As I ready to head Up North (as we say here in Michigan) tomorrow, a few thoughts on a few key games (from a FF perspective) this weekend . . .
Norwich v. Arsenal. This is the early kick off and while I hate captaining someone from the early game - much less someone playing away - I brought in RvP this week for Aguero for games like this: a guy with 29 goals in his last 28 games against a newly promoted side without a clean sheet. Norwich have conceded 7 goals in 5 home games. So it's RvP as Stoosher captain. But see my previous post, re: Stoosher captain selections. I think Walcott is a decent shout for the armband too, if he is your Arsenal cover. An interesting question is whether to start an Arsenal defender if you've invested there. If I had Vermaelen or Koscielny, I would give it a go. This looks a 2-0 Arsenal win to me.
Manchester City v. Newcastle. With no tv Up North, I'll have to settle for the Sirius radio broadcast but this game will answer several big FF questions, namely, are Man City unstoppable and are Newcastle for real ? This game starts as difficult a 3-game run (mnc, mnu, CHE) as there is for Newcastle and we FF managers should learn a lot Saturday. Most FF managers have at least 2 MNC assets and some managers have doubled down on the NWC defense, so some FF teams will have 4+ players involved. My standard captain's selection rule - (i)best midfielder in my side, (ii)playing at home, (iii)against the weakest opposition - suggests I should hand the armband to David Silva. And Silva should be involved, having played only a cameo role in Spain's trip to Costa Rica. But, I am going with form - RvP - this week. So look for a goal/assist/BPs game from Silva (mordant chuckling). I think Aguero will start but I think there are question marks over Balotelli and Dzeko starting, especially the latter, who both played 90 minutes twice over the international break. Mancini has suggested Balotelli should shine in CL and may be saved for MNC's massive CL game this coming week. Dzeko had 2 tough qualifiers v. Portugal this past week. We'll learn a lot about Newcastle's so far sturdy defense on Saturday but Simpson is firmly on my bench. 2-1, 3-1 here ?
Sunderland v. Fulham. As my patience wears thin with Sturridge, and as Sunderland's short term schedule begins to look crazy good (FUL, WIG, ww, BLA), I am thinking Bendtner. He's scored again for the Danes over the break, he's off to a good start with Sunderland, and I think he's capable of 12-14 goals this year. While Fulham have not been horrible on the road this year (4 points from 5 games, 6 goals conceded), this is a game you'd expect Sunderland to win with a goal or 2. The game is also worth thinking about for Sessegnon's remarkable turnaround; Larsson misses out so if there are goals you'd think it will be Bendtner or Sessegnon. On Fulham's side, I wonder if there is a slight worry about a rest for Clint Dempsey - the American played 180 minutes v. France and Slovenia over the, uh, "break".
WBA v. Bolton. Well, I'm a fan of Bolton so I would care. I also wonder whether the team that pounded Stoke will turn up for this one; curiously, Bolton have been better on the road than at the Reebok. Chris Eagles, Ivan Klasnic, and David Wheater are all on my Watch List too, given a fairly decent run of games through to the New Year. I am also curious about another Watch List man - WBA's Gareth McAuley (4.0) - and whether he will continue to hold the place he took from Gabriel Tamas when Tamas was injured. WBA's schedule rotates well with several teams with budget defensive assets.
Wigan v. Blackburn. I think even at this stage of the season, a relegation 6-pointer. My interest is that I am one of the few, the proud, the insane, to have hung on to the Preseason's FF Next Big Thing - Victor Moses. To show my faith, I am benching Aaron Ramsey for Moses. If Wigan can't score at home v. Blackburn . . .
Swansea v. Manchester United. Swansea have conceded only 1 goal at home this year and I have Vorm slated for goal. And my rotation guy with Newcastle's Danny Simpson is Garry Monk, so I am all-in with Swansea. But . . . I am also starting Nani. I suspect Rooney will be back in his forward role again. One thing that will interest me - a lot - is whether Javier Hernandez starts again, as he did last GW. I thought Hernandez would be a consistent starter this year. If he starts a second game in a row here, that may suggest a trend at least, and with Man Utd's good near term schedule, he becomes a real option to access Man Utd's offensive points. I am also interested in another guy on my Watch List - Tom Cleverly. If healthy again, he should see time here and resume his starting role in the near future and at 5.3, a brilliant price for a Man Utd midfielder. 1-0 to Man Utd ?
Chelsea v. Liverpool. I suspect Boswinga has lost his place as a regular starter, but this game will be an indication one way or the other; Ivanovic played over the international break while Boswinga did not. But I suspect AVB will probably stay with the defensive stability of the back 4 that kept a clean sheet (well, it was Blackburn, but still). Meanwhile, I wonder if the FA charges leveled against Suarez will impact Dalglish's 'wee man'. I have Sturridge and Enrique so this is another game where my squad is at cross-purposes. I wonder too, if Torres or Sturridge will get the central striker role. A consequential game for Sturridge if he is handed the role.
Tottenham v. Aston Villa. The latest news is that VdV is likely to be fit for this one. I wouldn't gamble giving him the armband; too much chance he goes 15 minutes and reaches for the hammy. I have given some thought to captaining Adebayor - he's got a goal or an assist in all but 2 of his starts for Tottenham and I have that crazy prejudice of liking to have my captain start late in the GW. He played 90 minutes for Togo I understand but I doubt that will impact his starting role here. Despite McLeish's reputation and a solid back line, Villa have conceded 10 goals in their last 4 games. Warnock goes to my bench. Are there 2+ goals in this for Tottenham ?
Best of luck to one and all . . . except my minileague rivals.
Despite not wanting bad things for you, I hope your captaincy curse continues this week.
ReplyDeleteI don't have RvP and will captain either Silva or Adebayor; probably the latter.
As a continuation of my Klasnic talk in the last post, would you perhaps rather go for Bendtner, taking his schedule into account?
My only trepidation with Klasnic is lack of history. But I held Martin Petrov GW1-GW6 in the face of laughter from friendly rivals and that really paid off, so if you have a feeling about Klasnic, I might go with it. I am a big fan of Bendtner - I always thought he was poorly used at Arsenal, and despite that his FF points per minute at Arsenal was very good. And he has shown some FF quality at Sunderland. And the short term schedule is crazy good. Tough call - your sense about Klasnic might be spot on, in which case you've got a massive differential. You've got me sold, Klasnic is on my Watch List. On the other hand, you cannot go wrong with Dzeko or Bendtner in my view. I think whoever you go with, you should commit for 5-6 GWs.
ReplyDeleteAs to Dzeko v. Aguero, I think the money you save with Dzeko is value - I think Dzeko will be close enough in total points to Aguero where the money you save can be used to make up for those points.
Good point on committing for 5 - 6 Gameweeks. I've gone for Klasnic and will hold on to him until he proves my point. :)
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