The Nasri bandwagon starts its engines, Traore’s loses a wheel, while the speeding Ronaldo wagon stops for a quick cuppa at the Little Chef.

We’ve all had better fantasy Saturdays. Here’s the notes…

The Lineups

Starting at the early kick off at the Emirates and Wenger’s walking wounded lined up against Uinted. He even had the luxury to leave Toure on the bench, suggesting that Silvestre is now above him in the pecking order at the back.

There were no surprises in Ferguson’s lineup – Tevez was again dumped on the bench with Rooney and Berbatov restored up front. Park, once again, was the preferred option out wide against strong opposition away from home – that’s now a recurring theme in Ferguson’s selection policy. Neville got the nod at right back with Brown sidelined, but he United skipper had a mare against Nasri and watched while Rafael came on to have a storming half-hour, which included his superb strike for the United goal.

Megson made an interesting change to his Bolton lineup in the victory at Hull. Taylor was shifted to the right of midfield to accommodate Gardner on the left. Presumably this will hand Gardner more security in the Bolton lineup and that could suddenly make him a worthy purchase as a budget defender. It could also see Taylor fire in a few more shots as he cuts inside from a right wing position. He was certainly the key threat for Bolton at the KC Stadium.

The Sunderland lineup is in flux week-to-week. Keane made a string of changes again at home to Portsmouth – casting further doubt over the fantasy value of his squad. Jones missed out after suffering an injury in training – we’re yet to know the full extent of that but if it’s semi-serious, it will be a major blow to the Black Cats.

I was wondering what Adams would do with Kranjcar and the Sunderland game provided the answer. Adams slotted the Croatian in on the right of midfield. That’s kind of good news for Traore owners, however, it was Belhadj who kept his place and shifted forward to the left midfield role, with Pamarot coming in at left back.

The performance of Belhadj and his cracking goal will surely see him hold this position over Traore for the weeks to come. Adams might well feel that while Behadj could be a long term prospect as a permanent signing for Pompey, Traore’s loan from Arsenal is very unlikely to lead to him being at Fratton Park for the long haul. That will be a major concern for Traore owners and is likely to see some significant shift in his ownership this week having just benefited from an FPL price rise. Belhadj at least offers an obvious replacement.

Rafa kept Torres on the leash for the visit of West Brom but dropped Alonso to the bench regardless, opting for Benayoun out wide on the right which allowed Kuyt to partner Keane in a 4-4-2. The moved confirmed that Alonso will be on shaky ground when it comes to a starting role and his fantasy value will take a hit as a result. Long term, Kuyt will shift to the right and Torres will come in alongside Keane. Gerrard is back in a deeper role then and although he contributed an assist here, is potential output will be curbed somewhat.

Mowbray kept a 4-4-2 which was a welcome brave move and certainly adds further value to Miller’s cause in fantasy terms. Texieira’s appearance from the bench was also a welcome sight for Baggies fans and at just 4.3 in the FPL, like Miller, he could represent value for those managers looking for a bargain basement purchase.

Saha’s brace at Upton Park has surely reinforced his position in the Everton starting lineup. That gives Moyes a selection headache in that he forces his hand to either revert to 4-4-2 long term or drop Yakubu when he is available. Everton employed 4-4-2 today so it would appear that this will be his chose formation going forward. That will increase competition for places in the Everton midfield and force a deeper role on Cahill which could reduce his potential output.

The Form

Nasri’s brace wil lift him high up the fantasy shopping list in the crowded mid-price midfield bracket. His starting role looks more assured with Eboue still carrying a knock – long term I’m slightly worried by his recent knack of picking up knocks and the threat of rotation. Fixtures aren’t that great either – the bandwagon is rolling already on him but I’m remaining cautious.

United conceded for the third game in four and are now falling behind both Chelsea and Liverpool in the clean sheet stakes. The visit of Stoke next weekend may help but forthcoming fixtures against Villa and City could see further blanks for their defensive players.

United’s away form is now officially “patchy”, although it’s worth noting that they have now played Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal on their travels. Ronaldo drew a blank for only the second time in seven starts since his return from injury – much to the annoyance of those who handed him the FPL armband. With three away games now under his belt, we can now see that United’s form away from Old Trafford is impacting on Ronaldo’s returns. Although, in truth, he really should have come away from the Emirates with something but United just didn’t take their chances.

Looking at Ronaldo’s FPL stats, of his sixty four points, only eleven of those have come in the three away games. In contrast, Chelsea’s away form is very strong and Lampard has scored forty three of his eighty one points on his travels. That’s a trend worth monitoring with regards to the FPL captaincy going forward, and certainly bodes well for those who backed Lampard over Ronaldo this week.

It’s three defeats in a row for Hull now but Geovanni and King are the key components of the Hull attack and with a string of decent fixtures to come, are still well worth attention. The pair had half a dozen efforts between them against Bolton and were denied by the woodwork and some brilliant goalkeeping from Jaaskeleinan. Hull’s home form is a concern though – they’ve scored just five goals in six home games which is a start contrast to their fortunes at home.

Bolton have now recorded three clean sheets in the last five games and their two consecutive shut-outs and wins have seen them climb the table. It’s Liverpool, Chelsea and Villa over the next five however so caution is required, even with the current form.

Reid was back in the Sunderland side and back in the FPL bonus. He was a magnet for these points once he established himself in Keane’s side last season. If he can be assured of a starting role, he could be worth some short term value. Richardson and Cisse remain the other key temptations in the Sunderland side though – both looked lively against Portsmouth and Cisse came away with his fourth goal of the season.

Defoe ended his goal drought from the spot to win the game at the Stadium of Light. That was his first goal in the last six fixtures. Defensively, Pompey have kept just one clean sheet in those six games – although Belhadj and Johnson are likely to get further attention from fantasy managers after their goal and assist on Saturday.

Robbie Keane reacted to the return of Torres with his best Premieship performance in a Liverpool shirt. His brace will done him the power of good and will surely convince Rafa to restore their partnership for the trip to Bolton next weekend. It’s going to be 4-4-2 for a good while then – bad news for Alonso owners and also those who are banking on big returns from Gerrard given his likely role deeper in the Liverpool midfield. As for Keane, he’s unlikely to get too much interest just yet – that might change with prolonged returns though, given Liverpool’s run of fixtures.

Liverpool’s defensive form continues with a seventh clean sheet at home to West Brom – that’s the third clean sheet in the last four. Looking at their forthcoming fixtures, there’s plenty of opportunity for that figure to climb further, although next weekend’s tirp to Bolton will be a far trickier proposition that Saturday’s game.

There was contrasting form coming out of the clash at Upton Park. Everton have now won their last three games, while West Ham have now lost six of their last seven. A miserable run for Zola’s men that will see little interest from fantasy managers in them going forward. Everton were fortunate to come away from Upton Park with a draw, let alone the win butSaha’s goals for Everton and a first of the season for Lescott will put them both on the fantasy radar.

Zaki’s form is becoming a mild concern – it’s just one goal in the last four games for the Egyptian. It’s worth pointing out that Zaki has scored just two of his eight Premiership goals at the JJB. Wigan have only scored three goals at home in total and not surprisingly, that gives them the worst home record in the division. The trip to Newcastle next, will hopefully see a change in fortunes for Zaki.

Stoke’s defensive form is worth noting – it’s just one goal in the last three for Pulis’ men. The trip to Old Trafford is likely to disturb that particular stat but after that they face three home games in four against West Brom, Hull and Fulham. If Shawcross can keep his place in the back four, he looks a possible bargain for the month ahead.

Injuries and Bans

Almunia sustained a blow to the head in a challenge with Carrick mid way through the second half and was eventually replaced by Fabianski late on. It seems unlikely that he will be sidelined for any period of time.

West Ham’s Upson suffered an injury early on, collapsing in a heap without any opponent near him. He was eventually stretchered on on 18 minutes.

Heskey looked to have picked up a hamstring injury and he was subbed just before the hour mark. He’s already been ruled out for a fortnight according to reports.

Stokes Sidibe picked up an ankle injury and he was replaced shortly after half time.

Arbeloa picked up his fifth booking of the season and will now miss the trip to Bolton next weekend. Elsewhere, Clichy moved onto four bookings for the season and joined team-mate Fabregas on the suspension tightrope.