Fantasy Premier League

The Week Ahead

Thu Apr 24 04:04PM

A funny place we've arrived at in the league (the real one, not the fantasy one).  It seems like no one has taken Chelsea too seriously as a title contender for a variety of reasons, good ones I might add.  They've had all sorts of injuries.  They replaced one of the best coaches in the world with a guy no one has heard of who looks like a comicbook villain and has all the personality of a doorstop.  Their best players (Lampard, Drogba, Cech, etc.) haven't played as well as they did last year when they didn't win the title.  Finally, they really don't scare you the way they did under Mourinho - there isn't that feeling that if they're down one with 5 minutes left to play, they'll score one or two to secure points when all looked lost (the Liverpool match aside).  So why is this funny?  Because here they stand within 3 points and goal differential away from being top of the table with their biggest match of the year coming up.

I'm guessing that because the media and neutral fans pretty much hate Roman, his money, Grant, the storing away of good young English players like Sidwell and Bridge in the reserve squad, and pretty much everything else that the Chelski revolution represents there is less attention being paid to the fact that CHELSEA COULD ACTUALLY WIN THE TITLE.  Sure, ManYoo will probably do what is necessary to pull it out but as much as I hate to do it, we have to give Grant and the Chelsea squad their due.  They have endured a season of much turmoil and managed to grind out results frequently enough to stay in the race.  I'd much rather watch Arsenal or ManYoo for entertainment purposes but you have to admire the effort.  So, with the titanic clash at Stamford Bridge leading off the program this weekend, I'll start the fantasy analysis by telling all of you to watch, enjoy, and stay away from all of the players involved!

Elsewhere, there are some match-ups to focus on. 

Buy - Citeh (Fulham are done, Citeh have had a fire lit under them and are playing at home), Wigan (Have been excellent down the stretch and Reading have been excellent guests), Liverpool (if you can figure out who will play on the second team), Arsenal (hello, Derby).

Hold - Villa (too hot to drop even if the competition is MUCH tougher this weekend), NUFC (Keggy's revival was late in coming but has been impressive now that it's arrived and WHU aren't very good).

Hold w/ Discount - Rovers, Pompey, Everton, Brum, WHU, Spurs, Bolton, Sunderland, Boro, ManYoo, Chelsea

Sell - Derby, Fulham, Reading

With that in mind, on to the players...

Strikers
Owen is too hot to ignore...I like the idea of Freddie Sears...Theo Walcott is going to make his push for more PT next season...Does Bendtner get the start over K2 vs. Derby since Arsenal have nothing really to play for?  I say yes...Benjani seems to score in bunches and I'm guessing last weekend was the start of a season-closing hot-streak...Crouch because he'll play...

Midfielders
CRon because he's CRon...Cesc because Wenger won't rest him and he's playing Derby...MPet because he seems to have woken back up...Valencia because he's better than you think...Bullard because he gets points no matter how well Fulham are playing...Pennant because he's auditioning for a job elsewhere next year (and he'll play)...

Defenders
Toure because they're playing Derby and he'll be forward all afternoon...Clichy, ditto...Sharner because he's the unlikeliest fantasy football stud ever...Woody because he's relatively cheap...Gallas because he's relatively cheap...Beye, because he's been playing great the last month...Mokoena if you need the money.

Keepers
Lehmann if he's going to play...Almunia or Hart if Lehmann isn't going to play...Gordon if you need the money.

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