Week 4 Picks

Bonus Transfer Code: Schneiderlin17

Before I get to the gist of today's post, I hope my last article was of decent help. A few of you PMed me on Facebook asking to clarify, among other things, the transfer deadline. Well, let's take a look at the published rules, specifically, the following:

"Transfer Deadlines:
All transfers must be made before the published kick-off time of any match for the player(s) to be able to score points in that match. Players will only score points from the time/date that they are transferred into your team.."

So that's any match, not the first match of the weekend, not the first match of Sunday. ANY MATCH. Please note it also says "published kick-off time". So just because on TV a match hasn't started yet doesn't mean that you can still make changes. Check the clock, check the schedule.

Alright, let's move on, shall we?


Matchups to look at:

Newcastle v Arsenal

Bournemouth v Leicester (possible goal fest?)

Liverpool v West Ham

Man City v Watford

Strikers

Did you know that Aguero (15) once played under Watford’s manager Flores? That’s right (Atletico Madrid is the Spanish team I support by the way). Not that it matters really, Manchester City are too strong at home against Watford, even though Watford have been defensively sound in the past few matches, with back to back clean sheets. If you don’t have him yet, now would be the time.

Costa (15) is up and running. Crystal Palace are good, but not necessarily solid defensively, so Chelsea should score. As mentioned in my last article, Pedro (11.8) joins us just in time for the home match and , with theoretically less card risk. 

Giroud happens to have an absurd record scoring against Newcastle. 8 from 6 games it seems.

Will Rooney (14.5) go on a rampage? Not from where I’m standing, Swansea are ready for him.

Benteke (11) should do well against the defensive calamity that is West Ham. Pick but not necessarily captain.

Gestede (9) comes into reckoning for Aston Villa.  Sunderland managed to stabilise last weekend, but a clean sheet isn't happening just yet. Gestede will be trouble for them.

Wilson (8.2) and Vardy (8.5). Bournemouth have gotten off their goalscoring duck with a bang. There could be a lot of goals between two sides with an emphasis on free flowing football.

Midfielders:

Did you like how Newcastle stood fast against Manchester United? I did, but I don’t see a repeat performance here. Arsenal do not have the same problems Manchester United did, we could see a goalfest. Sanchez (13.5) is worth the investment. If you're a bit short on funds, then either Ozil (12.1) or Ramsey (12.1) could be good too. Cazorla this season is playing in the double pivot, thus playing deeper,  making him no longer attractive. 

Sterling (12.2) came quite close to scoring last week, it should give him enough drive to actually do it this time.

Last chance for Mane (9.6) to put himself in the shop window, last week he was unfortunately injured 20 minutes into the match. He made it to the bench midweek so should be around for this weekend.

And finally Firmino (10.9). The stage is set. Take no prisoners.  (Yes, apologies, Liverpool bias).

On the cheaper side of the scales, we have Ritchie (8.6), Mahrez (7.5m) and Okazaki (5.9), the last listed as a midfielder but playing as a striker. Good times, yes? I was wrong about Ritchie scoring last week, so let's see if I'm wrong again this week.

Here’s a dark horse pick for you:  Bakary Sako (8.2) had a power-packed game against Villa the other day. This week Crystal Palace plays an unbalanced Chelsea defence.  You make the call.

Defenders

Kolarov (5.7). Again. Nothing new here. You can see why I recommended him in previous weeks.

Soares (4.9). Koeman’s restructuring of the team into a 3-5-2 means he’s now a wing-back, and he did not start midweek. It's also a reasonably favourable matchup (Norwich).

Any of the Liverpool's defense should be considered. Skrtel (5.6) has the goal potential, Clyne (5.8) the assist, but Skrtel is more likely to get carded. Gomez (4.6) is the cheapest.

Goalkeeper

Hart (6.5), Guzan (4.3), Mignolet (5.8) all have a good shot of a CS. Let's face it, that's all we can realistically expect from our keepers, barring some nice penalty saving.

And sorry, Manchester United fans, but this week, Manchester United lose their clean sheet record. I've never actually recommended Romero (6.1) yet, but this week I won't be either.

The Euro picks

Most of you would have your Euro players in, so it really is a case of the captaincy. If you previously picked an Euro defender or midfielder, then stick with your Premier League options, at least until the next Euro code comes along. I'll look at each match affected.

Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkuesen: Lewandowski could continue on his current short streak, but the matchup is tougher than it looks.

Real Madrid v Real Betis: Another promoted side for Real Madrid, but can Benitez get his system in place? Otherwise, captaining Ronaldo might not be an option, after last week’s disappointment.

Barcelona v Malaga: Barcelona usually do well at the Camp Nou against Malaga. The last time Messi scored against them it was a hattrick, albeit that was 4 years ago. If I had him, I’d have to choose between him or Aguero. Not as easy as it looks. Neymar's worth considering though, after the transfer shenanigans involving Manchester United.

Napoli v Sampdoria: If you have him, then by all means captain Higuain. Napoli will want to bounce back, and at home they should have the upper hand. 

P.s:  Does anyone know which J. Rodriguez is listed for Real Madrid? Jese, or James? I’ll probably find out when the next Euro code is released, but it would be good to know.

That’s it! By the way, my team as it stands is exactly the same as last week (but Captaining Aguero this time and anyone playing on Sunday moved to the subs) as I’ll work my transfers and subs through during the weekend. 

Good luck!