The Chelsea machine rumbles on. Rooney comes good from the spot. Lacklustre Liverpool stumble past Everton. Settle down for some night thoughts on gameweek 14…
The Chelsea defence remains defiant…
Arsenal poked and probed like only they know how, but the Chelsea rearguard remained stubborn and claimed a ninth clean sheet. That’s now five on the trot. I say it every week but it’s surely worth stressing, a Chelsea defender looks absolutely essential, particularly while all the other defences falter on a regular basis. Take one look at Chelsea forthcoming fixtures over Christmas and into the New Year and it’s clear that there are obvious points to be gained, maybe even enough to warrant two members of their back five.
Ashley Cole stood out with his two assists at the Emirates, while Terry leads the defensive rankings across many fantasy games. The recall of Ivanovic at right-back for the last two games perhaps provides the easiest route to cash in on Chelsea defensive resolve; for me he remains Ancelotti’s first choice in that role, even when Bosingwa is back available. Cech is another option of course. He’s now closing in on the top goalkeepers top spot, with Stoke’s Sorensen just about keeping him at bay in the Fantasy Premier League rankings on save points and his recent penalty stop.
Drogba is unstoppable…
Just as the Chelsea defence looks essential, at the other end Drogba has cemented similar status by proving once again that he has no regard for the quality of the opposition. This season he is simply a fantasy points machine who can and will produce against anyone. His owners might be robbed of his services just after Christmas for the African Cup of Nations but if you’re resisting the lure of the Ivorian, hoping he won’t do further damage to your fantasy prospects, you’re playing a dangerous game.
Wenger needs an end product…
Without Van Persie, Arsenal’s patient short passing game looks ineffective when it meets an organised defence. Wenger’s side have gone from leading scorers who have notched in every game, to a side that has failed to score in their last two encounters. Eduardo doesn’t look to have the sharpness to capitalise on the supply from midfield. Vela and Walcott are unproven and look lightweight in the centre forward role. Bendtner is two weeks from a return. Wenger clearly has problems that will soon start to worry the fantasy fraternity if they persist; it appears there is nobody to fire the bullets supplied by Fabregas and Arshavin. Fabregas has gone the last two games without a goal or an assist having suffered such a fate just once in the eight games prior to Van Persie’s injury. That is a major concern. Both Fabregas and Arshavin need to produce against Stoke in the coming gamweek.
Spot-kicks can revive Rooney…
Rooney was generally unspectacular against Portsmouth and yet he emerged with the match ball and maximum Fantasy Premier League bonus points. Two spot-kicks made all the difference and it looks that by taking on those duties from Ronaldo last season and Carrick this term, Rooney has the potential to provide his best fantasy returns this season. He now sits on 10 league goals, having hit just a single goal in his last six league starts prior to the Fratton Park encounter. Inexplicably, Rooney is still without an assist this season. That will surely come to an end soon, particularly once Berbatov can regain some fitness alongside him. One look at United’s fixtures to come over Christmas and it’s clear that Rooney deserves his standing in our Watchlist – particularly while Van Persie sits out, Torres returns to fitness and Adebayor continues to falter.
Gerrard is a few cylinders short…
Largely ineffective against Everton, the Liveprool skipper is still struggling to recall his true form and impose himself on matches following his groin injury. He’s clearly been revived by Rafa amid talk of Liverpool’s season being in crisis but, on Sunday’s evidence, he is several matches short of the kind of form that will bring in the fantasy points to justify his weighty price tag. Liverpool and Gerrard owners need Torres back in front of him too.
Sunderland are travel sick…
Steve Bruce is growing increasingly frustrated with his side’s away form and that’s understandable considering the performance they put on at Old Trafford just a few weeks back. Again they faltered, this time against a Wigan side fresh from a White Hart Lane spanking. Sunderland rarely threatened and have now claimed just four goals in their last six away trips. That’s a startling stat for Darren Bent owners, particularly as he is due to take on Fulham at the Cottage this coming weekend. A run of three away games in five has seen Bent notch just one goal in that period – at home to Arsenal. Luckily, Bent and Sunderland are about to embark on a run of three home games in five (ful POR AVL mcy EVE) – a decent batch of fixtures that will hand his owners confidence and hope going into December.
Bowyer is getting hard to ignore…
Three goals in six games for the impish, annoying little midfield terrier and with McLeish claiming that Bowyer is back to England reckoning best, it’s getting more difficult to ignore his fantasy credentials by the week. Price is the key factor – Bowyer has clearly emerged as the player of choice when scraping the bottom of the budget barrel. Fixtures are strong too with Birmingham entering a run of four games that promise more goal returns (wig WHM BLA eve).
His defensive team-mates aren’t bad either…
Bowyer is now playing in front of the second best defence in the league when it comes to clean sheets. The 1-0 win at Wolves saw the Blues claim their sixth clean sheet of the season and their third in four games. Given their fixtures over the next four (wig WHM BLA eve), it’s not unlikely we’ll see their defence return another couple of cleanies in December.
Hart, Dann, Ridgewell and Carr (although he’s on the suspension tightrope with 4 bookings) all offer outstanding value at 3.9-4.2 in the Fantasy Premier League. Roger Johnson is your slightly more expensive option, with a greater goal threat and bonus point potential. Personally I’ve gone for Ridgewell – I can see him notching 2-3 more goals this term and he’s showing no signs of relinquishing the left-back role. Even if he does, I’ve a sneaky that Dann will eventually make way for Ridgewell to take up his regular centre-back role.
We’ve a new favourite Fletcher this week…
United’s Darren deserved mention last week but it’s Burnley’s striker Steven Fletcher taking the plaudits in gameweek 14. He quietly claimed his fourth and fifth goals of the season at Upton Park in the 5-3 defeat and, having held down a regular start in Owen Coyle’s 4-5-1 and with strong fixtures to come (por FUL ARS wlv BOL eve STK), he is looking every inch a plausible option as a budget striker. While he can’t rival the goal power of Bent and Defoe higher up the price bracket, he is certainly a cheaper alternative to Wigan’s Rodallega, West Ham’s Cole and Bolton’s Kevin Davies. He keeps Bobby Zamora, Christian Benitez and James Beattie for company in his price bracket, but none of that trio are currently showing the returns potential of the Burnley striker. Owen Coyle’s side are still struggling for results away from home but they are scoring at a fairly dramatic rate – 14 goals in the last 8 games tells the tale and is bettered by only six other sides.
Dunne and Collins are losing their lustre…
A month back, the Villa defensive pairing were undoubted value as defensive options. A few weeks later and we have Collins remaining an injury doubt and Dunne going into gameweek 15 with a record that shows no clean sheet in nine starts. O’Neill’s men need to bring in defensive returns against Hull next weekend, either that or Dunne and Collins need to get busy from set-pieces at the other end once more. Right now, with so few cleanies on offer, Wigan’s Scharner, in an attacking midfield role, is looking a far better option. He’s chipped in with an assist, goal, clean sheet and FPL bonus in his last two and has good short-term fixures (BIR stk liv BOL BLA) with three home games in five. Villa’s fixtures meanwhile, don’t do Dunne and Collins any favours (HUL mun sun STK ars LIV).
City’s millions can’t buy a fantasy option…
A defence that’s kept just one clean sheet in ten, a midfield and forward line that looks threatened by rotation – Man City may have star names but can’t muster a clear option for consideration by fantasy managers. Adebayor has previously looked a powerful option up front but a single goal in his last six starts, plus the threat of rotation with Santa Cruz, has quickly doused his fantasy flame.