Friday 27 January 2012

The Matchday Insight : Week 23


With the weekend full of FA cup 4th round action and Week 23 to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, we still have another 4 days to go for getting our fantasy teams ready.Most of fantasy managers still haven't got over the gift Krul gave last week and we do hope to stay away from such picks who play tough away games.Dempsey has to be one of the most reliable midfielders in the game and he showed it once again why he is the highest scorer from his country in the EPL.This week could welcome back the return of Adebayor who missed out on last week and hopefully has had enough rest to get his act back in order.We do hope his hunger for goals should get him back in contention in our fantasy teams.

Forwards like Welbeck and Bellamy have been good investments and like the stock market we could call them"mid cap shares" who are outperforming.On the other hand we have picks like Torres who could be termed as a bad investment.Big names like Rooney,VDV ,Gerrard and Rvp have slowed down just a little bit.

This matchday it somehow feels we are spoilt for choices once again with alot of easy matchups and its the right combinations that could prove a big advantage.Before a indepth analysis lets have a look at the easy matchups for Week 23.

Tottenham vs Wigan
Man Utd vs Stoke
Aston Villa vs QPR
Fulham vs WBA
Sunderland vs Norwich

Not taking any chances with away teams and that too with defence / keepers as its not that easy to maintain a clean sheet.We saw last week how Bolton surprised most of us at home against Liverpool and most of us did consider the latter for a white wash away from home.So therefore sticking with the home advantage lets see the best picks from the easy games mentioned above.

Forwards : Adebayor has to be the pick of the forwards for this week as he is back from a well deserved break he needed to get his act together after a poor run of performances.Welbeck is in prime form and is getting the right backing from Sir Alex.With Rooney pushing back and playing a more deeper role its all upto Welbeck on his own upfornt.R.Keane is back in the EPL and he did make his presence felt with 2 spectacular goals.Worth just under 11 he could be a good addition to your team along with D Bent who is on this way back to form. In case you dont want to spend alot, C. Wickham ( 5.37) could be worth a look as Bendtner is out with a facial injury.Zamora has to be considered when Fulham play at home as he more or less gets into the score sheet most of the times like we saw against Newcastle last week.

Midfielders : This is an interesting section as the options are plenty.Lets have a look at the best of them.Dempsey has to be in your side not just because of last week alone, he has been in great form for the last few weeks and not to forget the hattrick he scored the week before in the FA cup.I would consider him as a season long pick from now on.Then there is a toss up between Bale and VDV against wigan .I do feel its been a while for VDV to remain quiet and its about time to see a good week from him.In the absense of Bendtner we could see an advantage for players like Sessegnon who could be given more freedom upfront.He has been in great form since Martin O Neill took over and is our top recommendation for this week.Similiarly Valencia could be in for a few good weeks on the right wing in the absense of Nani who is rumoured to be out for a couple of weeks due to a foot injury.Ireland is back from a knock he took last week and has resumed training with the squad.Buzsaky could be a good option in case you barn doored him before his price went up.He could be in there for a longer period of time.
If you need a cheap option you could go for McClean(8.99) as he has been a consistent performer and did set up Sessegnon's goal last week.

Defenders : Well any defender for the above mentioned home teams could be a good option.Tottenham defenders like Walker,Kaboul,BAE,Dawson could be worth picking and depending on how much of funds you would want to spend.Discounted players such as Clark and Brown could be rewarding.Smalling is cheap at 8.03 and worth keeping for this week.Kelly ( 5.27) could be a relatively cheap option from the Fulham defence in case you need an enabler.T.Taiwo( 5.99) has been added to the game and could be looked at.I would consider him as a good barn door option as QPR has easy home games coming up.

Goalkeepers : This position is becoming a key area as any wrong move could cost us alot.It is better to play safe here and stick with home advantage.I do advise not to see discounts on players for this position and more so if your keeper is not from a top 4 club.The best picks for this week would be Freidel whose price has come down to 10.90.Do you see him conceeding a goal at home against Wigan? Your answer is as good as mine.Given(7.44) could be worth an investment playing QPR at home.Rest of the good options are way expensive and not worth the investment.

Thats the best of the picks from the best of the matchups for week 23.

Best of the Rest
For the remaining of matches you could consider the following picks depending on the discounts or your supports for some of the teams playing away from home.

Forwards     :  Bellamy,Aguero,Rvp and NO TORRES
Midfielders :  Silva, Sigurdsson,HBA
Defenders   :  Vermaelen,Richards,Santon (5.97)
Keepers      :  Krul


That should be alot of options to pick from like we mentioned before this week we could be spoilt for choices.Picking the favourable players would be the way to go and matchups, form must be considered.
We do hope this could help you through building your team for a cracker of a matchday.

We do hope you have a great weekend and matchday on Tuesday / Wednesday.
We will be putting up injury and transfer updates on our twitter @iFantasyEPL

34 comments:

  1. Excellent article. One question: how would you rate Rafael compared to Smalling? They are similarly priced.Do you think he will start since Jones is struggling to return to match fitness?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Dimitrije, Thankyou and hope this preview is of help to you.

    Rafael is a high scoring pick no doubt ( leaving aside his one off yellow $ red cards ) but it depends on whether he will play or not.If one of Jones or Rio get fit for the game, you could see Rafael on the bench.You could wait for team news on Monday.

    If both are unfit , yes you could pick Rafael ahead of Smalling.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi AM, Agbonlahor back from illness & will be in starting line up this weekend?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah he should play on the left side.But i dont see him finishing much with Bent and Keane taking away most of his points.

      Delete
  4. Onuoha added. Will he play as left back since there's no genuine left back available for QPR at the moment?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Onuoha should play at centre back and Taiwo will play at left back.

      Delete
  5. Taiwo work permit issues solved?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not as of today but im sure they would be working on it on Monday/tuesday. Onuoha is a central defender and i dont think he is comfortable as a left back.QPR have other options for left back as well like Traore and Hall.

      Delete
  6. Any love for Frazier Campbell returning from injury?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Trini, yes an interesting prospect but i would wait for him to get some playing time before picking him.
      I dont see him playing full 90 mins but a slow recovery mode.
      It could prove out to be a risky pick.

      Delete
    2. There you go Trini,Frazier Campbell has scored in the FA cup today ( his first since April 2010).
      The slow recovery process just got faster for you to consider.

      Delete
  7. I can see the worth pick of Essien, with Lampard & Ramires likely to absent next match.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed a great option in case you are looking for an enabler in midfield.

      Delete
  8. who is the better , adebayor or defoe ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adebayor is a better fantasy pick as Defoe may or may not start.

      Delete
  9. Alright the team so far (hopefully i remember to press save this week)

    Krul (god help us)

    Santon Clark Kelly

    Silva Valencia Bale Dempsey

    Aguero Welbeck Campbell

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Krul is a personal choice and some prefer to keep him.Im not such a Krul fan just because of the fact that he survives only on his defence and has no ability of his own whatsoever.
      If you think the Newcasle defence can hold Blackburn then you must go with him.It could pay off.
      Rest looks good.Bale was injured for FA cup, he should recover for tomorrows game.Check the injury status later today from me.
      Team looks ready to go.

      Delete
    2. Bale returned to training today so should be available for tomorrow.

      Delete
  10. Nice write up as always...

    Please rate my team:
    Kenny/Ayala,Kaboul,Smalling/Dempsey,VDV,Bale,HBA,Gerrard/Donovan,Adebayor

    Many thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tayo,Thanks for the feedback.

      Kenny - playing against Bent,Keane,Agbonlahor,Ireland so he will need to do alot of work.Clean sheet unlikely

      Ayala - clean sheet unlikely as sunderland are in form ( offensively)

      I understand your need for enablers but restrict them to maximum one out of Ayala,Kenny and HBA. Though i would consider Donovan as an enabler too for this week.

      You may need to sell one out of Vdv or Bale or Gerrard to spread that money.

      Delete
  11. My Team for Week 23 :

    Given

    Vermaelen Clark Smalling

    Silva Dempsey Valencia Ireland VDV

    Aguero Adebayor

    Hope it turns out to be a good week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. looks like you're in some trouble after the first set of games. hopefully the second set are kind to you

      Delete
    2. yeah it wasnt a good score and hoping for a comeback today.
      Moving to the RVP bandwagon and hopefully i wont need to depend on Adebayor again.

      How did you do?

      Delete
    3. You must have done well with Bale in your team.Good luck with Newcastle today.

      Given,Vermaelen,Clark,Dempsey,Ireland to go.It can only get better from here on :)

      Delete
    4. yeah this week was kind to me. 123 points thanks to Krul, Bale, Kuyt and Campbell. Even with a 0 from Welbeck. How was yours?

      Delete
    5. Nice..well done. It did work out well for you.

      I need to make some changes in my team for week 24 after 55 pts. No more VDV and Adebayor for me this season.

      Time to go the RVP way !!!

      Delete
    6. definitely gave up on Adebayor after that pathetic double gameweek. And since vdv's injury he hasn't looked like himself. Good choice

      Delete
  12. essien or oxlade?

    ReplyDelete
  13. why adebayor is better pick ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adebayor will start where as Defoe is doubtful as per team news on Monday.

      Delete
  14. AM pls rate my team:


    given
    clark, turner, kelly
    larsson,sess,sigurds,essien
    RVP,donovan,campbell

    i dont actually have big player or big discount in my team, but i think quality play is much more important, which is also can produced by a low cost player.

    need opinion as well. thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Team looks decent but you could improve a few things there :

      - You may need out of the Spurs players ( Bale, VDV , Adebayor or Modric )

      - I would suggest you keep one of Larsson or Sessegnon

      Delete