In this post I plan to look at the teams individually. That may involve some analysis or it may be just to point at a feller who ought to be on your Watchlist or in your team.
Arsenal: It's getting harder and harder to feel positive about Arsenal FF assets but the immediate schedule ahead is very good (SUN,STK,che,WBA,nor,FUL) for both attack and in defense (if you think they can right the ship). Obviously van Persie is at the top of the list and makes a very good captain's choice in 5 of the next 6. I have gone for Ramsey, who looks to be getting forward at least as much as Arteta and he is significantly cheaper. I like Walcott as well, who in just over half an injury plagued season last year, had 133 points. I have liked Gervinho's performances too, in the games I've seen, but at 8.9 we have to see more to convince. I think Mertesacker will come good too but at 6.0 you have to ask why not Jones or Kompany from the Manchester teams ?
Aston Villa: I have seen Villa twice now on TV and it looks to me like MacLiesh is as interested in CS draws as much as when he was at Birmingham. Which means Given and Warnock (and possibly Hutton and Collins) are good value. 4 of the next 6 are away (including this week's trip to MNC and a GW12 visit to TOT). Bannon has been hyped quite a bit off 3 good performances and at 5.1, is a budget midfielder when we aren't seeing too many good FF performances in the >6.0 range. But will he stay in the line-up ? I wouldn't bring him in anyway this week, but certainly worth adding to the WL. Agbonlahor too, is banging them in and has a very steady record if you throw out last year's Houllier plagued year. I've had Agbonlahor in my team in years past and I found him a bit frustratingly streaky. He's never been prolific (btn 9-13 goals in the 4 years prior to last) and those goals always seemed to come in bunches. His price point at 7.1 becomes a slight issue when you think about benching him . . . not quite sold. Darren Bent has dropped in price to 9.8 (despite 2G,1A in 6 games) but this guy, imo, is . . . money. In his prior 2 seasons he scored 24 and 17 EPL goals. He scored for England Tuesday. He scores. Simple.
Blackburn: One name - Junior Hoillett. If you need a budget forward, this is your guy.
Bolton: I had Martin Petrov from GW1 and just dropped him in my GW7 WC, but I am a believer in the Bulgarian. BOL's schedule gets a ton better (wig,SUN,swa,STK,wba,EVE) and I would look for some returns from these games especially if Klasnic returns from his red card induced bench time in the same form he had in GW1-3 (3G,1A). If you've got Cahill, I would hang on to him; there will probably be 1 or 2 CS in the next 6 and he remains a goal threat from set pieces.
Chelsea: Hard to figure where to spend here, even though I want to. I got lucky and beat the bandwagon to Boswinga, but with Luiz back and in shape, you wonder (well, I wonder) if Boswinga won't get sucked back into a rotation game with Ivanovic. So, at 6.2 he is still a a cheap way into CHE defense (although CHE have produced just 1 CS in 7). In terms of attack, Lampard had a massive GW7, but I'm not convinced AVB sees him as part of his best team. And he is the most expensive midfielder in FPL. Ramires or Meireles are cheap ways into the midfield but school is out on whether they can justify their prices in your midfield. For me, it's either Mata or, at forward, Sturridge. I've seen CHE a few times and Mata looks like he will come good (and he has been pretty effective already) and at 6.5, you don't really feel bad about an occasional benching for Sturridge. But I think Sturridge is going to be nailed on for starts, to be honest. AVB has picked him in every game he has been available. I also have Torres on my Watchlist and will monitor him on his return. I have a sneaking suspicion the Spaniard will be returning to form after breaking his duck with 2 goals before his red card madness.
Everton:. Stay. Away. Next 4 games are che, ful, MUN, new. I am guessing Moyes will right the ship, but not in the next month. They'll go to CHE with the same mindset they had at MNC. And go home 2-0 losers. Again. And then they STILL have 3 tough games.
Fulham: Schwarzer is a very solid FF investment (well, I would say that, I have him) but the rest of the defense looks a bit of a no-go area. I think Hangeland and Riise are overpriced for guys you'll wind up sitting when they visit top-half of the table teams. Aaron Hughes is a good way in to this normally sturdy defense at 4.7 once he returns from injury. In attack, steady-eddy Danny Murphy will give you somewhere around 120+ points this year at a reasonable price. I don't honestly know what to make of Dempsey at 8.3. He's in the top 10 of FPL midfield scorers and he scored 168 FF points last year. I guess if you don't have enough money to go get Silva, Nani,et. al., he's the next best thing in an FPL year that seems to lack midfield depth. He has played an OOP forward at times, but with Jol bringing in some depth at forward, it's likely Dempsey will see more time on the wing. Whether that impacts his FF production remains to be seen. Zamora, if he can remain healthy, is a pretty solid squad forward, although, at 6.7, his price stretches that 'squad forward' role. Andy Johnson had a massive GW7 - and is priced beautifully at 5.1, so the question is - will Andy Johnson get enough playing time in EPL (as opposed to EL and Cups) so that he makes a comfortable 80/90 minute sub when one of your starters unexpectedly sits?
Liverpool: The return of Gerrard may cause some changes in the line-up (I can't see Lucas sitting tbh) which means Adams or Henderson's places (and knock-on, Kuyt's) place may be in jeopardy. I still think Suarez is a huge value and probably the only Liverpool attacking player, at these prices, I'd own. In defense, Enrique is a huge bargain as I think Liverpool will continue to be a top 4 side in terms of goals allowed. Their near term schedule is a real mixed bag with some games where CS are definitely in the offing, mixed with some games where they might concede 2+(MUN, NOR, wba, SWA, che, MNC).
Manchester City and Manchester United. This is really simple. You should probably have 4 from all season:
Rooney, Nani, A.Young, Hernandez (give him a week after this int'l break), Anderson, Cleverly (on his return), Jones, Smalling, Aguero (inj concern for a week or 2), Dzeko, Nasri, Silva, YaYa, Kompany, Richards, Clichy, Hart.
I'll cover the rest in a Part 3 soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment