Fantasy Premier League

The Week Ahead

Thu Apr 19 03:03AM

Remind me again who ever said that mid-week football was dull? What, you say Jeremy and I have been saying that all year? Well, to cover ourselves in light of Wednesday's (and to a lesser extent Tuesday's) goal-scoring outbursts we're going to go with this week being the exception that proves the rule. I may not be a professional pundit in the traditional, big newspaper pedigree sense of the term but that sounds like the sort of thing that a professional would say to cover themselves when they've been forwarding a premise that goes horribly wrong.

Fortunately, despite my general lack of confidence in mid-week offense at least I had some of the right guys - Gerrard, Cesc, Arbeloa, Tevez and Reina did the job for me (sadly, my confidence in Boro - Viduka and Downing - was wildly misplaced). The sad part in all of this is that despite all the differences in our line-ups, the difference between Jeremy and I for the week was a mere 2 points. Not exactly the sort of separation that either of us were hoping for (well, actually, I'm sure he's fine with it since it means that he maintains his substantial lead on me going into the final month of action).

As we turn to this week we get a nice change of pace as all twenty teams play a single match. I don't know about you but for me, it makes things a lot easier as I size up the week. No worries about extremely productive one-gamers against marginally productive two-gamers to produce sleepless nights.

This allows us to turn our gaze back to the fundamentals - who is in good form? who is playing at home? who has good match-ups? who is taking the kicks? and where can you expect some value from lower-priced players?

With all that in mind, we turn to...

Strikers

For one of the first times this season, I am pretty confident in asserting that, despite his price, Wayne Rooney is the man to have in your line-up. He's in great form as is the entire Manchester United attack - as an added bonus, they're at home and playing a Boro side that has been unimpressive at best.

Also, high on your list should be his very affordable strike partner Alan Smith. Sure, you have to assume that there's a reasonable chance that he'll do nothing productive AND commit a bunch of fouls and see yellow but the upside at home against Boro isn't bad under 7.00. He looked great in both Cup competitions.

Speaking of sub-7.00 strikers - John Carew appears ready to make a return to the Villa line-up. They are home but the opponent - Pompey - could go either way. Regardless, if you're looking for a consistently good striker on the cheap Carew is your guy.

Another hot striker who isn't extremely expensive is Jason Roberts. He scored in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea and followed that up with another goal against Watford today. Throw in a positive match-up against the sinking ship that is Fulham and you have the recipe for a bargain.

My final recommendation, in light of Sheva's mis-kick induced injury, is his stand-in Kalou. He hasn't been spectacular overall but he certainly has been a good fantasy bet when he's started regardless of what you think of his playing ability in the real world.

Midfielders

Wow, what a mid-week (or at least first 35 minutes of mid-week) for BFDB. Three assists in short order as Rovers cruised to a blow-out win over Watford. Both Bentley and Rovers' other wing - MGP - are relatively expensive but they're producing in a big way. With Arteta uncertain with injury and Ronaldo and Lamps over 20.00 the Rovers duo are not bad options. Throw in a hot Steven Gerrard (home to Wigan) and you have a number of premium options that aren't insanely expensive.

The better question is what the value plays are that will allow you to afford the premium choices that you want. Certainly, SWP had a great mid-week and he is still relatively inexpensive for a starter on a good team - assuming he's a starter. For the more budget conscious, Joe Cole is the call as Jose eases him back into the line-up to help navigate the crowded schedule as Chelsea pursue the mythical quadruple.

I'm hesitant to throw this out there since he's officially dead to me but Paul Scholes is starting and if he stays in the middle of the Red Devils' attack he's bound to get a brace one of these weeks - and at the price and with the match-up it's worth the risk if you need a moderately priced midfielder.

My last recommendation in midfield, and I'm not entirely wild about this one, is Pennant. He's been starting and at least playing OK and he's still affordably priced. The match-up home to Wigan is a great one to try to take advantage of this value.

Defenders

There still aren't a ton of inexpensive defenders available that should be getting fantasy managers excited but certainly Gabriel Heinze - home to Boro - and Arbeloa for Liverpool - home to Wigan AND playing midfield - are great bets for a reasonable price.

Another reasonably priced defender - albeit not a cheap one - is Wes Brown. With United's injuries, he's pretty much a guaranteed starter and the price isn't too bad (under 8.00).

Goalkeepers

The big question here is who starts for Manchester United this weekend. EvdS was sidelined in midweek and if he misses again this weekend then Kuszczak is the clear choice with a great match-up and a sub-8.00 price.

If van der Sar does play then the choices go like this: Cech (money in the bank but REALLY expensive), van der Sar (not as expensive, very productive, but playing behind a make-shift defence), and Reina (relatively cheap and playing Wigan at home where they've allowed all of five goals all season.

My bias is towards Pepe but he doesn't tend to get too many saves so there are certainly cases to be made for the other two if you have the money.

Finally, whatever else you do, stay away from the Charlton/Sheffield United match. If you think you can predict what's going to happen there, you're just kidding yourself.

Good luck and happy shopping.