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Week-End Preview

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Totelfootball
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Week-End Preview

Post by Totelfootball »

Picking the clubs who are likely to get a clean sheet has proven the bedrock of many winning teams over the past season. Your defence should be your first port of call when picking your team. Man Utd & Chelsea are the meanest defences, each having conceded just 9 goals at home all season. This week-end they welcome Fulham and Wigan respectively. Fulham have the Zamora back and he looks in fine form. He’ll be a threat, but you still would have to favour Utd to shut them out. Wigan are the lowest scoring team away from home this season, 11 goals so far. Surely they are odds on to be shut out again this week-end. Pack your defences with keeper/defenders from Utd & Chelsea as a good base to build your squad.

Ok… All going well we now have 2 clean sheets & 36 points in the bag. Possibly a little more if Luiz, Terry, Cole, Vidic or Evra make an assist or get on the end of a corner. That’s a good start.

I have no strong opinions on who should make the final defensive position and will leave to you and move onto those most likely to find the net or help along the way.

Next I look at the fixtures I think most likely to deliver goals or more importantly fantasy football points. To my mind, Blackpool games are always worth a look as their style of play always throw up a few goals. This week-end is no different. They welcome the Gunners who will be hurting from last week-end’s draw with Blackburn. Blackpool’s all out attack style of play will surely leave them exposed. Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott and Van Persie are all likely to figure. I suggest Walcott & Fabregas as the strongest options this week-end.

Sunderland v West Brom is another that should throw up a few goals – mainly because of West Broms defensive frailties away from home. Only problem is that Sunderland ain’t exactly prolific in front of goals. Gyan played well for Ghana recently is a possible, but I might steer clear of this one.

Tottenham v Stoke. There’s an interesting match. The Tottenham midfield will surely stick a brace past Stoke. Stoke have lost their last 6 away games. Tottenham midfielders van der Vaart, Modric or Bale to score? I think the Dutchman is the best option, but the Welsh wizard can support him in the role.

Blackburn v Birmingham & Villa v Newcastle are likely to be low scoring, so best avoided. Bolton v West Ham is a little more interesting. The Hammers have been doing well of late until Rooney spoiled the party last week-end. Nonetheless, they move well and I think Demba Ba is the real deal. I would consider him to lead the line.

Finally you need to throw in a few players for Monday night’s game. City’s performance last week-end was awesome. They travel to a Liverpool side who have been very strong at home of late. Gerrard is out, but Suarez is fully fit and will surely test the City defence. A hard game to figure, but for the sheer entertainment value it’s worth picking either Suarez, supported by Kuyt or Meireles, or Tevez, supported by Silva or Toure. All you’ll need to do then is to sit back and hope the game turns into a goal feast!

N.B. Choose your substitutes carefully. Week 31 leaderboard might have looked quite different if bridiefurbo had a sub for Dzeko or punter had a sub Cahill. Remember all teams must play in a 4-4-2 formation, so make sure you have cover in important positions. A good policy is to have 1 defender, 1 midfielder and 1 striker available to spring from the bench.

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Totelfootball
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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Totelfootball »

Gameweek 33 Preview
The FA Cup semis featuring the clash of Utd v City and Bolton v Stoke are very much the highlight of this week-end. They do not form part of this week-end's fare as we concentrate on the Premiership. There are 7 games included in the competition: 5 matches kicking off at 3 pm today, the clash of Arsenal v Liverpool tomorrow and United away to Newcastle on Tuesday evening.

Birmingham v Sunderland is an interesting clash. The loser will be looking squarely at a relegation dog-fight till the end of the season. The winner will have a little breathing space. Sunderland's form has been dreadful since they sold Darren Bent and Birmingham must see this as one of the easier targets to get to safety. Their biggest problem is their inability to score, but this might be compensated for by Sunderlands frailties at the back. They've conceded 21 goals in their last eight games. Birmingham to win and I'll be picking Philips to score and Larsson to support him from midfield.

Blackpool v Wigan is a relegation 6 pointer. Biggest obstacle that Blackpool must overcome is their home record - they've played better away from home so far this season. They have only won one of their last 12 games, and unless they recapture their early season form they are heading straight back down to the Championship. For their part Wigan are rooted to the foot of the table. They will see this a must win if they are to have any chance of survival. I think that their good form last week against Chelsea might just be enough & I think Cleverley and Rodallega may be worth a shot.

Blackburn's recent away record is terrible taking just 1 point from last 6 away games. Everton are likely to turn them over quite easily. Everton will have their sights on a top 6 finish and a Europa League slot. Beckford & co are unlikely to supply a goal feast, so I am going to pick Baines and Howard and hope that Blackburns;s away from continues.


Roy Hodgson has done an excellent job since taking over at West Brom and he has made the Baggies very difficult to beat. Odemwengie has been a threat in attack, they've shorn up theoir defence and are now in the top half of the table. Chelsea's season is now over. Out of all competitions. Ancelloti is a dead man walking around Stamford Bridge. Fernando Torres has matched David Blaine's record of spending 40 days in the box doing nothing. All that's left for them is to secure a top 4 slot for Champion's League football. It will be interesting to see if this provides sufficient motivation. I think not and I am going to plug for Odemwengie and Brunt.

The Hammers had a terrible result last week-end and will be looking to bounce back immediately. They had started a mini-revival before being beaten at home by Man Utd and then were thrashed by Bolton last week-end. They need a result from this one. Villa beat Newcastle last week-end with a moderate performance. They have a poor defensive record away from home and I think that West Ham's have a lot of attacking options from which to choose. I like Ba and Parker.

The Gunners welcome Liverpool. They are just about alive in the Premiership race - 6/1 on offer across many bookmakers. 3 points is an absolute must for them if they are to retain any chance of victory. I think that they are worth a small bet. United look good of late, but strange things can happen at this stage of the season. Djourou and Szczesny could be back for Arsenal this weekend. Liverpool were in great form when beating Man City on Monday night. Carroll and Suarez are shaping up to be one of the top striking partnersips in the Premiership. Get them the ball and they'll cause trouble for any defence. Arsenal at home should be too good and I'd pick Fabregas and your choice of Nasri, van Persie or Walcott up front.

Man Utd are sitting pretty at the top of the table. They have the treble very definitely in their sights. Can Newcastle trip them up? All of Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal will be hoping Newcastle can get something from this game. It would certainly make for a more interesting end of season if they do. Likely to happen? United to win this one and I'll be sticking in Vidic and Evra.

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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by admin »

Totelfootball wrote: I like Ba and Parker.
Scott Parker is doubtful for West Ham with an achilles injury - scott-parker-t84792.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Totelfootball
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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Totelfootball »

To make matters worse, Ba starts the game on the bench for West Ham. Good calls on our part :oops:

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Chrisharry12345
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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Chrisharry12345 »

Totelfootball wrote:To make matters worse, Ba starts the game on the bench for West Ham. Good calls on our part :oops:

could you answer the rooney question please? ;)

Totelfootball
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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Totelfootball »

Rooney... We didn't realise that Rooney's ban was up in time for the trip to Newcastle.

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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Totelfootball »

TotelFootball expert Gianni gives his views on Week 34.

Each week when the fixture list comes out I’m always looking to get a feel for where the easy 6 pointers are. They come from 3 areas, defenders that score, keepers that don’t concede and man of the match performances. So, starting with the simplest exercise – Pick your Goalie first! Looking at the fixtures, it seems Chelsea are going to be this weekends banker. They have found themselves 2nd in the table and have only conceded 1 goal in their last 3 league matches at the bridge. After 2 decent wins, I expect them to blow West Ham away and keep a clean sheet in the process. Therefore, P. Cech is in the sticks.

Defenders often pose a dilemma, as the ones most likely to score may not be part of a clean sheet. However, in selecting the backs, it’s important to find players that can both score and defend, i.e. will have a fighting chance of being on a team with a nil beside it’s name after 90 minutes. Liverpool look likely to keep Birmingham scoreless so M. Skrtel is my first defender, and quickly followed by D. Luiz, not just because of points made previously, he is very capable of a MOTM performance. My other two defenders have both scored 3 goals each this season and have excellent chances of picking up 4 points for the clean sheet – A. Kolarov and J. Collins.

In midfield, we are looking for one thing, GOALS! You gain 5 points every time a midfielder hits the net so I like to look for penalty takers. R. Van der Vaart is the first man I turn to. He makes Spurs tick and has 14 goals already this season (12 in the league). Newcastle have had several penalty takers this year and Joey Barton hit their last two, I’m going to select him despite his red card tendencies. My remaining midfielders have scored 27 goals between them this season and are both key parts of their own teams attack – S. Nasri and D. Kuyt.

Upfront, I’m going to pick one safe selection and one gamble. 18 goal Robin Van Persie will have several opportunities against Bolton, and while Arsenal may not be winning much lately, he’s a class act and is also a confirmed spot kicker! Elsewhere the gamble is going to be at Ewood Park. Blackburn rarely keep a clean sheet and are now without captain Ryan Nelsen for the remainder of the season, so…. With Tevez out injured I’m going to gamble on M. Balotelli. He’s got the potential to be world class, lets hope he turns on the style on Monday night!

When picking subs, I look at my team and see who may not make an appearance this weekend. Going over your quota is problematic as nobody likes a 5 point deduction, however, you have to take chances and here are my 3 on the bench this weekend – J. Terry, A. Lennon and D. Bent.

bennyc
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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by bennyc »

I have complained about the decision to award Silva an assist. It's cost me around £100.

Rules clearly state this shouldn't have happened.

A player is awarded a goal assist if he makes the last pass before a goal is scored. If an opposing player interferes with the flight of the ball, then no assist is given unless this interference results in an own goal.

If a player shoots on goal and the goalkeeper blocks, parries or drops the ball or the ball rebounds off the post or crossbar and a goal results, then the player will receive an assist.

A player will get an assist for a penalty if:

the player is fouled to earn a penalty
the player does not take the penalty himself
and the penalty is scored
All assists are reviewed within 24 hours of the game finishing.

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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Zarch »

bennyc wrote:I have complained about the decision to award Silva an assist. It's cost me around £100.

Rules clearly state this shouldn't have happened.

A player is awarded a goal assist if he makes the last pass before a goal is scored. If an opposing player interferes with the flight of the ball, then no assist is given unless this interference results in an own goal.

If a player shoots on goal and the goalkeeper blocks, parries or drops the ball or the ball rebounds off the post or crossbar and a goal results, then the player will receive an assist.

A player will get an assist for a penalty if:

the player is fouled to earn a penalty
the player does not take the penalty himself
and the penalty is scored
All assists are reviewed within 24 hours of the game finishing.
Last time I complained about an assist that went against me (and cost me a few quid) I was told that the data from their supplier is final. :(

Totelfootball
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Re: Week-End Preview

Post by Totelfootball »

Assists are always a bone of contention. As a consequence we review all assists prior to settlement to ensure they are awarded correctly. There are 2 corrections this week.
GW 34 Corrections…

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