The Matchday Insight : Week 32

Important news is that the deadline for Week 32 is on Friday and not on Saturday as the matchday begins on Friday - Swansea vs Newcastle and the next week ( Week 33 ) deadline is on Monday.

Before we get into the analysing Week 32, its worth mentioning the high scoring week we have just come through. 12 players scored +20 points and most of you must have seen your score go past the 100 mark for Week 31.Players like Sigurdsson, P.Cisse, Valencia, Vdv, Balotelli have been common picks with most fantasy managers but those who gambled with Adebayor and Torres must have seen themselves go up in ranks.

The point worth a mention is that does one spend 26+ on Rooney or Rvp? or do you spread those funds to get players like Adebayor, Welbeck, Balotelli or may be even the likes of P. Cisse or Young at retail prices.These are crucial decisions as they might cost you huge points and rank movements.


One might argue that Rooney cant score 4.5 pts in two consecutive matches and the odds for him to score big have gone up after that poor game against Blackburn and i somehow agree with that but the point here is where will Rooney play? is it left side of midfield like he did against Blackburn or upfront.This makes a huge difference in his productivity.

These decisions make my job more interesting and i hope we get the best players across as we begin our analysis of Week 32.

Easy Matchups :

Man Utd vs Qpr
Stoke vs Wolves
Chelsea vs Wigan

Im sticking to these 3 games that have a lot of potential in itself.

Forwards ( in Easy matchups ) :

Rooney ( Yes im one of those who believe that he is due a big game at Old Trafford)

Torres ( If you wrote him off uptill now, its time to change that thinking.He is back and how.He has been the most involved players ( in terms of goals creation ) in the Chelsea camp ove the last month and i do hope he keeps this momentum going) Updated ( See below )

Sturridge ( The good part about picking him is that he does not get rotated much in the squad where as Drogba and Torres do most of the rotating.This makes him a sure starter and a good option against Wigan at the bridge.)

Crouch ( We know how Wolves have been at home and away, its as if the opposition like to score for fun.Crouch is the pick of the Stoke forwards this week and his height will be a little too much for the like of Bassong etc)

Welbeck ( In case you have to choose between Welbeck and Hernandez, i would assume Welbeck has a greater chance to start as Hernandez had his share last week without doing much.Alex does prefer Welbeck in the home games which does give him a advantage against tall defenders like Ferdinand etc )

Update : Drogba was on the bench against Benfica , meaning he has recovered from his injury.He came on in the 88th minute to replace Torres. I would expect Drogba and Sturridge to start for Chelsea against Wigan.We could see Torres on the bench as he has played 3 full games in the last 7 days.

Midfielders :

Valencia ( I dont need to explain as to why he remains our pick of midfielders this week)
Young ( Came on from the bench to score against Blackburn and he does create a threat from the left midfield.I would expect him to start from left and Rooney to play a more forward role )
Ramires ( If i had to pick a Chelsea midfielder , it would be Ramires as he is more like to start than Lampard who would be exhasted after the Benfica game )
In case you are looking for an enabler, Essien could be a good fit who costs 4.xx
Keep track of injury status of Ethrington and Pennant as both are doubts.( Keep updated with our injury update tomorrow)

Defenders :

Ivanovic : There were come concerns of his hamstring in the buildup to the Champions league game, but he has recovered wel and should keep his place in the starting line up against Chelsea.
Evans : The player of the month ( March ) for Manchester United and totally deserves it.He has been outstanding and giving good points per game.
Shutton : As i mentioned above the injury concerns of Ethrington and Pennant would make Shutton a good option as he would play in midfield against a weak Wigan side)
There are some cheap defenders for offer in Wilson( 5.84) and Wilkinson( 4.88) .They have a good chance of stealing a clean sheet this weekend.

We have not mentioned Smalling in the picks as Rafael seems to be the first choice in Alex's XI.
His starting spot is not comfirmed and therefore a risky pick.

Goalkeepers :

DDG is very expensive to buy at retail but in case you have had him since the longest of times, its paying off well.
Cech seems to be the pick of the affordable keepers as the matchup is ideal.

Those were the obvious choices in the easy matchups but what the other inputs in your team are could make all the difference to the week total.

Forwards : P.Cisse, Adebayor, Suarez, yakubu, TEVEZ( Good time to get him in as Dzeko is slowly becoming less threatening, Balotelli has been having issues with the entire team including Mancini)

Important Injury update : Aguero official website today
"This is the real status of my injury:I have got back from practice today and its not bothering me.If it all goes well,I'll be at coach's disposal next Sunday.I wasn't able to speak earlier-many unfunded rumours were published, and there were simply too many to deny"

Midfielders : Sigurdsson, Gerrard, Pienaar, Bale, Vdv, Dempsey, Miyachi( a slight injury but should recover in time) Ben Arfa

Defenders  : Baines, Ridgewell, Lichaj, Skrtel, Ream

Keepers    : Doni, Foster, Bogdan

Its again crucial to look at form along with the matchups so a mix of both will make a good team for this week.No point of keeping discounts as 8 teams dont play in Week 34 and then play a double match in Week 35 and 36.So my advise is that pick players for this week rather than future weeks.I would expect all discounts could become burdens in the weeks to come.

I hope this does give you a good preview as to whats in store for this week and im sure you have a strong team ready.

You may feel free to discuss your teams, picks in the comments section below.

Our official twitter page @iFantasyEPL is regularly updating all important team news so get following in case you havent.

Have a great weekend and rememeber Week 33 deadline is on Monday.
Cheers.