Week 14....Week 15
Apologies for the lack of posting this week. I was on training full time, which left me little free time to read up on team news and research match-ups to the depth I would have liked. Hoping all your picks went well this weekend.
That said, Week 14 is just a dot in my rear-view and it's time to look forward to the (dreaded) double week. A large number of teams, and most top teams, play twice. It's a great opportunity to score some big points and make up ground in both private leagues and in overall world rankings.
Double week for: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bolton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Pompey, Sheff Utd.
Especially with so many teams having double games, there will be many good DGers available for selection; we aren't limited to only one or 2 games from which to pick them. This will make it a lot easier to take more of them, since many "better" picks will have 2 opportunities to score. You've gotta think that one mediocre game and one good game from a "good" pick will still outperform a good single gamer. Take, for instance (prices aside), this scenario. On a pretty good week, a midfielder will score a goal and notch perhaps 16-18 pts, a very nice return most weeks. Consider a good player who performs somewhat ordinarily and scores about 5 points (let's assume that is below his average) in one game but approx 15-18 the next game. Over 2 games, he scored a few points more - I'd take that extra few points from 6-10 double gamers. It's often been disappointing in the past when there are only been one or two double-fixtures, as people rush to select marginal DGers that you probably would not pick on their own merit for a single game. The Liverpool examples from last season are apt - great, so Luis Garcia plays one game, scores 7 points and gets benched for the next game, or Crouch registers nearly 0 points from two games, while many single gamers easily outscore them. But, when not forced to take DGers from just one or two teams, the risk is less in my opinion. All that to say, my rule of thumb is to go for as many as reasonably make sense given match-ups and don't stretch for a player that you would not normally consider, just because he has 2 games. Should not be a problem this week, as there is a wealth of excellent DGers available.
Upon early reflection, some match-ups immediately stick-out: Liverpool and Villa --> both have 2 home games against relatively mediocre opponents. Even Fulham, with two home games interests me.
LIV - POR, MID
AST - MID, ManCity
FUL - RED, ARS
ManUnited play Chelsea and Everton, both at home. Tough to know how the battle of the top 2 teams will shake out, as they are both looking very good currently. I certainly would not discount ManU players, as I would consider any points from the Chelsea match a bonus, and with their current excellent form, they could well roll over Everton. Saha and Ronaldo have been firing regardless of opposition.
Here are some initial thoughts:
Defence/GK
Starting at the back - I like both Liverpool's and Villa's chances at one and maybe 2 clean sheets in the double week, but don't necessarily fancy Fulham to keep Arsenal and Reading from scoring, so perhaps stay away from Niemi and Fulham defenders unless you are strapped for cash. Sorenson is my preferred pick, as they host two teams that really don't travel well. Reina has been less than stellar thus far, but should pick up 2 wins and is currently cheaper than Sorenson. Too often the Reds don't give up many shots on goal, so if they were to concede, Reina won't score well unless he's made numerous saves. The problem with Villa defenders is that they are expensive (Mellberg, Ridgewell, etc) and don't score that well. Bouma, if fit and continuing to start, is an option for less, as well. For the Reds, Riise naturally should figure in both games, as Aurelio has gone missing lately, LOL. Who knows, maybe John Arne slams home a trademark long-range cracker. Finnan & Carra a solid but pricey selections. I also tip Agger to get a game in there. From Fulham, Bocanegra has been starting in the MF the last 4-5 games and is cheap but may give way now that Diop & Brown are due back. Pearce, cheaper still (5.xx) and does get the odd header at goal.
MF
It would seem like a natural choice to grab Gerrard for a double week with 2 home games, but his form has just not excited me. But if he's going to get on track, it could surely be against ManCity & Pompey, but a rather expensive move. Barry is another MF that immediately caught my eye. He's Villa's PK taker and primary FK & corner man, and his stats are very good. I think he's a solid pick over two home fixtures. Petrov is a slightly lower cost alternative, but has been a tad up & down. * Also, watch Petrov's status, as he was injured and missed out on Sunday's game. Claus Jensen could be a darkhorse if you're after something a little different, but is overpriced at the moment.
Ronaldo has played well all season long and I can see him stepping up against Chelski. Young presents an interesting dilemma - he's got but the one game, but it's at home against Sheffield. Is it worth sacrificing that extra game for a chance that he goes off at Sheffield? And I think it's time to drop Ballack. He was rested this weekend and with a couple of tough fixtures and no game 2 weeks from now, I'd say his usefulness is done. In fact, I can see him collecting his fifth yellow card against ManU. Though it will be tough to replace him at 4.19.
Striker
Kuyt seems to have established himself as Rafa's #1 and he's scored all his EPL goals at home...with 2 home games, that sounds good to me ;) . I'm not loving Villa strikers (Agbo, Angel), but they are reasonably priced and sure starters. Angel, in all his greasy-haired glory, is really a target man and commits way too many fouls for a striker. Agbo has struggled somewhat since being shunted out the right wing. Saha continues his fine form and I think he will play well in the big games. I'm intrigued by McBride, too. Over two home games, I can see him bagging a goal and some SOTs.
Apologies for the lack of posting this week. I was on training full time, which left me little free time to read up on team news and research match-ups to the depth I would have liked. Hoping all your picks went well this weekend.
That said, Week 14 is just a dot in my rear-view and it's time to look forward to the (dreaded) double week. A large number of teams, and most top teams, play twice. It's a great opportunity to score some big points and make up ground in both private leagues and in overall world rankings.
Double week for: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bolton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Pompey, Sheff Utd.
Especially with so many teams having double games, there will be many good DGers available for selection; we aren't limited to only one or 2 games from which to pick them. This will make it a lot easier to take more of them, since many "better" picks will have 2 opportunities to score. You've gotta think that one mediocre game and one good game from a "good" pick will still outperform a good single gamer. Take, for instance (prices aside), this scenario. On a pretty good week, a midfielder will score a goal and notch perhaps 16-18 pts, a very nice return most weeks. Consider a good player who performs somewhat ordinarily and scores about 5 points (let's assume that is below his average) in one game but approx 15-18 the next game. Over 2 games, he scored a few points more - I'd take that extra few points from 6-10 double gamers. It's often been disappointing in the past when there are only been one or two double-fixtures, as people rush to select marginal DGers that you probably would not pick on their own merit for a single game. The Liverpool examples from last season are apt - great, so Luis Garcia plays one game, scores 7 points and gets benched for the next game, or Crouch registers nearly 0 points from two games, while many single gamers easily outscore them. But, when not forced to take DGers from just one or two teams, the risk is less in my opinion. All that to say, my rule of thumb is to go for as many as reasonably make sense given match-ups and don't stretch for a player that you would not normally consider, just because he has 2 games. Should not be a problem this week, as there is a wealth of excellent DGers available.
Upon early reflection, some match-ups immediately stick-out: Liverpool and Villa --> both have 2 home games against relatively mediocre opponents. Even Fulham, with two home games interests me.
LIV - POR, MID
AST - MID, ManCity
FUL - RED, ARS
ManUnited play Chelsea and Everton, both at home. Tough to know how the battle of the top 2 teams will shake out, as they are both looking very good currently. I certainly would not discount ManU players, as I would consider any points from the Chelsea match a bonus, and with their current excellent form, they could well roll over Everton. Saha and Ronaldo have been firing regardless of opposition.
Here are some initial thoughts:
Defence/GK
Starting at the back - I like both Liverpool's and Villa's chances at one and maybe 2 clean sheets in the double week, but don't necessarily fancy Fulham to keep Arsenal and Reading from scoring, so perhaps stay away from Niemi and Fulham defenders unless you are strapped for cash. Sorenson is my preferred pick, as they host two teams that really don't travel well. Reina has been less than stellar thus far, but should pick up 2 wins and is currently cheaper than Sorenson. Too often the Reds don't give up many shots on goal, so if they were to concede, Reina won't score well unless he's made numerous saves. The problem with Villa defenders is that they are expensive (Mellberg, Ridgewell, etc) and don't score that well. Bouma, if fit and continuing to start, is an option for less, as well. For the Reds, Riise naturally should figure in both games, as Aurelio has gone missing lately, LOL. Who knows, maybe John Arne slams home a trademark long-range cracker. Finnan & Carra a solid but pricey selections. I also tip Agger to get a game in there. From Fulham, Bocanegra has been starting in the MF the last 4-5 games and is cheap but may give way now that Diop & Brown are due back. Pearce, cheaper still (5.xx) and does get the odd header at goal.
MF
It would seem like a natural choice to grab Gerrard for a double week with 2 home games, but his form has just not excited me. But if he's going to get on track, it could surely be against ManCity & Pompey, but a rather expensive move. Barry is another MF that immediately caught my eye. He's Villa's PK taker and primary FK & corner man, and his stats are very good. I think he's a solid pick over two home fixtures. Petrov is a slightly lower cost alternative, but has been a tad up & down. * Also, watch Petrov's status, as he was injured and missed out on Sunday's game. Claus Jensen could be a darkhorse if you're after something a little different, but is overpriced at the moment.
Ronaldo has played well all season long and I can see him stepping up against Chelski. Young presents an interesting dilemma - he's got but the one game, but it's at home against Sheffield. Is it worth sacrificing that extra game for a chance that he goes off at Sheffield? And I think it's time to drop Ballack. He was rested this weekend and with a couple of tough fixtures and no game 2 weeks from now, I'd say his usefulness is done. In fact, I can see him collecting his fifth yellow card against ManU. Though it will be tough to replace him at 4.19.
Striker
Kuyt seems to have established himself as Rafa's #1 and he's scored all his EPL goals at home...with 2 home games, that sounds good to me ;) . I'm not loving Villa strikers (Agbo, Angel), but they are reasonably priced and sure starters. Angel, in all his greasy-haired glory, is really a target man and commits way too many fouls for a striker. Agbo has struggled somewhat since being shunted out the right wing. Saha continues his fine form and I think he will play well in the big games. I'm intrigued by McBride, too. Over two home games, I can see him bagging a goal and some SOTs.
posted by D @ 7:41 AM
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