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Friday, December 04, 2015

Player Picks Week 15

Welcome to the first week of December, it’s going to get nasty from here on in, beware of rotation!


Stoke City v Manchester City

Stoke recorded an unexpected loss against Sunderland last time out and believe me, Mark Hughes was not happy, but they bounced back midweek to reach the semi-finals. They face another Capital One Cup semi-finalist, Manchester City who steamrolled past Hull City.

Tough one to call, Mark Hughes always has a point to prove against Manchester City, but City should win with the quality available. Note: Aguero's not fit again. 0-3 Final Scoreline.

Player picks: Hard to look past De Bruyne for this one, but Kolarov could do nicely too for the clean sheet and free kick potential.

Arsenal v Sunderland

Boy is Big Sam relishing this one.  He actually made Lee Cattermole look good last week, so he’ll be looking to annoy Wenger once again. Sunderland actually held Arsenal to a goalless draw in this fixture last week, with Pantilimon pulling off some amazing saves.  Arsenal’s season is again being disrupted by injuries, and I can see that becoming a problem once again for the London club, especially in central midfield. Final Score: 1-1.

Player picks: Aaron Ramsey is back and Ozil will look for him after getting constantly frustrated by Giroud.  On the other side, Patrick Van Aanholt scored 10 points last week with a goal, and a defender in an attacking role is always good for us!

Manchester United v West Ham

Ugh. This could be a fantasy nightmare. Stay away unless you’re investing in the defense for Manchester United, cause I really don’t know who’s going to score. 1-1

Player Picks: Chris Smalling as the goal-scoring defender.  Mauro Zarate if you’re feeling brave.

Southampton v Aston Villa

Hard to call this one.  I’ve started to see some improvement for Villa against Watford last week, despite losing 2-3. For all of Southampton’s strengths, they struggle against teams that prioritise their defense, which is what Villa will do away from home. 1-1 draw (yes, call me chicken)

Player Picks: Tadic could come back into the goals with Amavi out of the picture, there could be plenty of space to exploit. My dark horse pick for this week is Steve Sidwell, there are issues in Southampton’s backline with Jose Fonte possibly out and no apparent clear starter for Southampton’s right back spot.

Swansea v Leicester

There were signs of life for Swansea against Liverpool last week as well, can they engage Leicester the same way? I just don’t see it. Will Gary Monk make it to 2016? I just don’t see it either.0-3 to Leicester.

Player Picks: Definitely Vardy.  I do have concern over Mahrez being rested by tinkerman Ranieri, but if he starts, then by all means pick him.

Watford v Norwich

Two promoted teams, but has anyone noticed that Watford are in the Top Ten right now? Watford are clearly ahead in terms of quality, and discipline. 2-0 as Flores’ men continue to do well, but there is uncertainty with regards to Gomes (Watford’s keeper). Check injury updates.

Player picks:  Paredes as a nice out of position defender pick, and Deeney for the penalty conversion as Norwich collapse.

West Brom v Spurs

It could’ve been Berahino against Spurs, but West Brom manager Tony Pulis does not seem to rate him. This could be a real slug fest, as West Brom will look to contain and frustrate Spurs. Harry Kane finally blanked last week, will he bounce back this week? I seriously don’t think so, but Spurs should still win. 1-2 to Spurs.

Player picks: Erikssen with a setpiece goal, and Aiderweireld to continue the Spurs trend of goal-scoring defenders.

Chelsea v Bournemouth

One team becoming defensively solid, one team discovering their attacking verve. Which shall prevail? Probably the Londoners, but they’ll concede. 2-1.

Player picks: Willian blanked last week, but that was Spurs, expect a great free kick this weekend. All eyes are on Hazard as a false nine, but I’m tipping Loic Remy to return and do well.

Newcastle v Liverpool

It’s hard not to look at this matchup and think: Massacre. But there you have it. 4 - 1

Player picks: Firmino, Benteke. Not sure if Coutinho will be ready, but we get to check.


Everton v Crystal Palace

Everton were undone last week by a Bournemouth fight back. This is arguably one of their harder matchups but I think they will do just enough to defeat the Londoners.

Player picks: Deulofeu with some magic, Seamus Coleman for the clean sheet and assist.

That’s it for the matches, here’s my team as it stands:



So obviously I need to replace Sanchez, but it does give me an opportunity to pick up an extra Manchester City midfielder for the early match. I also have to decide between playing Cech or Lloris (Cech has the edge for the home advantage, but….). I’m sorely tempted to use a transfer to bring in Coutinho, on Sunday, but that’s overloading  (Yup, it’s another week without Vardy!). There’s also the Euro option to consider, but I’m not sure about that.

That’s it! Good luck this weekend! Stay clear from injuries!



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