CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL 1º LEG 2009 2010: ARSENAL 2 FC BARCELONA 2 (VIDEO GOALS)

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /ARSENAL FC came back to draw 2-2 with FC BARCELONA in tonights 1º leg CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Quarter Final game with 20 last minutes of outstanding Football - Soccer. Earlier FC Barcelona had managed to dominate & control the match going up 0-2 by the 65th min when Arsenal Coach Wenger made the "magic" substitution putting on young Arsenal forward WALCOTT.The first

Wayne Rooney

First of all, an apology for last week as Rooney sat after I (wrongly) concluded that the signs seemed to be indicating he would play. This was made worse for many as Drogba was also benched and so many owners suffered through having 24m of striker on the bench. The situation took a further bad turn last night when Rooney suffered an ankle injury against Bayern Munich and left on crutches. With so little time left in the season, it might be best to cut your losses and bring in either Drogba or Torres now rather than delaying for a couple of weeks and having such a valuable asset sat on the bench.

More on this in the weekly preview to be posted tomorrow. Apologies for the lack of update this week, I am taking a few days off work in Berlin. I will have plenty of time to catch up during a 3hr layover tomorrow, so gameweek 33's preview might be a bit rambling (more so than usual).

SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL SOCCER TEAM: REMAINS Nº1 ON THE FIFA RANKING

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /FIFA has released its monthly World Rankings with SPAIN maintaining the Nº1 Nations position ahead of Brazil & Holland. A notable observation is the rise of Portugal in the standings to jump to the 4th position on the rankings table.Here is the list of the Top 15 Nations:1. SPAIN 1.602. pts.2. Brazil 1.589.3. Holland 1.261.4. Portugal 1.214.5. Italy 1.183.6.

ARSENAL & AC MILAN GO AFTER ANDER HERRERA & PEDRO LEON RESPECTIVELY

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Two Spanish Football players are attracting attention outside of Spain & have received offers to continue with their profession at Arsenal & Milan respectively according to Spanish daily “AS”.The first is 20 year old Spanish International ANDER HERRERA of REAL ZARAGOZA whom Arsenal has offered 10M€ which the Spanish Club has refused. Negotiations are still

REAL MADRID: RAUL WILLING TO LEAVE FOR 12M€

REAL MADRID Captain RAUL GONZALEZ BLANCO has communicated to the Club that he is willing to leave at the end of this season. He only asks that Real Madrid pay him the rest of the year of contract that he has with them that economically speaking is worth 12 M€ ( salary, bonus…etc). The communication comes directly from the player’s representative Gines Carvajal who made the statement to Spanish

FOOTBALL FINANCE & MARKETING: CRISTIANO RONALDO SECRET WEAPON PERFORMANCE BOOSTER - A "MOUTH GUARD"

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /This post is about Football Finance, Marketing & suspicion; about pure promotional strategy of product placement, a planned out idea to raise awareness, consumer demand, sales & ultimately huge revenues. A post that the reader may think is harsh, over exaggerated & perhaps distrustful about a simple & innocent action that is being taken out of all context.

WERE XABI ALONSO SERGIO RAMOS (DANI ALVES) UNETHICAL & DISRESPECTFUL IN FORCING THEIR YELLOW CARDS?

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /REAL MADRID players SERGIO RAMOS & XABI ALONSO entered last Sundays game against Atletico de Madrid with 4 accumulated yellow cards to their names. They knew beforehand that if any of them were to receive a yellow card in their next game against Racing de Santander they would receive a 1 match suspension & miss the big FC BARCELONA clash the 10th of April.

SPANISH FOOTBALL SOCCER LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 - 2010: MONDAY NIGHT RESULT - AT.BILBAO 4 - RACING 3

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /The Spanish Football Soccer League - La Liga - celebrated its now habitual Monday Night game with an ATHLETIC DE BILBAO vs. RACING DE SANTANDER that turned into a festival of goals in the last 20 minutes. The Basque team won 4-3 with a "crazy" 2º half & Racing down to 10 men in the last 10 minutes.Athletic de Bilbao started things off positive fashion with a

ATLETICO DE MADRID: LUISAO A SOLUTION FOR ATLETICO DEFENCE?

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /News out of Portugal, & concretely the Sports paper “A Bola”, comments that Atletico de Madrid Coach Quique Sanchez Flores has BENFICA 29 year old Central Defender LUISAO in mind for next season. The Atletico Coach hasn’t yet received a contract renewal prposal but all indicates that this is just paperwork & thus needs to begin planning the 2010-2011

SPANISH PLAYERS OVERSEAS: VIDEO FERNANDO TORRES GOAL SUNDERLAND

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /SFS likes to follow & give updates on Spanish players overseas, especially when they do outstanding things like FERNANDO TORRES who scored a "screamer" against Sunderland for Liverpool FC. The Spanish player has bounced back from injury in spectacular fashion doing what he does best: score goals.Watch this VIDEO of the 1º goal (from his 2) scored yesterday by

SPANISH FOOTBALL SOCCER LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 /2010 - REAL MADRID 3 ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 : VIDEO GOALS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /It could not be tonight for ATLETICO DE MADRID as they went down 3-2 at the home ground of REAL MADRID in the big city derby. There was same hope during the first 45 minutes for the visitors who scored first via REYES in the 25th min. However, the 2ºhalf was all Real Madrid as they scored three goals straight via XABI ALONSO (49th min), ARBELOA (55th min) &

SPANISH FOOTBALL SOOCER LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - GAMES RESULTS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football Soccer League ( La Liga ) action yesterday with three results & SFS was out of town & could not put them up earlier. Here are the scores in case you haven´t yet seen them:MALAGA 1 ( Apoño 66th min) - TENERIFE 1 (Alfaro 85th min)MALLORCA 0 - FC BARCELONA 1 (Ibrahimovic 63rd min). The bad news for Barça fans coming out of this match is the

VIDEO: DIEGO FORLAN TAKES OUT HIS RAGE WITH ATLETICO FANS WITH GOAL AGAINST ATH BILBAO

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /ATLETICO DE MADRID forward DIEGO FORLAN scored the first goal in last nights 2-0 victory over Athletic de Bilbao & in doing so let out some long held "steam" towards the Atletico supporters in his post celebration.The Uruguayan striker ran straight to the area where the more "extreme" Atletico fans congregate, faced them directly & screamed "...AND NOW WHAT!"

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS GOALS (CRISTIANO RONALDO HIGUAIN): GETAFE 2 REAL MADRID 4

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog / Due to popular request from the SFS Blog Asian readers, in the mayority, here is the full VIDEO summary of all the goals in yesterdays 2-4 REAL MADRID victory over GETAFE. Check out the CRISTIANO RONALDO free-kick goal:

SPANISH FOOTBALL SOCCER LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - THURSDAY GAMES RESULTS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog/Two games tonight to finish off the mid week Spanish League - La Liga - action with Real Madrid regaining the top spot of the classification table.REAL MADRID won 2- 4 away to GETAFE with the job all done in the 1º half; the rest of the game was even, conservative & Getafe managed two goals. It all began with a free-kick goal from RONALDO in the 13th min,

Gameweek 32 Preview

Before we get stuck into gameweek 32, I am going to quickly fly through my top strikers for the remainder of the season, as promised yesterday. I also urge, nay implore you to look at yesterday's ramblings on midfielders which while somewhat of a Cesc-love-fest contains at least a few useful stats for your amusement.

I am limiting this discussion to the big three strikers (Torres, Drogba and Rooney) though that is not a slight on the prospects of Tevez, Bent etc, more that most of us can only afford to employ one or at most two of these stud strikers and so we really need to know which one (or two) we should hitch our wagon to. It must also be noted that Van Persie still leads all strikers with 7.7 PPG, an astonishing stat given the plaudits Rooney (7.4 PPG) has received this year. While some reports are suggesting Van Persie may be back before the end of the season I will only entertain the prospect of spending 10m+ on a player when he is a lock to start, which just isn't the case for Van Persie right now. I am therefore with Wenger (as usual) who has suggested we all calm down over the strikers' return.

Wayne Rooney (26 - 5 - 46 - 7.4 - 8.0) £12m
Rooney is rightfully receiving plaudits from around the globe for his performances this season, with Franz Beckenbauer the latest to offer some superlatives. The fantasy praise is equally strong with the general public voting with their feet to make Rooney the most owned player in the whole fantasy game (45%).
The future is somewhat more rocky, given his recent knee injury, a tough run of fixtures and the potential for fixture congestion and fatigue to kick in given United's continued presence in the Champions League. The knee injury should only rule him out for one week, though that in itself is hard to take when you have 12m invested and Torres is ready to welcome a leaky Sunderland defense to Anfield.
The fixtures are tough but Rooney has already scored against three of United's opponents and has repeatedly shown that he can score against anyone. I am concerned with the lack of games where you expect at least 2 or 3 goals, with only Bolton this week (which Rooney may miss) conceding more 1.5 GPG and three future opponents averaging less than a goal a game. In essence, you wouldn't buy Rooney for the fixtures but you probably wouldn't sell him either and if you think he can continue to stay fit and contribute in both the Champions League and Premier League then you can probably stick with the United talisman. If you want to sell, do so immediately as it would be foolish to bench him this week, suffer a price decrease, then sell anyway.

Didier Drogba (24 - 10 - 26 - 7.6 - 8.3) £11.9m
Drogba is matching Rooney in production this year, with double Rooney's assists and more points per game. His downfall is the bonus column where he has pundit-favourite Lampard stealing points while Rooney is free to pickup 3 whenever he takes the field.
Since returning from the African Cup of Nations he has been even better than the above suggests with 10 goals, 2 assists and 7 bonus points in just 8 games (8.5 PPG). Like Rooney, the fixture don't look great with Ast, @MNU, @Tot and @Liv all wielding less than one GPG. The lack of Champions League presence is a bonus as is the lack of real alternatives for Ancelotti to use in Drogba's place against weaker opponents.
His ownership is 36% compared with Rooney's 45% which gives him more differentiation potential though I would suspect that the majority of those 36% are the very teams you are competing with as Rooney's ownership is skewed by a higher starting position with all the amateur's who stick with a team from the start.
Gun to my head, I probably take Rooney over Drogba purely based on the team's they are on and the faith I have in them delivering in the crunch. That said, Chelsea looked alot better against (an admittedly poor) Portsmouth with Drogba once again in the thick of the action. The easiest solution is to keep both these stars on your books, but that prevents you from getting in on the Torres action.

Fernando Torres (16 - 3 - 20 - 6.3 - 7.5) £11.3m
On pure ability and potential I would still take Torres over Rooney if I were starting a new team. However, that doesn't get you fantasy points and there is little doubt that Torres' production - while stellar - has been a step below the level of Rooney and Drogba. This is in large part to the continued struggles of Liverpool, a lack of form from Steven Gerrard and negative tactics from Benitez. However, since returning from injury Torres has looked very sharp averaging 8.5 PPG in his four starts including 4 goals and 2 man of the match displays.
Also in Torres' favour are the fixtures, with only two opponents conceding less than one GPG (@Bir and Che). Home games against Sunderland and West Ham also have a feel of games where you can foresee a couple of goals being rattled in by the Spanish hero.
Like Rooney, Torres has the distraction of European football but having missed a portion of the season, fatigue should not be a factor for the 26 year old. The fact he will save you £0.6-0.7m over the other two options is also something not to be ignored.
Call it bias, call it over-reliance on fixture strength, but I think I am going to bring in Torres this week for Rooney given the potential for Torres to star (vs Sunderland) while Rooney warms a million fantasy benches. It then seems unlikely I would bring him back for the Chelsea game, which means I either buy him back in week 34 of risk not having him for the remainder of the season. This is the kind of decision on which mini leagues are won, I hope the above has given you some help in deciding which way you will fall.

Gameweek 32 Preview
Okay with the week's preview which I will condense a bit so as to not make this into a Bill Simmons style 5,000 epic post. No double gameweeks, no byes, just 20 teams squaring off in what will seems like a quiet week after last week's festivities. Here we go:

Clean Sheet Rankings

1. Tottenham
2. Burnley
3. Liverpool
4. Chelsea
5. Everton
6. Man City
7. West Ham
8. Hull
9. Arsenal
10. Birmingham
11. Man Utd
12. Wolves
13. Stoke
14. Fulham
15. Aston Villa
16. Bolton
17. Blackburn
18. Portsmouth
19. Sunderland
20. Wigan

Burnley make a surprise appearance in the top 2 due to their solid home record (17 conceded in 15 games) and Blackburn's horrific away scoring rate (10 goals in 15 games). I always find it hard to trust teams in the relegation battle but if you have a Burnley defender stashed on your bench it should make benching someone else that bit easier or give you auto-sub flexibility if someone like Rooney fails to make it. Liverpool's next 4 opponents average less than a goal a game and so Insua and Agger look like solid buys.

Captain Rankings

1. Fernando Torres
2. Carlos Tevez
   
3. Didier Drogba
4. Craig Bellamy
5. Steve Gerrard
6. Cesc Fabregas
   
7. Mikel Arteta
   
8. Dimitar Berbatov
9. Luke Modric
10. Antonio Valencia

I don't love many players this week with many top players either injured (Rooney, Defoe) or playing tough opposition (Drogba, Fabregas). I think Torres is the clear favourite this week though City also have a great fixture and so Tevez and co are also good options. I have left Rooney out given the likelihood he will rest, and therefore bumped Berbatov up the list given his position leading the line against an average Bolton side.

As always, thanks for reading and please post your thoughts/comments/questions below or @plfantasy.

SFS FLASHBACKS: SAMUEL ETO´O : VIDEO 2º GOAL INTER MILAN LIVORNO

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /What is ex Real Madrid, Mallorca & FC Barcelona star forward SAMUEL ETO´O dong these days? The player is at Inter Milan & apparently after a good start to the season, suffered a mid-season rough patch & now seems to be coming back to his very best. Great timing for Inter who will welcome his goals while they fight out the Italian Serie A title & attempt to

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER - LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 2010 - MID WEEK GAMES RESULTS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /The Spanish Football - Soccer - League (La Liga) celebrated 6 games tonight as the mid-week schedule & action continues; with still two more games to b played tomorrow.FC BARCELONA defeated 2-0 OSASUNA but were pushed to limits by a competitive visitor who had clear chances in the 1st half. So much so, that Coach Guardiola reacted substituting Henry for Pedro

The Usual Suspects (Midfield)

Oscar Wilde once wrote that "everything popular is wrong"; a point echoed by the majority of my posts singing the praises of differentiation and uncovering the next sleeper. However, the selection of your star players is equally important and with just 7 weeks to go, now is a great time to assess who will shine the brightest. I am going to focus on midfielders today (and forwards tomorrow) given that the weekly value of defenders/keepers is driven too much by the form/fitness of the squad rather than an individual's ability/form.

Midfielders
Four double digit million players are available in the game, and it is here that our attention will be focused. I accept that an argument can be made for, say, James Milner over Andrei Arshavin but given the difference in price it seems illogical to compare those two types of player. In order to avoid too much text and to get into the numbers I have created a quick box score to summarise each player. This will be as below:

Name (Goals, Assists, Bonus Points, Points per Game, Points per Game in the last 6 weeks).

Cesc Fabregas (15 - 15 - 41 - 8.2 - 7.5) £12.0m
Warning: I have said before that my bias is shameful towards Kevin Davies but with Fabregas it may be worse. If there's one player in the league I struggle to be objective with it's the Catalonian wizard. While there's no sign of bromance just yet, I would say that it could be a man crush.

Okay now the disclaimer is out of the way I can continue to gush about how insanely good Fabregas has been this year and if it wasn't for Rooney's form it would be talked about as one of the best seasons ever in the Premier League. Fabregas has been instrumental in everything Arsenal have done and this has rolled over into fantasy success with Fabregas almost a lock to complete the triple crown among midfielders (most goals, assists and bonus points). His 15 goals are better than 13 teams' entire midfield have managed for the season (including Villa and City among others) while his bonus point tally is more than 50% higher than his nearest rival Lampard.

Enough with the past though, how is Fabregas going to finish the season? Much has been made of Arsenal's easy schedule, and while not impossible, it isn't a walkover. Trips to Birmingham (32), Tottenham (34) and Blackburn (37) are harder than they sound as all three sides concede 0.87 GPG or less. Aside from that though all opponents concede at least 1.25 GPG though my only concern is the lack of too many 'sure things' where you can foresee 3 or 4 Arsenal goals (Wolves at home is perhaps the best game here (1.93 GPG)).

Five road games versus 3 home games would alarm some but a look at the stats suggests otherwise. Ignoring yellow cards and defensive points, Fabregas has averaged 6.3 PPG at home and 6.1 PPG away from the Emirates. This goes against the general consensus that Arsenal (and Fabregas) can only dominate at home and have a tendency to get bossed around on their travels. Like Oscar mentioned above, everything popular (including opinions) are often wrong.

I don't have much more to say that hasn't already been said, and without wishing to spoil the next few paragraphs, I cannot see how Fabregas is not the best midfielder to own in the closing stages of the season.

Frank Lampard (12 - 11 - 26 - 6.6 - 5.7) £13.2m
Despite some shaky periods (one goal in the first 9 games) 'old faithful' has been just that contributing in three categories and delivering value for his owners. On a points per 90 minutes basis he is actually ahead of last year, where he was considered part of the holy trinity (with Gerrard (below) and the now departed Ronaldo).

I have two concerns about Lampard, both of which conspire to push him down slightly in my rankings. Firstly, and simply, is cost. 1.2m is alot of cash in fantasy football and can be the difference between your 4th defender playing for either Villa or Wolves. I therefore find it hard to justify this extra expense over Fabregas. Second is Chelsea's fixtures which are significantly harder than Arsenal's. Their next five games come against opponents who concede 1.1 GPG or less including particularly tough games @MNU (0.57 GPG), @Tot (0.64) and @Liv (0.86). Granted, Malouda and Drogba are playing well but I think the remainder of Chelsea's team is a bit underwhelming and could struggle to score multiple goals in a couple of these fixtures.

Lampard remains a top option and I do not suggest he is a must sell at this point, but if you think cash can be better used elsewhere then you might consider bringing in Fabregas instead.

Steven Gerrard (6 - 6 - 9 - 4.4 - 2.9) £12.4m
Gerrard has not enjoyed the best of seasons and is no longer the fantasy powerhouse he once was. After this week's game against Sunderland his fixtures get significantly harder with only West Ham (H) surrendering more than 1.5 GPG. I'm not totally writing him off and I'm sure he will have another bumper week before the season is out, but as with Lampard above, your money can be better spent elsewhere. I would keep him for one more week then either move to Fabregas or an even cheaper option like Arteta and use the extra cash to upgrade your strike force.

Andrei Arshavin (9 - 2 - 15 - 4.6 - 3.9) £10.2m
I predicted big things for Arshavin this year and thought he could finish in the top 5 of all players. Despite spells of brilliance he has flattered to deceive at times, not helped by his deployment as a loan striker for periods when Van Persie got injured. As noted with Fabregas above, Arsenal's fixtures are pretty good so Arshavin does still deserve some consideration and his lower ownership levels (11%) make him somewhat of a differentiator. Still he probably belongs in the range with Milner, Arteta and Valencia and so it is tough to recommend spending 10m+ on the little Russian right now.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my thoughts on how I rate the big three (Drogba, Rooney and Torres) from here on in. Thanks for reading and please post your thoughts below or @plfantasy.

TRANSFER SPECULATION 2010: RIBERY LIKES SPAIN & CHELSEA FC LIKES VAN DER VAART

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /The FRANCK RIBERY fish tail keeps wagging as the season comes soon to its end & the future of the BAYERN MUNICH player becomes daily news within the Football World. The Frenchmen has spoken & has already eliminated a candidate: CHELSEA FC. According to his comments to Sports daily “Sport Bild” he will be making a final choice in the coming weeks & his desire

LIONEL MESSI FOOTBALL SOCCER RICHEST PLAYER 2010

According to France Football, Lionel Messi is the highest paid & richest Football (Soccer) player in the World. The FC Barcelona player & Argentine International has overtaken David Beckham & Cristiano Ronaldo as the biggest “money making” machine in World Football. A breakdown of the Messi figure reveals that 10M€ is in salary, plus 4M€ in Club bonuses with the rest, 19M€ in publicity contracts.

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER - LEAGUE LA LIGA 2009 -2010 MID WEEK GAMES RESULTS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football - Soccer - League has mid week action & celebrated two games tonight with some interesting results.REAL SPORTING DE GIJON won 2-1 DEPORTIVO in a game that Deportivo nearly turned around. Deportivo went down to 10 men when goalie Aranzabia fouled outside his area, this put Deportivo behind the 8 ball early & they paid when BILIC scored for

ATLETICO DE MADRID GOALIE DE GEA WISHED BY MANCHESTER UNITED TO SUBSTITUTE DER SAR

English Football giant MANCHESTER UNITED is thinking & already searching for a goalkeeper to substitute their veteran player VAN DER SAR. The Dutch International is 40 years old & plans to stay one more season at United before moving on elsewhere or may consider retiring.Manchester United has someone already in mind, ATLETICO DE MADRID 19 year old goalkeeper DAVID DE GEA, also the Spanish

FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID FOLLOWING YOUNG STAR LUKAKU - "THE NEW DROGBA"

His name is ROMELU LUKAKU, a 16 year old forward who is currently the Belgium League youngest & leading Top goal scorer with 15 goals in 28 games. The young ANDERLECTH teen is a “moving tank” with 1.90 m height & his 95 kilos of pure muscle. The Ivory Coast teenager is being compared to Chelsea FC star forward Didier Drogba & has been labelled as his successor.FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID are said

ENGLISH SIRENS KEEP SOUNDING FOR DAVID VILLA

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /From England & its newspaper the “Daily Mail” we get news that CHELSEA FC & MANCHESTER CITY has Valencia CF & Spanish International forward DAVID VILLA as a top priority for next season. This is a recurring announcement as Chelsea in particular tried without luck last year & has never stopped thinking with Villa. However, there may well be stiff competition

REAL MADRID FOLLOWING BRAZILIAN 18 YEAR OLD PROMISE NEYMAR

Source: Spanish Football Sport Blog /Spanish daily paper “AS” publishes that there is a new Brazilian Football star on the horizon & his agent has him in REAL MADRID in the near future. Firstly, apart from the fact that this is a representative initiative – which in itself smells a bit from the beginning – lets dwell deeper into this highlighted player.He is NEYMAR an 18 year old player currently

LIONEL MESSI: 2º GOAL AGAINST REAL ZARAGOZA VIDEO

LIONEL MESSI scored a Hat-trick ( second consecutive) yesterday in FC Barcelona ´s 2-4 win over Real Zaragoza. Here is the VIDEO of the 2º goal from Messi that was a real gem & illustrates the talent & class of this young man who is destined for bigger & greater things.Lets hope "YouTube" doesn´t decide to pull of the video off. If they do they obviously don´t enjoy Football (Soccer) :o)

HANDBALL: FC BARCELONA BORGES WINS 2010 SPANISH CUP

FC BARCELONA has another title, this time in HANDBALL when their team FC Barcelona Borges won the Spanish Cup Handball Cup 38-35 over Reale Ademar Leon. The game went into extra-time after both teams finished 31-31 in the regular period. This way FC Barcelona wins its 17th Spanish Cup title & 3ºrd title this season, & this last version could have gone the way of Leon who maintained their

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER - LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - ROUND 29 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /The Spanish Football - Soccer - League (La Liga) celebrated its last 5 games of Round 29 with more goals than yesterday. Here are the results, scorers & images of tonights Football action.REAL ZARAGOZA 2 - LIONEL MESSI 4 ( sorry, I meant FC BARCELONA). The Argentine has hit a sweet vain of form that has put him back at the Top of the World. The number 10

Gameweek 31 Rolling Wrap Up

With all the action this week, stretching through Wednesday evening I thought I better get formulating some thoughts on the weekend's happenings now or face an essay deadline on Thursday morning.

Saturday

Play the Fixtures
The games in the books so far have illustrated just how important it is to play the fixture list each week. Of teams who faced opponents that concede more than 1.5 GPG, all but Wigan managed to net twice leading to big fantasy weeks from budget players like O'Hara, Pienaar, Denilson and Carew. Some of the stars in these games also managed to shine, notably Fabregas, Bent and Arteta (all in my captain rankings this week). Tougher fixtures for Birmingham and Stoke limited the fantasy contribution of their players this week (though Birmingham have a chance for redemption on Wednesday at Blackburn).

The clean sheets for the week served to illustrate this point further with 3 of the 4 best fixtures yielding clean sheets despite neither Everton (11th) nor Wigan (18th) ranking in the top 10 in goals conceded this season. Arsenal, by the way, quietly notched their 11th clean sheet of the season and have only conceded just 3 goals in the last 6 games.

Sunday
From both a fantasy and reality perspective, Sunday was pretty disappointing. No clean sheets (giving just 3 in 10 games for the weekend so far) along with goals from fantasy lightweights like Park and Diouf ensured that the spoils were limited to an unassisted Rooney goal, a first half Torres header and a Drogba goal at Ewood Park. I suppose this scoring underlined my key trend for the season that top strikers are more valuable than top midfielders but nevertheless I expected more points from the big boys, especially Chelsea.

Looking ahead
Plenty of action still to come this week so do not despair if things haven't gone your way so far. Looking further ahead to gameweek 32 the teams to target are Liverpool, City and Spurs who all enjoy a great fixture in terms of both attacking and defensive point potential.

Check back after the midweek games for a final wrap up before next week's preview on Thursday. Thanks for reading and please post your thoughts/comments/questions below or @plfantasy.

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER - LEAGUE 2009 2010 - LA LIGA - ROUND 29 SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish League Football - Soccer - action tonight with 5 games played of Round 29 with plenty of goals, surprises & the usual fair share of scares for the fans.REAL MADRID defeated 3-1 REAL SPORTING DE GIJON to keep the Top place on the ladder, but suffered tonight. Real looked too much at ease & without any tension which allowed the visitors to grow in

VIDEO: FAN MASH-UP ARSENAL FC BARCELONA UPCOMING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CLASH

The drawn ARSENAL – FC BARCELONA Champions League Quarter Final game for the 31st of March has already excited, & even inspired the creative side of many Football followers. Take this well worked video by “Crissier08” who has it on his “YouTube” channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CRISSIER80A "mashed-up" cinematic trailer of what is to come. Thought I use it (with Crissier08 permission) to give

EUROPA LEAGUE 2009 - 2010 Q/FINAL & S/FINAL DRAW: VALENCIA CF ATLETICO DE MADRID MATCHED IN QUARTER FINAL

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Straight after the Champions League draw (see above), UEFA celebrated the EUROPA LEAGUE last 8 teams match ups for their Quarter Finals & Semi Finals. The surprise, from a Spanish point of view, is the VALENCIA CF & ATLETICO DE MADRID Quarter Final draw. This guarentees at least a Spanish Team will be present in one of the semis & will meet the winner of the

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2009 - 2010 Q/FINAL & S/FINAL DRAW - FC BARCELONA WILL MEET ARSENAL

The last 8 European Football - Soccer - Teams left in this years CHAMPIONS LEAGUE were thrown into a bowl this mid-day at UEFA Headquarters & drawn out to establish the match ups for the upcoming Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals. At this stage of the competition all teams are dangerous & full of mutual respect with some fascinating & wonderful games coming up for the Football fans.Here ( see below)

END OF THE ROAD FOR RAUL AT REAL MADRID?

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Sports daily “AS” publishes today news that most of us already suspect, that REAL MADRID’s legendary & record breaking Captain RAUL Gonzalez Blanco could be living his last months as a player at the Club.Raul has another year of contract & his deep desire is to finish his legal obligations. But after three months on the bench & the knowledge that the

EUROPA LEAGUE 2009 - 2010: SPORTING 2 ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 - ATLETICO TO Q/FINAL (WATCH VIDEO AGUERO GOALS)

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football - Soccer - has two representatives in tomorrows EUROPA LEAGUE Quarter Finals draw, after ATLETICO DE MADRID managed to qualify & join Valencia CF who qualified as well earlier tonight with their game in Germany. The final score was a 2-2 draw ( 2-2 agg, with away goal advantage) with the Lisbon team SPORTING putting up a great match & had

EUROPA LEAGUE 2009-2010: WERDER BREMEN 4 - VALENCIA CF 4 - VALENCIA TO QUARTER FINAL & VILLA HAT-TRICK (WATCH VIDEO)

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Fantastic return game in the EUROPA LEAGUE between WERDER BREMEN & VALENCIA CF with the game starting with a 1-1 aggregate from the home leg game. However, this match had more opportunities, more goals & was a real cliff hanger until the end as it finished in a 4-4 draw (5-5 agg), but with Valencia scoring away they managed to qualify & go through to the

Gameweek 31 Preview

While they didn't really explode, Villa players provided a decent haul for those managers who brought them in this week, led by James Milner (12), and hopefully let you gain some points on opposition managers. Agbonlahor was the big disappointment for the week with the rest of my captain picks playing out pretty well (Milner 12, Defoe 9, Torres 19, Rooney 13, Dunne 8, Young 5, Drogba 10, Lampard 7, N'Zogbia 6).

This week will likely see some huge scores and I think you need to be playing at least 5 players on a double to stay competitive. The chance of stealing points on your competition is probably less than in a week where only 2 or 4 teams have a double as less planning will have been required to get some double gamers in this week. Nevertheless, it's important to get your side right in a week where plenty of teams could top 100 points so let's look at the double gameweek sides for gameweek 31 and see where potential value might lie:

Aston Villa
Opponents: Wol, Sun
Two better opponents than last week await the Villains and this is the real reason alot of us brought in Villa players last week. Both sides average less than a goal a game on the road while giving up around 2 per game. If you brought in multiple Villa players last week then it's a no brainer to keep them but be careful before bringing in a third player for this week only as Villa have no game (at the moment) in week 34 so you need to have decent strength in your squad to blow two transfers on that move.
Picks: Milner, Cuellar, Collins

Birmingham
Opponents: @Sunderland, @Blackburn

Both opponents here have pretty good home defenses and the inconsistent Birmingham front line looks like a risky play. We all know that Birmingham's best value is in their defense and I think they look like a good play again this week. Sunderland are sneakily good at home though (24 in 15 games) while Blackburn are pretty average (21 in 14 games). I think its very likely that one of those teams score and I can't see a double clean sheet for Birmingham this week. That said, the likes of Hart still represent good value and are worthy of a place in the side, if not really transfer targets this week.
Picks: Hart, Dann

Blackburn
Opponents: Chelsea, Birmingham

Two tough games for a side that offers little fantasy value at the best of times should set the alarm bells ringing. The Rovers defense has been okay this year and the two home games helps, but I can't see too much joy against a Chelsea side re-focused on the league after their Champions League exit. Going forward they offer even less though Gamst Pedersen got back on the fantasy scoresheet last week with another assist and I suppose he warrants some differentiation value.
Picks: Gamst Pedersen, Dunn

Chelsea
Opponents: @Blackburn, @Portsmouth

As noted above, be careful getting carried with what look like easy fixtures as Blackburn (0.86 GPG) and even Portsmouth (1.57 GPG) are solid defenses at home. That said, Portsmouth surrendered 4 goals a piece at home to both Arsenal and United so I wouldn't hesitate playing my Chelsea players this week (though I might hesitate paying 8 points to bring 2 in). It seems as if Chelsea will either pull together and win the league or lose control and end up 3rd with Ancelotti fired. Malouda insists the mood in the camp is okay but with Drogba's petulance, Terry's continued lack of form and Anelka's post-January disappearance, I find it hard to be totally sold on this team the way I might be if United had these fixtures. That said, Drogba is the only one of big three (Rooney, Drogba, Torres) playing twice and hence still makes alot of sense for this week.

Lampard will probably contribute again without actually doing a great deal and, like Drogba, is the only one of the big name midfielders playing twice this week (unless you count Milner). Malouda is the form man and has contributed 4 points in every game bar two in 2010 while still being held by just 6.2% of managers. The defense, whilst not in the best of form, have better fixtures and look like solid picks although I am concerned by the 'keeper situation and the form of Terry.
Picks: Drogba, Malouda, Ivanovic

Everton
Opponents: Bolton, @Man City

One great, one tough fixture makes it hard to be crazy over Everton this week though it is of course safe to start all the Toffees you already own. I think Arteta's ownership is one game away from exploding and with Bolton on the horizon he looks like a sound replacement for the likes of Valencia and Kuyt who only play once. Elsewhere, the defensive value is obviously based on the Bolton fixture as City have failed to score at home just once this season (GW 27 vs Liverpool). Again, go ahead and start Baines, Distin and co but I think your transfers can be better used elsewhere.
Picks: Arteta, Distin

Man City
Opponents: @Fulham, Everton

A tough trip to Craven Cottage stops Tevez being a great pickup this week but he still represents good value and is an upgrade over one-game players like Defoe, Torres and Berbatov. I don't like much in the City midfield and while he managed a very solid 9 points last week, it has to be noted that Johnson started on the bench and is not guaranteed to start one nevermind both games this week. Great talent: yes, reliable fantasy star: not yet.

Defensively I am massively skeptical of City though 3 clean sheets in their last 7 games is not too bad. Neither opponent averages more than 1.5 GPG so there is potential for returns from the likes of Zabaleta though who will replace Bridge causes me some concern.
Picks: Tevez, Zabaleta

Portsmouth
Opponents: Hull, Chelsea

Granted Hull at home is about as good as it gets but with the other game being Chelsea you are basically buying into a one fixture team. Perhaps O'Hara is worth a flutter and even Piquionne if you're desperate but if you can move money around it warrants paying to get rid of these guys for anyone else playing twice.
The defense is actually a useful play as they aren't too bad at home, but again I'm not sure I would be spending points here but feel to use your defenders if you happen to own them.
Picks: Wilson, O'Hara

Sunderland
Opponents: Birmingham, @Aston Villa

Bent had been through a tough patch before exploding against Bolton and this unpredictability makes him all but impossible to bench or sell this week. Yes the fixtures looks tough (1.5 GPG and 0.71 GPG conceded) but Bent can be a streaky scorer and Sunderland appear to turned the corner a bit with just one defeat in the last seven. I don't trust the defense and with Reid injured and Cana suspended the Mackens offer little beside the English hitman.
Picks: Bent

West Ham
Opponents: @Arsenal, Wolves

Much like Portsmouth above if you buy here you are really buying into a one fixture team as few rewards are likely to be found at the Emirates. The West Ham team is about as appealing in fantasy circles too with Cole being the star but in his unfit state even he is too risky. Not much value to be found here.

Wolves
Opponents: @Aston Villa, @West Ham

Matt Jarvis is quietly having a solid season for a bench player and has even caught the bonus points judge's eyes in the past few weeks. Normally I wouldn't (and don't) start him but Jarvis, along with Kevin Doyle, warrants some consideration if you're comparing them to someone who is only playing once such as Matt Taylor, Damien Duff or Matt Etherington. Defensively Wolves continue to offer nothing but fantasy misery with little likely to change this week.
Picks: Jarvis

Clean Sheet Rankings

1. Aston Villa*
   
2. Chelsea*
3. Man United
4. Arsenal
5. Man City*
6. Portsmouth*
7. Everton*
   
8. Sunderland*
9. Fulham
10. Wigan
11. Birmingham*
12. Blackburn*
13. West Ham*
14. Stoke
15. Tottenham
16. Wolves*
17. Liverpool
18. Burnley
19. Hull
20. Bolton

* Denotes double gameweek

Captain Rankings

1. Didier Drogba
2. James Milner
3. Darren Bent
4. Frank Lampard
5. Carlos Tevez
6. Wayne Rooney
7. Gabriel Agbonlahor
8. Florent Malouda
9. Cesc Fabregas
   
10. Mikel Arteta

I expect the criticism to come again that I am too high on James Milner but he did pretty well last week and with better fixtures I expect at least 8 points again. Milner has preyed on weaker teams notching double digits against Portsmouth, Bolton, Hull, Sunderland (who they welcome this week), Burnley and Wigan. In fact in the reverse fixtures of this week's games he gained 17 points, even half of which would give good value at the captain position.

I noted my concerns above over Drogba and Chelsea but a double fixture for one of the top teams when the others play just once is just too good to pass up. Lampard's love affair with the bonus pundits and Malouda's excellent 2010 form give Chelsea 3 players in my top 10. Despite the fixture being tough on paper, Rooney's single game against Liverpool could still provide goals and you'd be crazy to bench him or sell him just for one week. If you need to differentiate you need to move on for good, not blow 2 transfers on one player for one week.

As always post your thoughts and transfer issues below or tweet them @plfantasy, and of course, thanks for reading.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16 RESULT: FC BARCELONA 4 - STUTTGART 0 (WATCH VIDEO OF MESSI GOALS)

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football - Soccer - secured a representative for the Quarter Finales of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE after the current European Champions FC BARCELONA defeated in a very comfortable fashion 4-0 the German side STUTTGART ( 5-1 agg) in the return leg at the "Camp Nou" . The star of the game was LIONEL MESSI, who along with his partner "in crime" Dani Alves,

SERGIO AGUERO TO REAL MADRID? WHY NOT, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football Sports Blog has always maintained the idea that ATLETICO DE MADRID star forward SERGIO AGÜERO will more than likely be leaving the Club at the end of this season. The reason being is that the Madrid Club cannot guarantee the player sufficient level or titles to justify Aguero staying & thus denying him a right to flaunt his stuff on the

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2009-2010: SEVILLA FC 1 CSKA MOSCOW 2 - SPANIARDS ELIMINATED

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football - Soccer - experienced another hard knock in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE tonight with the elimination of SEVILLA FC after losing 1-2 ( 2-3 agg) to CSKA MOSCOW. The Spaniards hosted the Russians in the return leg with a 1-1 aggregate that included the valuable away goal, but it was not enough as the Russians managed to do their job with "some luck" that

REAL MADRID: "FRANCK RIBERY WILL PLAY NEXT SEASON AT MADRID" - ACCORDING TO FIFA AGENT

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Ernesto Bronzetti is more than just a very well connected & influential figure in European Football, apart from being a FIFA agent he seems to be a clairvoyant. The man predicted ahead of time that both Kaká & Cristiano Ronaldo would eventually sign with Real Madrid. Now he makes another prediction, that Bayern Munich French International FRANCK RIBERY will

REAL MADRID: ASHLEY COLE AN OPTION?

The transfer rumour season is finally on its way & will fill the Sports papers until the start of the next 2010-2011 Spanish Football League – La Liga – season. Spanish Sports daily “Marca” does not wish to be left behind & publish today that another name is on the list of REAL AMDRID to fill the “problematic” left-back position: ASHLEY COLE (Chelsea FC).The list of interested players is growing

SPANISH FOOTBALL/SOCCER/LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010: ROUND 26 MONDAY NIGHT GAME RESULT - AT MADRID 1 OSASUNA 0

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /The Spanish Football - Soccer - League ("La Liga") celebrated the last match of Round 26 tonight with a very suffered victory by ATLETCO DE MADRID over OSASUNA 1-0As traditional, the Atletico de Madrid supporters had their hearts on their sleeves all night as the nerves & the frustrations was again part of their night. This doesn´t mean it was a bad match,

SPANISH FOOTBALL (SOCCER) - LA LIGA (LEAGUE) 2009 / 2010 - ROUND 26 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS (SEE VIDEO)

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /Spanish Football - Soccer - League, commonly called "La Liga" played six games of Round 26 tonight with the following results, scorers & images.FC BARCELONA managed to "brush off" an annoying & dangerous VALENCIA CF side in the 2ºhalf to finally win 3-0. The man of the match was LIONEL MESSI who scored a HAT-TRICK (56th, 81st & 82nd min) to take his personal

FORMULA 1: FERNANDO ALONSO WINS 2010 BAHRAIN GP

Source: Spanish Football Sports /Spanish Sports got off to a flying start in the motor category with a win in the first race of the new 2010 season of FORMULA 1. Two times F1 World Champion & Spaniard FERNANDO ALONSO won the Bahrain GP raced this afternoon ahead of team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa & British driver Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard has always said that given the a competitive car &

BICYCLING: ALBERTO CONTADOR WINS 2010 PARIS - NICE CLASSIC

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog /The Spanish two time Tour de France winner ALBERTO CONTADOR gets off to a winning start to the new 2010 bicycling season with a win in the Paris – Nice Classic making it his second title of this race winning it the last time in 2007. The other great news is that in second & third place the riders are of Spanish nationality with Alejandro Valverde & Luis –

ROBBEN FREE-KICK GOAL VIDEO FOR BAYERN MUNICH

Source: Spanish Football Sports BlogWatch this video of ARJEN ROBBEN scoring AGAIN with a great free-kick for Bayern Munich. In fact he scored both goals in his teams 2-1 victory yesterday against Freiburg.Perhaps we should ask REAL MADRID - "Mr Valdano & Mr. Perez, why did you sell Robben?Would have been handy against Lyon, perhaps?

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - ROUND 26 SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

The Spanish Football - Soccer - League (La Liga) celebrated last night three games of Round 26 with relatively low scores & draws.GETAFE hosted MALLORCA & won in convincing fashion 3-0. The visitors are strong at home but lose spring away perhaps due to the lack of warmth from their home fans. Young PAREJO scored for Getafe in the 32nd min & it wasn´t until the 80th that MIKU got the teams second

REAL MADRID: MANCHESTER CITY OFFERS 50M€ FOR GAGO & HIGUAIN?

The following is a story published by Spanish Sports daily “Marca” & thus can be either taken as news with substance or just sounding the market &/or ideas. It, s not the first or will it be the last time that “Marca” is/has be “used” as an instrument to send a message to some interested party; but allow SFS for this occasion to assume there is substance to this piece.The news is that MANCHESTER

REAL MADRID: ROONEY, VILLA, SILVA, NAVAS, RIBERY & FABREGAS ALL ON 2010-2011 LIST

REAL MADRID may have suffered a “mortal” blow being eliminated from Champions League, but the Club with more than 100 years of history & named “The Greatest Football Club of the 20th Century” by FIFA never stays down, recovers & is already lifting itself to face the local Spanish League title race & the new upcoming season.These pictured are some of the heavily rumoured players that are on the

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 PHASE - 1º LEG: ATLETICO DE MADRID 0 - SPORTING PORTUGAL 0 / VALENCIA CF 1 - WERDER BREMEN 1

Two Spanish sides participated tonight in the last 16 team phase of the EUROPA LEAGUE with similiar results & unfortunate overall lack of goal definition.(photo:Aguero_elmundo_efe)ATLETICO DE MADRID complicated itself & the return leg game after allowing SPORTING DE PORTUGAL "off the hook" with a 0-0 draw. The Portuguese team started strong with Liedson hitting the bar in the 27th min, but in the

REAL MADRID: A POSSIBLE MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO AGAINST LYON YESTERDAY?

Could this UEFA promotional video have served Real Madrid Coach Manuel Pellegrini to have motivated his team yesterday against Olympique de Lyon?Hope you see the irony.

Gameweek 30 Preview

Alright, hopefully we all got through week 29 unscathed and are ready to start milking the points with all the double gameweeks coming up. In summary, the doubles are below which need to be considered when planning your transfers:

• GW30 - Ast and Wig
• GW31 - Ast, Bir, Bla, Che, Eve, MNC, Por, Sun, WH and Wol
• GW34 - Ful and Sto

There are also a number of games that are yet to be re-scheduled so the rewards will be even greater in the coming weeks. The side that springs out is Villa who face 4 sides in the bottom half of the table, 3 of which average less than a goal a game at the venue Villa face them (home/away) and 2 of which concede more than 2 a game in the venue Villa face them. In short, buy as many Villa as you can! I currently own zero but am contemplating a 4 or 8 point hit in order to maximise the spoils. Be careful not to transfer out a player with a double next week though as that will make it tough for you to realise a gain on your 4 point investment.

Clean Sheet Rankings

1. Aston Villa
2. Tottenham
   
3. Liverpool
   
4. Man Utd
   
5. Birmingham
   
6. Chelsea
   
7. Wigan
   
8. Burnley
   
9. Stoke
   
10. Sunderland
    
11. Everton
    
12. Arsenal
    
13. Bolton
    
14. Man City
    
15. Wolves
    
16. Hull
    
17. Fulham
    
18. Portsmouth
19. West Ham
    
20. Blackburn

Captain Rankings

1. James Milner
2. Gabriel Agbonlahor
3. Jermaine Defoe
4. Fernando Torres
5. Wayne Rooney
6. Richard Dunne
7. Ashley Young
8. Didier Drogba
9. Frank Lampard
10. Charles N'Zogbia

Obviously Villa players dominate the rankings this week though excellent fixtures for Spurs and Liverpool along with Rooney's insane form ensure that the top 5 is still a mix from different teams. I imagine alot of managers will go with Dunne or Milner this week so Agbonlahor could be a sneaky differentiator who is almost certain to get a goal or two in the next couple of gameweeks.

Post your thoughts, comments and transfer issues below or @plfantasy.

THE DAY AFTER: LYON ELIMINATE REAL MADRID FROM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE & COLDPLAY

Spanish Sports media reactions (especially Madrid based) along with International sources are having a meal day with yesterdays elimination of REAL MADRID from CHAMPIONS LEAGUE after the 1-1 draw ( 1-2 loss on aggregate) with Olympique de Lyon.However, lets have a different look at things. Football imitates life itself with important lessons that are learnt & need to be put in practice: the fall

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2009 - 2010: REAL MADRID 1 - OLYMPIQUE DE LYON 1 : REAL MADRID ELIMINATED ( WATCH VIDEO OF GOALS)

REAL MADRID drew 1-1 against OLYMPIQUE DE LYON but was elimated from CHAMPIONS LEAGUE for the 6th time in a row from the final 16 stage. A grand deception for everyone at the Spanish Club who play host to the Champions League Final this season. However, lets be objective, Lyon deserved to go through to the Quarter Finals because in the two games played of this tie the French were far better &

ATLETICO DE MADRID: 3 FORWARDS ON LIST ¿THEN WHAT ABOUT FORLAN & AGUERO?

Spanish sports daily “Marca”, which always loves to advertise “scoops” be they “correct” or not, have published that ATLETICO DE MADRID has three names in mind for the forward line next season:. Giuseppe Rossi (Villareal). Klaas Jan Huntelaar (ex Real Madrid & now AC Milan). Roberto Soldado (Getafe) Here we have a suspicious problem from the beginning; the high salaries that each has at there

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010: ROBBEN & NASRI GOAL VIDEO

Watch the VIDEO of these two amazing goals which occurred last night in their respective CHAMPIONS LEAGUE games. The first by ex Real Madrid player ARJEN ROBBEN who help give the qualifying ticket to his team Bayern Munich for the Quarter Finals. Fiorentina won 3-2 but lost on away goals...fantastic crack shot:RobbenThis other gem is NASRI who did this work of art. It was part of yesterdays

Gameweek 29 Wrap Up

The week isn't quite done but as it's been so disjointed I figured I'd add to the mess by wrapping it up before it's finished. It was a pretty unexciting week that I feel was there to survive rather than thrive on. Captain-tip Fabregas looked to be cruising to a big score with an early goal on Saturday but he then limped off and may now even miss the game with Hull next week. Nasri played well and earned the man of the match and followed that up with a goal and assist tonight in the Champions League. He might be worth a look if you can't afford the dynamic duo of Fabregas and Arshavin.

I made a big mistake not bringing Lee in this week and he shone again against West Ham. I think he could be a real gem to close the season with and is well worth his price tag. Elsewhere United disappointed without Rooney though the England frontman is due back tomorrow night so he should be okay for the weekend if he avoids a set back. Another clean sheet showed that Ferguson's side are looking like a sound investments from here on in.

I hesitantly put Arteta in my captain rankings this week and he duly exploded for 18 points including 2 goals, an assist and the man of the match award. Pienaar also looked good again and joins Lee as one of my favourite cheap midfield options. It was a shame that Everton conceded a silly goal (like Arsenal and Birmingham) to surrender a great clean sheet opportunity against a weaker opponent.

Tonight, Darren Bent stormed back into form with a hattrick and rewarded owners who has stuck by him (or because they couldn't find a better option). Hopefully that will have provided some of us with a few extra points to at least put a few points on our competitors in a week where points were somewhat at a premium.

Looking Ahead
Wigan and Villa get the double this week with both sides looking like decent options (particularly the Villa defense). More on this along with captain and clean sheet rankings to come later in the week.

REAL MADRID CF - THE SPIRIT OF 1960

Real Madrid 1960 Team: Standing left - right: Domínguez, Marquitos, Santamaría, Pachín, Vidal y Zárraga; Below left - right: Canario, Del Sol, Di Stéfano, Puskas y Gento with the 5th straight European CupTomorrow REAL MADRID CF will attempt to turn around a very difficult CHAMPIONS LEAGUE return tie against French team OLYMPIQUE LYON. The French won the home leg 1-0 & Madrid has to make sure that

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - ROUND 25 MONDAY GAME RESULT

The Spanish League concluded Round 25 with the last game & Monday night clash played between VALENCIA CF & RACING DE SANTANDER which finished in a 0-0 draw. The summary can be be described as firing all guns but missing the target & when on course there was the goalkeeper.The 1ºst half was Valencia, David Villa hit the post in the 21 st min & the 2ºhalf was more Racing with young Sergio Canales

REAL MADRID 2009 / 2010 TEAM: BREAKING GOAL SCORING STATISTICS

This seasons REAL MADRID team is a "goal scoring machine", a term that in Football jargon best describes their goal scoring rate. Currently the highest scoring team of all the European Teams & of "La Liga" sides, this seasons Madrid squad is on course to break the magical 1985 side in goal scoring numbers. Here is a VIDEO that explains nicely the statistics:

SPANISH FOOTBALL (SOCCER) - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - ROUND 25 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

Spanish Football - Soccer - via its "Liga" competition continued with Round 25 tonight with six games, after yesterday three were played & Real Madrid took the Top spot off Fc Barcelona. REAL ZARAGOZA watched how a wounded ATLETICO DE MADRID managed to come back to life & draw the game in the 92th min via youngster IBRAHIMA, & with an Atletico team with just 10 men. We all know by now that

TENNIS: SPAIN SECURES DAVIS CUP 2010 VICTORY OVER SWITZERLAND

DAVID FERRER (pictured) guaranteed SPAIN its DAVIS CUP victory over SWITZERLAND after defeating Stanislav Wawrainka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in a vital 4ºth game taking the overall score to 3-1 in Spain´s favour. This takes Spain onto the Quarter Finals were they will meet France on the 9-11 July. The tie against Switzerland complicated itself for the current Davis Cup holders when Wawrinka won last Friday

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2009 / 2010 - ROUND 25 SATURDAY GAMES. REAL MADRID TAKE TOP SPOT IN LADDER

I must say "sorry" from the start to SFS readers as I was invited tonight to the Real Madrid - Sevilla FC match & now I am posting from some local cyber-cafe to get some news to you. Excuse the short summary of tonights three Round 25 "Liga" games that have had consequences in the "Liga" classification table.Earlier Saturday afternoon , DEPORTIVO ( J. Rodiguez, Guardado & Colotto) won 3-1

FOOTBALL FINANCE: SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL (SOCCER) TEAM WORTH 565 MILLION EUROS

Ever wondered how much money you would need to spend to buy the entire Spanish National Football (Soccer) Team? According to the specialized Football Finance Portuguese online web “Futebol Finance” the Spanish National Football Team is worth 565M€, that is the “most expensive” & most valued of all the teams participating in this years South African World Cup Finals. The Brazilian National Team

TRANSFERS RUMOUR 2010: DAVID LUIZ OF BENFICA & DAVID VILLA OF VALENCIA CF IN THE FOCUS

The left-back position needs to be reinforced at REAL MADRID, no one who has followed the Club the season doubts that it is currently an area which can be exploited & has been effectively by opposition teams. To this effect, The Spanish Club has been scouting the International market for someone young & cost effective; one of those players is 23 year old defender DAVID LUIZ of BENFICA who is “

Gameweek 29 Preview

As the season heads into the home straight, I get the feeling that this week could be an important one in our quest for the top of our respective mini leagues. With 6 teams (including Chelsea, Villa, Spurs and Fulham) out of action I think several teams will be starting with just 6 or 7 men while many others will splash 12 points or more on transfers.

Hopefully we all have had plans for the week in place for the last couple of weeks and only need to make a transfer or two to rectify the situation. For advice on which players you should hold and which you should dump, check out my earlier post.

Clean Sheet Rankings

1. Everton
2. Arsenal
3. Man Utd
4. Liverpool
5. Sunderland
6. Wigan
7. West Ham
8. Stoke
9. Burnley
10. Portsmouth
11. Birmingham
12. Bolton
13. Wolves
14. Hull

I think the top four teams rank significantly above the rest and if you can secure 4 defenders from this pack you will be in great shape. I think Everton and Arsenal defenders are worth paying for due to their favourable schedules with Baines and Vermaelen being the most secure and Distin and Clichy offering the cheapest options. Liverpool also look like a decent bet in the long run but it's always hard to predict who will start for Benitez's side which puts me off slightly. United continue to be a solid option with Evra the premium option and Brown probably the best cheap bet.

Captain Rankings

1. Cesc Fabregas
2. Wayne Rooney
3. Andrei Arshavin
4. Fernando Torres
5. Antonio Valencia
6. Tim Cahill
7. Steve Fletcher
8. Chung Yong Lee
9. Mikel Arteta
10. Thomas Vermaelen

I love all things Arsenal this week and you'd be disappointed if they didn't score 3 goals. United's fixture at Wolves looks better than it is (Wolves only concede 1.36 GPG at home) though Rooney is in such good form that he has to rank highly again this week. I know a couple of readers weren't sure about Torres last week but I think he is back and looked decent and so should take his place among the top runners from here on in for captaincy rankings. Everton have a great fixture but as with their Merseyside rivals, I struggle to find too many players to really like outside of Cahill. I've stuck Arteta on the list due to his set piece potential and while I love Pienaar as a player, I'm not ready to put him in captain rankings without a double gameweek just yet.

Good luck for the week ahead and as always thanks for reading.

2010: THE YEAR REAL MADRID PLAYER GONZALO HIGUAIN "EXPLODED"

GONZALO HIGUAIN, 22 year old Argentine International & REAL MADRID player, is at this moment the most in "fashion", most talked about & in form (along with Manchester United player Wayne Rooney) forward in European Football. Currently with 16 goals in the Spanish League, one behind joint leaders Messi & David Villa in the "Pichichi" title race, Gonzalo has publically acknowledged that the

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY:FRANCE 0 - SPAIN 2 (SEE VIDEO GOALS)

A 0-2 result with SPAIN defeating the home side FRANCE in tonight’s International Friendly, a victory on French soil which the Spanish have had to wait for 42 years. But Spain has never had a team like they have today with World Stars in every position, lots of class, talent & the camaraderie. In fact, the FIFA World Nº1 ranked side not only showed why they have that position, they also made

SPAIN "HINTS" OF LINE- UP AGAINST FRANCE & REMAINS Nº1 ON FIFA RANKING

Spanish National Team Coach & Selector Vicente Del Bosque gave a "hint" in last nights training session of the possible starting line-up for tonights Friendly International game against France in Paris. The National Coach has taken notice Liverpool FC Coach Rafael Benitez solicitation to "look after" Fernando Torres who has just come out of a delicate injury, & the star striker could start from

Fitting in with the Fixtures

This week seems to be a metaphor for the financial crisis at Portsmouth - we all knew it was coming but our plans were probably insufficient. With 6 teams not playing at all and only 2 enjoying a double, many of us are going to struggle to field a full strength side this week without drastic changes. In truth that gives us an advantage as the average punter will either stay put with their weakened side or overreact and spend 20 points bringing in new players.

If you do need to make transfers, let's look at which of your players with a bye week should be sold and which would be better kept:

Aston Villa - Hold
With no game in week 28 either, many of us sold the likes of Milner last week in anticipation of their double week vacation. If you stuck by your Villains then it might be worth holding on again if you can given their double gameweek in week 30 (@Sto, @Wig) followed by a home derby against Wolves. I think these boys should have been sold in week 28 but if you made it through that I'd stick again and hold out for the richer rewards of week 30.

Blackburn - Sell
Not many owners will be too concerned with Allardyce's men in fantasy terms though to be fair Gamst Pedersen has been in good form of late while Ryan Nelsen has been a nice rotation prospect all season. With games @Tot and Che to follow their bye I think Blackburn players need to be sold, especially given that if you really fancy the games @Bur and @Por in weeks 32-33 then you should be able to bring your players back at the price you sold them for.

Chelsea - Hold if you can afford it
Obviously you never want to sell your best players, especially if you're sat on a big profit but this may be easier said than done as it would be tough to bench say, Lampard, Drogba and Ivanovic and leave 30.8m to go relax in the South of France while you take your team of Wolves and Burnley misfits off to battle for your side this weekend. Chelsea's next game is West Ham at home which looks decent and then they get a double (@Bla, @Por) but then a run of Ast, @MNU and @Tot looks very tough and thus Lampard and co might be sellable.

The natural choice to replace Lampard is Fabregas who was sensational last week against Stoke and who gets the best fixture a team can have - Burnley at home. With the return of Torres, Gerrard too becomes a viable option but remember he also has to travel to United in a few weeks (GW31). As for Drogba, it would the aforementioned Torres or the irrepressible Rooney. Perhaps against better judgement I actually like Torres to score more points that Rooney from here on in given the fixtures and the workload Rooney has already faced.

With all that said, Drogba could well be the best player to own in the final few weeks of the season so if you own him at a profit the best decision is probably to stay put.

Fulham - Sell/Hold
If you hold any Fulham players (particularly defenders) and you're not sat on a huge profit then it might be time to temporarily part with your reliable overachievers. With a bye week followed by a trip to Old Trafford and a home fixture with City, the returns look seriously limited over the next 3 weeks. My general rule is that I can accept keeping a player on a 1 or 2 game skid but 3 weeks of next to no contribution is too much to take, even for a bargain loaded side like Fulham.

Man City - Sell
I know, I know, they have a double gameweek in week 31 but @Ful (0.64 GPG conceded) and Eve (1.69 GPG conceded and improving) doesn't do much to get my fantasy blood boiling. Tevez is in great form and their performance at Chelsea showed they can win on any ground but nevertheless fantasy football for me is about playing the odds and with only Wigan at home in week 32 coming against a team who concede more than 1.5 GPG (along with the aforementioned Everton game) I think City's fantasy boom may have run its course. At 9m Tevez is really tough to replace, for this week and beyond (given that Defoe and Agbonlahor also have bye weeks this week). Long term I like Agbonlahor's fixtures though I don't believe he is in great form while Darren bent continues to provide good value in this week and the foreseeable future.

Tottenham - Hold A great fixture next week (Bla at home) followed by a series of decent games leads me to favour Spurs slightly over City as a fantasy force in the next few weeks. That said, without Lennon your Spurs options are somewhat limited to Defoe and a rejuvenated Modric to go along with their stellar back line. If you can hold these guys through the week then I think you'll be well placed in week 30 but it wouldn't be a disaster if you had to sell.

Stay tuned later in the week for the usual weekly preview. In the meantime please post your thoughts/comments/questions below or @plfantasy.

DAVID VILLA, ARBELOA, XABI ALONSO & DAVID SILVA SALESMAN FOR A DAY

Imagine walking into your favourite Sports store & having David Villa try to sell you the new Spanish Team shirt? Imagine Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso or David Silva working as a store salesperson trying to earn a commission with the typical "salesman" pitch?Great marketing gimmick to profile the new Spanish Team kit & at the same time give the multinational sports company some free media space around

U/21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: SPAIN 3 - LIECHTENSTEIN 1

The Spanish U/21 National Team Coach & Selector Lopez Caro, was questioned last week to explain what reasons lead him not to call up youngsters like Bojan, Sergio Canales & Domínguez, all regular “Liga” players with their respective teams, to the National squad. The replies were not convincing (form) & to be honest very vague; who really knows why he left out three of Spain’s current young

SPANISH FOOTBALL: IKER CASILLAS ON RECORD BREAKING COURSE OF INTERNATIONAL GAMES

Ever wondered who (which player) has the most International Caps with the Spanish National Team? The answer is Andoni Zubizarreta, who was also goalkeeper of FC Barcelona.The news is that another goalkeeper is on course (respecting injuries) to break records & almost certainly surpass the Zubizarreta milestone. Real Madrid player, current Spanish National goalkeeper & Captain IKER CASILLAS will

ATLETICO DE MADRID: THE RESURRECTION OF JOSÉ ANTONIO REYES

If Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, ATLETICO DE MADRID player JOSE ANTONIO REYES entered & got lost in the wilderness for years since he left English Premier League Club Arsenal FC in 2006. In fact, most had given the player as “professionally dead” until now with his Football resurrection reminiscent of Lazarus & the role of Jesus in this modern Football case being played by current Atletico

FOOTBALL FINANCE: REAL MADRID Nº1 RECORD BREAKING INCOME GENERATOR IN ONE YEAR

When REAL MADRID President Florentino Perez paid a record 73M€ for Zinedine Zidane in 2001 many thought he was crazy & that he would ruin the Club & put in danger the whole World of Football. Instead Perez defended his “Business Model” saying that in the mid to long term it would be the cheapest Real Madrid signing in history. Many were amazed initially at the statement & later surprised as the “

SPAIN vs FRANCE INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY 2010: TEAM PHOTOS

Click here for ACTUAL GAME details & goal videos: http://spanishfootballsports.blogspot.com/2010/03/international-friendly-france-0-spain-2.htmlSFS has lots of readers who continue to solicitate photos of players & teams for their collection & /or Social Media sites. With the excuse of the upcomong France vs Spain International Friendly tomorrow here are the lastest starting team line-up photos

SPAIN WILL DEBUT AGAINST FRANCE WITH NEW "AWAY" OUTFIT

SPAIN with debut with its "new away outfit" tomorrow night against France in their International Friendly game in Paris. Below is the new shirt that goes recovers its darker traditional blue with "retro" elements from 1964 Euro Cup Champions side & the 1998 World Cup team.What do you think? Like the new look?

SFS FLASHBACKS: SPAIN - FRANCE MATCHES ( 1984 EURO FINAL & 2006 WORLD CUP) - YES, WE CAN

The Spanish National Football Team travels mid-week to play France in an International Friendly match that serves perfectly to measure & “feel the Spanish Team pulse” of the current European Champions who are “hot favourites” (along with Brazil) for the upcoming South African World Cup Finals.Traditionally France is the nemesis & the “dark angel” who have eliminated Spain out of important

REAL MADRID: HIGUAIN, RONALDO & BENZEMA: "TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING"?

Has Real Madrid Coach Manuel Pellegrini another potential “time-bomb” ticking within his dressing room? Is there evidence of the existence of a latent “problem” that will need all is psychological & human relations skills in other to keep things flowing smoothly with all his players, his team & Club objectives?It could well be that Coach Pellegrini could be about to suffer from “too much of a