Sadly, there’s no podcast this week. Granville is away for three days saving plastic ladies at a first aid course (will he learn how to resuscitate his fanatasy lineup I wonder?). The good news (if that’s not already good news) is that this has given me more time to work on the midweek meander and actually deliver it in midweek. Kind of.
Here’s my preview of the gameweek fixtures then, complete with a futile attempt at picking out clean sheets, together with a collection of would-be beachball bothering attackers…
Best For Clean Sheets…
Spotting clean sheets on the weekend fixture list has become my favourite waste of time. Sunderland and Fulham were the only sides to offer defensive returns last week – emphasising just how difficult it’s become to bank on cleanies. This gameweek appears to have some strong contenders, but as usual, we can take nothing for granted and only those fantasy managers seeking a gamble or a differential, will be considering heavy investment in defensive positions.
For me, Chelsea, Man City and possibly Burnley provide the best options for shut-outs this gameweek. Our friends at Paddy Power kind of agree, with Chelsea at 8/15, City at 11/10 and Burnley at 23/10 for cleanies. Arsenal at West Ham, are also well fancied at 11/10.
Burnley have won four out of four at Turf Moor, conceding just two goals in the process. They face a Wigan side who have lost three from four away from home with an average of a goal a game. Similarly both Chelsea and City have 100% home records and face opposition in Blackburn and Fulham, which look very beatable. Blackburn have got goals in them and will cause the faltering Chelsea defence problems, although the absence of Di Santo will disrupt Big Sam’s lineup, which could be a factor. Fulham meanwhile, have four goals in four away games but may be preoccupied with stifling City’s attacking talent rather than creating chances of their own. Plus they will arrive off the back of a testing Europa tie against Roma on Thursday. Having said that, they shook City 3-1 at Eastlands last season.
If you fancy these three to do the business, you can have a flutter with our friends at Paddy Power who have created a clean sheet accumulator, just for us. You can get 9/1 on Burnley, Chelsea and City all bringing in clean sheets this gamweek by clicking here. You’ll need a Paddy account of course but if you register through this site you’ll get a free £20 bet when you deposit and wager a tenner.
Outside of that trio, United could be worth backing at Liverpool given the injury concerns going around Anfield right now; whilst Spurs at home to Stoke, Sunderland at Birmingham and possibly Bolton at home to Everton are all outside bets. As mentioned, Arsenal are well fancied by Paddy, but I’m not quite so confident about the Gunners defence against a West Ham side who have notched five goals in three home fixtures.
Best For Goals…
While goals have been plentiful of late, this gameweek we have the league’s top scorers (Arsenal) away from home and the second highest scorers (Liverpool) nursing injuries to key players and up against United. You’d still have to back the Gunners for a couple at West Ham with the usual suspects – Fabregas, Van Persie and Arshavin looking viable options yet again. I’m less certain on the potential for goals in the Anfield fixture though
Man City and Chelsea look better prospects for me though. They have good opposition at home and statistics show that they are likely to put two-to-three goals past Blackburn and Fulham respectively. Adebayor (if fit) and Drogba look extra strong this weekend then; you’d be gambling on the likes of Lampard and Wright-Phillips, although they could prove useful differentials.
Looking at Paddy’s odds and they have the Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs fixtures down as those most likely to bring in four goals or more. Personally I don’t fancy Spurs for a goal glut. They have a strong scoring record but will be without Defoe and come up against a rigid Stoke rearguard that have conceded just two goals in their last three away games. I prefer Burnley at home to Wigan and a bouyant Villa at local rivals Wolves. Nugent and Elliot are you budget nuggets here; Milner and Agbonlahor the mid-price maybes.
Best For Frustration…
The heavy investment in both Darren Bent and Andy Reid this gameweek could well draw a blank with Sunderland parking up at St Andrews. McLeish’s side have scored two and conceded three in their four home games thus far and are unlikely to shift from a 4-5-1. Sunderland could well prevail but Bent and Co will likely come up against stubborn resistance at St Andrews.
United’s trip to Liverpool looks a hideous prospect for fantasy managers – teamsheets will be our main concern with Liverpool carryng all kinds of critical wounds. United’s lineup should be strong enough, given that Vidic made a return in Moscow tonight, but Giggs and Evra missed out with knocks and may go into the weekend as doubts along with Rooney. All those doubts create a backdrop for an unpredictable encounter and I’m stuggling to see any wisdom in fantasy investment in either side this gameweek.
Finally, the Bolton vs Everton fixture also gives me the fear a little. Bolton have developed an unlikely habit for goals, while Everton have developed a knack for inconsistency. I can easily see a home win here with Taylor and Davies perhaps worthy of attention, but it’s a nasty one to call and one I may well steer clear of.