Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category
Carroll, Crouch, Gerrard, Suarez, Torres, van Persie, Young
In Sorted, Squad Sheet, Strategy on November 10, 2012 at 4:22 am
We’ve returned with our signature fantasy premier league tips production – Last Minute Tinkers. All 10 Barclays Premier League fixtures chatted-up, brought home and kicked out before breakfast. Enjoy.
Arsenal v Fulham
The top defense in the Premier League will face Martin Jol’s high-powered offense in gameweek 11. Long-time readers will know how frequently we tout the cost-effective defensive options and both sides here are deep in the defensive ranks with several inexpensive selections on either side. For that reason we have split this match differently and we’re looking at the players by position.
Defensively, we’re not trusting anyone. With Arsenal having been blanked only once at home in the League and Fulham sitting on 21 goals to day, both sets of defenders are likely to concede at least one. Only 3.3% of fantasy premier league managers own Gunners’ ‘keeper Mannone and 4.9% of managers own Mark Schwarzer. Read the rest of this entry »
Aguero, Andre Santos, Baines, Mertesacker, Tevez, Walcott, Yaya
In Sorted, Strategy on November 7, 2012 at 2:46 am
EPL Fantasy saw a number of fine performances from Barclays Premier League players in their midweek Champions League encounters. Both Arsenal and Manchester City finished the day with 2-2 draws, one leaving the Gunners in second place and the other all but closing the book on the Citizens European aspirations. We’ve already published one post this week, yesterday’s Up The Tweets!, and will endeavor to have more new content tomorrow.
The Fantasy Premier League site is experiencing some difficulties and we’re using more statistics from EPL Index than normal. Our thanks to their Stats Centre – to subscribe use this link.
Manchester City 2-2 Ajax
Yaya Toure 22′
Sergio Aguero 74′
Manchester City starting XI: Hart; Nastasic Zabaleta Kompany Clichy; Nasri Garcia Barry Yaya; Tevez Aguero
Substitutes: Balotelli (Garcia 45′); Dzeko (Tevez 66′); Kolarov (Barry 85′)
While the result does nothing for Roberto Mancini’s side but stave off the inevitable, the goals for Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero are a welcome site for a side with two goals in their previous three fixtures. In Barclays Premier League action, City was held scoreless against West Ham last time out and managed only one goal in their 1-0 home win over Swansea the weekend before. Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Fellaini, Gervinho, Hart, Howard, Jaaskelainen, McArthur, Members, Podolski, Suarez, Tiote
In Player Projection, Strategy on October 12, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Today @OptaJoe hosted an #AskOpta and we’ve taken some of the choice tweets and expanded upon them for EPL fantasy purposes. All tweets are based, naturally, on Opta stats and we’ve distinguished when the statistics we’re using are from Fantasy Premier League as simple stats such as assists and minutes played are frequently different between the two sources.
Podolski has been one of the most frustrating figures in EPL fantasy this season. The new arrival at Arsenal has, as the above Tweet indicates, been substituted in each of his seven Barclays Premier League fixtures. The FPL has credited him with two goals and two assists in 509′. His longest League outing was the 84′ he received in the gameweek seven fixture at West Ham in which he recorded an assist. Podolski is priced £8.6m and selected in 17.4% of FPL sides. EPL fantasy managers who own the striker-come-left-winger will know that he has earned two FPL pts in four of the seven weeks. He has earned 25 points in the other three weeks 
with his five bonus points coming in the two weeks in which he scored a goal. Read the rest of this entry »
Fellaini, Injuries, Jelavic, Mirallas, Osman, Pienaar
In News of the Day, Strategy on October 9, 2012 at 11:21 pm
UPDATE: EvertonFC have announced:
Marouane Fellaini is returning to Everton for further assessment of his knee injury. Fellaini picked up a knock during the 2-2 draw with Wigan Athletic last weekend and although he managed to complete the game, the significance of his injury only became apparent 48 hours later.
The Blues medical team have reviewed his scans and will assess him fully when he returns to Finch Farm on Monday.
BEGIN ORIGINAL TEXT:
News from the Belgian FA is that Maroune Fellaini is out three weeks, with their Official website stating Everton have agreed for Fellaini to rehab the injury in his home country. We’re not entirely sure as we do not speak Belgian but this is the official presser:
Middenvelder Marouane Fellaini (Everton) moet forfait geven voor de wedstrijden met de Rode Duivels tegen Servië en Schotland.
Fellaini heeft een scheurtje in de overgang van spier naar pees ter hoogte van de knie. Dat werd vanmiddag na een scan vastgesteld. Fellaini liep de blessure zaterdag op in de wedstrijd met zijn club Everton FC tegen Wigan Athletic. Hij zal drie weken buiten strijd zijn.
Met zijn club Everton FC is afgesproken dat hij die tijd in België zal revalideren. Read the rest of this entry »
