Fantasy Premier League

The Week Ahead

Thu Oct 19 02:03PM

It's my guess that you all have a pretty good idea where my head is based on my posting earlier in the week. With two clashes that consist of either two "big teams" or two teams at the top of the table (the former being ManYoo/Liverpool and the latter being Chelsea/Pompey) there are a number of players that you have to consider less valuable based on their opposition. On the flip side with Everton hosting Sheffield United and Spurs hosting still-struggling West Ham there are some attractive options as well.

I have to admit, in addition to the two feature matches of the weekend, I'm likely to stay away from Rovers/Bolton as it is likely to be a grind-it-out sort of affair and I'm equally likely to stay away from Boro/NUFC despite being a fan of both Downing and Yakubu because it's so hard to get a handle on what you're going to get from either side in any given performance.

So, enough of my yapping about team match-ups and on to the analysis...

Chelsea

Obviously, the big news here is the situation between the pipes. Cudicini, in my mind, is now the must-have keeper for the rest of the season. Reports are that he will play against Pompey and for those of you who scooped up Carlo before his price went up, you'll probably be sweating the decision until the match starts on Saturday. Based on Hilario's performance against Barca yesterday, I'd bet the medical staff will do everything possible to get Carlo back - no major mistakes were made but he was clearly not comfortable in his decision-making and if allowed to go on for too long one of those bad clears will end up hurting the Blues. For those of you who have not taken the plunge yet, you might want to wait until the Sheffield United match next weekend (in which case Tim Howard vs. SHE this weekend is your best bet but more on EVE later).

As for the outfield players, Didier Drogba continues his strong play and, for my money, is currently the "straw that stirs the drink" for the Chelsea attack. He's coming back to get the ball, making good runs, and his confidence is obviously sky-high after some high-quality goals in the last few weeks. For the price, Drogboy is an excellent alternative to Henry or Rooney. Lamps is Lamps but with the return of Ballack he was playing a much more withdrawn role than usual yesterday and both he and Ballack struggled to make the sort of impact that fantasy managers will care about. Ashley Cole continues to be inexpensive but he really hasn't delivered much either and with questions in the net and quality opposition coming to town the chances for a clean sheet are lower than usual.

Pompey were pretty good to me last weekend with the exception of Kranjcar not even making the squad - Glen Johnson and Stefanovic both had modestly successful outtings. That said, when teams travel to the Bridge you probably don't want too many of their defenders in your line-up. I'm also not ready to take the leap for Kanu despite the fact that the goals keep coming - if they weren't playing Chelsea, maybe, but not away to the Champions.

[note - Glen Johnson can't play against CHE as he is on loan to POR from the Champions. -jeremy]

The Race for the Champions League

Apparently, the only teams that started the season in this category (ManYoo, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, and West Ham) that were really serious about it were Arsenal and ManYoo. The Hammers and Spurs have stumbled more spectacularly but Liverpool is coming off two trophy-winning seasons in a row and their start to the season can be considered nothing less than a mess as they currently stand 11th in the table.

Maybe the visit to Old Trafford is exactly what 'pool need to get them going but I'm not going to wager my fantasy roster on that possibility. If I were considering anyone from Liverpool it would be Dirk Kuyt who looks to be healthy again after a 25 minute run-out yesterday against Bordeaux. That said, who knows if Rafa is ready to pull yesterday's goal-scorer Peter Crouch for someone coming back to fitness. If you have Aurelio for a low price, it's probably worth keeping him and hoping the reason he wasn't even on the bench yesterday was that he was being rested for the trip to OT.

As down as I am on Liverpool, I'm excited (as a fantasy manager) for the return of Ryan Giggs and what that will mean for the United attack. You now have to consider Rooney, Saha, and Giggs for inclusion along with Ronaldo who is capable of producing fantasy points under any circumstances. Saha is probably the best bang for the buck. The road ahead in the Prem (Liverpool, @BOL, Pompey) isn't the easiest so you'll have to decide when to dive in but being invested in the Red Devils' attack is something worth doing when the above gentlemen are all healthy and not suspended (we mean you Wayne).

For Arsenal's part, I'm not sure what to make of the trip to the Madejski on Sunday. Arsenal have been playing better in the attacking half but Reading are a quality squad, especially at home. It took a pinball goal from Chelsea to get them the points in what was a bruising affair last weekend. This match could be all free-flowing offence but it could also resemble the Reading/Chelsea match - the former being great for fantasy managers, the latter, not so much.

I'm going to be conservative with this one - I'm sticking with Henry and Hoyte (he's just SO cheap) but they're the only ones. With Arsenal returning from a long cold trip to Moscow, I just don't have a great feeling about their chances. I've even had some thoughts of moving from Henry and a cheaper midfielder to Rooney and Giggs (and remember, I'm a Gooner at heart so there must be something to the notion).

Against the Relegation Zone

The emerging "playing against Sheffield United" rule is going to dominate my roster this weekend. AJ and Cahill are both must-haves for my line-up with serious consideration being given to Arteta and just about anyone on Everton's back-line. The only reason NOT to have T-Ho is that you're in for Cudicini at a low price for the long haul. If you're making the decision based on this week alone, Howard should be your choice based on his price and the probability of Win/Clean Sheet plus whatever saves he gets (probably not too many).

The other match to watch here is Watford traveling to Charlton where I fully expect the away side to score some goals with blog favorite Ashley Young likely to rebound from his Emirates Stadium performance and Marlon King to find the back of the net as well. For Charlton, Darren Bent has quietly been having another excellent campaign (minus the early-season results for his side) and has to be considered, even at 13+, against a shakey Watford defence.

And the Rest

Villa play host to Fulham in a match that promises to see Petrov, Agbonlahor and last week's goat JPA produce a reasonable number of points...For Fulham, we welcome back long-time Blog Favorite Claus Jensen who re-introduced himself to the Prem and Fantasy Owners with a goal and an assist within mere minutes of taking the pitch...he's a little pricey for someone traveling with a mediocre squad to Villa Park but someone to consider for the rest of the season as match-ups dictate...Wigan should beat Man Citeh who are floundering but I'll be damned if I know where the fantasy points are going to come from in this one and I can't, in good conscience, recommend anyone other than possibly Hatem Trabelsi who had a nice fantasy debut last weekend in the 0-0 draw with SHE...I'm sticking with my man David Bentley through the ugly match that's bound to happen with Bolton but there's not much else to recommend here...Boro and NUFC have plenty of intriguing options with Downing and Yakubu topping the list against a miserable NUFC defence...Finally, Berbatov is back for Spurs and he's cheap baby, given the combination of the match-up and his performances-to-date, he should be a strong consideration as should Assou-Ekotto against the anemic Hammers attack...heck, you might even consider Robinson if you're looking for something different.

Happy Shopping