The big kick-off is just days away and yet, thanks to the shortage of space in Chelsea’s physio room, it’s a good bet your final Fantasy Football lineup is in a state of minor turmoil. High time for me to naively start sticking my neck out then, in an attempt to find you the big Fantasy points scorers for the weekend’s games. Have that big pinch of salt at the ready.
It seems logical to start at the back, given that this is the area of your team most in flux after Terry’s injury. That setback has far-reaching effects on your side. Terry’s absence often transforms Chelsea’s defence from an impenetrable wall, to four strangers with an inability to cope with a crossed ball. That means, despite facing Steve Bruce’s Birmingham, who seem likely to roll themselves into a 4-5-1 shaped ball come kickoff, Cech is not the dead cert for a clean sheet he was a week ago. Instead it’s Van der Sar and Tim Howard who seem to offer the best potential, with home games against Reading and Wigan respectively. I’m going for Howard in goal then, with teammate Jagielka in a centre-back role. There’s a good chance that Moyes will employ Jagielka in midfield to cover the loss of Cahill, so the opportunity for assits this weekend are somewhat increased. Lescott is of course another option if you want a more reliable choice.
Completing the back four I have the United pairing of Vidic and Evra. Vidic offers a goal threat of course, while Evra demonstrated his attacking runs in the Shield game at the weekend. Reading could put up some resistance but you can imagine them being too busy defending their own goal to pose a constant threat on United’s.
Eboue completes my back four. Fulham at home offers a decent chance of a clean sheet, assuming Arsenal don’t continue last season’s masochistic trend of winning games the hard way and letting their opponents score first. In addition, Eboue has been pushed into a midfield role pre-season and that should continue this weekend. His forging runs and occasional devastating crosses could well find him hauling in some additional points against Fulham’s defence that includes several new faces.
Elsewhere in defence, I like Newcastle’s Geremi and Wigan’s Scharner for much the same reason as Eboue. Both are likely to be employed in midfield. However, both have tricky away days at Bolton and Everton respectively, making them unlikely candidates for clean sheets. If you’re looking for a bargain I’d opt for Cid or Meite at Bolton who could well keep Newcastle’s Viduka and Smith at bay.
Moving on to the midfield and I don’t need to point out that getting Ronaldo or Lampard in for the weekend, or any weekend for that matter, would be a wise option. Although, with Lampard requiring painkilling injections to get out on the field, I prefer the United man. Chelsea’s Malouda is a different story though. He will have caught the eye of many after Sunday’s shield game, although there is still doubts over his fitness having picked up a knock scoring Chelsea’s equaliser. I’d wait until the last mintue, but if he’s passed fit, he’s one of my top recommendations for the season and could well be the chief threat to Birmingham’s goal in Drogba’s absence.
Arteta should be as central to Everton’s attacking ploys as always. He’ll once again hog set pieces, snatch the ball off Johnson for penalties and fire in cross after cross into the Wigan box come the weekend. Downing completes my quartet in midfield. Boro have face Blackburn at the Riverside but more to the point, Downing has been pushed up as part of a front three on a few occasions in pre-season. I’m predicting more goals for Downing this season and looking at Boro’s fixtures, he could well harvest some steady points throughout August and September.
Outside of these four it’s hard to ignore Koumas. Outstanding in pre-season, any other week you’d have in your side in a shot. A trip to Everton is a tough one though. I expect a combative match with few opportunities. It might be a blank this week for Koumas then, but he’ll feature regularly in my lineups in coming week’s I’m sure. Fabregas is always an option and while Fulham could offer some gaps for him to weave his magic, there’s still no guarantee he’ll turn out as yet having missed Arsenal’s final few pre-season games. Elsewhere Nolan is another who I feel should improve his Fantasy output this season and he could get things moving at home to Newcastle this weekend. He’s another who has had a decent pre-season, plus Bolton have shifted to a more forward-thinking 4-4-2 throughout the summer, which could afford Nolan more options to get forward.
Gerrard, Gamst Pedersen and Bentley will all have easier and perhaps more productive, weekends to come but Jenas could be worth a look. He visits Sunderland in a game which should see Spurs find some goals. Jenas hasn’t found the net in the summer but hit a rich vein of points towards the end of last season. If funds are an issue, then Newcastle’s Milner wil be a popular pick throughout the season but faces a difficult trip to Bolton this weekend. Lower down the price bracket, there’s David Jones at Derby, a player central to their creativity from open play and set pieces who faces a Pompey defence that includes several new faces. While West Ham’s Noble could have a decent season and faces an unfamiliar Man City side that includes so many new faces, their pre-match team talk could resemble a speed dating session.
Up front, with Drogba out of the equation, I can’t see past Van Persie. He came on strong at the end of pre-season and I can see him running riot against Fulham at the Emirates. Certainly, he’s my “tip of the week†for the big points.
Rooney is of course hard to ignore and will be keen to impress after the arrival of Tevez against Reading. The Argentine meanwhile, remains tangled in red tape and unlikely to make an appearance. I can’t bring myself to tip too many United players though, so I’m going for Yakubu alongside Van Persie. He broke his pre-season duck last time out for Boro and I can see Southgate’s side attacking Blackburn given Southgate’s injuries at the back. As I mentioned when discussing Downing, Boro’s fixtures are also kind to them throughout August so he’s one you could keep for a few weeks and see some steady points.
Anelka and Johnson could both profit from home games, with Anelka my favoured choice their given the lack of an established strike partner for Johnson. Berbatov could prosper at Sunderland but there’s still doubt on whether Keane or Bent will partner him casting a cloud over their potential value this weekend. Ashton and Bellamy for the Hammers at home to City and Nugent and Lua Lua for Pompey at Derby, could be better bets in the mid-price range. For a real bargain though, look no futher than Vaz Te. Five goals in pre-season tells you all you need to know as he goes into a home game against Newcastle brimming with goalscoring confidence. He could find himself in a wide midfield position to accommodate the familiar Davies/Anelka pairing but he’s still worth a punt though given his current run of form.
That’s about it for this week. I’ll be bringing you these reports each week to sum up my picks for the forthcoming games. Of course things may change as the weekend draws near, so if you want to keep up to date with team news, injuries and more of my rambles, keep popping back right up until kick-off.