Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Gameweek 22 Preview

Last week made waves in the fantasy league for all the wrong reasons. One team in my mini league scored zero as his only two starting players were Phil Neville (2 points) and captain Darren Fletcher (-2). Those with Tevez will have fared better, especially if they captained him, though points elsewhere were hard to find. While embarrassing to score down in the 20s, chances are you only lost a few points on your competitors. This week is more important. Playing double gameweeks well (or poorly) can make or break your league and with four of the best fantasy squads around playing twice, there could be some very large scores around this week.

Man United, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Bolton and Hull all play twice and some fantasy value can be had from each of these squads

* For United I think Rooney and Valencia are incredibly good starts this week and are close to being the pick at each of their respective positions. Defensively, United are hard to judge but I am confident Brown will play and becomes a great option. Evra is a great player and may even justify some captain consideration.

* Arsenal give us the best midfielder of the week - Fabregas - who could return to the heights of weeks 8-12 with a double digit performance. The back line is also a good play though Bolton have been in good home form so I wouldn't rush to pickup 2 Arsenal defenders unless you already own them. For Traore owners, Clichy looks like he might return but Wenger says he does not wish to rush him so stay tuned.

* Torres picked up a knock tonight in the cup but the early signs are that he'll be good to go and is of course a great play. The defense is a useful play and with decent fixtures ahead they might be a decent buy low option.

* Lennon is expected to miss the Liverpool game so becomes too risky despite the double gameweek. I like Modric alot, and although I had suggested delaying his purchase until the fixtures got better, the double gameweek means he is a buy prospect now. The defense is an okay play and worth a look as the fixtures start to open up soon defensively.

*Bolton and Hull provide good depth players who will at least give you 4 points if they play. Hunt and Taylor are the obvious candidates while both defenses should be avoided.

Clean Sheet Rankings
  1. Man United (0.4 and 0.4)
  2. Arsenal (1.1 and 0.9)
  3. Chelsea (0.4)
  4. Tottenham (0.4 and 2.3)
  5. Aston Villa (0.4)
  6. Liverpool (1.4 and 1.0)
  7. Blackburn (0.8)
  8. Stoke (0.8)
  9. Birmingham (1.1)
  10. Wolves (1.1)
  11. Portsmouth (1.2)
  12. Man City (1.3)
  13. Fulham (1.3)
  14. Everton (1.5)
  15. Wigan (1.8)
  16. West Ham (1.8)
  17. Bolton (3.1 and 3.6)
  18. Sunderland (3.1)
  19. Hull (4.3 and 4.0)
  20. Burnley (4.7)
The top 6 teams are all really good plays and I would be aiming to try and get 4 defenders from this group this week if you can. Be careful though with United players as remember they, along with City Hull and Stoke, have no game in week 23.

Captain Rankings
  1. Rooney
  2. Fabregas
  3. Valencia
  4. Arshavin
  5. Torres*
  6. Defoe
  7. Gerrard*
  8. Eduardo
  9. Modric
  10. Evra
*Check injury status

I am currently riding high after last week's Tevez tip so I am bound to crash and burn with the picks this week. In truth, their isn't too much to pick between the top 4 and I wouldn't argue if you liked any of them more than the other. Check back later in the week on Torres and Gerrard's injury status but if they go, then they're excellent plays this week. My only issue with Rooney is the chance of squad rotation due to the League Cup semi finals also being played but I am still confident he will give top returns this week.

Post your thoughts and questions below or @plfantasy to discuss your transfers and lineup questions.

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