GW 11 - The week of two-goals heroes

Torres 2 - 0 Chelsea

2-goals hero no.1

Torres is back. He found back his soul that is long gone since the injuries suffered before World Cup. Two classic, superb goals with perfect touch and finishing is enough to defeat Chelsea at Anfield.

The atmosphere at Anfield rocks. Despite Torres' two-goals, Lucas grabbed the spotlight by grabbing all bonus 3 points, being so influential in midfield this night, possibly the best performance in his career so far.

Kuyt's return made an immediate impact as well, as he is the one that lofted a perfectly weighed pass to Torres to score the first goal.


West Brom 0 - 2 Manchester City

2-goals hero no.2

From zero to hero to zero. This young dude here turned from zero to hero after scoring 2 goals in the first half after back from injury and trying to prove himself. He succeeded, scoring 2 goals in the time frame of 6 minutes. But 1+1 yellow cards = 1 red card caused him to be sent off. Nevertheless, MC won 2-0 where both goals are scored by Balotelli

Bolton 4 - 2 Tottenham

2-goals hero no.3

Playing 2 matches in a row is too hard for Tottenham. Davies scored 2 goals and assisted 1, that is enough to win the game 4-2 despite Hutton's beautiful left-footed curler and Pavluychenko's superb mid-air volley.

Hot prospect fantasy striker Elmander made 2 assists as well.

Sunderland 2 - 0 Stoke City



2-goals hero no.4

Darren Bent is absent and Asamoah Gyan steals all the limelight. He scored 2 goals and gained 3 bonus points. He is the striker tipped by NCNB's blog for this week by the way. Sunderland won 2-0

 

Manchester United 2 - 1 Wolves

2-goals hero no.5

Despite his small eyes, he has a great vision for goal. He scored two goals, including the injury-time winner against a Wolves team that played so well and do not deserved to be beaten on this day.


Others:-

• Arsenal were humiliated again, what a shame, to be defeated by another newly-promoted team at home after West Brom. Carroll scored the winner before half-time due to a misjudgement made by goalkeeper Fabianski.

• Birmingham drew 2 - 2 at home to West Ham. I got this right. West Ham will get something out of this match.

• Blackburn won 2 - 1 over Wigan. Pedersen scored a screamer from a free-kick, where no one will expect him to score from there. Wigan's N'Zogbia scored from a free-kick as well.

• Blackpool drew 2 - 2 at home to Everton. Still enjoying the Tangerine dream start in the top flight.

• Fulham's 94th minute equalizing goal scored by Hangeland from a set-piece. What a heart-breaker for Aston Villa and Gerard Houllier after Marc Albrighton's goal and Villans think they should have won the game.



Gameweek Preview - GW 11

 Bolton vs Tottenham

Van Der Vaart will be definitely out as he is labeled "red" in the FPL. So, Tottenham's attack will be led by Crouch, Modrid, Bale and Keane/Pavluychenko. Since Van Der Vaart will be absent, all the spotlight will be on Gareth Bale who performed superbly in both games against Inter Milan, where he 'killed' a world-class right back such as Maicon.

For Bolton side, the only attacking threat only comes from Elmander as I can see. Holden is a good choice to fill in your 5th midfielder option at $5.0 as he will only will get better.

Manchester United vs Wolves



Hernandez and Berbatov will lead the attack in this match with the absense of Nani. Who will fill the midfielders slot? That's a question. The only player that I can see to be starting is Paul Scholes. Carrick has high chance to start too with Fletcher's absense. For the flank, Obertan and Park Ji-sung perhaps?

For Wolves side, not any players will be recommended by if there's any scoring chances from set-pieces or penalty. perhaps Jones or Milijas? (if you don't think ManUtd can keep a clean sheet)

Liverpool vs Chelsea 

Gerrard scored a hat-trick against Napoli. Can he bring that form to this match against the mighty Chelsea? Torres who is rested is expected to start the game.

Drogba and Anelka, both scored in midweek UCL games will definitely start the game too as Malouda is definitely out and Essien is doubtful for this match. So Kalou is a cheap Chelsea midfield option as he can bring some threats too wide areas.

Others:

Arsenal v Newcastle - Arsenal will win this one for sure. Fabregas is doubtful due to injury but I have a strong feeling that he will be featuring. Nolan ain't gonna repeat his luck form like last weekend against the Black Cats who looked so strong after held Arsenal, Liverpool and ManUtd to a draw.

Birmingham v West Ham - Birmingham are always good at home, but I am backing Avram Grant this match as he is under pressure now and need to get result. Birmingham is an easier team.

Blackburn v Wigan - 3 points for Blackburn, but a narrow win. Jones is the defensive stud and Benjani might grab something too out of this match

Blackpool v Everton - Everton will win this one by doing all they can. Arteta and Cahill will grab something. Start Adam too if you have him as he has the advantages by taking free-kicks and penalty.

Fulham v Aston Villa - Tight match between them. Aston has no fit strikers, so expect Young to deputize the striker position. Dempsey is on-form too and Dembele has returned as well.
 

Sunderland v Stoke City - Sunderland need to win this for sure to bounce back from the 5-1 humiliating derby defeat. Bent and Gyan should be played together to penetrate Stoke's stubborn defensive approach.

West Brom v Man City - Hey guess what, I would like to see ManCity to lose again to a lowly team.

Gameweek Preview - GW 10

This weekend might be a normal FPL weekend where all players thinking to nab a much points as possible and climb the table in their mini leagues.

However, this weekend is anticipated long by Newcastle, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Birmingham fans, players and managers as there are a double derby this weekend which might not be awared by some FPL players outside England.


Newcastle vs Sunderland derby

Newcastle are lying at the 9th place in the BPL table, well it is considered a comfortable position after 9 games, but, with only 11 points, they are actually 2 points above the relegation only.

Newcastle are one of the traditional big clubs with huge fanbase and financial power. The inconsistency into the new season is causing the speculation surrounding manager Hughton.

Despite 4 losses this season, Newcastle did pull out some superb performances by thrashing Aston 6-0, winning 1-0 at Goodison Park and sent Chelsea out of the Carling Cup, which makes the route easier for Arsenal and Manchester United.

Let's see:

Strikers to watch: Darren Bent vs Andy Carroll, both are English, physical, good aerially and have the ability to score goals. Play them if you have them.

Midfielders: Barton vs Cattermole, both are English, love to throw their boots around, have higher chance to pick up cards especially in such derby day. However, Barton remains a cheap stud at $4.7 and takes free-kicks and corners. Henderson is another player with growing reputation in the Sunderland squad that caught my eyes though.

Defenders: Elmohamady has established himself in the Sunderland squad and adapted well to the BPL. His price rose to $5 from $4.5 now and is the highest price increase for a player in Sunderland. He is worth it anyway, with such price tag, as he is the defender with the THIRD highest fantasy points in the FPL now with 44 pts. But I will not play any defenders from both side in this match. Hey! It's a derby.



Aston Villa vs Birmingham derby



Gerard Houllier won't mess this game up as I can see Aston will win this derby at home. They have a good record at home against Birmingham.

Strikers: Heskey vs Zigic. Heskey is rejuvenated under Houllier and proved to be important to the team now with Agbonlahor out injured and Carew not preferred by Houllier. Zigic being the tallest player in the BPL at 6'8" scored 2 goals in his last 2 games. But Heskey would be the 1 nabbing up points in this derby

Midfielders: Reo-Coker vs Ferguson. Both are hard ass holding midfielders. Reo-Coker is given the captain armband by Houllier with the absence of Petrov. Ferguson proved to be important in every Birmingham's victories or draws. However, attacking player might snatch up the spotlight with fantasy points in this game. Ashley Young and Downing particularly.

Defenders: Aston's defenders could grab a clean sheet in this match. But there's no guarantee. It's a derby anyway. But Foster, Dann, R.Johnson, Carr, or Ridgewell might be suffering. I recommend not to play them.


Others:

Wolves vs Manchester City


(Yet to score a goal in the BPL)

ManCity's defeat to Arsenal last weekend will make them to try their very best to win away at Wolves. They will take advantages against Wolves who are still in the relegation zone with only 1 win this season.

Tevez has flown home yesterday due to an "injury" (which might be a "shadow" injury as he might be homesick more to injury. If he is injured, do you think ManCity's medical staff will allow him to leave England? He is one of the highest prized asset of the ManCity's squad with 7 goals in the BPL now).

Thus, Balotelli and Adebayor shall start this game. Wanna gamble on Balotelli? $8.6 only and he might wanna prove himself and live up to his price tag, so, Wolves will be an opponent to ignite his season.

Anyway, Silva and Milner will be the usual stud to take points due to their participation in attacks plus the absence of Tevez.


Arsenal vs West Ham


(Talismanic Fabregas is back)

West Ham won 3-1 against Stoke in the midweek Carling Cup. What's wrong with Avram Grant? He is some sort like a specialist in CUPS instead of league (he led Chelsea to FA Cup and UCL finals in 2008, Portsmouth to FA Cup final in 2010, just to lost 1-0 to Chelsea). West Ham won't be hanging in the relegation zone if AG can transfer his team's cup form to BPL matches.

Back to the Arsenal side. Fabregas, Walcott and Bendtner are back to full fitness. Walcott scored twice in midweek against Newcastle, even Bendtner scored once too after picking up a pass from Fabregas who came out from the substitutes' bench.

Arsenal gonna win this one, no doubt. Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Walcott and even Song are way too good for West Ham.


ManUtd vs Tottenham

Former Tottenham striker Berbatov and on-hot-form Javier Hernandez will be starting against Tottenham. Hernandez was once mentioned to be a risky buy but not anymore. At $7 now, he is the cheapest first-team ManUtd striker and scored 4 goals in his last 3 games for ManUtd. Rooney still out injured there and Hernandez will use this limited time and opportunity to establish himself to be one of the 'untouchable'.

However, Tottenham is one of the "Big 7" now and to be more accurate, one of the top 4 clubs last season. With the addition of RVDV, their squad seems to be be completed and playing at the very top level. Even Modric said that they gonna break the jinx in this game, as they never win at Old Trafford before.

Berbatov, Nani and Hernandez will be hard for Tottenham's defenders to contain, but Van Der Vaart, Bale, Modric and Lennon are threats too. This will be a damn nice match to watch.

Bolton vs Liverpool

Is Liverpool's season back on track and ignited after the win over Blackburn last weekend? We will see in this match. Bolton won't be easy at home, with the likes of Elmander, Davies (got his first England cap recently) and Lee Chung Yong on form. Even youngster like Holden played so well and caught my eyes.

Torres only has 2 goals in his pocket after 9 BPL games, but stick to him, he is good, and good-looking too. As long as there's chance created for him, he will do his very best.

**Outside bet, very risky: Joe Cole might grab some points in this match if Liverpool can repeat their form like they play against Arsenal and ManUtd. I still vouch for Cole and trying to prove that he will not be a FLUKE!

Blackburn vs Chelsea

Sam Allardyce the boaster will make it hard for Chelsea this time. His defensive approach can be hard to break down.

It is all down to Chelsea players to tear up their defence and keep Big Sam's arrogant mouth shut.

Drogba played badly last weekend but I will stick to him. Bosingwa is the cheapest Chelsea's defender who plays as well as Ashley Cole from the right flank. Buy him if you can't afford Ashley Cole who is $8.2 now, even more expensive than Van Der Vaart!

Gameweek Preview - GW 9

Well, the Rooney saga has ended when all of a sudden he wanted to stay at ManUtd instead of leaving and has signed a new 5-year contract. So, big clubs that have eyes on Rooney can keep their cheque books and looking for other "world class" alternative.

Stoke City vs ManUtd


(He is looking forwards to future with ManUtd instead with other clubs now)

ManU will be playing away at Stoke City this week. Although Stoke's playing hardball defences and hard to break down especially at home, but ManU should have no problem breaking their defences with Nani and Berbatov that are on-form.

Just play your Nani, Berbatov, or if you want to take a bet, Hernandez can be a cheap striking option from ManU as Rooney will be out for another 2-3 weeks.

Looking for cheap ManU defender? O'Shea's your man, as he is rested during midweek's UCL game and mostly will be playing against Stoke City.


Chelsea vs Wolves


This will be a free-pointer game for Chelsea's players. Play all your Chelsea's attacking players; Drogba, Malouda, Essien, even defender Ashley Cole loves to attack from the left flank. Chelsea will definitely take advantage against Wolves after draw at Aston Villa and lost at Manchester City.

As Alex is injured, Ivanovic possibly will be moved to central position and the right back will be open to Bosingwa vs Ferreira (i am backing Bosingwa to start though).


Tottenham vs Everton



VDV is suspended in midweek's UCL game and he should be FRESH in this coming match against Everton. He is in good form since joining Tottenham and adapted well for the BPL games.

He should grab some points against Everton.

Anyone noticed Bale that scored a hat-trick against Inter Milan anyway?

For Everton, I don't think they can make it at White Hart Lane this time.


Liverpool vs Blackburn



Liverpool drew again against Napoli. They are still searching for a win since the game against West Brom.

In this game versus Blackburn, the attacks might not be ignited yet but I think a clean sheet is possible at Anfield. Konchesky will be the cheapest option at only $5.1.

If you are still backing Liverpool to grab their second win, stick with Torres and Gerrard.


Manchester City vs Arsenal



MC is on hot form. Adebayor scored a hat-trick at in Europa league on Thursday night, and he will take this form to play against his ex-employer and ex-teammates.

Tevez's now is the highest goal-scorer in the BPL now. Silva has adapted well too to the squad and to the game (he has the advantage to be chosen over Adam Johnson too). Arsenal's players might find it hard even with the return of Fabregas this week.

Play all your MC's attacking options, but if you have Arsenal's players too, don't hesitate, play them all, they can get something out of nothing sometimes.


Wigan vs Bolton



The only player I can notice in this match up is Charles N' Zogbia. He is a fantasy selection at some time last season. He scored 2 well taken goals against Newcastle last week and he might bring that form to this home match against Bolton, who are not quite good in away matches.

However, Wigan's defence are still prone to goal leakage. Play Elmander, Lee Chung Yong and Petrov if you have them.


Birmingham vs Blackpool


(he is the highest paid player at Blackpool at £10k per week)

I really would like Birmingham to have a clean sheet this game but I just can't ignore Adam's good form recently. I am backing Blackpool to get a goal or two and points from Charlie Adam even they lose at Birmingham.


West Brom vs Fulham

West Brom are in good form aren't they? But Fulham who suffered their first defeat of the season last week might get things right here as I think Mark Hughes will take advantages against 'smaller' team like West Brom who are newly promoted. I am backing Dempsey to grab some points in this match.


West Ham vs Newcastle

Bad news for Newcastle's defenders owner such as Williamson and Perch but West Ham will take the advantage to win this game. Obinna will be the usual suspect to grab points as he will be there whenever West Ham build up attacks.


Sunderland vs Aston Villa

Can't predict this match but a draw is possibly the end result.

Quick Review for GW 8 (Sunday's matches)

I think among all matches in GW 8, the match between Blackpool vs Manchester City was the most entertaining game among all... ManCity won 3-2 thanks to 2 goals from Tevez and a superb solo performance from David Silva that sealed ManCity's win over Blackpool.

Tevez's the man, but who really caught my eye in this match is David Silva


(I really thought he will be a high-profile fluke in BPL)

Tevez scored a brilliant first touch goal assisted from a cross by David Silva, scored another deflected goal and David Silva scored the third goal with a superb solo performance which is really top class, superb footwork that led all Blackpool's defenders tackling air and finally drilled a curving shot into the left of the goal.

The first thing in my mind when Silva played his first few match for ManCity in the BPL is, will he be another fluke like many foreign players did, where they excelled superbly in their previous clubs but can't adapt to the pace and playing style of the BPL (eg: Shevchenko, Robinho, etc)

Silva wasn't cheap, signed for 24 million Euros from Valencia during the summer. I really think that he will be a fluke as he seems ineffective and his fantasy value dropped $0.5.

But since the game against Red Bull Salzburg where ManCity won 2-0, Silva seems has started to adapt Mancini's tactics and ManCity's playstyle. He contributed regularly in attacks and finally he scored his first BPL goal in such a classy way (plus an assist too)

If he continues to play like that, with a starting place guaranteed, he definitely will be filling one of my midfielder slot with a price tag of $8.5 only, as ManCity are playing regularly with a sole striker (Tevez) and Silva is like a second striker that plays behind the main striker and sometimes outwide (like he did in Valencia behind David Villa)

Meanwhile for Blackpool, have produced some entertaining and constructive playstyle too. They did try hard to come back but it was too late and ManCity are too rich to lose a game against a newly-promoted team with that amount of money invested into the squad. However, if Blackpool continue to play like this, it will NOT BE A PROBLEM for them to survive in the top flight. (Hey, Adam is a bargain buy too!)

Everton 2 - 0 Liverpool (New owner, same old problems)

(He is in deep sh*t as Liverpool are in 19th place now after 8 games)

While Spaniard like Arteta and David Silva shined in Sunday's matches, Torres can't produce like he did in the past two seasons. He really tried hard, but Everton's defence are too tough for him to handle alone with minimum supports.

Cahill and Arteta each scored one. Both's goal are piledrivers, too fast even for a world-class keeper like Reina to stop in time.

Liverpool really failed to threaten the Everton goal line and Howard looked pretty comfortable, saved some well attempted shots from Torres. New signings like Joe Cole, Raul Meireles, Paul Konchesky all are so-so only. N'Gog, Babel and Jovanovic were subbed into the game between 70th-80th minutes but nothing they can do to save the game. (They aren't any high-profile supersubs either)

New owner for Liverpool, great news! Same old problems for Liverpool, bad.. bad news!! Since the arrival of Roy Hodgson (which I consider is a downgrade compared to dictator Benitez), all his signings aren't high profile as well other than Joe Cole and Raul Meireles. The worst signing definitely will be Poulsen!

After the international break - GW 8 is coming

OK, put aside the Liverpool saga as it's super frustrating to see a club to fight from within in the Board of Directors. Sale or no sale? Anyway let's just leave these fussy stuff to the management level as we ARE focused on the players and manager (although the instability and internal problems greatly affected the team's performance, but Gerrard is still Gerrard, Torres is still Torres, aren't they?)

Match of the week, the same old Merseyside derby...




Everton vs Liverpool



News: Torres passed the fitness test and will be included in the squad against Everton, Kuyt will be sidelined due to the ankle injury suffered when playing for Holland in midweek. Gerrard will still be leading Liverpool in searching for the tonic to kickstart their season (it's into the 8th game and yet Liverpool still need a so-called "kickstart")


In the last meeting between these two side, the game ended 1-0 thanks to a winning header from Dirk Kuyt despite playing 10-men most of the time at Anfield. But the dynamic Kuyt is out injured for some time as the ankle injury he suffered is quite serious.


However, Liverpool is boosted by the return of Torres and Konchesky. Thanks to the international break that allowed Torres to rehabilitate and recover, but how well he can do as he has just returned once again from injury and yet to find his touch and consistency since World Cup. The burdens are once again on him and Gerrard. (I hold the faith in Torres and did not sell him as I believed that he will recover in time, he still cost $11.6 despite being injured in Blackpool match)


Everton are strong at home (looked at the 3-3 draw against ManUtd, they just won't give up). Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar and Baines all looked good. A hard match to predict and a game worth dying for for both teams.


Hmm...: Try to avoid placing both team's defenders as both team are still shaky and doing badly since the new season began.





Manchester United vs West Bromich Albion



News: Rooney is back and seems there's a rift between him and SAF as he claimed he did not suffer from ankle injuries as told by SAF (everytime when Rooney did not feature)


Although Nani and Berbatov started greatly this season and totally shadowed Rooney (plus all the scandals and medias surrounding him), I put my focus on Wayne Rooney this weekend. His form has dipped greatly with only 1 goal (from a penalty) since the start of the new season. But, he only cost $11.4 now and with the penalty-taker responsibility still with him, why not gamble on him?


I know I know (I did not mention about Nani right?), Nani did greatly for both club (since start of 10/11 season) and country (scored twice and assisted 1 for Portugal against Denmark) and everyone is taunting him to be the new Ronaldo, he has since became a favourite choice in FPL (since Valencia was injured and Nani became indispensable). With the free-kick and corners taking responsibility, $8.6 is the best deal ever for a ManUtd player who is guaranteed a starting place and involved in attacking build-ups.


Hmm...: Captain Rooney this week and expect a surprise in return.



Arsenal vs Birmingham




News: Fabregas is back!


Fabregas is back and only cost $11.8 now. But he still needs time to gain back his touch and consistency. The Spaniard who is also bothered by injury and fragility (oh, the other Spaniard is Torres, who suffers from the same problem), have one of the best average points per game if you did notice (22 pts in 4 games for Arsenal)


But Nasri is out there to voice out and claim that he is better playing in central position than playing out wide, meaning that it will be back to Wenger to decide whether to put back Fabregas into the central position, who has super vision and passing accuracy, or sticking with Nasri in that position, who is so on-form right now (20 pts in his last 3 games playing in central position)


However, Fabregas is still the stud as he will be taking free-kicks, corners and penalties if he is playing, so, in a team like Arsenal, $11.8 is definitely worth it. He is a must-buy when Arsenal have a good run of fixture, but, but... I still need to observe him for a little bit longer. Be patient...


Hmm...: Arsenal are good at home and Birmingham s*cks at away games. Do I need to elaborate further?



Aston Villa vs Chelsea



News: Benayoun will be out for 6 months (WHO CARES!!?)


Drogba can't stop scoring. Malouda is enjoying his football and currently the highest scoring midfielder in BPL. Ashley Cole is the only defender that worth his value in FPL at $7.9... (Bad for those who bring in Alex as he was injured after the game against Arsenal.. HEY!! remember a guy called Ivanovic!?haha)


How many teams that score 23 goals in just 7 games into a new season? You'll be stunned if you looked at the goal differences at the BPL table and compare Chelsea's against all 19 other teams. Don't be surprised if they are tipped to retain the BPL title just after 7 games into the new season.


Aston Villa? Gerard Houllier? Yea yea, they are strong at home, they beat Chelsea 2-1 at home last season, but I don't see that coming again.


Hmm...: Aston Villa's defenders are not worth the value at all this season, except for Luke Young. Marc Albrighton is the best choice to fill in your midfield slot with a price tag of $4.6 if you need a cheap and guaranteed starting place player.



Van Der Vaart... a phenomena?




News: price shooting up!!


Since joining Tottenham, he adapted to English football at a very swiftly. The spot kicks, corners and penalty all belong to him. Why not, at only $7.8, playing in a team of Champion League calibre?


Hmm...: Tottenham will meet some tough teams in the next 4 games, so don't be surprised if he does not deliver. Fulham under Mark Hughes have a total different approach and do not expect to beat them easily at Craven Cottage.

"Fernando Torres"

Some of the best moments of "Fernando Torres" (there is reason why I put the quote)


(This is the "Fernando Torres" i knew...)

Torres obviously excelled better under Rafael Benitez (oh god I kinda missed him now despite his dictatorship style of management and stubbornness on deploying 2 holding midfielders' formation) than under Roy Hodgson.

A semi-fit Torres still can bang in goals for Liverpool under Benitez, but a semi-fit Torres under Roy Hodgson is no different than a misfiring goal-shy striker, due to the formation and playstyle of RH that play so deep (hello this is not FULHAM that you are managing!), creating a gap between the midfielders and Fernando Torres, preventing him getting any supports for build ups in attacking. Lucas + Poulsen combination is a DISASTER!

If you did finish the video, a chunk of assists were derived from Arbeloa, who was shipped out to Real Madrid for a cheap skate 4 million Euros ONLY. He is classy and great in that position. What on earth is Benitez thinking, shipping both Alonso and Arbeloa to Real Madrid and bringing in Aquilani (injured most of the season) and Johnson (who played well only for the first quarter of last season and playing like sh*t this season despite being a regular).

Wonder how Liverpool will be doing if Alonso and Arbeloa are still there in the 2009-2010 season...

Review GW 7

Shock of the week: Liverpool 1 - 2 Blackpool


(You better think hard how to turn things around)

Liverpool's nightmare continues, what can be more worst now; 6 points in 7 games into the new season, dropped to 18th place in the table and Torres is out after 10 minutes on the pitch. (For those who captained Torres, just accept that it is a bad day)

At first Steven Gerrard & Co. said they are aiming top four, then Roy Hodgson who deployed some sh*tty formation again said they will go as far as possible in Europa League (then crashed out in Carling Cup by Northampton at Anfield)

Now Liverpool is in 18th placed and facing relegation crisis, what can be more worse? When will Liverpool regain their feet on ground?


And the trend continues: Drogba's 13th in 11 games against Arsenal


(Alex scored a stunner+clean sheet+2 bonus, congratz to FPL
managers who have them both)

Drogba's scoring run continues against the Gunners; 13 goals now in 11 encounter against Arsenal. He just love to score against them, he can score even by not looking at the goal.

Alex took the free-kick and scored a stunning goal that swinged outwards the goal, making it too fast and powerful for Fabianski to stop. I really thought Drogba will take that, but Alex's a talented free-kick taker too when it comes to long-range free-kicks.

Nuff' said, 2-0 to Chelsea in an interesting match with many efforts in building up attacks in both teams...


And, it ended out as MC's cheapest signing (£8 million from Middlesbrough) is the most prolific and effective one....


(He scored in the last 2 games for England and last 2 games for MC)

Adam Johnson did it again like what he did against Sunderland last season, where he scored a stunner and save a point for MC. But this time, he scored a beauty to salvage all 3 points for MC.

19 minutes on the pitch only, came out as a substitute and scored a beauty; after dribbling pass Williamson and drilled in a left-footed shot pass Joey Barton into the left end corner of the goal. Grabbed 9 pts including 3 bonus pts.

Despite his talents and goal creating/scoring abilities, he is still a pain-in-the-ass fantasy option as he is prone to rotation and not an automatic starter in the multi-million MC squad.

Hey, since when Mancini turned to attacking football to turn things around? It paid off didn't it? (He swapped Yaya Toure and Barry out and brought in Adebayor and A.Johnson to turn things around and it worked)


Others:

• Sunderland 0 - 0 MU - Sunderland held another big team again, this time is the Red Devils who are away at Sunderland.

• Birmingham 0 - 2 Everton - Everton grabbed their first win of the season in an away game, which is unpredicted as Birmingham is normally strong and tough at home.

• Wigan 2 - 0 Wolves - There are not much team that Wigan can beat, and they did take their chance to do all they can in this match.

• Tottenham 2 - 1 Aston - As predicted, Tottenham is too tough for the current Aston Villa team to play against. Van Der Vaart anyone?

• Stoke 1 - 0 Blackburn - Walters who? Nevercaptainnickybutt's author is a great predictor..

• West Brom 1 - 1 Bolton - Odemwingie and Elmander continue their great forms.. Cheap options and bargain buy..

• West Ham 1 - 1 Fulham - I expect West Ham to win this one though, anyway, West Ham started to gain momentum. Avram Grant brought Piquionne to Portsmouth and now West Ham for some reasons..

Gameweek Preview - GW 7

It's gameweek 7 tomorrow and there will be no BPL next week until 16th October. So try to climb as high and grab as much points as possible this gameweek.

GAME of the week - CHELSEA vs ARSENAL



- Chelsea did a double over Arsenal last season and I expect a win at Stamford Bridge over the Gunners who just back from their Champions League match. Compared to Chelsea who played at home and won Marseille 2-0, a game where Drogba did not feature due to suspension, he is FRESH and looking forward the Arsenal game. A record of 12 goals in 12 matches against the Gunners shouldn't be overlooked. Expect him to do some damage to the Gunners' defences.

- Arsenal's captain and maestro Fabregas might not make it in time to return from an injury. Almunia is out too so Fabianski, the blunder-young-keeper-who-did-well-in-Champions League will be the first choice goal keeper Arsene Wenger only have. Can Squillaci and Koscielny handle the menace of Drogba & Co.? Doubt that.. but Arshavin is banging goals lately, well in Carling Cup and UCL but misfiring in the BPL.. Nasri and Chamakh will be the obvious attacking choices too, so if you do have them, play them as they have the abilities to inflict some damages too.


"Friendly" Liverpool vs Blackpool



- Gerrard's and Torres' prices are increased by 0.1 for both of them. Well, we can expect many to transfer them in as they have quite an easy features ahead compared to other big teams. But, are Liverpool now a "big" team material? They seems to be "friendly" and goal-shy.. or should I say, failed to create chances? Soon, they are not one of the "Big Four" anymore and will be replaced by Tottenham or ManCity if they still do not sort out a buyer and bring stability to the club.

- Anyway, Gerrard and Torres are still Liverpool's source of goals and with Kuyt returned from injury, a win for Liverpool is a must to keep their games and name alive. Although Hodgson deploys some shitty formation even against team like West Brom where 2 holding midfielders are used, and seems like not effective in maintaining possession, but as long as Gerrard and Torres is there, goals will come I believe. Joe Cole and Raul Meireles are doing great too.

- For Blackpool, a great start they might have since their promotion to the BPL, but it's time to get some real lessons here at Anfield.


Tottenham vs Aston Villa

- You cant ignore players like Bale and Van Der Vaart, they are doing great!!(just watch how they performed against FC Twente and you won't hesitate). You must play them if you have them. Well, Pavluychenko can be a nice gamble if he is chosen to play as the main striker along Peter Crouch.

- Aston seems rejunevated under Houllier, but, Tottenham are too tough for them at White Hart Lane.


WEST BROM vs BOLTON

- Odemwingie, Brunt and Thomas are studs!! Bargain and cheap options if they can perform like they did against Arsenal.

- Petrov finally shows his quality, but can he did it again? It's worth the gamble as West Brom's defences aren't that tough and Petrov is the set-piece taker. Elmander is a totally different striker compared to last two seasons. He is another striker that you can get if Bolton are playing against lower teams.


MC vs NEWCASTLE

- Tevez, Milner and Yaya Toure (cheaper option) are guaranteed first team in MC's BPL squad. They are the attackings catalyst too. Tevez is a good buy if you have $10+ to spend as MC's next match is vs Newcastle @ home and vs Blackpool @ away. Looking for a cheaper MC defender? Good news, Jerome Boateng is back and only cost $5.8

- Will they performed another 1-0-at-Everton thingy? Not likely.. But if you got Carroll, Barton, Nolan in your team, play them.. they are like 50-50 as they might grab an assist/goal if Newcaslte do score.


SUNDERLAND vs MANUNITED

- hard game to predict.. Sunderland is good at home and ManUnited have 3 successive draws away this season.

Review for GW 6

Result of CKW's XI prediction:

GK: Foster (7)

D: Dann (5), Konchesky (1), Sagna (4)

M: Parker (3), Malouda (2), Arshavin (5), Gerrard (6) , Nasri (12)

S: Torres (C)[14], Berbatov (2)

Subs: Krul, Jerome, Williamson, O' Shea

Total: 61 pts

Verdict: Another above average week with an average score of 39 pts. Konchesky's was substituted early game due to injury. Aww..

What can be more shocking than Arsenal's loss to newly-promoted West Brom? Biggest shock so far this season.


Arsenal 2 - 3 West Brom



Hey, saw Arsene Wenger's frustration? It's not the loss, it's the hero turned villain acts of Almunia that made him to show such expression. Priceless huh? Almunia made a penalty, saved it and he is suddenly against all the critics. A moment later, 3 goals were conceded and West Brom were in dreamland when they are leading by 3 goals at the Emirates stadium. The 2nd and 3rd goal were definitely Almunia's fault. Even Robert Green can handle the 2nd shot and why was he leaving the GK post and allow Thomas to tap in a simple goal.

Nasri's burden was too heavy to lead Arsenal's attacks as he did pull 2 goals back, but it was already late... too late...

Arsenal's next match was against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and without injured goalkeeper Almunia, blunderish Fabianski might be the first choice goal keeper and I can see no reason NOT to captain Drogba next week.


Manchester City 1 - 0 Chelsea



Well, the battle among the rich clubs and rich boys, seems like the richest got the result. Although a narrow one, Tevez's stats against Chelsea was superb. 5 goals in 4 matches against Chelsea. Well, this is a tight game, Mancini (defensive coach/style/tactics) vs. Ancelloti (attacking style/tactics/formation). Obviously the old rivalry among the once compatriots in the Italian national side was brought to an intense level. It's already a common thing to see during their spells with AC Milan and Inter Milan respectively.

ManCity's defensive tactics are obviously succeed in neutralizing all Chelsea's attacks. Trio Anelka, Drogba and Malouda can do nothing when they were totally sealed off from the back by the 2 holding midfielders (Yaya Toure and De Jong) plus incoming defenders from the front when Chelsea are attacking.

A nice counter-attack paid off and Tevez's strike is the only goal that wrapped up the 3 points against Chelsea. A good record thou as ManC's last season double against Chelsea are still fresh in my mind.


Bolton 2 -2 Manchester United



Owen Coyle continues to upset SAF's ManU team away from home like he did against them when he is still in-charge of Burnley. Well, another Bulgarian shines in this game, not Berbatov, but is Martin Petrov which I rated highly during the start of the season. A goal and an assist for the free transfer from Manchester City.

Nani once again showed his magic (1 goal 1 asst 2 bonus pts) and he is still working hard to fill in Ronaldo's boot. Rooney continues to struggle and his form and price continues to plummet too. For those who brought in Berbatov, disappointed huh? Well, his price do increased to $9.1 over the week but you really cant judge his performance by merely one-game's form right?


Liverpool 2 - 2 Sunderland



Does Liverpool have a habit of drawing on the same scoreline when they are dip in form? I remembered two seasons back, they got a draw with 4-4 scoreline at Stamford Bridge and lost 7-5 on aggregate and crashed out from Champions League. The next game they got another 4-4 draw at home to Arsenal with 2 last-gasp goal scored by Torres and Benayoun.

Well, it repeats again. 2-2 against Northampton 2 divisions below them, crashed out of Carling Cup on penalties. Another 2-2 draw against Sunderland. 2 goals and 3 bonus pts for Darren Bent. Thanks to a smart Torres who take the advantage of Turner's backpass to goal keeper which considered as already taken the free-kick (which fat-head Steve Bruce described as unsportmanship) and assisted Kuyt to score the opening.

Thanks to Poulsen a.k.a Lucas ver.2 to give away a penalty and Johnson who failed to be a defender and too obsessed in attackings that let Darren Bent snucked in and scored a header from the right side.

Gerrard did good enough to spare Liverpool's blushes. Torres still struggle to score goals as he is all on his own to create chances and to score goals.


West Ham 1 - 0 Tottenham



Actually this win is predicted as sooner or later West Ham will get their first win anyway and this is a good chance as Tottenham faced defender crisis once again and they need to prepare themselves too for Champions League game in the midweek.

Piquionne did listed himself in the "miss-of-the-season" 2 weeks ago against Chelsea but he did score the winning goal in this match.

Anyway, why Avram Grant always looks sad?


Newcastle 1 - 2 Stoke City



Newcastle's brace in midweek Carling Cup win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but failed to bring that form back to St. James Park. Stoke's record signing Jones continues to score and James Perch's own goal ends it all.

Carroll's price hiked to a high $5.7 so far and is the player with the highest price rise in FPL with +$0.7. I sold him as he did not perform for a few games and sadly after I sold him he grabbed an assist though as he is brought down in the penalty box and Kevin Nolan ($5.7) converted the penalty.

Put Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton (3 bonus pts despite loss), Hatem Ben Arfa ($5.1) and Carroll in your radar as all of them are bargain buy as Newcastle definitely is top flight material.


Blackpool 1 - 2 Blackburn



Adam's form in the BPL and FPL is considered good. You actually can see him in all attacks-build-up of Blackpool as he is involved in most of the attacks. He is the captain and set-pieces/penalty taker as well so he is worth the buy as a cheap midfield option at $5.1.

However, a miscommunication between the Tangerine captain and goal keeperGilks caused an own goal as Adam headed back the ball to the GK expecting he will fetch it but it ended up in the Blackpool's net.

Blackburn's defense are still mean and tough to break. Australian international Emerton scored the winner in the dying minutes.

Is Big Sam being sarcasm as few days back he claimed to have enough materials to coach Real Madrid and being successful and before the match he claimed Ian Holloway to be on par with Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson, and Big Sam defeated Ian Holloway's Blackpool. So what he is trying to tell?


Wolves 1 - 2 Aston Villa



Aston Villa continues to excel under Houllier and Gerard Houllier seems to bring back the best in Heskey (who used to play under him too in Liverpool). Aston came back from a goal down and scored 3 goals against Blackburn in midweek Carling Cup.

Downing and Ashley Young should be put under your radar as you don't want to miss them out from your FPL squad if they winger pairs continue to perform well under Houllier.


Fulham 0 - 0 Everton

David Moyes on the brink of getting sacked? Everton plunged into the bottom of the table. With the calibre like Arteta, Pienaar, Cahill, Howard, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines, Yakubu and Beckford (more like a flop to me, he should stick his foot to League 2 football), Everton still failed to get their first win of the season despite coming back 2 goals down and drew 3-3 against ManU.

For Fulham, bargain striker Dembele is out injured for 2-3 weeks, so, Dempsey should be a good attacking option for Fulham if you wanna have any player from the team.


Birmingham 0 - 0 Wigan

Well, the result is kinda disappointing as Birmingham is normally strong at home, their fortress to win game. They are super duper weak away. They missed a chance to seal a win against Wigan who are dip in form. Birmingham can do better with the attacking options like Hleb, Zigic, Jerome, and Gardner.

Foster and Dann are still the defensive studs. Bargain buys!

Gameweek Preview - GW 6

Well, put aside the League Cup's shocks away that saw clubs like Chelsea (losing to Newcastle), Everton, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool (a disgrace) out of the cup run in such early stage. We'll FOCUS back on the Premier League this coming gameweek.




- Fernando Torres ($11.5) has failed to make impact in games up to date and struggle to fulfill his lone striker role under the formation of 4-2-3-1 deployed by Hodgson which is similar to his predecessor Benitez. Poulsen a.k.a Lucas ver.2 was brought in and being positioned at the same position of Lucas. Mascherano's place will be filled either with the original Lucas or Raul Meireles.

- Anyway I still have great faith in Torres and he will got my captain armband for this coming gameweek against Sunderland. Although Sunderland performed well last week against Arsenal and shown a lot of threat in attacking, I do believe Roy Hodgson still have something left in his pocket and live up his expectation. Still remember the wonder goal Torres scored against Sunderland last season? :)




- It was reported that Mancini's defenders choices are very limited now and only Toure, Zabaleta and Kompany reported to be fit. Well well, $6.4 goal keeper Joe Hart will have a very busy day. Look at the "faster" Chelsea now, without Lampard (injured), they definitely play a faster style of football with Essien filling in Lampard's position. Anelka's and Malouda's swift moves are mouth watering and Drogba's beasty playstyle is threatening. Chelsea is on a goal scoring run (although they lost to Newcastle 4-3 by fielding a weaker side) and I think they can get something out from this game.




- The on-loan Marseille winger scored a stunning goal last week against Everton. He only cost $5 in FPL and definitely a bargain buy if he plays 90-minutes weekly. He has the class of Nani and definitely way more cheaper. Newcastle has gained momentum and on high-morale after defeating Chelsea in midweek's Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge.

- A win for Newcastle against Stoke? Likely... Barton, Nolan and Carroll are the few good choices too. Although it's not worth to get Carroll now ($5.7 now and I have sold him to fund others), Barton is still the set piece taker. Another player to be watched is goalkeeper Tim Krul ($4) who deputize Harper who might be out for up to 12 weeks. He is a good pick as Newcastle is a team who can get clean sheets at home and sometimes away.




- Nuff' said. It's time to bring Berbatov in. He is $9 now and if he can continue the run of form that outshone Rooney ($11.6 now) since GW 1, he can grab about 20 goals + 10 assists for the whole season plus bonus points. ManUnited have easy fixture ahead, don't they? (Bolton @ away, Sunderland @ away, West Brom @ home)




- Arsenal vs West Brom is an interesting fixture and many will bring Arsenal players in, thinking that this will be a free-scoring game and free points for those Arsenal players. But I doubt that, yea, Dranzer!, i really don't see that.

- Fabregas will be out for 2-3 weeks due to a hamstring injury. West Brom was in high spirit after sending ManCity out of Carling Cup in midweek. I know I know, most of you think that Arsenal's free-flow football style will tear West Brom's defence apart like Chelsea's 6-0 thumping.

-But since then West Brom have gained momentum and played well in the BPL. They only lost one goal to Liverpool at Anfield and came back from behind to defeat Birmingham 3-1 which made Odemwingie a player-to-watch. Dorrans did not live up to his expectation though, as I prefer Chris Brunt more if I was to choose a player from WBA.

- Nasri ($7.2) and Arshavin ($9.8) is the obvious choices if you think Arsenal will win like 3-0 or 3-1. But the worry is, will Nasri play 1st team after complete 120-minutes at White Hart Lane on tuesday night? Arshavin is substituted only after 57 minutes last gameweek (although he scored 1 in midweek after brought on as a substitute). They are the pro/con choices as we don't know what will be Wenger thinking =.= duh

- Chamakh ($8.4) will definitely playing 90 minutes so he is the safer choice, he is Bendtner ver.2 and he scores alot from headers. Oh ya.. Wilshere ($5) anyone?? He did shine in the Tottenham game in midweek.