First up, apologies for the lack of a Midweek Meander and Podcast this week. Circumstances beyond my control and a Granville with a sore head put pay to those respectively. Normal service will be resumed next week though I’m sure.

The Picks remain intact though, so let’s not delay Friday night’s activities any further and get amongstt my selection of the fantasy talent on show this weekend…

First off, I’ve got to say that I like the look of this gameweek. Although the Chelsea vs Liverpool clash forces us into some tough decisions when it comes to the likes of Gerrard, Johnson, Drogba and Lampard, overall we’ve got ourselves a healthy fixture list that narrows our selections nicely. United, Arsenal and Everton all have good form and strong home fixtures which hand us an array of talent to choose from; whilst in budget terms we have Burnley who are strong at Turf Moor and even decent home fixtures for Hull and Wolves, for those prepared to gamble on a major differential.

With the forwards still rewarding heavy investment with big returns, I’ve gone with this trend with this weeks picks, throwing big money at my strikers, whilst looking to pick up a few bargains in the midfield area. As for the defence, that almost picks itself. Ignoring the goalkeeping situation for now, my back four consists of defenders from Everton, Arsenal, Burnley and United who all look very strong for cleanies this week. Just in case, I’ve backed that up by opting for defenders who offer some potential for attacking points.

Evra continues to bomb down the left flank for United and with Nani and Valencia starting in Europe in midweek, I see neither getting the nod against Sunderland, with Evra having to provide some extra width as a result. O’Shea is your cheaper option should pennies be tight. Similarly Baines should still provide some attacking impetus down the Everton left against Stoke, although Bilyaletdinov’s inclusion could hamper his returns somewhat. Distin is your cheaper alternative.

It was a tough choice in the Arsenal back four. Vermaelen or Gallas have the goal threat and I’ve a feeling Clichy will start contributing assists very soon. I’ve gone for Song though, who is certain to start, is cheaper in the FPL and, sooner or later will get his backside on the end of a cross and notch a goal.

The final place in the defence goes to Burnley’s Graham Alexander who nudges ahead of Brian Jensen in goal in the picks, due mainly to the fact that he’s on penalties for Owen Coyle’s side. Burnley have a great home record and face Birmingham, Wigan and Hull at Turf Moor over the next four gameweeks.

As I decided against Jensen in goal, I went for another strong shop-stopper to fill the position. West Ham’s Robert Green can always be relied on for save points but also has a fairly decent fixture at home to Fulham. The West Ham defence is shaky but Fulham’s attack is also far from potent.

Moving into midfield and the bulk of the money goes on Arsenal’s Fabregas. It was a close call with Arshavin, who glittered in the midweek Champions League tie. In the end it was the security of Fabregas’ starting role that swung it for him. Arshavin should start this one but the Arsenal skipper certainly will. Both present very strong options this week though – Arshavin is your man if you need a differential.

Around the Arsenal man I’ve opted for cheaper options with Everton’s Cahill coming in as mid-price option. The Aussie struck the winner in Thursday’s Europa cup tie and is due Premier League goals. Everton have the fixtures to offer Cahill the platform to kick-start his season, starting with this home game with Stoke.

Hull’s Stephen Hunt and Burnley’s Wade Elliot complete the quartet. Both are the main source of creativity in their respective sides and I’m expecting fairly decent returns from them over the next four gameweeks given their fixtures. This could well start this gameweek, with Burnley taking on Birmingham and Hull at home to Wigan.

The strikers also picked themselves this week. Both Van Persie and Rooney go into the weekend with form, look assured of starts and have excellent home fixtures. Both are on penalties and some set-pieces, so there’s strong potential for assists at the very least.

There’s actually plenty of alternatives up front with Saha offering a good option again at home to Stoke in the mid-price bracket, along with West Ham’s Carlton Cole, whilst the likes of Wolves’ Doyle, Burnley’s Nugent and Wigan’s Rodallega all offer a good shout in the bargain bin department. I’ve gone for the latter on my bench.

Another Wigan player, Paul Scharner, gets the nod as my bench defender. He looks set to line up in the Wigan midfield at the KC Stadium. Wolves’s Kightly comes in as my reserve midfielder. He may not be fully match fit but I see him starting at home to bottom club Portsmouth to provide a real threat from both open play and set-pieces. In the same match, Portsmouth’s O’Hara is also worth a shout.