Having suffered a tedious international break, it’s a double-helping of fantasy points this week with a full programme of fixtures over Tuesday and Wednesday night. What’s more, it’s a pretty attractive looking programme of matches with all the big hitters facing favourable fixtures.

A midweek points bonanza? Could be. Here’s the midweek meander, delivered early to give you my thoughts on where the goals, clean sheets and eye-rolling, wildcard-tempting frustration will come…

Best for Goals

On paper – there could be a couple of obvious drubbings on the cards. Liverpool at home to Portsmouth should see a decent swing towards the home side. Liverpool boast the strongest home record and will be buoyed by the victory at Stamford Bridge. Pompey meanwhile have scored just 3 goals away from home, conceding 10 and are of course, still in shock. The stats and form say get on Liverpool then, not only for a few goals but for a clean sheet too.

United will be wounded after dropping points at Goodison and if Ferguson makes changes, he could have players out there like Tevez, with point to prove. West Ham are likely to be toothless without the suspended Cole but I’m not sure Zola will put his side out to shut up shop. An early goal and it could be three or four for United. There will plenty of us hoping that Ronaldo joins the party.

Chelsea are another wounded animal and are likely to need at least a couple at Hull. Phil Brown’s side are dangerous on their current run of form but are a stronger side on the road than at home. Chelsea may concede but after a superb performance away at Boro last time out, Chelsea have proven that they can get goals on their travels. Scolari’s side have won 4 out of 4 away from the Bridge and I can see them making it 5 out of 5, with some resistance from Hull.

Arsenal will find Spurs a different proposition under Redknapp but you still see them hurting their North London rivals. Adebayor looked sharp on his appearance from the bench and although Harry will likely turn up with a disciplined 4-5-1, the Gunners should be good for a couple. All the bets are off on his midfield though – outside of Fabregas, it’s a gamble.

City should get goals at Boro – it’s hard to see this one being anything but a fairly high scoring game, while Wigan have faired far better away from home and could get some joy at Fulham – although their defence has been pretty tight of late. More on that in bit…

Best for Clean Sheets

Aside from Liverpool and United who both look very strong, and Chelsea and Arsenal who also look good options – there are a number of tight looking games that could bring in some cleanies.

The Bolton vs Everton game looks a low scoring affair. Bolton are always tight at home, while Moyes has obviously worked to tighten things up at Everton and will likely go to the Reebok with a stubborn 4-5-1. Stoke and Sunderland also looks a squeeky one, although Sunderland aren’t strong defending set plays as we saw against Newcastle – so they could struggle against Delap, Fuller and the centre backs. This one has 1-1 all over it for me.

Villa face Blackburn off the back of two consecutive clean sheets. This could be a third although McCarthy is likely to be installed alongside Santa Cruz and they will be a threat. A win for Villa but three cleanies in a row might be too much to ask.

Newcastle vs West Brom and Fulham vs Wigan could also bring a clean sheet or two though. West Brom have just a single goal on the road so Newcastle could provide your budget defenders if you’re looking for a short-term deal.

Best for frustration

Two scenarios stand out for me. Zaki drew a blank at home against Villa and although he’s been far stronger away from the JJB, he is up against a stubborn defence at the Cottage. This could be another 1-1 situation and we can only hope Zaki profits in some way.

City have been firing in the goals and Robinho’s hat-trick against Stoke won him a lot of attention. Thousand’s have snapped him up and will be expecting great things. Boro were thrashed by Chelsea last time out at the Riverside but Southgate will surely have them sorted out for this one. Could be a frustrating one for City and another prime candidate for the dreaded low scoring draw.