There’s a whiff of deja vu about the morning, as most of us find ourselves plunged into a Lampard vs Ronaldo debate yet again. Here’s my two penneth, combined with some late team news, my thoughts on the Bellamy strop and an insight into my latest misguided transfer activity…
The Fantasy Premier League captain situation finds most of us contemplating a familiar dilemma – whether to back Ronaldo’s faded influence and fantasy returns away from home, against Lampard’s potential with Chelsea failing form at Stamford Bridge. The opposition perhaps hold the key but, even when considering this as a factor, the path isn’t made much clearer.
Chelsea host Stoke who have already proven their resilience away from home against the red tide of Liverpool. You surely still have to back Chelsea’s quality to come out on top. They’ll find themselves dropping out of the title race if points are dropped here – that should provide the incentive. As for United, they take the trip to the Reebok – normally a potential banana skin, now rendered somewhat less slippy by injuries and suspensions for the home side that deprive them of Nolan and possibly McCann, Elmander and Cahill. United should have been buoyant after the victory over Chelsea but stalled again in the Wigan game. Without Rooney they may take time to break Bolton down. Again, quality should win out but the margin looks likely to be narrow.
The advantage appears to be with Lampard and therefore he looks the safest bet of the two for the armband. Ronaldo’s scoring potential – missing for so long now – does worry me, although this weekend does seem an unlikely time for it to surface. I’ll go with Frank and hope that Ronaldo’s damage to Bolton isn’t too substantial.
Lampard’s scoring potential this week could be slightly improved by some team news you may have missed yesterday. Scolari has ruled out Deco for the clash with Stoke as he is still struggling for fitness. Frank will therefore have his pick of the set-plays – including corners – in today’s game. Scolari also revealed that Malouda is available to him for the first time in weeks. While he is not fit for a full 90 minutes, he should figure in some part of the game. Deco’s absence should hand a start to Kalou once again – particularly after his performance at Southend in the week. He becomes an option in the FPL given that he is classed as a midfielder – Lampard owners may well be loathed to load up on a pair of Chelsea midfielders however.
There’s been some further comment from the press this morning on the Bellamy situation. The striker “opted out” of training on Friday and refused a new contract – outlining his desire to join Spurs in the process, according to reports. It seems unlikely that he’ll be available to Zola for Sunday’s meet with Fulham…
“If a player wants to go it is difficult. At the moment he is a West Ham player and he will stay a West Ham player. I don’t know if he will play on Sunday”, remarked Zola yesterday.
This latest spat from the temperamental Bellamy will come as a major blow to the Hammers and his fantasy owners. A move to Spurs looks very likely now and I do wonder whether that will actually benefit him in fantasy terms. Does Redknapp have plans to pair Bellamy with Defoe? It seems unlikely that he’ll go with two small, nippy strikers – so are we to presume that there will be some form of rotation between the two? It’s all ifs and buts at this stage but I for one, won’t be rushing to snap up Bellamy should a move to Spurs materialise. Certainly not before we get a clue as to Redknapp’s intentions with his lineup and not before Spurs remember where the goal is.
Elsewhere, Hull are set to give a debut to Manucho after his international clearance went through late on Friday afternoon. It will be interesting to see how this one goes for Phil Brown. He’s hoping that the loanee from United will have the same impact as Frazier Campbell last season. It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on how he adjusts and how Brown adapts his tactics. Hull have had King and Cousin up front so far this season but Manucho is a 6ft 4in target man and if Hull begin going for goals rather than looking to keep out the opposition as they’ve done in recent weeks, then he could emerge as a decent fantasy prospect.
Manucho is not the only new striker on show this weekend. Depending on international clearance, Bolton could well give a debut to Portuguese striker Ariza Makukula, while West Brom may start with Marc-Antoine Fortune. Neither have been added to the FPL game as yet but they’ll both need watching in the coming weeks as possible bargains or differentials.
When it comes to my own fantasy lineups – I find myself banking on Blackburn this weekend. That’s never an enviable situation to be in but I see my investment in Gamst-Pedersen and McCarthy as a decent move over the next month. Rovers are unbeaten since the arrival of Allardyce, have scored 5 goals in 3 games and, more to the point, have good fixtures with three home games in four (NEW BOL mid AVL). There’s potential for goals against all four of those defences and if that turns out to be the case, then McCarthy and Pedersen should see some profit.
I’ve risked shipping out Arteta for his tougher run of games (liv ARS mun) to make way. That could backfire badly given his form, although I feel he will find it tough to maintain his run of bonus points given the opposition he’ll be facing. He’ll need to keep his run of goals going to bring in profits – I’m not so sure he’ll do that with the Liverpool and United defence to come over the next three. Regardless, with a small lead over Granny in my mini-league and a fairly decent draw in the fantasy cup, I was prepared to gamble to make things a little more interesting.
Good luck for another gameweek folks.