Fantasy Football Preview

We are done with the long drawn Gameweek 1. How many points did you end up with?

If you were amongst the majority who went with the Lampards, the Hazards and the Bentekes, you’d be pretty proud of your above average score right now.

Getting to the top is one thing, staying at the top, another.

Here’s a preview to Gameweek 2 which will help clear some of the doubts as to which players should be in your team and which ones should see a huge ‘NO ENTRY’ sign with an electric fence and guard dogs.

Fulham vs Arsenal: Arsenal will be on a high after a moral boosting and comprehensive victory in the Champions League qualifiers in Turkey. But the Gunners haven’t come back without casualties.

Jack Wilshere hobbled throughout whilst Laurent Koscielny is definitely out with a head injury.

Cazorla looked sharp in midweek while Giroud has now scored in both Arsenal games this season. Podolski’s case looks strange though as he is either not 100% fit, or has fallen down in the hierarchy.

Arsenal will look to bounce back after the opening day defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

Their away form last season was impressive, with the North London side keeping as many as 9 clean sheets on the road.

Picks: Walcott, Giroud, Berbatov

Misses: Fulham defenders

Everton vs West Brom: Everton had to settle for a draw on the opening day with Coleman grabbing a goal and an assist, and you wouldn’t put it past him to repeat the feat.

Cheaply priced, and in a team which is defensively sound and with a penchant for goals and assists, Coleman is a must have in your fantasy team. Barkley is another good cheap edition along with usual suspects and United targets, Baines and Fellaini.

West Brom will not be helped by the absence of striker Nicolas Anelka who is on “compassionate leave”. Having dropped points in 14 of the 19 games away from home last season, you would be advised to refrain from picking West Brom players.

Picks: Seamus Coleman

Aston Villa vs Liverpool: Aston Villa have had the toughest first two fixtures of all teams in the Premier League. And they’ve still managed to get 3 points, scoring 4 goals in the process.

Hitman Christian Benteke is on top of the goalscoring charts, and he will be a threat despite being on the road against a rejuvenated Liverpool team.

Liverpool scored only one against Stoke on opening day but should really have scored 4 or 5 goals. Daniel Strurridge, Coutinho and Aspas all remain viable options.

Tottenham vs Swansea: Tottenham, with their new signings, look stronger than ever and will look to take advantage of Swansea’s defeat in the opening fixture.

Both teams scored 5 goals each in their respective Europa League qualifiers in midweek, and it’ll be an interesting matchup to see who blinks first.

Soldado, Paulinho, Bony, Michu and Routledge were all on the scoresheet in midweek.

Picks: Soldado, Bony, Michu

Manchester City vs Cardiff City: If there was ever a match with ‘goalfest’ written on it in bold letters with neon lights and a loudspeaker saying the word out loud, it is this.

Manchester City destroyed Newcastle last week, and Cardiff should really be looking at life insurance options at this point. The problem with the Citizens is that they have too many forwards to choose from, and that’s where the rotation curse of Fantasy Football comes in.

Aguero, Negredo, Dzeko and Jovetic are all fantastic forwards but which two will play on a given day is anyone’s guess at this point.Manchester City midfielders are all top picks. Pick the defenders too if you want a guaranteed clean-sheet.

Picks: Yaya Toure, David Silva, Navas, Zabaleta.

Misses: All Cardiff City players.

Manchester United vs Chelsea: This is the big game of the week for a football fan, not so for a fantasy football manager.

These big matches tend have a lot of tackles, resulting in bookings and rarely ending with a clean sheet for either side. So hide your Chelsea and United defenders for this one. That said, there are goals and assists in Ivanovic, Evra and the like.

Both sides boast of a vast array of attacking talent. Fernando Torres was rested midweek against Aston Villa and should start at Old Trafford. Usual suspects Lampard, Hazard and Oscar should be picked up by everyone.

Star striker Robin Van Persie is in red hot form, and at home you wouldn’t put it past him to score a brace. It is still unclear whether Wayne Rooney will start so there’s a headache not worth having.

Picks: Robin van Persie, Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard, Ivanovic

Misses: United midfielders

Final team:

Joe HartColeman-Vertonghen-Lescott-ShawLampard-Yaya Toure-Silva-MichuSturridge-Van Persie

Subs: Mignolet, Wolfswinkel, Nolan, Zabaleta