FPL2011/12 GW20

This is embarrassing. I had very points for gw18 and gw19. It also means that my strategy to count on top defenders back-fired. my choices over the period, which is terry, jones, vermaelen, evans, richards, all got injured. In the end i have to waste more points to change them all. It's a failure.

but moving to gw20 it finally works. Man City and Tottenham both got clean sheet, means I get pretty good points for my defenders.

these few weeks also saw the middle team start to get better. might be good to pick a few players from them.

Gameweek 38 my team review

I am pretty satisfied with my performance this season. Starting from Gameweek 35 my overall ranking keep on improving, from 26211 to 13270, which is also my highest final overall ranking (previous best was 18042, last season) and final fantasy points in the 6 fantasy season I played. The final point of 2322 is 164 more than 2158 which I got in 2007/08 season. This makes an average of 61.1 points per gameweek! I finally break through the gameweek average 60pts target.

I need to thank this to the exciting season which saw Chelsea and Man Utd fighting with each other till the last game of the season. The consistency of each team's key players, Drogba, Lampard, Rooney and Valencia contributed to the high scoring gameweek at the second half of the season. Overall it was an enjoyable fantasy season.

Do you have a good fantasy season too? tell me about it!

More fantasy season review and statistics to come....stay tuned!!

Gameweek 12 Review

Great entertainment for the past week as we saw 36 goals from 10 games, which saw Chelsea pull away at the top of the league after beating Man Utd, while Man City and Liverpool both drew their opponents to drop further behind at the league table.

There are also some bad news as Ferguson was handed a 4-match touchline ban for post-match comments on referee Alan Wiley. We also had some sad moments as German keeper Robert Enke passed away, commiting suicide due to long term depression. There could be more injury news coming on after Lampard and Drogba so if you hadn't make a transfer yet, It would be a good idea to hold it first.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Top players performance.
3) Review of GW11 watchlist.

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(1)

Aston Villa v Bolton [2-1](5-1) correct outcome.
It was Villa's biggest win of the season. We saw Milner, Young, Carew and Agbonlahor all contributed to the goals.

Blackburn v Portsmouth [1-1](3-1) wrong.
Jason Roberts came in at the second half and made the difference with 2 goals. Blackburn plays 2 games next week so Roberts' form will be at test.

Man City v Burnley [3-0](3-3) wrong.
5 draws in a row is rare. But a sixth is really possible now.

Tottenham v Sunderland [2-1](2-0) correct outcome.
Tottenham won expectantly, and too bad Bent missed his penalty.

Wolves v Arsenal [0-3](1-4) correct margin.
Arsenal are trully unstoppable now. Too bad van Persie is injured now. But I believe they have enough cover for him.

Hull City v Stoke City [0-1](2-1) wrong.
I was really surprised to see Hull City pull off a victory here. Now the relegation battle is getting tight.

West Ham v Everton [1-1](1-2) wrong.
That was a rare away win for Everton. They have 2 more away games next week (Man Utd and Hull City).

Wigan v Fulham [2-1](1-1) wrong.
Dempsey scored in third successive games and are surely the popular choice now, since Fulham plays 2 games next week. He's certainly the best player in Fulham at the moment.

Chelsea v Man Utd [2-0](1-0) correct outcome.
Chelsea are too strong at the moment. But now that their two key players, Lampard and Drogba are both injured, it's time for the rest to step up. Hopefully they will be in full strength when they play Arsenal at the end of the month.

Liverpool v Birmingham [3-0](2-2) wrong.
Torres' injury doesn't help the cause. Now I'm certain that Liverpool are overdependent on Gerrard and Torres. Now they even had Benayoun out until December. I hope Benitez can survive his job when Christmas comes.

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(2)



For this gameweek we saw Arsenal and Tottenham players came away with good points. We currently have quite a lot top players in the injury lists, including Torres, van Persie, Berebatov, Lampard and Drogba. So we'll have not much choice left. You've better check out the teams playing 2 games instead. I believe most fantasy managers will take it as their strategy next week.

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(3)

I'm going to delay my watchlist for this week as players' status are rapidly changing over the last week. But let's take a quick review on last week's watchlist.

Petrov/Bellamy(MC): Petrov only played as sub and got 1 pt while Bellamy scored a goal to bag 5 pts.

Boateng(Por): Boateng's strings of good performances came to an abrupt end as he got just 1 pt this week. I believe not much people will try on him at the moment.

Etherington/Beattie(Sto): Etherington scored 8 and Beattie 2. We got one right out of them. Next game is against Portsmouth so chance for them to test out their strikeforce again.

That was a very bad prediction. But since I actually got 6 match results wrong out of 10 it would be a surprise if I could get the players correct. Hopefully I can improve my guess on the unpredictable league results next week.

Gameweek 11 Review

32 goals, 7 clean sheets and 17 players getting more than 10pts, with most of them season campaigners. This is a good things to all fantasy managers as many do a catch-up to raise their average gameweek score. It's also a very special week as 10 red cards were flashed over the 11 games played!!

Also check here for the latest updated players statistics.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Top players performance.
3) Review of GW10 watchlist.
4) Watchlist of the week.

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(1)
To get 3 correct score in one gameweek is a rare feat for me! It think it helps me to get a good score for this week too.

Legend: [my prediction] (results)

Arsenal v Tottenham [3-0](3-0)CORRECT SCORE :)
Perfect prediction! Fabregas and van Persie the top performer again. This is also the first time of the season that van Persie get a gameweek score more than 9pts. More to come from the league top scoring team?

Bolton v Chelsea [1-2](0-4)correct outcome
It's Lampard and Drogba yet again. Next game is against MU. If they can win this then the league title should be theirs.

Burnley v Hull City [2-0](2-0)CORRECT SCORE :)
They played 6 defenders of fantasy definition, and bagged all the clean sheet points! Maybe you can consider buying some as your subs.

Everton v Aston Villa [0-2](1-1)wrong
Villa are now 17th in the form table, taking only 6pts from as much games. Anyway I believe they will come back strongly very soon.

Fulham v Liverpool [1-3](3-1)wrong
The pressure is back on Benitez again! Looks like they need both Gerrard and Torres together to produce result. Already near the exit in Champions League, now they are 9pts behind league leader Chelsea. Apparently they are the weakest among the Big 4 teams.

Portsmouth v Wigan [2-1](4-0)correct outcome
Piquionne did scored to my prediction, but Dindane was the real hero, scoring the 5th hat-trick of EPL season. it appears that Hull City is currently the weakest team in the league!

Stoke City v Wolves [2-0](2-2)wrong
Wolves managed to force a draw with 2 goals from defender Craddock. Don't expect that to happen too often.

Sunderland v West Ham [1-1](2-2)correct margin.
Darren Bent did played and had an assist. But Carlton Cole continued his scoring form and the result is a draw as expected.

Man Utd v Blackburn [2-0](2-0)CORRECT SCORE :)
Rooney and Berbatov both scored to give United a perfect result. Also congratulations to Rooney who become a father this week!

Birmingham v Man City [1-2](0-0)wrong
So Maik Taylor is still good enough to stop City from scoring! But for the first time in 6 games they failed to score.

West Ham v Aston Villa [1-2](2-1)
It's a great week for West Ham as they bagged 4pts from two games. Their strikers also take turns to provide goals. They are now above the relegation area, though still not far away from it.

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(2)



We saw most top players get a good score this week. I think that explains why many fantasy managers get a high score, and yet fail to rank up. Some of them are in a great form and it's good to consider holding them for a longer period.

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(3)

A brief review of last week form players section:

Rodallega: only 1pt as Wigan lost 4-0 to Portsmouth.
Torres: 6pts from a goal. I expect him to score again in the next game.
C.Cole: 8pts. Scored in the first game but injured himself in the second match.
Agbonlahor: 10pts, playing 2 games and made 2 assists. You should continue observe his performance as Villa plays Bolton in the next game.
Piquionne: 5pts from a goal. Not bad for a striker costing only 4.9.

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(4)

A shortlist of players to watch for the coming weeks:


Petrov/Bellamy(MC): Bur(H),Liv(A),Hul(H),Che(H),Bol(A)
City already drew their last 4 league games, I believe they will end this embarassing streak very soon. Petrov and Bellamy are two players capable of delivering results, but you'll have to see if Hughes picks them.


Boateng(Por): Bla(A),Sto(A),MU(H),Bur(H),Sun(A)
He contributed a lot to Portsmouth's recent resurgence. He performed very well especially during home games. Cost 5.1 now and may go up again.


Etherington/Beattie(Sto): Hul(A),Por(H),Bla(A),Ars(A),Wig(H)
Stoke City have gone 4 games without defeat in the league. I believe they will win the hopeless Hull City who are without their key player Geovanni due to suspension. You can also try their defenders as Hull City had failed to score in the last 3 games.

Other players to continue observing: Dunn, Torres, (Arsenal), Agbonlahor.

Expected to win this week are Man City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Villa as all look to get back on winning ways before the league leaders run away further.

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Gameweek 10 Review

30 goals and 5 clean sheets for this week. Lampard was the top gameweek scorer with 14pts. With 27percents managers owning him the loss is quite critical for those without him. However only 3 other players scored 10pts and above(2 from Chelsea, 1 from Wigan). Elsewhere it's a great consolation that the overall leader only managed 44pts this gameweek.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Top players performance.
3) Review of GW9 watchlist.
4) Watchlist of the week.

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(1)

As usual, let's check the score predictions:

Legend: [my prediction] (results)]

Wolves v Aston Villa [0-2](1-1)wrong.
Birmingham v Sunderland [1-0](2-1)correct margin.
Burnley v Wigan [2-1](1-3)wrong.
Hull City v Portsmouth [2-1](0-0)wrong.
Tottenham v Stoke City [2-0](0-1)wrong.
Chelsea v Blackburn [4-0](5-0)correct outcome.
Bolton v Everton [1-1](3-2)wrong.
Liverpool v Man Utd [0-1](2-0)wrong.
Man City v Fulham [2-0](2-2)wrong.
West Ham v Arsenal [1-3](2-2)wrong.

Only 2 correct predictions. No wonder my score is so bad this gameweek! Howevere there are indeed a few surprise results, including Tottenham's and Burnley's home losses.

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(2)



With a table it would probably easier to explain the performance of top players (sorting by players' price). 4 of them got a very good score and so are their forms. It would be great if one can own all 4 of them now!

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(3)

A brief review of last week form players section:

Fabregas: 5pts is not so bad. Fabregas is well known for grabbing bonus points.
Drogba: 1 goal and 1 assist explains it all. He's the most consistent player in the league now.
D.Bent: unable to continue his scoring form this week, but he should be able to rediscover his form in the next game against West Ham.
van Persie: 1 goal and 1 assist from corner. More than what I expected from him.
Dunne: It was very unfortunate for Villa to concede a late goal.
Davies: 4pts and another assist. He now has 5 assists in total.
Giggs: Unable to command the midfield and help MU win over Liverpool.
Dunn: It was very unfortunate that Dunne and Samba are infected with Influenza A. It also caused the weakened to lose heavily to Chelsea.
Reid: 5pts is well within expectation. He got 3pts bonus despite his team lost.

Many among the listed players had failed to perform. Anyway let's see if they can make up the deficit next gameweek.

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(4)

The author has made a shortlist of players to watch for the coming weeks. Coincidentally they are all strikers!?


Rodallega(Wig): Por(A),Ful(H),Tot(A),Sun(H),Bir(H),Sto(A)
Stormed to 7th in the fantasy points ranking with a string of good performances. Has collected 9 bonus pts from the last 4 games. There is a high chance that he would score again in the next game against bottom club Portsmouth.


Torres(Liv): Ful(A),Bir(H),MC(H),Eve(A),Bla(A),Ars(H),Wig(H)
Made a great comeback from injury with a winning goal against MU. Fulham and Birmingham are two good victims coming up.


C.Cole(WH): Sun(A)/AV(H),Eve(H),Hul(A),Bur(H),MU(H),Bir(A)
West Ham play two games this week. Cole is the safest bet despite his 6.8 price tag. He scored 4 goals in the last 5 games, and more remarkably, had scored in all 4 home games this season.


Agbonlahor(AV): Eve(A)/WH(A),Bol(H),Bur(A),Tot(H),Hul(H),MU(A)
Scored in the last 3 away games. Statistic says he will score again. What do you say? Anyway it's 4pts guaranteed as Villa play two games too.


Piquionne(Por): Wig(H),Bla(A),Sto(A),MU(H),Bur(H)
Scored 2 goals in the league cup 4-0 win over Stoke City the past tuesday. An interesting try at a cheap 4.9. Would he be rewarded with a starting place in the league? Also take a look at his team mate Kevin-Prince Boateng, who had collected 6 bonus pts from the last 4 games.

Expected to win big next gameweek are Man Utd and Sunderland. Both teams looks to bounce back from their latest defeat. Blackburn and West Ham looks like good prey for them.
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Gameweek 10 my team review

Yet another bad gameweek score means I've dropped out of top 50000, and now look dangerous too even keep my top 100000 position. A positive point is the overall leader "Carsons Loose Change" also got 44pts for this gameweek, meaning the gap between the overall leader and me is still the same.

The player that made difference in this gameweek is Lampard. Managers who picked him as captain earned a good 28pts and easily win over other managers. Chelsea's next game is away at Bolton and they look good to score big win again.

Starting gameweek 11 we will have teams who play two games in one GW. So it's time to start planning now.

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Now for this week's performance analysis:

Hart: 2pts. Conceded a late own goal by team mate means I lost the clean sheet points. Next match is against his former team Man City, no hope for clean sheet.

Zayatte: 6pts. Hull City's draw with Portsmouth means another good score earned by the once cheapest defender in the game.

Dunne: 2pts. Looks good for a clean sheet and even grab some bonus pts, but a late goal ruins it all.

Vermaelen: 2pts. Arsenal conceded two late goals, and Carlton Cole really had ruined my game.

Fabregas: 5pts including 3 bonus pts. so far still worth the investment.

Huddlestone/Lennon: 3/2pts. Tottenham surprisingly lost to Stoke City who just earned their first away victory of the season. What a wrong decision to bring in Tottenham midfield as I didn't get any return from them at all.

Elliott: Now that Burnley lost their 100% home win record, I may need to turn to someone else to bring me extra points.

Cohen: Yet to deliver points for me, but no complaints as he's cheap enough at 4.8 now.

Adebayor: 5pts from an assist, but this is not enough from him considering his expensive value. May need to switch him for a better midfielder.

van Persie: 9pts from a goal and an assist. Continued his fine form and showed a very good investment.

In the bench are the Everton trio: Baines, Distin and Saha. However Saha scored 9pts and it's a big waste.

For GW11 I planned to make a double transfer, switching a midfielder and a forward. My keepers and defenders are equally bad but they are more difficult to deliver points these days.

Gameweek 9 Review

28 goals and only 2 clean sheets. But only 9 out of the top 50 fantasy players got more than 6pts for this gameweek, meaning it's actually a very tough week. James Beattie get 13pts and is already the top point scorer for the gameweek. The fact that GW9 top manager only got 86pts also shows that most fantasy managers are having a hard time to get the correct players.

I'm going to change the form of this agenda and only discuss about form players for this review.
I've also updated the players statistic spreadsheet to GW9. Hopefully you can figure out some trends from it.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Top players performance.
3) Form players.
4) Statistical talk.

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1)

As usual, let's check the score predictions:

Legend: [my prediction] (results)]

Aston Villa v Chelsea [0-1](2-1) wrong.
Arsenal v Birmingham [4-0](3-1) correct outcome.
Everton v Wolves [3-0](1-1) wrong.
Man Utd v Bolton [4-0](2-1) correct outcome.
Portsmouth v Tottenham [0-2](1-2) correct outcome.
Stoke City v West Ham [1-0](2-1) correct margin.
Sunderland v Liverpool [2-0](1-0) correct outcome.
Blackburn v Burnley [2-0](3-2) correct outcome.
Wigan v Man City [1-2](1-1) wrong.
Fulham v Hull City [2-1](2-0) correct outcome.

3 wrong predictions and 2 of them are draw results. But not as much clean sheets as I thought. How long does this have to go on?

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(2)

I know some of the big names are injured. But they will still play a major part throughout the season. Let's check if we really need to offload them, or we have an option to switch players among them.

Sorting by price:

Gerrard: injured.
Lampard: 5pts from an assist. But unfortunately Chelsea lost to Villa.
Torres: injured.
Rooney: injured.
Drogba: 6pts from 1 goal.
Arshavin: 7pts from 1 goal.
Fabregas: 8pts from an assist plus 3 bonus pts.
Anelka: 2pts.
Adebayor: 2pts.
van Persie: 6pts from 1 goal. Has scored in the last 3 games.
Berbatov: 2pts.
Kuyt: 2pts as Liverpool lost again.

Only players of Arsenal managed to get some respectable points. This also reflects my opinion of the current situation, which is, aim for Arsenal players if you wish to bring in any big 4 players! Anyway, Chelsea are playing Blackburn at home in coming weekend so they probably will get more goals! Don't let go Drogba, Lampard or A.Cole if you still have them.


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(3)

I always believe consistency (or form) is the largest factor to lead you to success in fantasy game. Wouldn't it be great if you have a team capable of bringing you more than 50pts a gameweek, while others struggling to bring in the correct players at a higher cost and with limited budget?

From the statistics we can easily see some players who have having a great run of fantasy points scoring. Let's see if they have the potential to continue the run.



Behind the name are the next opponents of the team player belongs to.


Fabregas(Ars): WH(A),Tot(H),Wol(A),Sun(A),Che(H),Sto(H),Liv(A)
The current fantasy point leader with 72pts. He had scored at least 5 pts in the last 5 games. Barring any injuries, he should guarantee some point returns in every game.


Drogba(Che): Bla(H),Bol(A),MU(H),Wol(H),Ars(A),MC(A),Eve(H),Por(H)
Has been the fantasy point leader for 5 gameweeks this season, and now just behind Fabregas. He has scored at least 4 pts or 1 assist in each game this season. You may wonder when his form gonna run out. Chelsea had lost 2 game in their last 3. I don't think they will lose again in short while. Definitely Drogba is going to contribute to every Chelsea win.


D.Bent(Sun): Bir(A),WH(H),Tot(A),Ars(H),Wig(A),Ful(A),Por(H)
Scored 6 goals in the last 5 games, successively. The fact that he even found the net against opponents like MU and Chelsea makes him the most fearful striker at the moment. at 7.7 he is still consider cheap and I expect him to break 8.0 very soon, maybe up to 8.5. Together with Drogba they are the two most worthy strikers currently.


van Persie(Ars): WH(A),Tot(H),Wol(A),Sun(A),Che(H),Sto(H),Liv(A)
The third most consistent striker. van Persie has scored 4 goals and 1 assist in the last 5 games, and also gathered 8 bonus points. While there are no injury alarm, he sits comfortably at the top of team's striker list. If Arsenal are to continue their high scoring form, van Persie will be a really worthy investment.


Dunne(AV): Wol(A),Eve(A),Bol(H),Bur(A),Tot(H),Hul(H)
Dunne has got 10 bonus pts and 2 goals from the last 5 games, which is since his transfer from MC to Villa. Once the most valuable defender in the fantasy game, he has made a remarkable comeback and gained the confidence of fantasy managers again. Most importantly, at 5.5 the cost is still reasonable and as long as he gets a clean sheet once in every two or three games it's still worth it.


Davies(Bol): Eve(H),Che(H),AV(A),Bla(H),Ful(A),Wol(A)
The 6.7 rated striker has scored at least 4 pts since GW4, getting 2 goals, 4 assists and 8 bonus pts. He had played an important role in turning Bolton's fortune, though they are still not far from the bottom three currently. Anyway, such form could see him overcome the difficult opponent and add more points to his impressive run.


Giggs(MU): Liv(A),Bla(H),Che(A),Eve(H),Por(A),WH(A),AV(H),Wol(H)
He had done well in the past month, whenever he's on the pitch. But it looks like there's going to be more rotation in MU midfield, so there is a risk that you need to carry with.



Dunn(Bla): Che(A),MU(A),Por(H),Bol(A)/Ful(A),Sto(H),Liv(H)
At 5.5 he's giving holders a good return, with 4 goals from the last 5 games. He also get bonus points whenever Blackburn wins. With their next two game against Chelsea and MU, maybe you want to wait further. Also take not that they will be playing 2 games at GW13. I think it'll be good to purchase him at GW12.


Reid(Sun): Bir(A),WH(H),Tot(A),Ars(H),Wig(A),Ful(A),Por(H)
He's created numerous goalscoring chances for his team mates from the midfield, and also getting bonus pts regularly. Though at the same price as Dunn, Sunderland stand a higher chance to win a game.

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(4)

This time we're going to check out which team are having their top 3 players getting the biggest share of team points as usual. Let's check on the stats table:



For GW9, Top3 players from Arsenal, Villa, Fulham and Wigan are the ones that perform to expectation. Most people get the right trio combination for Arsenal and Villa, but not for Wigan and Fulham, since they are relatively weaker teams. Perhaps it's something that you want to explore with in the future.

The green highlighted percentage shows teams that had depended heavily on their top3 players to get fantasy points. This signals that the top3 players of that team are the obvious choice than their teammates. A little observation will also tells you that teams like Tottenham and Man City usually win points for their attacking players, while Stoke City are an example where defenders get more points than attackers.

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Gameweek 8 Review

Wow! Another highscoring EPL weekend, with 33 goals scored from 10 matches. With only 2 teams managed to get a clean sheet, Many will be wondering why to spend so much money on good keepers when you get the same little point for all! Yeah, that's something for thought. But it's different story on defenders. We've got some defenders able to deliver assists or goals, but this rarely happens on keepers.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Players who get gameweek score of double figures.
3) Top players performance.
4) Other players looking to pick up their forms.
5) New statistical reference.
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(1)

Let's start the review by checking the score predictions. I hope you had already started to do the same, as I believe it will help you in your game to a certain extent.

Legend: [my prediction] (results)]

Bolton v Tottenham [1-2](2-2) wrong.
Burnley v Birmingham [2-0](2-1) correct outcome.
Hull City v Wigan [1-0](2-1) correct margin.
Wolves v Portsmouth [2-1](0-1) wrong.
Man Utd v Sunderland [3-0](2-2) wrong.
Arsenal v Blackburn [2-0](6-2) correct outcome.
Everton v Stoke City [2-0](1-1) wrong.
West Ham v Fulham [1-0](2-2) wrong.
Chelsea v Liverpool [2-1](2-0) correct outcome.
Aston Villa v Man City [1-2](1-1) wrong.

I only get 4 correct outcome. There are 5 draws for this week and I've got it all wrong. Luckily it didn't reflect too much on my fantasy results.

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(2)

Next we'll have a check on players who get more than 10pts this gameweek.
From here you will see clearly why the average score is so low for this gameweek. That's because only 5 players got double figures. And out of these 5 players, only 3 are popular choice. Fabregas had become the difference between success and failure for this week, with the controlling 22pts. You probably will be thinking why you still hold Lampard or Gerrard while they are so expensive yet not deliver.

As usual, lets talk about keepers first. Only Hilario and James get a clean sheet, while Robinson and Sorensen get 5pts each for the save points. Robinson also have an assist to his account.

22pts: Fabregas(10.8)
There's not a player that can go on fine form all season (maybe Ronaldo, but he's gone), but looking at Arsenal's coming fixtures, it would be wise to buy him as soon as you can. I think most people already buy him as soon as Arsenal's last match is over.

12pts: Zayatte(4.0)
Used to be 3.9, the lowest value you can find in fantasy game. Actually many managers have him in the team.... in the sub bench, to be precise. You probally regret putting him at subs, but the truth is, at such low cost, no one really think of making him a first choice. Well, next time you might consider putting him in when Hull City play at home.

11pts: Dunne(5.3)
The strange trend of players scoring against former club continues. He's certainly worth buying, but let's check the fixture and determine the best timing to bring him in. (Definitely not this week, as Villa face Chelsea at home)

10pts: Yebda(4.5), Krancjar(6.9)
Yebda is a total unknown to fantasy managers. He'll need more work to show his value.
People have been expecting Krancjar to deliver ever since he come to Tottenham. This could be a good start. But I'll still prefer Lennon and Jenas to him.

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(3)

Now we'll look at how the top players performed this week. This is important as most fantasy managers will have them in their line-up so you might fall behind when they combined to perform in the same gameweek.

Sorting by price:

Gerrard: 1pt as Liverpool lost to Chelsea.
Lampard: 3pts for the clean sheet. It's been a long time since he last score a goal.
Torres: 2pts as he failed to score against Chelsea.
Rooney: 2pts. Two games scoring blank.
Drogba: 8pts from 2 assists.
Arshavin: 8pts from 1 goal and 1 bonus pt.
Fabregas: 22pts from 1 goal and 4 assists plus 3 bonus pts.
Anelka: 6pts from 1 goal.
Adebayor: 5pts from 1 assist. First game after back from suspension.
van Persie: 7pts from 1 goal and 2pts bonus.
Berbatov: 6pts from 1 goal.
Kuyt: 2pts as Liverpool lost to Chelsea.

Fabregas is certainly the pick of top players for this gameweek. As for next gameweek I expect Man Utd and Arsenal to lead the scoring for top players.

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(4)

Now let's check out a few cheaper players you may want to fit into your team.

Pick-up from the lot:

Legend: Gameweek score/Season score

8/26 Bikey (Bur, 4.0)
He did well during home games. It's about good timing to bring him in on GW9 or GW10.

5/18 Warnock (AV, 4.9)
He's certainly cheap as a first choice defender for Aston Villa.

7/30 Dunn (Bla, 5.4)
He's the top point scorer in Blackburn's team. If Blackburn are to win, he's sure to perform.

7/12 Vennegoor (Hul, 5.0)
Now he's looking a better choice than Ghilas. Hull have some interesting fixtures coming up so let's keep an eye on him.

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(5)

New statistical reference:

you can also access the spreadsheets from the featured section at the left column.

I have added another new features into the spreadsheets:



Here you can view the gameweek top scorer and overall points leader after each gameweek. Might not be too helpful but it's an interesting statistic.

In the next statistical topic I'll discuss how these statistic data helps in your game and how it makes the game even more interesting.

Gameweek 7 Review

EPL looks to be fully fired up since the september restart. for the third gameweek in succession, a total of more than 30 goals has been scored in a weekend. (this week 37 goals) Even though there are Champions League games this midweek, the big 4 do not seem to be letting loose any of their efforts to reach the top of EPL table. This is simply a great news for all fantasy managers. (yeah, we like to see more and more goals!!)

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Players who get gameweek score of double figures.
3) Top players performance.
4) Other players looking to pick up their forms.
5) New statistical reference.
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(1)

Let's start the review by checking the score predictions.

Legend: [my prediction] (results)]

Portsmouth v Everton [1-3](0-1)correct outcome.
Birmingham v Bolton [1-0](1-2)wrong.
Blackburn v Aston Villa [1-1](2-1)wrong.
Liverpool v Hull City [3-0](6-1)correct outcome.
Stoke City v Man Utd [0-2](0-2)CORRECT SCORE :)
Tottenham v Burnley [3-0](5-0)correct outcome.
Wigan v Chelsea [0-2](3-1)wrong.
Fulham v Arsenal [1-2](0-1)correct margin.
Sunderland v Wolves [2-0](5-2)correct outcome.
Man City v West Ham [2-0](3-1)correct margin.

Once again, got 7 correct. This is looking consistent huh.

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Next we'll have a check on players who get more than 10pts this gameweek.

A special mention for keepers:
Vito Mannone(4.5) covers very well for Almunia in Arsenal's goal. 8pts in the bag and 2 clean sheets in succession. Other 3 keepers who got a clean sheet are Cudicini(4.5), Howard(5.8) and Foster(5.0). I would recommend Foster, as his price tag is really cheap to stand between the posts for a top team, and still van der sar's return date is unknown. Also Alex Ferguson promised to fire him up to challenge for England's World Cup first choice keeper.

21pts: Keane(8.4)
4 goals...and this is not the first time he did it. Now he'd made himself a better bargain to Defoe!

18pts: Darren Bent(7.5)
Simply fantastic. 1 goal and 3 assist in the 5-2 win. But with MU and Arsenal their next opponents, can he continue to find the net? Louis Saha(7.1) looks to be a perfect replacement.

17pts: Torres(11.5)
A superd hat-trick made him the sole top scorer of EPL at 8 goals. The game at Chelsea look to be coming at a great timing!

15pts: O'Shea(5.4)
A reward for the loyals. But judging by his price tag, this certainly won't happen too often.

13pts: Tevez(8.2)
Finally opened scoring for this season. Also won a lot of praises for his humble attitude after scoring against his former club. A real gentlemen and also a hardworking player that worth a place in every fantasy manager's team.

12pts: Petrov(6.7), Babel(6.8), Jones(7.0)
Petrov had his price cut by 0.3 due to injury during season start, meaning he's a real bargain. He also has the potential to win points with his deadly free-kicks.
Babel is not a first choice in Liverpool so not worth buying. So is Jones who now rotates with Fraizer Campbell(5.7) in Sunderland.

10pts: Bramble(4.4), Riera(6.6)
Wigan's defence is not something really secured, while Riera is not a regular starter. I bet it's not anyone's thought to bring them in.

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Now we'll look at how the top players performed this week. This is important as most fantasy managers will have them in their line-up so you might fall behind when they combined to perform in the same gameweek.

Sorting by price:

Gerrard: 7pts from 1 goal, subbed at 73rd minutes.
Lampard: 2pts as Chelsea lost to Wigan.
Torres: 17pts from a superb hat-trick, earned an early rest at 66th minute.
Rooney: 2pts. Just couldn't provide the finishing to the chances given.
Drogba: 6pts from 1 goal, even though his team lost.
Arshavin: 3pts from a clean sheet victory.
Fabregas: 6pts from 1 assist.
Anelka: 2pts. Scored blank again.
Adebayor: Last game in suspension. Will come back next week.
van Persie: 9pts from 1 goal and 3pts bonus.
Berbatov: 8pts from 1 goal and 2pts bonus.
Kuyt: 5pts from 1 assist.

Torres is the clear winner among top players this week. This instantly makes difference on those who invest heavily on him. BUT....the road is still long, if he is to prove himself as EPL best striker. (Well, he also has a chance to win the September's award, but I think Giggs has an advantage, as MU climb to the top of the table.)

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Now let's check out a few cheaper players you may want to fit into your team.

Pick-up from the lot:

Legend: Gameweek score/Season score

6/20 Distin (Eve, 5.0)
Everton is on their way of recovering their league position. Distin is going to pick up points from clean sheet. Cheapest among 4 first choice defenders, he also has the potential to score bonus pts.

7/23 Geovanni (Hul, 5.8)
Scored 2 goals so far, and is looking to play an important role in Hull City's relegation battle. You might want to look at Ghilas(5.0) and Vennegoor(5.0) as well.

8/26 Huddlestone (Tot, 5.2)
Tottenham have some easy fixtures coming up. If you can't afford Lennon(8.1) or Jenas(6.2), Try consider him.

2/30 Elliott (Bur, 5.2)
He played well in every home game. With 3 home games in coming 4 fixtures, he looks good to perform and is cheap as well.

9/33 Saha (Eve, 7.1)
I would suggest you to give up Bent and replace him with Saha. Everton's coming fixture is relatively easier than Sunderland's.

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New statistical reference:

you can also access the spreadsheets from the featured section at the left column.

I have added 2 new features into the spreadsheets:

This table will helps to keep track of the top 3 performers of each team.



Check on the future schedule and determine teams who have easy fixtures ahead. This idea is from fantasyfootballscout. But I have modified it a bit.

Gameweek 6 Review

Another fantastic weekend for fantasy managers, as EPL teams scored 34 goals in total, and 6 players grabbed a brace. Even if you get 60pts for this GW you still get a drop in overall ranking! You have to perform much better than the GW average score to ensure a fine GW rank.

Also watch out teams in action for this midweek's League Cup matches.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Players who get gameweek score of double figures.
3) Top players performance.
4) Other players looking to pick up their forms.
5) Watch how top managers perform.
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(1)

Let's start the review by checking the score predictions.

Legend: [my prediction] (results)

Burnley v Sunderland [1-0](3-1) correct outcome.
Arsenal v Wigan [3-0](4-0) correct outcome.
Aston Villa v Portsmouth [3-0](2-0) correct outcome.
Bolton v Stoke City [2-0](1-1) wrong.
Hull City v Birmingham [1-0](0-1) wrong.
West Ham v Liverpool [1-2](2-3) correct margin.
Man Utd v Man City [2-1](4-3) correct margin.
Wolves v Fulham [0-1](2-1) wrong.
Everton v Blackburn [1-0](3-0) correct outcome.
Chelsea v Tottenham [2-0](3-0) correct outcome.

Got 7 correct outcome again this week. How about you?

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Next we'll have a check on players who get more than 10pts this gameweek.

A special mention for keepers: Brad Friedel and Joe Hart are the top keepers this GW with 8pts each. 4 other keepers get 6pts or more.

19pts: Vermaelen (6.7)
Arsenal's newly joined defender has scored 3 goals so far, showing he's good for pts even when Arsenal do not keep a clean sheet.

14pts: Milner(6.9), Giggs(6.9)
Milner scored a goal and an assist, while Giggs contributed 3 assists. Both players also grabbed 3 bonus pts. Both are good transfer choice if you're looking for cheaper midfielder in big teams.

13pts: Torres(11.5), Saha(7.0)
Both of them scored 2 goals, Bringing their total to 5 and 4 respectively. I reckon they will continue to score for next week.

12pts: Fletcher(5.5), Drogba(11.0), Ashley Cole(7.2), Yobo(5.8)
Fletcher scored 2 header goals, both crossed by Giggs, while Drogba made a cross for Ashley Cole to score, and get one himself in a quick solo breakthrough. Yobo grabbed one from a corner kick attack.

11pts: Wade Elliott(5.1), Nugent(5.2)
Elliott made two goals for Nugent in Burnley's 3-1 win over Sunderland. It must be a great feeling for Nugent as he proved Paul Hart wrong for loaning him away from his troubled Portsmouth.

10pts: Bellamy(7.9)
Scored 2 good goals to make his season tally to 3. With Adebayor banned for next game he's sure to play an important role again.

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Now we'll look at how the top players performed this week. This is important as most fantasy managers will have them in their line-up so you might fall behind when they combined to perform in the same gameweek.

Sorting by price:

Gerrard: 6pts from 1 assist and 1pt bonus.
Lampard: 7pts from 1 assist and 1pt bonus.
Torres: 13pts from 2 goals and 3pts bonus.
Rooney: 8pts from 1 goal and 2pt bonus.
Drogba: 12pts from 1 goal, 1 assist and 3pts bonus.
Arshavin: Injured and did not play.
Fabregas: 8pts from 1 assist.
Anelka: 2pts for 88 minuts of appearance.
Adebayor: Suspended for 3 games for stamping on van Persie during last game.
van Persie: 8pts from 1 assist and 3pts bonus
Berbatov: 2pts for 77 minuts of appearance.
Kuyt: 6pts from 1 goal and subbed at 59th minute.

Drogba and Torres are the top performers this gameweek, but most of the others also did fairly well.

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Now let's check out a few cheaper players you may want to fit into your team.

Pick-up from the lot:

Legend: Gameweek score/Season score

9/25 Baines(6.3, Eve)
He's the corner taker and also penalty taker for his team. As Everton plays easier opponents for the next few games, he has the potential to get more points from those set pieces.

8/22 Graham Alexander (4.5, Bur)
Scored a penalty this GW. Could he continue to take penalties for his team?

5/13 Eboue (5.4, Ars)
Has 2 assists so far this season. He's playing constantly as many Arsenal's midfielders are still injured.

5/23 Keogh (4.9, Wol)
Has 1 goal, 1 assist and 5 bonus pts so far. Can be a good sub for you team.

8/22 Kitson (4.9, Sto)
Same as Keogh, is playing an important role for his team and available at cheap price.

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Wondering how the game's top managers managed to keep a high score for every gameweeks? You may take a little study on their teams, check out what's the difference between their teams and yours. Try to figure out who are the players that helped them to get more points than other people.

From what I observe, most top managers own Milner and Torres, which help them to maintain consistent GW pts. Meanwhile a few of them have Vermaelen or Fletcher which help boost up their score for this GW, but you probably won't depend on them too often.

There's one thing that will always make the difference in the overall pts battle: the Captain. When you make a correct captain choice, it can potentially bring you more than 10pts. So, learn how the top managers pick their captain for each GW.

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Gameweek 5 Review

I believe everyone is feeling excited like me as English Premier League resumes in action. A total of 36 goals have been scored! (With only 3 teams get clean sheet) This is a good news for all fantasy managers who invest more on attacking players. Maybe it also signals time to switch cheap defenders to players from more reliable teams, or those out-of-position defenders who have chance to nick a goal or assist. Let's hope you can gain some team value rise over the past 5 gameweeks, so you could afford more qualities in your team.

Agenda for this review:
1) Score prediction review.
2) Players who get gameweek score of double figures.
3) Top players performance.
4) Other players looking to pick up their forms.
5) Must-have players.

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(1)

Let's start the review by checking your score predictions. And I'll check mine.

Legend: [my prediction] (results)

Blackburn v Wolves [1-0] (3-1) correct outcome.
Liverpool v Burnley [3-0] (4-0) correct outcome.
Man City v Arsenal [1-2] (4-2) wrong.
Portsmouth v Bolton [0-1] (2-3) correct margin.
Stoke City v Chelsea [0-4] (1-2) correct outcome.
Sunderland v Hull City [2-0] (4-1) correct outcome.
Wigan v West Ham [0-0] (1-0) wrong.
Tottenham v Man Utd [1-3] (1-3) CORRECT SCORE :)
Birmingham v Aston Villa [0-1](0-1)CORRECT SCORE :)
Fulham v Everton [0-2](2-1) wrong.

Not bad for my first prediction of the season! Have you done well too?

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Now let's check on players who get at least 10 pts for this gameweek.

A special mention about keepers: Only Reina, Kirkland and Friedel kept a clean sheet and all 3 of them claimed 7 pts.

24pts: Benayoun(7.4)
The second hat-trick of the Premier League season, plus an assist and 3pts bonus earned him an unlikely highest gameweek score of this season. This is also his 3rd hat-trick for Liverpool.

Though not a regular starter, he has appeared in every game so far. Having his price cut by 0.1 means he's not really a popular choice. Thus you can sigh a relief that not too many fantasy managers will get the suprprise advantage. Having proved himself in this game he may have more chance to start from now on and improve his goal tally of 8 lasst season.

12pts: Reid(5.3)
Played an important role in Sunderland's win over Hull City. Finding himself down the pecking order at the midfield so far, Cattermole and Malbranque still look to be better options if you are looking for a Sunderland midfielder.

11pts: Roberts(6.0)
Not advisable to pick him as your main striker, as he won't be scoring too often.

10pts: Anderson(4.8), Wright-Phillips(8.1), Dunn(5.4), Gary Cahill(4.8), Darren Bent(7.2), Duff(5.5)
Many people may have forgotten his existence in the fantasy game as he's tagged at 5.0 price only. (starts at 8.0 in 2007/08 season) While Man Utd is rich in midfielder options, we're expected to see a lot of rotation going on. So it's not advisable to bring in any United midfielders as you main players, but it's a good idea to have him as a sub, if you still have slots for United players.

SWP has been as steady as Adebayor so far and is the best pick out of Man City's midfield. As City's facing United at Old Trafford next game, you may want to wait another week to bring him in.

Dunn has been Blackburn's key player during their better days. However with tough fixtures coming up it's not advisable to bring him in.

Cahill had scored 3 goals and 4 assists during last season and has established himself as an attacking minded defender. It's good to have him as he could rake in some goals, but don't expect him to score from clean sheets too often as Bolton still looks like a relegation favourite so far. Steinsson(4.7) is an equally good option, having scored 3 goals and 5 assists last season.

Darren Bent is looking to be a better option over Jones now, having started every game so far, and scored 4 goals. You should grab him fast as he's sure to price up soon, and Sunderland have two fixtures favoring them coming up - Bur(A) and Wol(H) before facing MU(A) and Liv(H).

Duff scored on his third game for Fulham. The current overall no.2 manager bought him in on GW4 and got a payoff. Maybe you would like to emulate him too.
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Now we'll look at how the top players performed this week. This is important as most fantasy managers will have them in their line-up so you might fall behind when they combined to perform in the same gameweek.

Sorting by price:

Gerrard: 7pts from 1 assist and 1pt bonus.
Lampard: 8pts from 1 assist and 3pts bonus.
Torres: 2pts and subbed at 74th minutes.
Rooney: 7pts from 1 goal and 1pt bonus.
Drogba: 6pts from 1 goal.
Arshavin: Injured and did not play.
Fabregas: 5pts from 1 assist.
Anelka: 4pts from 1 assist, coming on as 63rd minute sub.
Adebayor: 8pts from 1 goal and 3pts bonus, booked for celebrating in front of Arsenal fans. Has scored in 4 successive games.
van Persie: 6pts from 1 goal.
Berbatov: 5pts from 1 assist and subbed at 61st minute.
Kuyt: 8pts from 1 goal and subbed at 68th minute.

Most of the top players has scored good points and it tells you why you should have them in as your main players. It's the best if you can fill them up in your attacking slot! (Impossible, ok :P)

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Are your sub players also scoring as your first team does? Or just filling up the seats? If you think that you already have a good enough first team, maybe you can try improve your sub players quaity so that you can change your team formation to suit the gameweek fixture, especially when lowly teams find their chances to get a rare win.

Pick-up from the lot:

Legend: Gameweek score/Season score

6/18: Kaboul (5.0, Por)
Is a little pricey for his team, but has scored 2 goals so far. He's certainly a player to watch.

5/8: O'Hara (4.5, Por)
Got an assist in his first match for Portsmouth, coming on season-long loan from Tottenham. A great bargain at 4.5 and is good to fill up your subs.

7/14: Cohen (4.4, Bol)
Scored in 2 successive games and could strike again in coming matches against Sto(H) and Bir(A). Also a great bargain. Oh. Maybe you want to bring in Taylor(6.7) if you have more money to spend.

4/18: Cattermole (5.1, Sun)
Picked up 6 bonus pts and 1 assist so far. A popular choice too at 9.1% selection.

5/18 Ghilas (5.0, Hul)
This guy may score again in next game against Birmingham.

9/21 Dunne (5.0, AV)
So far two out of three players that the GW5 pundit suggest is correct. Dunne get full 3pts bonus for his defensive performance. With Villa looking back on winning track he turns out a great buy, even though being dumped by Man City.
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The author has reckoned the following two players as MUST-HAVE players based on the season's progress so far. You may probably have find out this too. For those who hadn't, quickly make your decision now.



Legend: Gameweek score/Season score

9/40: Johnson (7.8, Liv)
Playing as right back, he has constantly joined in his team attack against their oppositions. Having 2 goals and 3 assist under his name so far, he's looking good to match Benitez' expectation on him. 7.8 is still a good price for a top class "attacking" player. I suggest you to get him fast as he's going to price-up more.

7/38: Rooney (11.1, MU)
Joint top scorer with Defoe on 5 goals from 5 games. Now playing at his favourite striker position, he's sure to score more goals than previous seasons. Maybe he's already taken over Ronaldo's task as the club's main goalscorer. Also note that he gets bonus pts everytime MU wins, totalling 10pts now.

Now what about these two?



6/39: Drogba (10.9, Che)
8/34: Adebayor (10.1, MC)

Remember something? Yes. Angola 2010. Most probably both Drogba and Adebayor will be call up for the tournament at the end of the year. Make sure you have this in mind when you pick them. Both are good choices but over long term, I think Rooney will get more points.

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More gameweek reviews to follow after Sunday's game.