Fantasy Football Observations for Week #3

Quick one from last week, I was wrong on Arsenal (they did well), right on Giaccherini and Newcastle, and totally wrong with Lukaku. (Given up on trying to figure out Mourinho's plans for him.  Read here for that previous post. Onto this week:

Swansea attack

While it's not totally unexpected given the fixtures, Swansea are rock bottom together with Crystal Palace going into this weekend's fixtures. For a team also playing in Europe, that situation cannot continue especially with the quality of the team as next week they play Liverpool and then two weeks later Arsenal. Seeing yourself at the bottom has a demoralising effect regardless of fixture justification.

Swansea have several advantages going into this. West Brom will be looking to attack given they're at home and have yet to score this season, and this will leave gaps in the defence. Also, Ben Foster's replacement, Luke Daniels, is nowhere near his quality, as we saw in his 12 minute cameo, and this will almost certainly have a destabilising effect on their defence. Any of the 3 Swansea players who were substituted early in Europe midweek, Pablo Hernandez, Michu or De Guzman should be considered.

Edit: One of my pals, Sean, has said that Myhill should start for West Brom and not Daniels. I stand corrected. I still see Swansea breaking through though!

Newcastle to break their goalscoring duck

That's if Cabaye plays, which will provide the creativity that Newcastle have been sorely lacking. At home against Fulham, who will show that the away win last week really was a fluke. But don't pick him in Yahoo, pick Arfa or Cisse at cheaper prices, and whom stand to benefit from Cabaye's return. Or Sissoko, who just won a call-up to the French team.

The Norwich defence

With Bassong coming back (confirm this with team news later today), Russell Martin should slot back into the right, his natural position, booting out goalscorer Steven Whittaker. And just like that, Norwich's defence will improve. In fact, I can see this match being a goalless draw due to the superiority in defense and an inconsistency in attack for both sides, so any defenders from either Norwich or Southampton should be useful, Bassong is a beast of course.

North London derby

It's being covered everywhere else, but I was asked my thoughts on this, so anyway here goes:

Arsenal are gonna be bullied in central midfield and hence will lose in home soil. I honestly don't see Arsenal win this one, thanks to the triumvirate of Paulinho, Capoue and Dembele which just feel too strong for me. But it won't be a high-scoring match, maybe 1-2 final score. For Arsenal, they won't be able to create enough chances thanks to Spurs' midfield, while for Spurs, they lack the magic that Bale brought to the table. But fantasy points will be in abundance from both sides. Make your choice, and good luck. But pick Giroud, of course.

So there you have it. Of course, if you wanna go with 9 Manchester City players against Hull, I won't stop you ha ha...