A touch on the tardy side but here’s the usual weekend preview, in the shape of the winding journey through the gameweek fixtures that is the midweek-ish meander…
Best For Clean Sheets…
With both United and Chelsea at home this week, normally this would hand us a solid starting point for our defensive selections. However, rotation and dangerous opposition sews some considerable seeds of doubt here. Ancelotti’s defence surely looks the better option. They take on Burnley who, as a Championship side, didn’t travel particularly well and came unstuck at Stoke on day one of the season. Cech, Cole and Terry look the best selections here then, with Ivanovic, Carvalho and Bosingwa all in the mix for the final two places in the back four.
As for United, they host Arsenal of course, a game which, in my view, depends greatly on the availability of Fabregas for the visitors (he’s currently rated as 50-50 according to Wenger). If he plays then we’ll see a more creative Arsenal side, that goes for goals and goes for the win, putting a home clean sheet in significant danger. Should Fabregas fail to make it however, it’s likely that Wenger opt for a more solid looking midfield and a more cautious approach to the game as a result. That could easily hand us a 0-0 or a narrow home win with a cleanie.
Handily, there are some good options outside of the ‘big two’ defences. City are yet to concede this season and travel to Fratton Park to take on a Portsmouth side that continue to look short of firepower. A Lescott debut for City is expected, which should help plug some of the holes that gaped against Blackburn on day one. I also like Spurs at home to Birmingham, mainly due to the lack of attacking talent available to the visitors. Spurs are flying though and a home win, with a shut-out, looks on the cards.
Aston Villa will have confidence following the win at Anfield as the go into the home fixture with Fulham. The Villa defence stood up well against Liverpool and in Fulham, they are facing opposition that are struggling to create and take chances. Friedel and his Villa defenders (which could include new signing Richard Dunne) are worth a look this week in the mid-price bracket then.
Liverpool themselves would traditionally be worth backing at the Reebok but they will go into the game shell-shocked and certainly lacking confidence when it comes to dealing with set-pieces. Bolton are of course, past masters in this area and Taylor, Daves and the centre-backs Knight and Cahill will carry a threat. Liverpool’s Glen Johnson gives us some attacking potential to balance the lack of a clean sheet, beyond him, the Liverpool back four looks a risk.
Elsewhere, Stoke’s defence at home to Sunderland and Everton’s at home to Wigan, also provide some potential if you fancy a gamble. Both face some dangerous attackers though, so I’m likely to avoid them in the picks this week.
As a sidenote here, Paddy Power have created us a little accumulator to collect my tips for clean sheets this week. You can get 12/1 on clean sheets for Chelsea, City, Villa and Spurs by clicking here. Make sure you sign up for an account via the site first to get your free £20 for a £10 bet.
Best For Goals…
This looks a bit trickier to me this week. The likes of Liverpool, United, Arsenal and to some extent, Spurs, face strong defensive opposition. That takes out some of the most potent attacks. For me, that leaves us with Chelsea at home to Burnley, City at Portsmouth and the unpredictable forces that are the Blackburn vs West Ham and Wolves vs Hull fixtures.
Chelsea are surely the strongest bet, Drogba, Lampard and Anelka sure to attract those looking for a home for the Fantasy Premier League captaincy. Burnley have kept clean sheets against United and Everton however, plus they will be boosted by last season’s Carling Cup performance at the Bridge. You still have to fancy Ancelotti’s men for a couple though.
City have the weapons to do some damage to the Portsmouth defence. That’s a Portsmouth defence that won’t include Distin either. Again, I’m backing a couple of goals for the away side here with Adebayor, Tevez, Robinho and Ireland the favourites to gather the points.
Both the Blackburn vs West Ham and the Wolves vs Hull fixture could bring us goals, although much will depend on the attitude of the away side. I’d be cautious with investment here – the Blackburn frontline looks unpredictable, while there’s little potential for goals from their midfield. Wolves meanwhile, are set to start with Doyle and could even have Ebanks-Blake back in their lineup – he’d be a risky investment though having missed the last three with a hamstring injury. Milijas is another worth considering as a budget purchase this week.
Best For Frustration…
A couple of games spring to mind here. They’ll be plenty of investors hoping for Defoe’s run of form to continue at home to Birmingham but I’m wary that McLeish’s side have conceded just one goal in their three games so far and that came at Old Trafford. Tottenham have found goals easy to come by though – so Defoe and his team-mates remain a big temptation despite the potential resistance from the visitors.
The big clash at Old Trafford is another that will carry bags of interest for fantasy managers but, once again, it has the potential to disappoint. As I’ve mentioned previously, much could depend on the availability of Fabregas. If he plays, we could well get an open game with plenty of goals. If not, the Gunners may well be content to contain and come back with a point. That could lead to very few goals and blanks for the likes of Rooney, Arshavin and Van Persie.