Fantasy Premier League

The Week Ahead

Thu Feb 19 02:46AM

Welcome back readers, since we last talked I've had the pleasure of being to San Diego to visit the West Coast side of your favorite blogging tagteam.  As a bonus, I also got to visit and stay the night at the new and improved Blogging HQ West.  A big thank you to Mrs. West Coast Blogger for the hospitality. 

A lot of other things have been going on since the last full week of Premier League action and this seems to be the right time to do a quick rundown as there is some impact on the balance of the fantasy season.  So, here we go rapid fire style...

1) Quaresma Arrives - Hey, how about that, Chelsea have a second wide player (or a first one if you're in the large majority of people who don't consider FloMal to be an actual player).  His first start was promising for fantasy managers.  Unless your midfield is rock-solid, I'd consider jumping on this bandwagon for a few weeks to see how things go (and while the price is still right).

2) EdS Returns - So, Eduardo comes back and scores two goals pretty much immediately.  Is this because the opposition wasn't spectacular? Will he force his way into the line-up?  On one hand Arsenal haven't been able to score so anyone who might be hot should be given a look.  On the other hand, will Wenger sacrifice either his most talented healthy player (RvP) or the presence of a target striker (Bendtner now and K2 when he regains his health)?  Quite a conundrum for Wenger which makes things even worse for we fantasy managers who have to figure out what he might do.  EdS would be a great bargain if he were to start but there's a reasonable chance he will be brought along slowly so he could get nothing more than a cameo this weekend.  Might be worth waiting until Friday to see if Wenger tips his hand before making any guesses.

3) Arshavin (Finally) Arrives - I can't even imagine how tiresome this must have been for people who either don't care about Arsenal or, even worse, actively dislike them.  Now that it has actually happened though, the question becomes, where does he play? Does he take Denilson's spot behind the strikers? Does Wenger try to slot him wide on the right? If I were to guess (always a shakey proposition), I'd say he ends up behind the strikers with Song as a backstop.  The question is whether Wenger continues to try to force Denilson into the line-up as a right winger (with Nasri on the left) or whether he gives Vela a chance to earn a spot on the left (with Nasri on the right).  Given Denilson's lack of production when placed on the wing, my preference would be to give Vela a shot but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on Wenger to go with Nasri - Denilson as his wings.

4) Big Phil Out; Hiddink In - I've heard lots of theories about why the Big Phil experiment didn't work out (the most convincing being that as a National Team Manager he wasn't used to being the one to drive his players to top levels of fitness because their club managers had that covered).  Regardless, there's a new sheriff in town and if the issue was fitness, commitment, and organization at the back then you have to wonder if there is time for Hiddink to turn things around before all is lost.  Chelsea are 5 points clear of Arsenal for 4th position but the trends are all wrong for the Blues.  This will be an interesting battle for the rest of the campaign.  For fantasy purposes, my guess is that they will do better against inferior opponents and that at least one of the Elk or Drogs will start finding the back of the net soon.  Wouldn't it be nice for us managers if it were Drogs with his tiny price tag?

OK, I guess those weren't as rapid-fire as I'd hoped so time to start talking about the week ahead...

Strikers
As Jeremy said, there seem to be an embarrassment of riches when it comes to inexpensive striking options.  Between EdS, Drogba, and Arshavin plus those of you who picked up Jo before his price went up last week - there are plenty of ways to conserve your budget for higher priced players elsewhere.

If you're looking for a recommendation on an expensive striker, I'd have to go with Torres with a slight edge over Berbs - both are hot but with Rooney back there's a chance that Berbs will get a rest for somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes.  

Midfielders
There are almost as many appealing options in midfield as there are up top.  We've already discussed Quaresma above and with the likes of Charles "The Insomniac" N'Zogbia available, cheap, and playing against Boro that's two inexpensive midfielders worth adding to the mix. 

If you're looking for recommendations on premium priced guys, then I'm looking (in order) at CRon, Arteta, Gerrard, Lamps, and BFAY.  Why? Match-ups.  All else being equal, I'd take Lamps and Gerrard over Arteta and BFAY would be a shade ahead as well but the match-ups favor Arteta over Lamps and BFAY who square off against each other in a match that is unlikely to yield that many fantasy points for either side.

Defenders
So, after telling you about all of the great money-saving players available at Striker and Midfielder what am I going to do with all that extra cash? I'm buying Vidic.  What else can you say - ManYoo just aren't giving up goals, he scores from time-to-time and he doesn't even pick up cards - that's one Red and two Yellows for the season if you're counting along at home.  If he were English, I'm pretty sure he'd have been knighted already but since he isn't he has to settle for being on the thinking fan's list for player of the year.  [Since you asked, my list goes Vidic, BFAY, Gerrard, and then a big jump down to Lamps and Zaki].

Outside of Vidic, I'm sticking with Bos and Pants but if I weren't, I'd be thinking about Gosling (who is listed as a defender and is relatively cheap at 8.06).

Keepers
Here's another place to think about spending your newly found riches.  EvdS is a pretty strong deal since he apparently doesn't give up goals anymore (and in many cases doesn't even really touch the ball after warm-ups have ended).  If you don't want to spend EvdS money then I'd suggest Schwarzer or Kirkland.  As for me, I'm going to stick it out with Given despite the rotten match-up because I have him for peanuts.  That said, there isn't a really inexpensive option that I like this week.  If you think you know what's going to happen between Stoke/Pompey or Hull/Spurs, then more power to you but I can't say that I do so I'm not recommending any of their respective keepers.

Good luck with your deliberations and see you on Friday for Injuries and Suspensions.

Cheers - Neal

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