The Matchday Insight : Week 36

The last week had 2 teams from the bottom half of the table play twice i.e Aston Villa and Bolton where we saw lots of fantasy managers score more than the125 points mark.There weren't many high average players to pick from but still the outputs were positive.The likes of Petrov and Eagles did turn out to be great investments.Even the cheaper options returned 2 to 3 times their values which was good to see.

After 2 high scoring weeks in a row, we head towards the big double games this week where the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Fulham, Stoke and Bolton play twice.There seem to be many options for you to choose from as all these teams contain high potential players who have had a great season in terms of fantasy points.

In other fixtures we have both the Manchester clubs facing each other in an all important derby, Arsenal who have been off the boil, with Rvp completely out of form, have a tough away trip to Stoke.

Lets take a look at the teams playing double games this week :


Tottenham : Blackburn ( H ),  Bolton       ( A )
Chelsea     : QPR          ( H ),  Newcastle ( H )
Newcastle   : Wigan       ( A ),  Chelsea     ( A )
Stoke          : Arsenal      ( H ),  Everton     ( H )
Everton       :  Fulham      ( H ),  Stoke        ( A)
Fulham        :  Everton     ( A),   Liverpool   ( A)
Liverpool     : Norwich     ( A),  Fulham      ( H )
Bolton          : Sunderland  ( A ), Tottenham  ( H )

Forwards : 

Jelavic : He is in top form ( 4 goals, 49.5 pts in his last 2 games).He seems to be the best forward option this week as he faces Fulham who are poor on the road and then plays Stoke away.

Defoe : With Adebayor still recovering from a slight hamstring injury and having issues with Harry during training, Defoe would be the best bet from the Tottenham forwards.Harry would also like to give him a run with the prospects of him leading the line for England in the Euro 2012 ( If you believe the he would end up becoming the England manager)

Torres : After having sealed Chelsea' s place in the Champions league final , the confidence level of not just him but the whole unit would be sky high.Its a result which would ease out all kinds of pressure and we could see a more free flowing Chelsea performance.Drogba who has played most of the games over the last 2 weeks will be given a well deserved rest.

P.Cisse : His price is over the top for someone who plays two away games.In case you have the funds to spare, Cisse is a good pick as he is getting good support from the likes of Cabaye and Ben Arfa.In case you have him at a cheaper price, it would be foolish to take him out.

Crouch : Hard to ignore the fact that Stoke play both the games at home which would clearly give the likes of Crouch a lot of chances.At less than 9, he could well turn out to be a good investment.

Im keeping away from Suarez ( too expensive ), Pogrebnyak and Sturridge as they are very inconsistent and at this stage of the season would prefer picks who are more reliable.

Injury update regarding Adebayor is updated on
http://ifantasyepl.blogspot.in/2012/04/injury-insight-week-36.html#more

Midfielders :

VDV : Good part of this double matchday is that there is no room for rotations as players like Vdv will be asked to give it all in order to finish in the top 4.His form has been good and he seems to be taking most of the corners and free kicks. I would prefer Vdv only at a discount.At retail, you could look at Bale.

Bale : In case you dont have Vdv at a discount and wanting to buy one of the two at retail, you could look at Bale.He is always capable of the big scores and an asset for the two games.


Cabaye : When this guy is in form, there is no stopping him.He started the season on a high with lots of double digit scores but has been off in the middle part of the season.But last week was close to his best performance of the season and i would expect his form to be on top.

Petrov : Another player on top of his form and he is key to Bolton's survival in the premier league.At this late stage of the season, you will see teams at the bottom giving more than 100% percent and that could work out well as a pick.

Pienaar: With Osman dropping off lately, Pienaar has been stepping up with 2 goals and 3 assists in the last 4 games.Undoubtedly, the pick of Everton midfielders and with Jelavic playing upfront as a sole striker, it gives Pienaar more of an opportunity to go forward.

Etherington : Similiar reasons to that of Crouch and his value is low at 11.He has been off his pace for most of the season but over two games he will be in the green.

Ben Arfa : Hard to ignore such talent playing 2 games, the only difference between him and Cabaye is that the latter has an advantage playing a more central role where as Ben Arfa plays more on the left which does limit the opportunity if they dont play too many crosses.He will have to have his work cut out against the likes of Ashley Cole playing at left back.


Defenders :

Gallas / King :Tottenham have the easiest matchups this week and Gallas / King will be great picks this week  as the rest of their central defenders are injured.Gallas 6.xx and King 5.xx are affordable and make your defense strong for this week.

Bosingwa / A.Cole : Another pair of defenders are good bets this week.Their values have come down to around 8.xx. Both should play both the matches as Ivanovic is still suspended and A.Cole will need to play all games from here on if they would want to finish in the top 4.

Santon : Pick of the Newcastle defenders and even though the matchups are not that easy i would only consider him if i had him at a discount.

Ream : In case you are looking for an enabler, Ream could be a good option.


Keepers :

Cech : If you really want to splash the funds, look no further than Cech. Chelsea have been solid in defense in the last couple of games and Cech has been in great form.Prices over 12 and could give you big numbers this week.

Friedel : He form has been bad and has let in a few easy goals over this poor run.But this is a week where they play the likes of Blackburn and Bolton and with the likes of Yakubu and Eagles/petrov shooting at him, he could make this work in his favour.

Reina : Im not all in on this pick as Liverpool have been pathetic.But if you dont have much to spend on this spot , Reina could be well worth his value.

Well thats all the picks from the teams playing two games.The picks from teams playing once are as follows :

Forwards    : Tevez ( at a discount only ), Aguero ( only at a discount , under 10), Sinclair
Midfielders : Sigurdsson, Nani
Defenders   : Evans, Lichaj


Well thats all from the picks for Week 36.Its going to be a big week and i wouldnt want to miss out on as many double game players in there.If you are chasing a higher rank overall or in your league, this is the week.

Discussions in the "Comments" section below are always welcome and ill be there to add to it.

Next week im off to Old trafford for the Swansea game and will be back from my trip only after the season is over.Rohit will be here to help you all with the next two weeks.Will try to be on whenever i get a chance.

Have a great weekend.
Cheers.

AM