Archive for October, 2012|Monthly archive page
Ba, Carroll, Crouch, Kone, Mata, Members, Reina, Routledge, Tevez, Tinkers
In Sorted, Squad Sheet, Strategy on October 26, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Fantasy Premier League tips: read LAST MINUTE TINKERS! Set lineup. We’re starting strong because we’re ending quickly. Hot out of the gate in an attempt to overcome this crushing head cold that has us bedridden heading into the weekend.
Aston Villa v Norwich
Key Injuries: Clark
Chris Hughton’s Norwich put in a top shift against Arsenal a week ago to earn three unexpected points in a 1-0 victory. However, if there is one man who should be acutely aware of the Canaries defensive frailties it is former boss Paul Lambert, now managing Aston Villa. Lambert will have to once more decide between Christian Benteke and Darren Bent. We would be more interested if either striker had shown the ability to score this term. Additionally, one time FantasyGaffer favourites Barry Bannan and Charles N’Zogbia are not receiving enough playing time to justify owning in Fantasy Premier League. Bannan (38′ in last three BPL fixtures) and N’Zogbia (105′ in last six BPL fixtures) should not be owned at this point.
A quick fantasy premier league tip from Opta stats: NO Aston Villa player has created more than 11 chances (Darren Bent). Bannan (nine), Holman and Lowton (eight each) are the only players with more than seven chances created. Read the rest of this entry »
Ba, Baines, Berbatov, Cazorla, Defoe, Fletcher, Jenkinson, Members, Williams, Wisdom
In Sorted, Up The Tweets on October 26, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Plenty of Tweets this Friday seeking a bit of Fantasy EPL advice that requires a touch more than 140 characters. Rapid-fire for a few of these in a quick post while we continue to research Last Minute Tinkers (link is to last weekends) for publication later this evening.
Would have answered this on Twitter, but I got distracted by your background. The answer is layered, a decent bit of complexity goes into it but at the end of the day we’ll take Defoe in the short term. The questions over Adebayor’s health and the recent comments from Andre Villas-Boas give us confidence to use Defoe until such a time as his production falters.
That is the full story on Defoe. Read the rest of this entry »
Aguero, Andre Santos, Dzeko, Gibbs, Hart, OX, Richards, Tevez, Walcott
In News of the Day, Strategy on October 24, 2012 at 10:41 pm
A bit of EPL fantasy analysis following the Wednesday Champions League action. The capitulation of Arsenal and Manchester City have left the two English clubs with difficult roads to qualify from the group stage.
Arsenal 0-2 Schalke 04
Arsenal sXI: Mannone; Santos Mertesacker Vermaelen Jenkinson (Gnabry 82′); Arteta Coquelin; Ramsey Cazorla Podolski (Arshavin 82′); Gervinho (75′)
The Gunners were under the management of Steve Bould as Arsene Wenger served the final match of his three-match touchline ban. Based on their play, it is unlikely The Prof’s presence would have made much difference. As Bould noted after the match:
He also rather astutely noted that the Gunners could do with the odd first-goal:
Carrick, Chicharito, Evans, Jose Enrique, Kagawa, Lampard, Mata, Oscar, Rooney, Wisdom
In News of the Day, Strategy on October 24, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Fantasy EPL news coming after the first of four Champions League fixtures this week for Barclays Premier League sides. Javier Hernandez netted a brace to spare Manchester United their blushes and secure all three points while two midfielders departed with injuries.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Chelsea
Oscar 88′
Chelsea sXI: Cech; Ivanovic Cole Luiz Terry; Ramirez Lampard (Hazard 18′) Mata Mikel; Torres (Sturridge 70′) Oscar
Oscar netted the only goal for Roberto Di Matteo’s side. The late effort continued to build Oscar’s case for a continued run in the first team. With Frank Lampard departing early with a re-aggravation of his calf injury there is a strong case to be made that Ramires/Mikel/Mata will make-up the middle “3″ with Hazard and Oscar pairing Torres at the front.
Chelsea will be without John Terry again in gameweek nine as he continues to serve a domestic suspension. Gary Cahill was on the bench for the Champions League encounter but should return for the League fixture. The defender scored a screamer in his last start and remains one of the few defenders who will consistently attempt shots from long range. Chelsea’s schedule does not inspire much confidence in their ability to keep clean sheets and Manchester United certainly can score against anyone. Read the rest of this entry »
Ba, Gerrard, Hazard, Jelavic, Lallana, Lambert, Long, Mata, Routledge, Sterling
In Up The Tweets on October 23, 2012 at 2:39 pm
We’ve been slow the last two weeks as other issues have drawn our attention away from fantasy EPL, but we’ll try to make it up this week starting with a quick Up The Tweets!
This was going to be a quick response, but 140 characters just were not enough to get everything across. We Take three separate approaches with a high/low split either way and an even allocation of the funds. First, high-end striker with a discount midfielder.
Ba (£8.3m, 30.8%) / Sterling (£4.9m, 11.3% selected)
We wanted to include Wayne Routledge here but the slate of upcoming fixtures for the Swans are difficult. Man City (a), Chelsea (h), Southampton (a), Newcastle (a), Liverpool (h), WBA (h), Arsenal (a), Norwich (h), Spurs (a), Man Utd (h). That takes Michael Laudrup’s squad through to Christmas. While Routledge will undoubtedly post a handful of decent outings, it will be difficult to determine which. If you’re using him as a fourth or fifth midfielder there is still a good argument to made for including him in your squad. He is level sixth in the Barclays Premier League in chances created with 21, the same number as David Silva and one better than both Gareth Bale and Steven Pienaar.
However, we’re going Raheem Sterling. The Liverpool youngster has created 16 chances — that is level with Juan Mata — and scored his first goal for the Reds in gameweek eight. Read the rest of this entry »
Carroll, Crouch, Dyer, Giroud, Lambert, Members, Nani, Rooney, RVP, Santi, Tinkers
In Sorted, Squad Sheet, Strategy on October 19, 2012 at 6:20 pm
With Fantasy Premier League tips needed as the League returns to action, Last Minute Tinkers are back following the international break a few players light. Theo Walcott, Bryan Ruiz, Kieran Gibbs and David Silva all look set to miss out while Dimitar Berbatov and Mladen Petric are reportedly fit to return. Plenty more names face late fitness and we recap the season to date below. Part 1/2 Available Here.
Manchester United v Stoke City
The Red Devils will welcome back Ashley Young following two months on the sidelines with a foot injury. The trio of Young, Nani and Antonio Valencia will likely continue to rotate. While the offense is remarkably consistent, the plethora of attacking options make owning any of the midfielders a difficult proposition.
We’re not covering United in much depth because until we see the rotation of a fully healthy squad we can not handicap the value in FPL against playing time and price. Our love of Nani is well documented and we do not care to own Shinji Kagawa at this point in the season. Low cost options like Tom Cleverley provide an inexpensive route to playing a five-man midfield but frankly we’d prefer to start James Morrison, Matt Jarvis or Raheem Sterling. Read the rest of this entry »
Cahill, David Silva, Gerrard, Hazard, Mata, Members, Richards, Suarez, Terry, Tinkers
In Sorted, Squad Sheet, Strategy on October 19, 2012 at 6:18 pm
With Fantasy Premier League tips needed as the League returns to action, Last Minute Tinkers are back following the international break a few players light. Theo Walcott, Bryan Ruiz, Kieran Gibbs and David Silva all look set to miss out while Dimitar Berbatov and Mladen Petric are reportedly fit to return. Plenty more names face late fitness and we recap the season to date below.
Tottenham v Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur can cement their title aspirations with an emphatic home win over Chelsea. Andre Villas-Boas will have nearly all of his first-choice starting XI ready for action and leads his squad into the clash with the knowledge that both offenses are capable of scoring a handful in this match. The corresponding fixture last season ended 1-1 with a goal for Emmanuel Adebayor. At this point in the 2012-13 campaign it looks that Ade is second-choice behind the rejuvenated Jermain Defoe. Defoe has four goals and two assists in the BPL this season and has posted the minimum two points in Fantasy Premier League twice in seven outings. The England man has seen his price rise to £7.8 on the strength of 130,000+ net transfers in over the past three gameweeks and we expect to see his name once more penciled into the starting XI. Read the rest of this entry »
Caulker, Clyne, David Silva, Gaston Ramirez, Reina, Richardson, Terry
In News of the Day on October 18, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Fantasy EPL resumes this weekend following the intentional break and there are injury concerns for Liverpool with the most notable being Pepe Reina:
The goalkeeper picked up a hamstring complaint while on international duty with Spain and the Reds will monitor the problem ahead of the Royals’ visit to Anfield. Rodgers told his pre-match press conference: “We’ll wait another 24 hours to see how he is. It’s nothing overly serious – he felt just a slight twinge in his hamstring at half-time in the game.
Reina has come under intense scrutiny this season for a number of gaffes and a string of less than “Reina-level” performances. He has recorded 12 saves and one cleansheet in seven tries this season. The Premier League opposition have not been particularly difficult and Pepe has just 12 saves. He has also committed two errors that led directly to goals and a third that was a shot. Norwich has scored five in seven, but two came against LFC. Similarly, Sunderland have scored less than a goal a game, but did put one past the Spaniard. At this time, we can not invest in GK, or rely on any of Rodgers’ squad for clean sheets. Defender Glen Johnson can be owned on the strength of his attacking prowess.
Elsewhere, it is Nigel Adkins with several injury questions ahead of gameweek eight:
Ba, Bale, Bales, Bonus Points, Crouch, Fletcher, Members, Michu, Torres, van Persie
In Strategy on October 15, 2012 at 11:31 pm
EPL fantasy season runs a great many months, spotted with frequent breaks and periods of madness. It behooves us to take a breath and reset our expectations based on the information we have gathered over the opening seven gameweeks of the 2012-13 Barclays Premier League season. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this game is predicting Fantasy Premier League bonus points. Bonus points (BP) are based on EA Sports Player Performance Index (EAS PPI) scores and vary from match to match and week to week. In other words, a player’s EAS PPI of 18 (higher is better) may earn three (3) BP in a scoreless draw, while another player who rates an 18 in a 4-1 match does not earn a single BP.
It is no surprise that the bonus points skew towards goal scorers. The top three, and four of the top six, are all rated Forward in the FPL. EPL fantasy managers will recognize these names and likely own them as their selection reflects their prices and early EPL fantasy success: Demba Ba (12 BP, 29.8% selected), Steven Fletcher (12 BP, 10.8% selected), Peter Crouch (11 BP, 9.1% selected) and Fernando Torres (nine BP, 25.5% selected).
Steven Fletcher is the most remarkable player in the league this season. Aside from his unbelievable scoring record — he netted five goals in his opening four matches with Sunderland — he also recorded four consecutive outings with the max. three BP. His 12 BP have come in five BPL fixtures while Demba Ba, level with 12 BP, has played in all seven of the Magpies League fixtures. Ba has also recorded the max. three BP in four fixtures, corresponding with the four fixtures in which he scored. Read the rest of this entry »
Dempsey, Duff, Kačaniklić, Morrison, Ruiz, Sidwell, Vaz Te
In Player Projection, Sorted on October 13, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Fantasy EPL managers enjoy a conflicted relationship with Fulham’s midfield this season. The middle of the pitch at Craven Cottage has been an interesting place this year. At times it has boasted one of the top players in 2011-12 fantasy EPL (Clint Dempsey), one of the top players this season (Damian Duff), one of the best values (Alexander Kačaniklić ) and the heir apparent to Dempsey’s mantle (Bryan Ruiz). Following the first international fixtures of the current break, it seemed a good time to examine the fantasy EPL options in Martin Jol’s side.
First up, the good news:
Alexander Kačaniklić scored his first international goal as Sweden defeated the Faroe Islands 2-1 on Friday night.
We tweeted the relevant information last night @FantasyGaffer — follow, why don’t you — and believe that the international goal is a bit of good news for the youngster in terms of BPL playing time.
As noted in the Tweet, he has featured in all seven of the Cottager’s Barclays Premier League fixtures this term, but he has not played a full 90′ since the opening day and has failed to get 60′ in three of the seven. Read the rest of this entry »
