Firstly, apologies that the 3rd round results for the Rotoworld PL Cup (from Week 28) are yet to be posted up. There were still some small fluctuations in the point allocations on Monday so rather than risk having to re-do the calculations I’ve decided to let things settle. Keep checking back as they should be up over the weekend or early next week.
Check out Steve’s Free Kick | Jeremy’s First XI
Week 28 was another tough one for AM FC, so I’m slighly concerned that I could be heading out of the Cup at the third hurdle. Luis Suarez was once again the saviour, bringing in almost half my team’s total as I finished on 109 points. Zeros from Daniel Sturridge, Christian Eriksen and Ross Barkley were big disappointments, with another zero from the only active player on my bench, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. I did jump 100 spots in the overall standings, up to 1400th, so perhaps that total will be just about enough to sneak through to the fourth round.
Now as we’ve mentioned numerous times over the past 10 days, Week 29 is heavily reduced due to the FA Cup Sixth Round this weekend. It is a blank week for recent Capital One Cup winners Manchester City (again), runners-up Sunderland (again), Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle, Swansea, Aston Villa, Hull and West Ham. This means we have just five matches to focus on.
Many of us are going to be holding a bunch of players at large discounts, knowing these players are not going to feature this weekend. You have the option to keep hold of these discounts by moving them to the bench, preparing yourself to take a hit this week by buying a less expensive starting XI - while perhaps taking a zero or two - hoping to make up the difference when the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal have a double-week later in the season.
You also have the alternative option of dumping your discounts to free up a load of cash to allow you to target as many points as possible in Week 29, before attempting to shoehorn these dumped players back in to your team at inflated prices when the double-week rolls around.
The second option presented above is the riskier, but it is the option I’m taking. Aside from placing Luis Suarez (owned at £19million) on the bench, I’m going to be selling Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and one of my cheap defenders in an attempt to go for maximum points this week. I have never finished outside the overall Top 500 in my 10 season of playing Yahoo Fantasy Premier League, so this is a roll of the dice in an effort to make up some ground on those above. It could quite easily backfire but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. The way you approach the week will depend on your situation and Galin has written an excellent column analysing the dilemma in detail.
Get all of your Premier League news at Rotoworld
Week 29 Fixtures
Cardiff v Fulham
Chelsea v Tottenham
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Norwich v Stoke
West Brom v Manchester United
Not a great selection to be honest. Cardiff v Fulham brings the team occupying 19th position in the Premier League up against with the team occupying 20th, with neither side showing any sign of getting out of their current predicament. If you wanted to back one team in particular my gut tells me it should be Fulham, despite the fact they play away from home. Felix Magath has a proven pedigree of organising struggling teams quickly and getting them out of difficult situations, whereas Ole Gunnar Solksjaer still has the air of a novice about him. I think Fulham will be better prepared and could well sneak the points, but at the same time a low scoring draw wouldn’t surprise me.
Chelsea’s match-up with Tottenham is by far and away the most interesting fixture of the reduced weekend schedule, as the side currently top of the Premier League hosts the team chasing the final Champions League place. It also matches the team with the best home record against the team with the joint best away record. An often heated London derby, it should be entertaining but the edge has to go to Chelsea in front of their own fans, with their attacking players of particular interest. However, Spurs know they have a six point gap to make up on Liverpool and they really need to go for the win, so it could be an open game.
Remaining in London, Crystal Palace host Southampton in a match that is very difficult to call either way. The Eagles’ improvement under Tony Pulis has been astonishing and they will be motivated to continue moving ever closer to securing another season in the Premier League. Southampton will be hurting after Liverpool schooled them in Week 28, and they have the greater attacking quality, but they don’t really have much to play for, with a place in the top 10 more-or-less guaranteed and no chance of making the European spots. Based on that it feels like another draw to me, with 2-2 the scoreline going down on my predictions.
Norwich were flying high after beating Tottenham in Week 27 but they were brought crashing back to earth by Aston Villa last Saturday, getting a 4-1 hammering despite taking an early lead. Stoke visit Carrow Road hot on the heels of a fine home win over Arsenal, but Mark Hughes’ men are not the same side on the road as they are at the Britannia, losing nine of their last 12 away league games. With Charlie Adam suspended I’m leaning towards a narrow Norwich win.
Finally we get to West Brom against Manchester United. The first thing to note here is that it’s the early Saturday kick-off, which means we’ll get the starting line-ups before the Yahoo deadline. I’ll ensure these line-ups are tweeted out, so follow me on Twitter if you’ll be needing this information.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
As for the match itself, David Moyes remains under huge pressure following United’s awful Champions League performance at Olympiakos last week, but they showed signs of improvement against Crystal Palace in the league in Week 27, and they are capable of putting in a similar display to win this one. It’s impossible to get excited about the creaking defence, but the likes of Adnan Januzaj, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie should be on your radar against a West Brom side struggling just outside the relegation zone. For the home side, an midfielder or attacker could be of interest with a clean sheet for either side extremely unlikely, but it’s an away win for me.
With that in mind, click over to the next page to view the Week 29 player recommendations.
Get all of your Premier League news at Rotoworld
KEEPERS
Petr Cech - The safest bet but the most expensive bet. Chelsea look solid defensively, especially at Stamford Bridge, and they should win the game. You can more-or-less guarantee a positive score for your keeper by spending the money on Cech, and I’m not sure you can say that about any other keeper this week.
John Ruddy - As my good pal Jeremy noted earlier in the week, Norwich are far better at home than they are away, and Stoke are not good travellers. Ruddy is in good form having kept four clean sheets in a row at Carrow Road, he represents value after shipping four against Villa and in my opinion is the next best option after Cech.
Maarten Stekelenburg - Fulham’s goalkeeper? Away from home? Well, yes. As mentioned in my fixture analysis I think Magath will have his side well organised against Cardiff, and in a tight, low scoring game Stekelenburg can return positive points at a cost of just £3million. I trust him more than David Marshall, but that’s purely a personal preference. If you can afford Cech or Ruddy then I’d go with them instead.
DEFENDERS
Branislav Ivanovic - Tottenham often look nervy at defensive set pieces so expect Chelsea to get opportunities to profit from this shakiness. Ivanovic is always a threat in the opposition’s box and his price has dropped slightly after a disappointing return against Fulham, making him the most affordable Chelsea option.
Joel Ward - Not in his best fantasy form, but the top scoring defender in the Yahoo game cannot be ignored in a week of limited options. A Crystal Palace clean sheet is unlikely, but Southampton take a lot of shots and try plenty of intricate passes in-and-around the area, so blocks, tackles and pass interceptions are sure to come Ward’s way.
Stephen Caulker - Another young defender having a terrific fantasy season despite Cardiff’s struggles in the lower echelons of the table. Caulker is a goal threat (he should’ve scored with a header against Spurs, somehow hitting the crossbar from 2-yards out) and has also amassed the most blocks in the league.
Nemanja Vidic - As I write this column it has just been announced that Vidic will be joining Inter Milan in the summer, and you can be sure the defender will want to end his Old Trafford career on a high with some better performances. One can never expect a clean sheet from this Manchester United team but Vidic has been putting up decent fantasy numbers recently. However, if Phil Jones recovers in time then I would marginally prefer him due to price and the possibility he plays in midfield. It’s handy we’ll get the starting line-ups before the deadline.
Sascha Riether - An attacking full back guaranteed a start, playing a relegation rival and well-priced at around £7million. Don’t expect a massive score from Riether, but he can fill a gap if you’re following my lead and attempting to field eleven starters.
Fabio - See Riether above, with the caveat that Fabio looked to be nursing an injury as he was substituted against Spurs. We’ll ensure the topic is covered in the team and injury news on Friday.
Joseph Yobo - The cheapest way to cover the possible Norwich clean sheet against Stoke. Signed on loan in the January, Yobo found it really tough going against Christian Benteke in Week 28 but Peter Crouch doesn’t offer the same physical threat, and alongside Sebastian Bassong he could help keep the Potters out.
Jonas Olsson - I reckon Olsson could pop up with a goal against Manchester United, perhaps heading home an in-swinging Brunt corner. I base this prediction on nothing more than a hunch, but he’s well priced below £7million and is currently in my team.
Scott Dann - As far as I can tell Dann is the cheapest defender available in the Yahoo game who is guaranteed a start this weekend. If you need a filler, he’ll do.
MIDFIELDERS
Adam Lallana - The top scoring available midfielder in the Yahoo game produced a fine cameo and assist in England’s win over Demark in midweek and he should be full of confidence for Southampton’s trip to Selhurst Park. Lallana was unlucky not to add to his 7 league goals against Liverpool, hitting the post and having a shot well saved, and is due a big score after back-to-back sub-10-point performances.
Chris Brunt - West Brom’s captain has been averaging ten points per game over the past ten weeks and faces a fragile Manchester United side. As mentioned earlier in this column I’m tipping a United win, but there will be chances for the Baggies and Brunt is usually behind his side’s best attacking work.
Tom Ince - A quiet weekend for Ince led to his half-time substitution against Swansea in Week 28 but Tony Pulis will surely give the talented youngster another chance to impress at home to Southampton. His price has dropped below £8million and he’ll be taking the majority of set pieces.
Willian - Sat on the bench as Andre Schurrle scored a hat-trick against Fulham, but expect to see the Brazilian back in the starting line-up against Spurs. Willian’s skill combined with his work-rate means he can now be considered a member of Jose Mourinho’s best starting XI, so with Oscar out of form and Eden Hazard listed as a forward, he’s is my pick of the Chelsea midfielders.
Lewis Holtby - Jeremy nailed the reasons Holtby should be considered this week, so I’m simply going quote him: “I’m willing to chalk off his benching against Chelsea as a tactical move, and the player who replaced him in the starting line-up, Clint Dempsey, has returned to his parent club, MLS’ Seattle Sounders. So I expect Holtby to start, and I expect that he’ll be an attacking fulcrum and have set-piece duties.”
Adnan Januzaj - As is always the case nowadays, Januzaj is the only Manchester United midfielder worth considering, provided he starts. Again, it’s really useful that we’ll get the line-up before the Yahoo deadline, because at a price of £8.85 million he could prove a bargain.
Craig Noone - I was pleased to see Noone absent for Cardiff’s trip to White Hart Lane in Week 28, because he’s currently their most dangerous player and has moved ahead of the likes of Jordon Mutch, Wilfried Zaha and Peter Whittingham in the pecking order. The player himself tweeted that he had a minor knock, but he should be back to face Fulham and is an alternative option for those looking to do something a bit different.
Jason Puncheon - The former Southampton midfielder will be looking to get one over on his old team this weekend, and is a constant threat cutting in from the flank and shooting for distance. However, one thing to note is that Puncheon has lost penalty duties to the returning Glenn Murray.
Nathan Redmond- With Robert Snodgrass listed as a forward, Redmond is by far the most productive Norwich midfield option. The winger scored the winning goal for England’s Under-21s in midweek, will be feeling confident and should take the majority of set pieces for his side’s home game against Stoke.
Christian Eriksen - An unreported back injury was frustrating for many fantasy managers last weekend but early reports suggest Eriksen will be fit for Tottenham’s crucial game at Stamford Bridge in Week 29. There are better option, but Eriksen was a big-game player during his time with Ajax and could rise to occasion, while adding the benefit of taking set piece duty away from Kyle Naughton.
Nemanja Matic - A cheap way to get in on the Chelsea action if you fancy a home win, the tough tackling and skillful midfielder isn’t afraid to take a shot from distance and will pick up his fair share of defensive points.
STRIKERS
Eden Hazard - There is a big possibility that Hazard will be running at Kyle Naughton this weekend, and as a Spurs fan this fills me with dread. The wing-genius blows hot and cold in terms of fantasy points, but in a week of limited options he’s at the top of the list and will be in my team despite a price-tag in excess of £20million.
Robin van Persie - Having been affected by injury for the first time since his Arsenal days, van Persie is having a quiet season and hasn’t been at his devastating best (as shown by a really bad miss against Olympiakos). However, we all know the quality the Dutchman possesses and United should win at the Hawthorns, so he’s my pick of the sub-20million strikers. It’s a close one, but I narrowly prefer him to Wayne Rooney this weekend due to penalty duty.
Wayne Rooney - A record of six goals in his last five games against West Brom is enough to tempt any man, and Rooney did look a bit sharper against Crystal Palace back in Week 27. I’m still not convinced he’s back to his best but with the lack of options available I wouldn’t argue with anyone picking him for Week 29.
Jay Rodriguez - This spot almost went to Ricky Lambert, but something is nagging me that it could be a week for Rodriguez to get back on the score-sheet after four league games without a goal. As mentioned, this could be an entertaining game and there will be chances for attackers on both sides to prosper.
Glenn Murray - This will be a new name for many of our readers. In short, Murray (with Zaha’s assistance) is the reason Crystal Palace are in the Premier League. The striker scored 30 goals in their promotion season, but damaged cruciate ligaments in the play-offs and has only just returned to action. Murray should start alongside Marouane Chamakh and as noted earlier he is the club’s designated penalty taker, netting the equaliser against Swansea from the spot.
Emmanuel Adebayor - Seven goals in his last six Premier League appearances away from home. Scored in three of his last four Premier League starts against Chelsea. If Tottenham are going to score, it will be Adebayor.
Robert Snodgrass - It’s a shame Snodgrass is listed as a forward, because it will be difficult to fit him in to your two man attack (assuming you all own and will be benching Luis Suarez). The Scotsman has a very attractive fixture at home to Stoke and presents an alternative to the obvious premium choices of Hazard, van Persie and Rooney.
Victor Anichebe - If you want a West Brom striker against Manchester United’s shaky defence then Anichibe is your man. With Nicolas Anelka suspended for the foreseeable future and Shane Long gone, it will be down to the Nigerian forward to score the goals which could keep the Baggies in the Premier League.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
So those are the players I’m considering for Week 29. You may feel some of the names suggested above are stretching it a bit, but with a reduced fixture list I’ve done my best to present as many options as possible. Check back here on Friday for Neal’s team and injury news post, which will cover all the fall-out from the midweek international matches.
My own team is still a work in progress, but I can confirm I’m very close to fielding XI starters having dropped Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge. Adam Lallana is staying but I’ve changed ten players from the team I had in Week 28 - keep checking the comments section below and I’ll post my latest team once I’ve spent a bit more time on it.
FRIDAY UPDATE: I’m currently on ...
Ruddy, Dann, J.Olsson, Vidic, Ince, Holtby, Willian, Brunt, Lallana, Hazard, van Persie (C)
I think it’s a pretty good team all things considered. Potentially XI starters with non-playing Suarez, Bardsley, Bertrand and K.Davis on the bench.
What’s your strategy for Week 29? Who gets the captaincy?
