Fantasy Friday 3

It's that time of the week again - last minute scrambles to make transfers, pick your team and select the captain. Yet again, I will give my opinion on must have players you are unlikely to have in your team (so not the big name players) and 'no ways'. However, this week is also one of the biggest for the premier league table as Man U and Liverpool clash, not to mention the north london derby (COYG!!!). So, here goes;

Possible Successes:

1. Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham V Newcastle):
Berbatov provided the assist for Bent's goal last week and will be looking to follow it up with another good points score this week. Meanwhile, Newcastle's defense has seemed weak and were lucky not to concede against Morecambe in midweek. Therefore, this could be a great chance for the Bulgarian to notch some goals as he is partnered by Bent upfront, which should take some pressure off him.

2. Emanuele Giaccherini (Sunderland V Crystal Palace):
Fresh from his debut goal for Sunderland last week, the little Italian maestro could end up with two in two as his side face promoted Palace. This could be a great chance for him to strut his stuff and show the gap in class between internationals and championship players as many of Holloway's side will be. Expect Giaccherini to at least boss the midfield - and probably end up with something to show for it.

3. Ricky Van Wolfswinkel (Norwich V Southampton):
Van Wolfswinkel has settled in to English football nicely and the tall Dutch striker will have a great chance to add to his goal two weeks ago. He faces a Saints side who do not have the greatest centre backs in the world, particularly when up against a tall player notorious for his headed goals (as already demonstrated). He also holds the ball up well and could provide chances for his teammates to score, allowing him to generate an assist. In addition, it should be even better for him as expert crosser, Robert Snodgrass returns from injury to whip in those killer balls, right onto his forehead. Be very expectant if he is in your team.

Possible Failures:

1. Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool V Man Utd):
Yet again Sturridge makes this part of the feature as he faces a side who managed to keep a rampant Chelsea attack at bay last week. Also, his side will not have as much possession as usual resulting in less chances coming his way, meaning that even though Sturridge is one of the more clinical strikers in the league, he would have to do very well to come away from this clash with a goal or an assist.

2. Hugo Lloris (Spurs V Arsenal):
Lloris is one of the few goalies to have not conceded this term as of yet, even though he has played two extra games in the Europa league. That is an exceptional feat, but all things must come to an end and as we know from past experiences, there are always plenty of goals between these two bitter rivals. Plus, this time he will have to confront an in form French man by the name of Olivier.

3. Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal V Spurs):
If you were one of the poor people who, like me, bought into the performances of Koscielny last year and put him in your team for the start of the season - I pity you. He has been red carded, missed a game and now comes back in to the side for the derby where, as i have already mentioned, there are sure to be goals for both sides. In addition, Spurs have their own in-form striker in Soldado and mixed with their new signings are a forced to be reckoned with this year (however, hopefully they'll take time to gel).

Those are my picks for this week, yet again good luck and this week (more importantly than other weeks) COYG!!!

Weekend review - Arsenal end crisis for now, Vettel pulls away

As promised (though a day late), here is my first ever weekend review of sport - a feature that will be continued every week on either a Tuesday or a Wednesday.

Football:
Firstly, it was a good weekend for Arsenal football club. Despite not signing anyone, the gunners registered their first win of the Premier league season over Fulham and ensured they will once again play in the champions league after a convincing 5-0 aggregate win over Turkish side Fenerbahce. Fans will hope that with the attraction of Champions league football assured, some of the world's better players will be lured to the Emirates stadium.
However, the game of the weekend between champions Utd and Mourinho's Chelsea did not live up to its billing, resulting in a rather lame goalless draw that sees both sides drop valuable points very early into the season.
This weekend was also one filled with shock results as newly promoted sides Cardiff and Hull both won, over Man City and Norwich respectively. They were even more accomplished feats as Cardiff went a goal down and Hull had to play the majority of the game with ten men after Sagbo was sent off for an off the ball challenge.
There were also wins for Spurs, Stoke and Liverpool as the reds and Tottenham continued their winning starts to the season.

F1:
Seb Vettel extended his lead in the drivers championships with a win in the Belgian grand prix at Spa. He led the Ferrari of Alonso and Hamilton's Mercedes over the line in a tense and exciting race, though the winner was never really in doubt. After overtaking Hamilton on the first lap, Vettel led the whole way to the finish and his nearest rival is now Alonso, who started exceedingly well to jump from mid-grid to 3rd instantly before overtaking Hamilton halfway through the race. There was also a strong performance from Button to register one of Maclaren's best performances of the season, whilst fellow Brit Di Resta crashed out. Also, Raikkonen, Vettel's previous closest rival, retired from the race to end his astonishing run of race finishes in the points - spanning 34 races!

Cricket:
The ashes finished with a thrilling draw as England's chase was cut short by bad light with only 21 runs and 4 overs remaining. It was set up by an attacking declaration from Michael Clarke in order to try to generate the first Australian win, but it so nearly backfired as the light saved Australia's blushes from a 4-0 series defeat.
In the Women's ashes, England need just one more win from the remaining two T20s to take the Ashes as they hold an 8-4 lead in the series (2 points for a win).

Tennis:
The US Open got underway on Monday and their were wins for Nadal, Williams and Djokovic over Monday and Tuesday. There were also victories for Britain's Dan Evans, against the 11th seed in straight sets, and Laura Robson. However, Heather Watson lost in three sets to the in-form Halep. Andy Murray begins his title defense tonight.

Overall it was a thrilling weekend of sporting action and this coming week now brings the close of the transfer window, the US open and the T20s between England and Australia for both the Women and Men.

Fantasy Friday 2

Last week's results were full of surprises as Norwich drew with Everton and Villa beat Arsenal. This week, however, sees the first of many big games this season as champions Man U host Mourinho's Chelsea in what promises to be a close encounter. Alongside supporting your real team this week though, it is also time for the last minute transfers and adaptations to your fantasy team as you hope to leapfrog friends in multiple online leagues. As last week (but hopefully more accurately) I will list players who I think will or will not perform this week.

Possible Successes:

1. Joleon Lescott (Man City V Cardiff):
This week does not have many expected one sided games apart from this one, so if possible you should have multiple City players in your team. It is likely that City will keep a clean sheet so the whole defense should get a lot of points but Lescott is the cheapest of the lot at 5.5m and with captain Kompany out injured for a month, he is guaranteed his spot in the side for at least 4 weeks - and in that time City play Hull and Stoke, two sides with weaker frontlines.

2. Ricky Van Wolfswinkel (Norwich V Hull):
The Striker, bought this year from Sporting Lisbon, started his canaries career with a goal last week and could back that up with more against promoted side Hull who conceded two against Chelsea (though it could have been many more). He will lead the line and act as a target man for through balls and crosses, allowing him to have many chances at goal. Furthermore, next week Norwich host Southampton who, though they have bought well, have one of the weaker defenses in the league.

3. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal V Fulham):
Giroud's goal last week was perhaps the only positive for Arsenal against Villa, and he followed that up with another in midweek, continuing his astonishing run of form that has quietened (if not stopped completely) the doubters who want Arsenal to sign another striker. This run started in preseason and is yet to end, giving hope to gunners fans that the French man could finally reach expectations. This week Arsenal play Fulham who, though are not bad, are one of the teams Arsenal will hope to beat convincingly - especially if they want to keep up with north London rivals Tottenham in the race for the Champions league.

Possible Failures:

1. Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea V Man Utd):
Despite scoring a monster 15 points last week and avoiding a ban or fine for the disputed challenge on Benteke that should have seen him sent off, Ivanovic will still be facing the champions at Old Trafford, and rarely do Utd not score at home, particularly with RVP on prolific form. He will also be under the watch of many fans adding heaps of pressure to his shoulders and will be playing a more defensive role than usual as Chelsea hope to keep Man U at bay and get the three points they need.

2. Simon Mignolet (Liverpool V Aston Villa):
After saving a penalty last week and ending with 15 points, Mignolet is the most owned keeper, but this week he faces a free-scoring Villa who scored three against Arsenal and one (should have been two) against Chelsea. Again, Villa will be led by a three man attack including young star Benteke, ex-England international Agbonlahor and Austrian Weimann who all work well together and will be expected to at least generate the chances to be taken that could result in a couple of goals against the reds and Mignolet.

3. Brede Hangeland (Fulham V Arsenal):
Arsenal looked in great touch in Europe scoring three and creating much more. They will also be looking to bounce back from a shocking defeat on the opening day and looking to register their first points of the season, and with on-form Giroud leading the line, and the cottagers missing starting keeper Stekelenburg through injury it would be assumed that they will score many goals this week, which isn't good for people with Fulham star Hangeland who will lose out on points this week.

So yet again, Good luck with your team!

P.S this week I will be starting another weekly installment on Tuesday where I recap the weekends sporting action, including the football and the Belgium GP

Fantasy Friday 1

With the start of the Barclays Premier league only a day away, it's fair to say football is at the forefront of most people's minds, particularly those who are managing a fantasy football team. So, for this coming season, I will be starting a new feature entitled 'Fantasy Friday' which will list 3 players who I feel will be a success and 3 who will be a failure for that particular gameweek. 

So without further ado, here is Fantasy Friday for the first weekend of the 2013/14 Premier League season!

Possible successes:

1. Kevin Mirallas (Everton V Norwich):

With the starting striker at Goodison likely to be new boy Kone, pressure will be on the Belgium winger to provide the early season goals until Kone can find his feet. However, Norwich provide a nice start for the blue team from Merseyside and their weak defense could leak a few goals to the Everton attack that will prosper under Martinez.

2. Roberto Soldado (Tottenham V Crystal Palace):

Unlike Kone, Soldado is used to playing for a high placing team in Valencia, so finding his form should be no problem for the Spaniard. To make things even better, a first game against the previous year's play-off winners should give him a chance to show his class against a weak defense and, with no pressure on his shoulders and the media distracted by Bale, this game could be a platform for him to launch a successful start to his Premier League career.

3. Jack Wilshere (Arsenal V Aston Villa):

When Wilshere is fit, he is among the best in the league, and Wednesday's England match showed how he can perform, bossing the midfield until his substitution. Villa will also provide one of the easier tests this season and despite their youthful exuberance, Arsenal's midfield, marshaled by Wilshere and Cazorla will look to dominate and generate chances for whoever may start up front for the gunners.

Possible Failures:

1. Michu (Swansea V Man Utd):

Last Season Michu was an unknown quantity who excelled. He arrived in the league as a nobody and ended it as one of the league's top scorers and a constant fixture in many fantasy teams. This year however, he will be playing a deeper role behind new frontman Bony and that will limit his chances. To make things worse, he starts the season against champions Utd who will be desperate to start life under Moyes with a win and clean sheet.

2. Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool V Stoke):

Stoke is always a difficult team to face let alone on the opening day of the season and their physicality should neutralise some of Sturridge's threats to their goal. Also, were Suarez to play, that would mean he would be the main man rather than the ex-Chelsea player, however, if the Uruguayan doesn't play, less chances will be created for the youthful Englishman.

3. Yaya Toure (Man City V Newcastle):

One thing I've noticed from previous years is that Yaya rarely scores but that he manages to get assists to cover his lack of goals. However, this year he may be forced to play a more defensive role after City have signed numerous creative players that will fill the attacking positions in the lineup. This would signify a major drop in Toure's fantasy value and so despite him being one of the best players in real life, he is a big no-no for fantasy this year.

So there we go, Fantasy managers have done their stuff, now it's over to the real ones and the players to see what they can do. All that is left for me to say is good luck in all your leagues and C'mon the Gooners!

P.S Comments are welcome and this will be a weekly installment so thank you to Rachel Selby for indirectly giving me the idea of an article corresponding to a day