Updated Player Rankings
With the midweek fixtures out of the way, I’ve made some updates to the player rankings to bring you my player tips for the next five games. Brace yourself for some gibberish.
First off, looking at the forthcoming fixtures there’s s few things that stand out. Sides like Villa, Reading, Birmingham and Fulham have very decent games approaching, which seem to present an ideal opportunity for fantasy managers to gamble on some mid-price options in order to make up some mini-league ground.
Reading’s next four include three at home and prior to the Liverpool game they showed some promise with two wins with clean sheets. Shorey is one I really fancy to come good in the next few weeks then. He’s already contributed 9 assists this season and should add to that tally with Birmingham, Blackburn, Newcastle and Fulham to come next. Elsewhere amongst Coppell’s men it’s Hunt and maybe Kitson that are worth a punt. The latter has lost his place recently but I can see him starting for Long at the weekend after his tantrum at Anfield.
Shorey and Hunt both climb in the rankings then, as does Young at Villa. A midfielder in some games, a striker in others, he’s a good option with Villa’s fixtures looking kind. They have the United game of course, but aside from that, it’s looking rosy for Young presenting him with plenty of chances to add to his huge haul of assists in the coming weeks. There will inevitably be FPL bonus to show for Villa wins too. Elsewhere at Villa Park Barry, Carew, Agbonlahor and Laursen are all also worth a look.
When it comes to Fulham it’s all about Bullard. He continues to hold firm high in my midfielder rankings. Also consider Davies though if you’re looking for a lower price option here. McBride offers value up front although Fulham have 3 away from home in the next 4 so are perhaps a less attractive option than Reading. That shouldn’t stop Bullard’s influence and returns however.
As for Birmingham, McFadden has flourished in recent weeks and his fixtures should prolong that over the next five. He maintains a good ranking then, while Larsson also figures with fears over his injury alleyed earlier today. He should be fit for the trip to Reading.
Outside of these mid-price options there’s little movement amongst the big guns. When it comes to keepers, Van der Sar climbs to the top with a return reportedly likely against Liverpool. Cech remains out of the rankings right now but does seem set for a return against Arsenal. I’m holding fire on that for now though. Hahnemann climbs slightly and Howard drops a little with fixtures against Liverpool and Chelsea to come.
In defence Vidic is swapped in for Ferdinand, although Terry keeps the top spot. Lescott drops slightly with fixtures as does Carragher. Scharner and Shorey present the mid-price option with Gallas dropping slightly with tough games against Chelsea, Liverpool and United to come. Wheater drops, he looks good short-term with Derby this weekend but has a hellish run after that and has 8 bookings to his name. Wigan’s Taylor is a new entry, although he could drop out should Kilbane get the nod in Wigan’s lineup with Koumas suspended for the next three.
Ronaldo tops the midfield as usual with Gerrard, Lampard and Cole holding firm behind him. Bullard climbs above Fabregas just behind. Bentley drops with tough fixtures ahead. Cahill is an injury doubt so he drops a little. Jenas holds firm with some decent fixtures, as does Hunt. Ballack drops with uncertainty over his starting role. Barry climbs with good fixtures. Huddlestone is a new entry on the back of decent form and with good fixtures to come. Petrov comes back in after serving a three-match ban.
Up front Berbatov keeps just ahead of Torres with his strong fixtures to come. Young is a big climber with Yakubu and Adebayor holding their positions. Defoe drops a little after being forced out of the Spurs game this weekend through Premier League rulings on his transfer. Anelka and Drogba are kept low by the uncertainty of selection. Kitson is a new entry for Long.
That’s just about it for a summary of the ranking updates. The weekly Scout Picks will be up tomorrow evening as per usual.
Don’t know who to play this gameweek. Thinking of:
Hart
Wheater, Lescott, Jakielka
Gerrard, Pienaar, Fabregas, Diarra, Bentley
Torres(C), Adebayor
Suns:M.Taylor, Terry, G.Johnson (Defoe)
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Reply by Mad on March 21, 2008 7:15 am:
Hmm Torres as captain at Old Trafford .. interesting ..
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What about Fulham defenders?
They have the best run of fixtures, they are really improving and are on the back of a great result last week… could be worth a punt?
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Reply by puffinboy on March 20, 2008 10:42 pm:
Y’know, I think I’ll stick with the big 4 defenders. I can’t see many goals in those two games.
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Reply by CK on March 21, 2008 10:42 am:
Fair enough, but I really like the look of Fulhams fixtures and they are improving..
but yeah its a risk I know
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Is there any news on Anelka? He missed both Chelsea’s games. Heard somewhere it what down to a thigh injury.
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Mark,
Why do you have Hutton down as A?
He conceded 6 in the last 2 games and didn’t contribute anything assists-or boni wise…
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Reply by Mark on March 21, 2008 12:15 am:
Yep, that’s an oversight. Good spot Dave.
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Reply by Dave on March 21, 2008 12:26 am:
Well, to be fair, I only spotted it because I have him in my team and am therefore very aware of his lack of return the last 2 games.
Don’t know if I should keep him around with his upcoming fixtures in mind or go for the likes of Shorey or even Knight to free up some cash.
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Reply by puffinboy on March 21, 2008 12:34 am:
I’ve done just fine without a single Spurs defender in the last 3 years of FF. If it ain’t broke…
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Reply by Sreedhar on March 21, 2008 12:00 pm:
Woodgate is better… if at all…
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Would it be insane to drop Brown for Shorey this week?
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Reply by OneSize on March 21, 2008 12:27 am:
I wouldn’t say so Alex. With the form of Gerrard and Torres combined with the favourable fixtures for Reading, I’d fancy the switch.
Personally, I swapped Brown for Zat Knight - think he might be a threat from set-pieces and a regular now that Curtis Davies is out for the season. Tough fixture next week though.
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Reply by Dave on March 21, 2008 12:36 am:
Ah, great minds think alike. Been eyeing Knight myself…
Problem is I need to free up some cash. I could swap Brown then, but am planning on getting James in for Howard, meaning I couldn’t swap back to Brown later on.
I could also get rid of Hutton for either Knight or Shorey. Knight would have my preference then given his pricetag and the fact I need some dosh.
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Reply by OneSize on March 21, 2008 12:47 am:
Hmm…I thought about Hutton for a bit, but I was at the Lane for last night’s goal fest and it seems Spurs’ back line still needs a bit of fine-tuning to say the least. Knight for Hutton would be my tout.
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tottenham are finishing strong and as long as king and woodgate patrol the back four, it will be a strong finish till the end full of goals and bonus. With keanes peak performance, its almost a 50/50 chance between keane and berbatov. Woodgate would be a good investment, considering potrntial bonus and goal threat from set pieces
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Mark,
What do you think of Carson this week?? good one match bet if you want to stay off the big four??
Thanks.
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2 questions
1) Will CUDICINI play?
2) Will the big 4 get clean sheets?
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I think big four will NOT return big points ie: I can’t see clean sheets but not many goals either. 1-1 draws
To catch people in private leagues I think you gotta steer clear of big 4. Big 4 is playing safe this weekend IMO
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This is my current team:
James
Lescott Ferdinand Wheater
Lampard Larsson Ronaldo Gerrard
Torres Yakubu Forssell
With 2.7 in the bank i am thinking of swapping:
Ferdinand with Vidic
Larsson with Bullard
Forssell with McFadden
leaving me with exactly 0.0 in the bank but that team looks like it will be solid for a few weeks, what do you reckon?
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wheater for captain? clean sheet and possible bonus points and maybe a goal?
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Reply by puffinboy on March 21, 2008 3:07 pm:
I have Wheater but I’m reluctant to captain him. I never like having a defender as captain because they rarely rack up the big points that mids/strikers can. Also, I have a feeling Derby will nick a goal, plus the bonus pts seem unlikely to go to a defender at home to such a bad team.
I wouldn’t put you off captaining him and I hope I’m wrong. I’d settle for 6 from him myself.
Apart from that
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I’m tempted by Wheater but scared not to have Ronaldo as captain
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Mark:
Not to nit-pick, but the BLA keeper’s name is spelled Friedel (not Friedal as you have it in your player rankings).
The sun is out and the coffee’s hot. Looking forward to your starting XI.
Cheers,
-TheNecromancer
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