Gameweek 31 - Redemption time.

Greetings fellow wannabe managers!

Hope the previous gameweek brought you guys much points! (or enough points to not make you give up). I just know that a gameweek is bad when my top points scoring player is Evans.

Summary of Gameweek 31

As expected the likes of Walcott, Miyaichi and Cisse managed to get assists or goals. However, Swansea not being able to score or keep a clean sheet even was disappointing. Fret not, Vorm was selected by almost 35% of all teams in Fantasy Football. So if he was in your team, you're not the only one who suffered. (Not me though, DE GEA FYEAH!).

Both McLean and Sessegnon managed a goal each against QPR. Do note that just like some midfielders, Dempsey and Mata (at times) , Sess plays a forward role in the Sunderland team. However, with tough fixtures ahead of them, it might be risky to have them in your team.

Lastly, the performance of Hatem Ben Arfa was surprising(2 Assists, 1 goal). Ever since filling up the right wing gap left by Ryan Taylor, the French player has been averaging about 8.6 points per game for the past 3 games. A player to look out for definitely for the remaining game weeks.

Here's an old video of him weaving through the Blackburn defence. What a finish!

Apparently, the video was recorded using a potato. Apologies for the terrible quality. I wouldn't trust Youtube videos to find out how a good a player is anyway. Good editing can even make Titus Bramble look good.

Here are the matches for Gameweek 31.

It could potentially be a great game week. Most of the big teams are playing away though (Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool). One match to be wary about would be the Tottenham vs Swansea match. The Welsh team has been random as of late, but I guess it should be a win for Spurs still (with Bale and Adebayor filling in the goals).

Some of you guys requested me to propose a fantasy team of budget players for this game week. I say to you.

Goalkeepers

Krul, Al-Habsi, Begovic - Krul > Begovic > Al-Habsi in terms of clean sheets count(10,6,4). Krul is still a cheap alternative among all the good goalies though for a long term basis. However Al-Habsi and Begovic are great options for this gameweek (expecting a 0-0).

Defenders

Evans, Simpson, Senderos, Taiwo, Shotton - Just looking for clean sheets from most of this player. Have doubts about Simpson though, (Newcastle vs Liverpool). Taiwo might be a good option if you're looking for a defender to score.

Midfielders

Miyaichi, Sigurdsson, Valencia, McLean, Sessegnon, Moses, Ben Arfa - A lot of potential is this group. Siggy, Miyaichi and Valencia has good fixtures ahead of them. I'd be interested to see how Ben Arfa performs against Liverpool (Agger and Johnson injured). He might just manage to find a weak link in The Red's defence.

Forwards

Papiss Cisse, Jelavic, Pogrebnyak - All strikers playing at home. If Cisse keeps up his form, you can expect him to be on the score sheet. Jelavic has scored twice in three league starts for Everton. Apparently, he is one of the scouts watch list in Fantasy Football as well. Pogrebnyak has been on a low profile ever since the 5-0 thrashing of Wolves. But he would be a good alternative to buy this week as Fulham face Wolves.

Fantasy Football tip:

Choose players for the future as well as for the current game week. It minimizes having the need to make sudden changes. There is a gameweek coming up soon where some teams play twice.

So have faith in your team! Have a great weekend! Redemption time!

This is Pep Mourinho, signing out!

Gameweek 30 - A new, yet late, beginning

Greetings football enthusiasts!

Even though we’re already close to the end of Premier League season, it is never too late to end off the Fantasy League season with a bang. Pretty much everything feels great after a bang.

That’s what I’m here for. I’m just a fellow enthusiast sharing my expert opinion on the players and teams after ‘intensive personal research’. Opinions and constructive criticisms are most welcomed.

For the n00bs, Premier League Fantasy Football isn’t for everyone. It takes dedication, strategy, mental endurance and a little luck.

The objective of the game is pretty simple. Pick players who you think would perform for their coming matches. If they do perform well, they score more points. However, if your players pull a poor performance, they would just be a Stewart Downing. a waste of freaking space.

Detailed explanation of the rules and point system can be found here. http://fantasy.premierleague.com/rules/. It takes a while to fully understand and appreciate the rules. But I’ll try to keep things basic and progress slowly.

Anyway, lets cut to the chase! Here are the following fixtures for this gameweek.

(Image taken from fantasy.premierleague.com)

I rarely choose players with big teams playing against each other.(Chelsea vs Tottenham). It is a risk, but it sometimes pays off. Just like what it did this season. I h8-2 say it but it is true.

Anyway, a few players to look out for this game week.

Goalkeepers - Vorm, De Gea


Vorm has been performing well this season. The Dutch keeper has kept a total of 12 clean sheets out of a possible 29 and 2nd only to Manchester City's Joe Hart (13 clean sheets). With Ashley Williams back in backline after recovering from an illness, it should be another clean sheet for the Welsh club if they don't screw up.

De Gea didn't start the season off so well. The typically calm and cool headed 21 year old (wtf am I doing with my life) Spaniard had a shaky start to the season. Signs of improvement started to show after he made some spectacular saves lately (specifically the Chelsea match). However, with a high value of 6.2 million in the FF market, some might be hesitant in buying him.

Defenders - Vermaelen, Evans, Caulker, Cahill, Sagna, Skrtel

Ideally, you would want a defender who would not only keep a clean sheet, but score as well. Do note that a defender receives more points compared to a striker or a midfielder if he scores. Vermaelen, Cahill and Skrtel have the potential to do just that. Evans and Caulker are value for money just to keep a clean sheet. Evans, Skrtel and Caulker have easy fixtures ahead of them. Thus, they're a good investment for the rest of the season.

Midfielders - Sigurdsson, Valencia, Walcott, Miyaichi, Gerrard.

Both Valencia and Sigurdsson scored the previous game week. Both got me a total of 27 points in my other team. However, Valencia has the potential to be rested though. Note that Miyaichi instead of Silva was included in my list. Miyaichi has a better fixtures ahead of him compared to Silva. He hasn't score yet but this guy has potential. Walcott is playing at home and he has been improving lately. Pretty inconsistent the whole season, but worth a buy when he performs. Stevie G somehow works well with Suarez supporting him (wait what). The charismatic Liverpool captain always creates an impact if he plays. With Liverpool desperate for a win after losing the previous match against QPR, I have no doubt he would be the one scoring or assisting.

Forwards - Van Persie, Rooney, P Cisse

Both RVP and Rooney are point collecting players right from the start (former more than the latter) though. With both players playing at home, we should expect a good show from them. It was difficult to decide on the last striker but Papiss Cisse has been scoring more often than his counterpart Ba lately. If Newcastle were to score, there'd be a high chance that he been the one doing the damage.

Of course there are many more potential players to look out for. Hernandez, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bale to just name a few. So choose your players and see how they perform!

The euphoric feeling knowing that your player scored a hat-trick would be worth the planning involved. Plus, you'd get gloating rights. =). Alright have fun! Till next week.