As another Fantasy Premier League deadline approaches, we are once again left to pick up the pieces after an eventful week for our Fantasy stars. This is where the Saturday Surgery comes in, and this week it’s a major one…
For the first time this season we have to check which Premier League fixtures are actually going ahead. As it stands only Blackpool’s home tie against league-leaders Manchester United is definitely off due to a frozen pitch. With under-soil heating a given at all other Premier League grounds, it’s unlikely well see any more postponed for this reason.
However, treacherous under-foot conditions in the surrounding areas of stadia up and down the country will no doubt be under scrutiny in the hours building up to games (all kicking off at 3pm today). So, caution must be advised when taking massive points hits, as it could all be futile. Personally, I’m spreading the risk amongst as many fixtures as possible, so if one or two fixtures go, half my team doesn’t go along with it.
Snow-aside, and some major names miss out regardless for various reasons. Rafael Van der Vaart (injured), Cesc Fabregas (injured) and Mikel Arteta (suspended) are three of the big ones to note.
With time (and the weather) against us, our search for players to replace our non-starters (five, maybe six in my case) has to be narrowed. Luckily, everything you need is close at hand. Short-term, there’s last night’s Scout Picks. Longer-term, there’s The Watchlist (on the home page underneath the Season Ticker). If you feel you need to go out of that selection, then our Team News section is home to our predicted line-ups for the games going ahead this weekend.
Lastly, you need a captain. As always, the Captain’s Poll is in the middle column of the home page, but remember to ignore the votes cast for Manchester United (and Blackpool?) stars before news of that postponement came through.
If, like me, you need a final sanity check before submitting any changes to team, then head over to the Saturday Surgery chatroom to discuss matters.
