This afternoon’s five-goal Community Shield thriller give Fantasy managers plenty food for thought ahead of the season kick-off next Saturday. Roberto Mancini maintained a 3-4-1-2 formation for the showdown against Chelsea and, with Sergio Aguero failing to have a hand in any of his side’s trio of goals, there will no doubt be a reaction over the next few days as we juggle our City options prior to their home clash with Southampton a week today…
While there is little question that Aguero will continue to flourish in 2012/13, Carlos Tevez’s price tag is starting to sway many the latter’s way. Coming in at 9.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) compared to Aguero’s 11.5, Tevez clearly has the potential to outscore his compatriot in any given Gameweek and with Mario Balotelli still some way short of full match fitness, he is surely set to begin the season alongside Aguero up top. Tevez started last term the dearest of the two but his strop in the Allianz Arena and subsequent lack of game time until the final few weeks of the campaign has seen his price plummet this time round – if he can continue in the same vein as this afternoon’s display, that extra 2.5 saving he affords looks a significant factor in building our squads, though Aguero’s propensity for more explosive returns still looks the best armband option.
Samir Nasri picked up a goal and assist in his role in “the hole” and with David Silva still being eased back into action, the Frenchman could well be handed a starting berth for the Saints game. If Mancini continues with this formation over the course of the upcoming campaign, the position could well yield points aplenty as Nasri demonstrated today. Yaya Toure also served a reminder of his capabilities with a finely taken equaliser – the Ivorian’s deep-lying position could be a worry to his Fantasy suitors; his surges forward tended to come after the break, when Chelsea had been reduced to 10 men.
For Chelsea, much of the talk surrounds the decision to send off Branislav Ivanovic. Certainly, the two-footed lunge looked far from clever and seemed the right decision by the man in black. Ahead of the Blues’ double Gameweek, it seems that he will only miss league action if the FA choose to intervene – a crucial factor for Fantasy managers when assessing our Chelsea options. Certainly, according to the FA website the rulings specify that Ivanovic will avoid an automatic suspension…
“In order to address uncertainty over disciplinary sanctions in pre-season friendlies, sanctions for red cards shown in such fixtures will not now apply to competitive first team games. Any such sanction will apply only in the same competition (i.e. other friendlies including The FA Community Shield).”
They do, however, follow this up with a warning that they still have the ability to step in, should the challenge be deemed enough to warrant intervention…
“However, The FA retains the right to charge players in the most serious of misconduct cases and make sanctions applicable to competitive first-team fixtures if it is felt necessary.”
At present, there is still plenty uncertainty and confusion surrounding any possible suspension. The Reading Official twitter site have tweeted earlier this afternoon that it “looks likely” Ivanovic is out for their trip to Stamford Bridge – both clubs’ second match of the double Gameweek. We plan to clarify this matter this with the FA over the next 24-hours.
Elsewhere, Fernando Torres did his best to tempt investment ahead of his games against Wigan and Reading next week. The Spaniard’s coolly-taken opener will surely see many jump aboard the bandwagon, with even the armband a temptation. Caution is likely to be courted when eyeing up Ramires until the Ivanovic decision becomes clearer – the Brazilian (7.0 in FPL) continued in his recent role on the right of the attacking midfield and supplied the assist for Torres’ strike but was moved to the right-back berth upon the Serbian’s dismissal.
