BPL FANTASY – Week 29 Is it Aguero time again?

We’re into the last 10 matches of the season! Can you feel the heat?

As most of you know, they’ve had a mishap with the points. Fortunately it looks like it’s been fixed.

I don’t really have the time to recap the midweek results in detail. In short, Chelsea continued their unbeaten run, Liverpool got their revenge, while Leicester managed to increase their lead thanks to both Spurs and Arsenal both messing up.

The second London derby (Spurs vs Arsenal) for the week kicks off the weekend, and, admittedly, although the first London derby (West Ham vs Spurs) was exciting, the final 1-0 scoreline disappointed fantasy-wise. Hopefully the second one does not disappoint, you should have your players ready for this one.  By the way, two key parts of Arsenal’s defense, Cech and Koscielny, will both be out due to injury. We saw what happened against Swansea without Koscielny. Just saying.

There’s a dilemma here though: If you have Arsenal players, what do you do with them once they’re done with this match? Currently, Arsenal are scheduled to play West Brom next weekend. However, if Arsenal win against Hull in midweek in the FA Cup replay, that would rule them out of the weekend match as they’ll be playing the FA Cup. You have to decide whether or not Arsenal will go through. The safe way would be to transfer them out if you can.

Whatever the case, do remember when conducting your live transfers that aside from the question on Arsenal and West Brom, there are other teams who are definitely not involved forGameweek 30. 

These are:

Liverpool, Manchester United, West Ham, Watford, Everton, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

Anyway, the next batch of matches are:

Chelsea v Stoke

Everton v West Ham

Man City v Aston Villa

Newcastle v Bournemouth

Southampton v Sunderland

Swansea v Norwich

Obviously, Manchester City vs Aston Villa is the match you’ll be looking to exploit. City also have a great matchup the following week (Norwich away). Of course, you’d assume they’ve recovered from the beating Liverpool gave them.Aguero as usual, and their defenders are fair game as well. YayaToure should be back. Sterling or Silva are fair game too, but check their starting status.

Chelsea is another good match, but if you don’t have their players already, do remember that they have no match next week. Otherwise, Costa and Willian are your regulars.

Bournemouth continue their up and down season, and with Newcastle almost non-existent in attack against Stoke in midweek, you’d think this would be one of those ups. Matt Ritchie or Afobe are both viable picks this week. If you really want to gamble, then Townsend or Wijnaldum would be ideal. Remember, Newcastle are always better at home, especially where Wij is concerned.

I have to admit I really thought that Sunderland would have started to pull away from the relegation zone by now. As it is, they’re still hovering there (separated only by goal difference). I’m still keen on Khazri, but doubts have started to creep in. I’m not sure about their strikers though, as they seem to be taking turns to score. Nevertheless, their match against Crystal Palace showed they’ve found the heart to fight back after a setback. Southampton have lost their last two matches, after a very good run of form, but now, with both Austin and Long out, it’s hard to recommend anyone from them.  Mane should start but he’s in very poor form.

Swansea will be buoyed from their Arsenal victory. Sigurdsson should return to the starting lineup, and work the attacking midfield very well. I think there might be a fightback from Norwich though (with them getting increasingly desperate) so Swansea defenders are probably not the best this week.

Here’s the rest of the matches for the week:

Watford v Leicester

Crystal Palace v Liverpool

West Brom v Man Utd

The glaring thing to take with these matches is that out of these 6 teams, only Leicester have a match the following week. In the interests of optimizing your team’s playing time, I just can’t see a case for buying players from any of these teams. And you know what, even Leicester’s key assets aren’t that attractive as Leicester has been given a hard time by their opponents of late. For the rest, the lack of consistency from any player specifically in these teams  makes it hard for me to recommend purchasing anyone knowing they won’t get a stab next week.

Another month, another Euro code.For March, Napoli probably have the better fixtures, but Napoli have the slight advantage of not being involved in European competitions anymore, making Higuain a relatively more attractive pick.

Captaincy should be from either Ronaldo, Higuain, Messi or Aguero . Just so you know,Neymar will miss the next match as he’s suspended.

Here’s my team:

This week Neymar is suspended, while I can only play one keeper as they both play at the same time.

I can’t stop making mistakes. I transferred Depay on a whim (and he’s been useless), and have no way of transferring him out without wasting a playing slot. He plays the last match of the weekend, at a time where ALL teams available for selection including those in Europe would have all played. I also have two Arsenal players who may or may not play next week. With Nyom and Adrian also not playing next weekend, I’m looking at wasting 5 playing slots in total. I keep telling people to plan properly, yet here I am. I have yet to decide what to do with my two transfers.

Okay, enough ranting. All the best folks!

WEEK 28 London Derby Alert!

Very fast turnaround this week, we have matches on Tuesday and Wednesday evening followed by the weekend. All teams play in midweek and the weekend. Take note you’ll only have three transfers to use during this period (the third only during the weekend) so plan carefully.

I have already dealt with the first batch of matches in my last article, but here’s a quick summary for your thoughts, again, in case you have injuries:

Aston Villa v Everton – 0-2 Lukaku, Barkley

Bournemouth v Southampton  - 0-0

Leicester v West Brom – 3-2  (Vardy, Mahrez, Berahino)

Norwich v Chelsea – 0-3 (Costa, Willian)

Sunderland v Crystal Palace – 3-2 (Khazri (he’s now available at 8.5m), Defoe, Bolasie)

Note: With Saido Berahino back and firing, it’s no longer a straightforward win for Leicester, but a helter-skelter type of match. Leicester have the quality and discipline to still win though.

Let’s take a look at the matches on Wednesday:

Arsenal v Swansea. For Arsenal, it’s yet another game where they need to bounce back from previous disappointment. Seriously, how did Arsenal lose against a team patched up with youngsters and a makeshift defence? Lack of mental strength, that’s what. I can’t see Giroud not starting this one, after Walcott bombed, and boy will he need to set the example. Ozil did well last week, he’s still the best pick of the bunch. Arsenal have their London derby with Spurs this weekend, which could rain points. That derby is ALSO the first match of the weekend, take note.

Stoke v Newcastle. Haven’t got Arnautovic in? Here’s another chance. I went for the wrong midfielder (Shaqiri) because I wasn’t sure of Arnie’s fitness. Newcastle are well rested though, so it could be the difference. Stoke play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next though, so not sure if you’d want to keep your Stoke players.

Liverpool v Man City. It’s a Wembley rematch, and Liverpool will be looking to exact some revenge on home soil. It’s a dangerous one to invest in, but Sturridge, Aguero, Coutinho are possible options. Do note that City play Aston Villa this weekend, so it’s not a bad idea to invest early (Liverpool will play Palace).

Manchester United v Watford. No doubt Manchester United have found a spring in their step, which could very well be thanks to the injuries they’ve sustained. Having thirsty youngsters can certainly be a plus. Mata was brilliant in the middle, I think he likes having speedy youngsters in front of him, instead of a plodding balding billionaire, unfortunately it’s not translating into fantasy points. This will still a tough match though. Martial might be back for this one. Sorry folks, Rashford is not in the database yet. Feel free to remind Silent Manager to get him in, like we did for Khazri. (Man U play West Brom this weekend, another potential points banker). On Watford’s side, they’ve been blunt in recent weeks, so it’s hard to recommend their strikers.

West Ham v Spurs. I left this match for last because it’s a potentially explosive London derby encounter. Spurs are now in second, with visions of grandeur ahead. Payet, Antonio, Kane, Alli are your regular suspects in what could be a high goal-scoring match. West Ham play Everton during the weekend. Spurs as mentioned earlier, play Arsenal at White Hart Lane. That’s TWO London derbies in a row, if ever there was a period for Spurs to prove their title credentials, this is it!

My team:

Surprisingly, I went up 4 spots to 71. My free transfers Daniels and Shaqiri did ok while Defoe bombed. For my live transfers, Vardy gave me points but Sanchez and Depay did zilch. Nothing spectacular (Oh, Arnautovic!) With the Depay transfer, I’ve taken two huge risks and sold off Ronaldo and Payet. We’ll see how that pans out later this week. If I have an injury before Tuesday, I’m definitely bringing in Khazri.

This Friday, you’ll get a new Euro code, so it’s another challenge on the cards. We’ll deal with that in my next article.

Good luck everyone!