The notes form last weekend’s games emerge from a sea of packing boxes and bubble wrap, benefiting from a some additional thoughts following United’s progress to the Champions League final tonight.
Team Notes
Arsenal
Wenger put the frighteners on us all with talk of rotation but as it turned out his lineup at Derby was pretty much as expected. Fabianski’s first Premiership start was signposted in midweek, Denilson’s inclusion was predictable, although few were expecting it to be at the expense of Gilberto. That saw a recall for Eboue on the right, allowing Walcott to switch left to fill the void left by the suspended Hleb. The decision to drop Adebayor to the bench in favour of Bendtner, may also have come as a surprse, but it was something that had been discussed by a good few here on the site. As it turned out, that decision provided only a temporary concern for Adebayor owners as Arsenal’s leading scorer replaced the injured Van Persie at half-time and helped himself to a hat-trick.
Where does Wenger go from here with his selection? He has of course hinted that he may rest his Euro 2008 contingent but at the same time he has also indicated that he wants to hand his younger players greater experience. Walcott, Denilson, Song and Bendtner all seem set to figure in the remaining games then, casting doubt over the starting roles of Gilberto, Van Persie and Adebayor. Djourou is another who could figure with perhaps even Toure and Gallas under threat.
Fabregas is of course, the main concern for fantasy managers. Wenger’s options in midfield are limited, with Helb and Diaby absent for the remaining games, while Flamini is also still lacking fitness and embroiled in contract wrangling. These problems appear to make it difficult for Wenger to rest the creative force in midfield – it looks likely that Fabregas will figure against Everton and Sunderland then.
Liverpool
Another weakened side at St Andrews then, with Crouch profiting once more with another goal. Whether he’ll get further opportunities to start in the final two against City and Spurs will depend greatly on tomorrow night’s result in the Champions League. If Liverpool progress, expect the starters at Birmingham – Benayoun, Lucas, Pennant, Hyypia, Finnan, Crouch – to all figure in the final two. If that’s the case, Crouch, with 3 goals in 4, would present fantasy managers with one of several decent mid-price options up front.
Man United
The lineup at Stamford Bridge raised more than the odd eyebrow and quite rightly. The omission of Ronaldo looked very unlikely prior to the game, while Scholes, Tevez and Evra are predictable victims of the odd rest but, given the opposition, they looked safe going into the Chelsea game. The lure of the Champions League is clearly strong for Ferguson then, which could yet cause problems given United’s progress to the Final tonight, despite the situation in the title race.
West Ham visit Old Trafford next and with Vidic and Rooney missing out against Barca on Tuesday night, there must be doubts over their availability come the weekend, particularly in Rooney’s case. There’s a good chance that he will be nursed for the Champions League final, so I’d expect Tevez to start against his former club this weekend. Giggs for Park, Anderson for Scholes and Silvestre for Evra, could also be likely changes. Also, should Chelsea come a cropper at St James’ Park at the weekend, there’s little doubt that Ferguson will rotate heavily at Wigan on the final day.
Aston Villa
O’Neill’s side maintained their run of results and form by pegging Everton back at Goodison on two occasions. The remaining fixtures – Wigan at home and West Ham away, look likely to help them maintain a run that has seen them find the net 17 times in 4 games. The Villa quarter of Barry, Young, Agbonlahor and Carew all seem set to share decent profits over the final two then.
Middlesbrough
They remain threatened by relegation and yet, with two home games remaining, their players appear to offer decent value against Portsmouth and City. Defensively Boro have been brittle with just a single clean sheet in 10. Wheater, with his threat at set-pieces, is the by far the best option should you be tempted. Downing will deliver those set-pieces and although his goals and assists return has hardly been sparkling of late, in the FPL at least, he’s earned profit from bonus points with 11 in 9 games. Up front meanwhile, it’s all about Alves although with Santa Cruz and the Villa pairing (more on them later) appearing to offer better mid-price value, there may not be too many takers here, despite form and fixtures.
Wigan
Their defensive form in the tail end of the season has been a bonus that has seen stock in both Scharner and Taylor rise over the past two months. Games against Villa and United suggest however that a run of just 2 goals conceded in the last 4 could come to an end with a bump.
Portsmouth
The performance against Rovers demonstrated just how Redknapp’s team are being affected by the prospect of the FA Cup final. Clearly Pompey’s players are badly distracted and Sunday’s defeat leaves them with no alternative but to concentrate on the final in May. While Defoe is cup-tied and therefore unaffected by the clash with Cardiff, his fantasy points return could well suffer by the lack of focus amongst his team-mates. With good options elsewhere, it’s clear that managers are looking to shift him out – Defore is leading the rankings for sales in the current FPL gameweek.
Defensively meanwhile, James’ calf injury that saw him miss the Rovers game, could see him rested for the final two, a factor that will severely weaken Portsmouth’s defensive returns.
Tottenham
Four straight 1-1 draws have seen the fantasy potential at both ends stall considerably in the last month. Ramos’ side have clearly lost focus with little to play for and, despite decent fixtures, they have failed to deliver for fantasy investors.
Berbatov hasn’t rewarded my faith in him for the final furlong, although 2 goals and 3 FPL bonus in the last 4 is far from a disaster. Whether he can improve on that in the final two will depend greatly how Spurs approach the visit to Reading and the home game with Liverpool. Clearly the Reading game will be difficult and Coppell will fancy turning Spurs over. The home game with Liverpool meanwhile, could see Rafa turn up with another weakened side if they beat the odds and overcome Chelsea in tomorrow night’s Champions League semi. That could also be a final game in a Spurs shirt for Berbatov if the latest comments from Ramos is anything to go by. With uncertainty and good mid-price options elsewhere, patience in Spurs and Berbatov may have worn too thin for the majority.
Player Notes
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Young has taken some of the focus from the young striker but Gabby has flourished of late with 4 goals in 4 games. With Young a midfield option in some fantasy games, Agbonlahor appears to be a perfect foil. In the FPL meanwhile, there’s still little to choose between the pair as forwards, with Young slightly ahead on form after the Birmingham performance. Going into the final two games with one of the pair still looks decent, even with the bandwagon disappearing into the distance.
Roque Santa Cruz
Along with one of the Villa pair, the Blackburn striker looks a mid-price must going into the final two fixtures. Certain to start, he faces Derby at home this weekend, followed by a visit to St Andrew’s where he will face a fragile Birmingham back four. Strong form has seen him hit 3 goals in 3 – he looks a must. More than 20,000 FPL managers have already invested in the Paraguayan in the current gameweek.
David Bentley
Rovers are in fairly decent form and have good fixtures to come as discussed above – Bentley’s fantasy form however is a concern. Just a single assist in 5 for the England man and no FPL bonus in the last 4 could lead to some fidgeting amongst his owners. With Barry, Downing, Petrov and Ballack looking tempting in the mid-price bracket, there are clearly options. However, the lure of a home game against Derby is already proving to be a factor – Bentley leads the midfield transfers in for the current FPL gameweek.
Michael Ballack
Two goals at the weekend for the German midfielder who clearly thrived once more in the absence of Lampard. That situation could change with Lampard declaring himself available for the Champions League semi against Liverpool – but despite this, Ballack does appear to offer decent potential for the final two Premiership games. Chelsea have to get a result at Newcastle and Ballack looks a certain starter given the way in which he promoted himself up the ranks of the Chelsea lineup in the United victory. Investors will need to hold fire until the Champions League tie is out of the way, but if Ballack emerges unscathed, he looks a good option, certainly for the Newcastle game.
Geremi
I threw him in the picks last week, despite mild fears that the boat may have sailed on his fantasy potential, but he cropped up with a goal at Upton Park to boost his value that little bit more. Chelsea at home and Everton away don’t look tempting fixtures but Newcastle’s attacking form remains decent enough to at least warrant his continued selection by his current owners.
Jimmy Bullard
I’m not giving up on Jimmy. Fulham’s win at City may not have seen him earn an assist or goal to add to his tally but, once again, he earned the 3 FPL bonus, despite Kamara’s goals. Fulham have the opportunity to cling to their Premiership status and Bullard could yet be a decent points scorer against Birmingham and Pompey, particularly in the FPL game.
Martin Petrov
Back to his threatening best on the left of City’s midfield, with the added bonus that Benjani has recovered some form at last to provide end product to Petrov’s wing play. Returns have arrived in the last two with a goal, an assist and a single FPL bonus point. Whether that will continue over the last two could well depend on Liverpool’s Champions League result and Boro’s situation come the final game. Petrov appears to be worth hanging on to, although the lure of Bentley and Barry is strong.
Andy Reid
Like an inflated Fabregas, Reid and his twinkling midfield feet have been an extraordinary FPL bonus harvester over the last two months. Two more bonus against Boro gave him 15 in 7 starts – an amazing run. Bolton and Arsenal look tough games to end the season on, although if Sunderland profit in any shape or form in those fixtures, Reid owners in the FPL will surely earn further bonus
Injuries
Vidic and Rooney both picked up injuries. The Serbian centre-back got on the wrong end of a Drogba knee and ended up putting several teeth through his lip. Nasty. Rooney meanwhile sustained further problems with the hip injury he suffered against Blackburn the week before and was belatedly replaced just after the hour mark. Both missed the Barcelona clash on Tuesday and will remain doubts for the home game with West Ham.
Chelsea meanwhile had their own casualty, albeit with a relatively minor injury. Kalou picked up a knock and was replaced on 80-minutes. He’s in the squad for tomorrow night’s Champions League clash so seems set to be unaffected come the weekend.
Van Persie picked up an injury against Derby and was replaced by Adebayor at half-time – a rather handy turn of events for Adebayor owners. Wenger has allayed fears over the injury “It was his thigh,” said the Arsenal boss, “But the substitution was precautionary. There is no problem.”
Alan Hutton picked up an injury against Bolton and was replaced at half-time.
In the same game, Joey O’Brien picked up an injury for Bolton and was subbed after just 20-minutes.
Freddie Ljungberg suffered a nasty rib injury against Newcastle and will miss the final two games. Indeed it looks as though he could risk missing the European Championships with Sweden such is the severity of the injury.
Mario Melchiot suffered an injury against Reading and was replaced by Taylor after just 25-minutes.