From a fantasy viewpoint, there was some interesting things to glean. At the end of a long and grueling season, everyone is tired and exhausted. This means the defences aren’t going to be as tight as they once were. This means you need to think carefully as to who you choose at the back. Of the 10 games, only Manchester United and Liverpool won without allowing a goal. Then there were two 0-0 draws. United and Liverpool have the most amount of clean sheets in the league. United has 17 and Liverpool have 15. Chelsea also have 15 but picked the wrong week to let two through.
*Anyone who selected John Terry will be furious after he found himself receiving two yellow cards in a matter of minutes against Tottenham. Losing three points for being sent off is not what you are looking for when you pick one of the best defenders in the league.
*Everton have a number of different avenues to goal and as a fantasy manager it can be difficult to have to choose between Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Yakubu Aiyegbeni. That’s why it was good that all of them scored against Blackburn.
*Playing for Sunderland, Darren Bent definitely flies under the radar. He doesn’t get the hype the likes of Carlos Tevez, Jermain Defoe or Fernando Torres receive. The fact of the matter is that he has scored more goals in the league than any of them. He has 23, to be in third place in the leading scoring stakes. He scored again on the weekend and always threatens to. Sometimes its better to pick a strong player in a weaker team than vice versa because he has less competition to score.
*Jermain Defoe scored a penalty for Spurs against Chelsea. If you are ever find yourself unable to choose between two players, if one of them is the penalty taker for his team than choose him. It can prove to be a very good source of points.
Looking ahead, two games stand out like a beacon – Manchester United v Tottenham and Manchester City v Arsenal.
Here is something to whet your appetite:
Every Manchester Derby is a massive match but it is hard to think of a bigger one then this weekend’s upcoming match between the two Manchester sides.Arguably the Dennis Law game in 1974 was bigger as it caused United to be relegated but in this game both sides have plenty to play for. United have to win to have any chance of winning the league and City need to win in order to maintain their hold on fourth spot.
City still play second fiddle to United despite their big transfer spree in the off-season. The two played a great game earlier in the year and then met again in the Carling Cup semi-final where United just got over the line.
Both sides are hit with injury concerns. City are missing Stephen Ireland, Joleon Lescott, Wayne Bridge and Martin Petrov. United are missing Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Wes Brown, Michael Owen and Anderson.
There is no doubt that United struggling – they only have one point from their last two games. On the other hand City are flying and have nine points and scored 14 goals from their last three games.
One player who is part of the reason for that good form is Carlos Tevez who has scored five of those 14 goals. Tevez has scored an impressive 22 league goals this year. United are missing him but could Tevez have been so productive at United? In 63 league games for United he only managed 19 goals. This indicates that Tevez clearly flourishes in the City structure more than what he did at Old Trafford.
The last three Manchester Derbies at the City of Manchester stadium have all finished 1-0. Will this game by a low scoring affair as well or will it mirror the clash between the two earlier in the year which yielded seven goals?
What is for sure is that Tevez is a good fantasy selection. He is in great form and would love nothing better than to score against his former side. He will also be spearheading the Argentine cause at the upcoming World Cup in South Africa with goals such as this.
Tevez has score one goal against United before.
He would love to score some more this weekend.
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