In today’s
article, I feel very privileged to be able introduce to you four more football
fantasy stars to provide opinions and thoughts about football fantasy and
football in general as we approach the end of the 2015/2016 season. I thank
them for spending the time to answer the five questions I posed for this feature.
Before we get to the questions, let me give a brief introduction for each of my
respondents.
First up we
have Omar Azman, manager for the Redeem
Team that is currently occupying the top spot in the Awani Premier League*. He
has appeared before in the Bual Bola show on Astro Awani 501 to share tips and
strategies.
Next we have
Isfandi Adi, the main administrator
for the Official SK League – Thomas Cup, one of the many competitions being run
through the Kaki Fantasy Football Facebook groups. I’ve been told that Isfandi
Adi is one of the MVPs in terms of organising our local competitions.
In fact, thanks to him, I was also able to get in touch with
our third guest. Alia Hanna is one
of the top female fantasy football player in Malaysia, ranked 5th in
the Stadium Astro game overall* and 1,209 in the official Premier League game*.
She is solid proof that girls can play the game, and play it well!
Our fourth
and final guest is Paddy Pynes, manager
of Pynes United. Pynes United is currently ranked 3rd in the
Malaysian Group* in the official Premier League game. Paddy is an Englishman
who has lived in Perak for the past few years. He’s a lifelong Manchester
United fan and has watched them play many times. He’s been involved in fantasy
football for almost 20 years now.
That’s it
for the introductions, on to the questions!
Q1: For the Premier League, who’s your best pick for this week, and why?
Omar: Harry Kane, the
current BPL top scorer is the safe bet for high attacking returns. Title
contender Spurs will welcome the Baggies at White Hart Lane with an all-out
attack mentality to put the pressure on the leaders, Leicester City. With the
race to the title turning into a 2-horse race, surely Spurs will be clear
favourites to win this match since the visitors have already achieved their
original target of 40pts to secure their Premier League status. I'm pretty sure
Kane will be the most popular choice for the captain’s armband for the majority
of fantasy managers.
Isfandi: Harry Kane,
as Spurs is on a mission to steal top spot in the league and Kane is in
excellent form at the moment. He’s also chasing the Golden Boot award in a
thrilling contest with Aguero and Vardy. Surely Kane’s motivation is stronger
as he is chasing both the Golden Boot AND the league title.
Alia: Definitely Spurs players. It depends on what position
you’re looking at. Spurs are chasing the title and are in top form, while their
opponents West Brom are safe from regulation and may be relaxed and chilling.
Striker: Kane, Mid : Alli , Def : Alder. Captaincy choice: Kane
Paddy: Best pick for
GW35 is between Aguero at home to a leaky Stoke defence or Kane at home to a
struggling WBA. I think both will score. If I had to choose one I would go
Aguero.
Q2:
Which popular pick will fail for week 35, and why?
Omar:
All regular starters for Liverpool (Countinho,
Firmino, Sturridge, Clyne, Milner, etc) because Jurgen Klopp will have
one eye towards the Europa League semi-final clash against Villareal. We have
been warned before on the rotation policy from Jurgen Klopp when he rested the
entire Liverpool team against Stoke City recently and for GW35, we could expect
an almost similar situation.
Isfandi: Alexis Sanchez could be the
playuer that fails in week 35 due to the fatigue factor. With really only 2
days apart from the last match, he may not be able to recover sufficiently.
Alia: Liverpool
players. With the Europa League tie on the horizon, key players may very well
be rested. Coach Klopp has proven that he is brave enough to rotate almost the
entire squad, and even their goalkeeper Mignolet as demonstrated in Gameweek
35. Other star players that could be rested include Sturridge, Coutinho and
Firmino.
Paddy: Tough question as
I think they all have good fixtures, so being a United fan I shall say Firmino
against a resurgent Newcastle.
Q3:
Which team do you support, and what are your hopes?
Omar: I'm a fan of
Manchester United and my realistic hope for them is to at least finish top 4 in
the league table and ensure qualification to the Champions League. Our fans
also want a taste of silverware and FA Cup glory seems to be within our reach
this season.
Isfandi: Chelsea. I hope with these
last four games, and with nothing to chase, Chelsea will utilise the services
of youngsters that were not given real chances previously such as
Clarke-Salter, Ola Aina dan Alex Kiwomya. Exposure in the first eleven will no
doubt help to improve their game for the following season.
Alia: Man Utd.
Top4 finish.
Paddy: Man United!
This season I think 4th place is just out of reach unless Arsenal or City crash
big time, realistically the FA cup is our only hope of Silverware, I think next
season there will be big changes including the manager (I hope)
Q4:
What’s your prediction for the Top 4 in the Premier League, in order?
Omar:
Leicester, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City,
Manchester United
Isfandi: Spurs,
Leicester, Arsenal, Man City
Alia: Tottenham ,
Leicester, Arsenal, Man Utd
Paddy: Spurs 80pts,
Leicester 77pts, Man City 71pts, Arsenal 71pts, Man United 71pts.
Yes that’s right, 3rd, 4th and 5th decided on goal difference! Would make GW38
very entertaining!
Q5:
Which team is your tip to win the Champions League (Bayern Munich, Manchester
City, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid) and why?
Omar: Bayern Munich, from their team sheet, everything seems
perfect for every position from the goalkeeper right up to the striker. Pep
Guardiola’s experience in this competition will give him an added advantage.
Finally, surely Pep will want to end his last season at Allianz Arena on a high
note by winning the UEFA Champions League.
Isfandi: Real Madrid should lift the Champions League trophy this
season. Based on player form, it’s not far-fetched to say they will win this
season’s Champions League easily. Real Madrid players currently have a strong
winning mentality after winning 9 out of their last 10 matches. Zidane’s
tactics can bring out the best out of the Real Madrid squad this season.
Alia: Atletico Madrid, for three main reasons: 1. Team stability and player harmony:
No issues of dissatisfied players, no issues of changing coaches. 2. Coach Simeone’s tactics: From
previous records, Atletico have always achieved good results when playing
attacking teams. Amongst the remaining 4 teams, only Altetico Madrid can boast
a strong defensive structure, while the rest are more focused on attack. 3. This team defeated Barcelona with
the Messi, Neymar and Suarez triumvirate, they certainly have the potential to
be champions. Previously I expected it to be Barcelona, but they failed in the
quarterfinals.
Paddy: Finals results will be Bayern Munich 2 - Real Madrid 1.
With CR7 crying in the centre circle!
And there you have it. I find it fascinating that out of our 4
guests, only Omar felt that Leicester will hold on till the end. Also, everyone
differed in their choice for Champions League Champions! And finally, most expect
Liverpool players to burn us this weekend…
Thanks again to all my respondents…. Good luck everyone for
Week 35!
*Quoted
rankings are at time of writing, extracted before the Arsenal v West Brom match
For
my older articles, please visit unknownworlds.blogspot.com
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