The Matchday Insight : Week 35

Coming off a great matchday last week where most of the picks did really well and gave high double figures.I was out for most of last week but i did see all your comments and was happy to see mostly everyone had the Tevez-Aguero combination which gave 62.5 pts together.

With just 4 matchdays to go,its all to play for as many teams will be putting their best XI on the pitch and with most of the teams out of other competitions, there is no risk of rotations or resting of players.

Week 35 contains all 10 fixtures plus an additional fixture i.e Aston Villa vs Bolton.Therefore these two teams play two games this week.This is an interesting twist to the tail as most of the fantasy managers now need to compare the good one gamers to lets say an average double gamer options from these two teams who are not in the best of form.


Lets have a look at the best picks from Aston Villa and Bolton :

Keeper : Both teams play their first game at home against teams who struggle on the road i.e Swansea and Sunderland (have failed to score in their last 2 games including a 4-0 defeat against Everton away from home)This gives Given an edge over Bogdan. Also Aston Villa play at home against Bolton in their extra game.Advantage Given

Defenders : Aston Villa coach Mc Leish has stated that Cuellar is pushing for a starting role and Warnock is available this weekend.This makes the likes of Baker and Lichaj risky picks.Though i would expect Lichaj to start ahead of Warnock.Clark is fit to play this week and should keep his place in midfield.Collins and Hutton are sure starters and should keep their places.

Out of the Bolton defenders, the only ones that i would look at is Wheater and Ream (cheap option)

Midfielders : The pick of the midfielders is M.Petrov who is worth 14.xx.He is capable of the high scores and is in good form.In case you dont want to spend so much, there is Miyaichi who is very consistent with his output.He is worth 8.xx and is a good investment for this week.In the Aston Villa camp, the only midfielder worth a look is N'Zogbia who is pushing for a start this weekend and if he plays the way he is capable of , he could turn out to be a good pick for just 7.xx.

Other options like Bannan and Ireland are highly inconsistent and i wouldnt see them doing well in 2 games in a row.

Forwards : For some reason i dont see much in here.I agree the forward options are cheap and can give you just about decent points over two games but i will only look at this space only if im left with 6-9 points for a third forward or may be a fifth midfielder.You could look at Weimann and Agbonlahor.I prefer the latter.I would rather have a good forward and an average midfielder rather than the other way around.

So thats all from this additional game.Lets have a look at the easiest matchups this week :

Fulham vs Wigan
Wolves vs Man City
Man Utd vs Everton ( Just the fact that its a must win )
Liverpool vs WestBrom
Newcastle vs Stoke

Forwards :

Tevez      : What a performace! He is back and im sure Mancini will be starting him again after his hattrick.

Aguero   : Great form and against the bottom of the table team who dont have a first choice keeper this week.Im all in Man City forwards this week

P.Cisse    : After a long break, he will want to get back to where he left off.With Newcastle trying to get to the 4th spot, they will need this man to keep his form to the highest level as it is presently.He is partnering well with Ben Arfa and is worth the investment.

Rooney  : He has scored in each of the last 5 home games.Even though the records against his former club are not great, but you cant keep him out when they play at home.Factors like Penalty taker, Nani is back and in contention for a start, valencia in form etc all add up to make Rooney's output higher.

Midfielders :

Dempsey : He always makes it to out pick of the midfielders whenever Fulham are at home.He has had an amazing season and is in great form.

Nani         : Good to see Nani back from his injury and he didnt take too long to score a goal as if he wasnt out at all.i would expect Nani to get a start on the left wing ahead of Young who was criticised last week for his dive which led to a United penalty.He is still cheap as compared to what he is usually worth and in case you looking for big numbers, he is the pick.

Valencia : Those of you who have Valencia, i dont see any risk of rotations as the guy is in great form and Everton is not a walkover for Alex to rest his in form player.But i do see a choice between picking Nani and Valencia in your team. I would somehow stick with Valencia just for the fact that he has been in such good form for so long now and wouldnt need a sack so soon.

Ben arfa : With such a great run and an solo goal, he has cemented his place in the Newcastle starting line up.He has also gone on to overshadow the likes of Cabaye and Ryan Taylor.He is evenly priced at 11.xx and is well worth it.

Maxi Rodriguez : The pick of the Liverpool midfielder who has 4 goals in the 8 games he has played.With the absence of Adam and the poor form of the likes of Kuyt/ Downing i see him playing a more forward role behind the strikers.Good investment

Defenders :

Here i would stick with only players with good discounts such as Evans, Santon, Richards, Kolarov or Rafael.As Wigan are in good form and fighting to stay up, i wouldnt risk it with Fulham defenders.

Goalkeepers :

Reina couldnt be cheaper than 4.6 and is good value for a keeper of his standards.
In case you want to save your funds for elsewhere, 'Rob'inson is at 1.00 who plays at home against Norwich.

Well, thats not all, there our the best of the rest picks :

Forwards     : Adebayor,Yakubu( if fit)
Midfielders : Sigurdsson,Sessegnon,Bale
Defenders   : Vermaelen
Keeper        : Friedel

Well thats hell lot of options this week.In a nut shell, keep the money forward, invest in sure shot point getters and in case funds are limited look for value picks in defence as there are plenty of cheap options this week.No point losing good one gamers to average double gamers.

Keep your comments coming in and looking forward to our weekly discussions in the comments section below.All important updates / early team news etc are available on our official twitter @iFantasyEPL.

Have a great weekend.
Cheers.
AM