Week 18: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Welcome to the last preview of 2017. And, thankfully we can sign off on a high note, as my rag-tag bunch actually followed up their defeat of @EPL_MOstradamus last weekend with a cup victory over @FantasyYIRMA in midweek. Two wins in a row is rare enough, but not as rare as a Tom Ince goal, which is what we had to thank for keeping our cup dream alive. The IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer has had enough of my team scraping victories and has decided that now is the time that we should play highest scorers and table toppers @TRKingston. Todd has scored a frankly ridiculous 750 more fantasy points than my side so far this season, and has won his last eight games while opening up a six point lead at the top of the IEFSA Premier. The last time we met @TRKingston walked away with the victory by twenty points. If the teams are even that close once again, I guess I can take it as some kind of moral victory.

Joyous scenes as we knock @FantasyYIRMA out of the cup

@TRKingston’s Team

In a rare bit of good luck, the West Ham and Spurs game has been moved to Thursday January 4^th. This means I will be without Serge Aurier this week, but Todd will have to make do without his hottest player at the moment, Marko Arnautovic. The Forward has five goals in his last five games. This means @TRKingston will have to rely on Richarlison or Joselu up front. He could well play both if each of them make their teams starting lineups for what looks like two favourable fixtures. Joselu and Newcastle are at home to Brighton. While Richarlison of Watford (the more likely of the two to play) has a home game against bottom club Swansea.

Every time this happens, @TRKingston gets about twenty fantasy points

His midfield has a very heavy Manchester City influence. On a good day he could put three Sky Blue players into his starting line-up. Fernandinho, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan have eight goals and 12 assists between them. The majority of these have come from Silva though and he is the only one who is an injury worry going into a game against Crystal Palace. In Defence he has another City player in Nicolas Otamendi, who he will probably pair up with two of the three Liverpool players in his squad, Matip, Lovren and Klavan.

What I Need To Happen

With facing so many Liverpool and Manchester City players this week, if both those sides could have a bad day at the office, or at least see a good chunk of their players rested and rotated, then I may have a fighting chance. Of course, I will need the players in my squad to play from the start for their clubs also. Unfortunately, the big signing of my squad looks to have wasted his opportunity to get some valuable minutes. Last time out Zlatan only lasted the first half of a game against Burnley. Even with the fixture pileup over the New Year, this looks to have been the big Swede’s last chance at getting into the Manchester United starting line-up.

Who'll get to the World Cup first? Steve Cook with England? Or Benik Afobe with DR Congo?

My search for goals will have to come from some unlikely sources to have any chance of victory this weekend. Tom Ince has finally gotten off the mark, so could this be the start of a run where he gets so many goals he propels himself into the England squad for the World Cup?? Speaking of the World Cup; What if Tammy Abraham also starts scoring so many goals that he will have to on the plane to Russia also! And what if Steve Cook started defending so well that…….. I think I need to lie down…..

Predictions

Five correct and four incorrect last weekend, which is an improvement on the week before, but nothing to get too excited about. The midweek cup fixtures saw two correct predictions from three games. I surely would have had a clean sweep if @FPL_MNOP had put in two goal ‘difference maker’ Jesse Lingard like I had told him! I’ll be hoping to improve on these figures this weekend. To follow all the action don’t forget to hop on over to Twitter and @THE_IEFSA. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone.

@RotoZdroik over @TAMc10

@FantasyYIRMA over @nikarg

@FuzzyWarbles over @jwl_15

@wrigavin over @EPL_MOstradamus

@jasonuk17 over @SportsByGotti

@BenDinnery over @cjradune

@TomSunderland_over @nealjthurman

@jforquer11 over @RotoWireAndrew

@DFS_Hambazaza over @FPL_MNOP

IEFSA Fantasy League Cup Quarter Final Preview

My side comes into this midweek cup fixture high in confidence after defeating @EPL_MOstradamus in Gameweek 17. For once it wasn’t my side that was struggling to get numbers onto the pitch, and thanks to having an extra player earning points I came away with a 25-point victory. That win doesn’t move my battlers off the bottom of the table though, as both the sides in eight and ninth also won. The two of those sides are on a bit of a win streak, as the IEFSA/Fantrax computer proves itself to be trying to keep my side rooted to the table.

A Joe Allen goal and assist helped was crucial for all three points last weekend

The quarter finals of the IEFSA Cup has thrown up the following interesting fixtures.

@GarryIrwin vs @FantasyYIRMA

@FPL_MNOP vs @nikarg

@BenDinnery vs @wrigavin

@jforquer11 vs @jwl_15

Let’s have a look at each match-up.

@FPL_MNOP is the lowest ranked team still left in the competition, currently sitting in ninth in the IEFSA Championship. @nikarg is ninth in the IEFSA Premier and has one win more than his opponent this season, and has scored 140 more fantasy points. @nikarg will be relying on Eriksen and Mahrez, but @FPL_MNOP has the talents of Hazard and Wijnaldum in his team. He also has in-form Jesse Lingard. So, I’m going to back @FPL_MNOP to cause an upset here and reach the semi-finals.

Lingard could be the difference maker in this tie

@BenDinnery is top of the Championship and looking good for a promotion spot. He has been hit by injuries lately though, with both Ryan Bertrand and Wilfied Bony sidelined. He will have lean on the scoring of the West Ham United trio of Andy Carroll, Andre Ayew and Pedro Obiang. @wrigavin is currently in fifth in the IEFSA Premier but suffering through a four-game losing streak. He does have Harry Kane in his team though and with all the injuries to Ben’s side I expect @wrigavin to pick up the win.

Kane is chasing Shearer's goals record. How many this holiday season?

@jforquer11 is fifth in the IEFSA Championship with ten wins this season and is firmly in the hunt for promotion in what is a tightly contested league. He has lots of good players in his squad, but the problem he has is that many them are never assured of a starting spot for their teams. Willian has featured in 19 games this season but only for 967 minutes. Anthony Martial has 815 minutes in 18 games. While Bernardo Silva of Manchester City has only 480 minutes in 17 appearances. @jwl_15 (fourth in the Premier) has the same issue, with Okazaki, Gabbiadini and Mkhitaryan not getting as many minutes as he’d like. Looking at this weekend’s fixtures, I would give @jforquer11 the nod in this one, but only just.

If Okazaki plays he could win it for @jwl_15

My side and @FantasyYIRMA feature in the only all IEFSA Premier clash. (further proof of a bias against my side?) YIRMA is lying in fifth in the table with seven wins. He has also scored almost 400 Fantasy Points more than my side this season so far. He has the strongest side left in the cup. In fact, he really should be higher up in the league table with the squad he has! Rooney and Vardy have 18 goals between them. In Midfield he has Mesut Ozil, Ashley Young and Dele Alli. A group that has 10 goals and 12 assists between them. In reality, @FantasyYIRMA should walk this one. But being the cup….. you never know….

Jamie Vardy scores against Manchester United at the weekend

Good Luck Everyone, and Happy New Year wherever you happen to be celebrating it.

Week 17: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

The IEFSA Fantasy League on Fantrax lets you use one goalkeeper and eight outfield players in any given gameweek. So, imagine me rubbing my hands after the early game of Gameweek 16 when my bitter rival @TAMc10 started off by shipping three goals against his goalkeeper and getting a red card in the shape of Wilfred Ndidi. I smelt blood in the water, and swiftly moved to make sure I had enough players playing to scrape together the 90 odd points I was sure I needed for victory. In came Alex Iwobi and out when Gareth Barry (Barry scored a goal against Manchester United); Ciaran Clark of Newcastle was sent packing and in came Sebastian Prodl of Watford (Clark as I guessed, didn’t play. Prodl shipped four goals at home to Huddersfield). Prodl was joining his Watford teammate Kabasele at the back, and my trio of defenders was completed by Steve Cook of Bournemouth. The Cherries let in four goals against Liverpool, though mercifully Cook was only on the field for one of those. Two more of my players didn’t get any minutes and I slumped to an embarrassing fifty-point defeat.

Barry scores, but not for my side

This week the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer has me facing @EPL_MOstradamus, one of the few sides I can claim a victory over earlier in the season. He also lost last time out, but with a score that would have comfortably beaten my side. It looks like he will be out to exact revenge.

@EPL_MOstradamus’s Team

His three highest scorers face tricky away ties this week, which means I may have a slight chance! Roberto Firmino goes to Arsenal who have one of the best home records in the league. Charlie Daniels will have to head to Man City, who have the best overall record in the league. While Heung-Min Son faces a trip to high flying Burnley.

Firmino could outscore my whole side 

My side has 11 goals to @EPL_MOstradmus’s 22. As I always say, goals win games. I’ll be hoping that his in-form players have a bit of an off week, while I can perhaps sneak one in off of Tammy Abraham’s elbow or something. His side have also registered 21 assists, compared to my sides paltry four.

What I Need To Happen

Iwobi was actually one of my highest scoring players last week, so perhaps he can keep his place against Liverpool on Friday night. Although if he spent the whole game shadowing Firmino, I wouldn’t be against that. Steve Cook will be looking to regain his place for Bournemouth meaning I can perhaps drop Prodl and go searching to bolster a different part of the team. Watford seem to be on a downward slide at the moment and I wouldn’t fancy them to keep a clean sheet. Maybe I should look to offload Christian Kabasele also!

Iwobi will find the Liverpool Midfield more of a handful this week

Zlatan scored in the league cup midweek, and I am desperate in my need for him to stamp his authority on the league side. Manchester United play Leicester City in the late game on Saturday. And when I say late, I mean late. It will kick off at 7:45. Which is a ridiculous time for all us sushi and prawn sandwich eating fans forced to get up at four am to watch it!

Predictions

Only four correct predictions last week as the ‘crazy’ Christmas fixtures play havoc with sides and therefore my normally sage-like predictions. With all the fixtures coming thick and fast, there are also midweek games which means the IEFSA Cup comes around again. It’s the quarter finals and my side will play @FantasyYIRMA, but more on that in a post during the week. Please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to keep track of every match-ups' scores.

Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@RotoZdroik over @nikarg

@jwl_15 over @TAMc10

@TRKingston over @FantasyYIRMA

@FuzzyWarbles over @wrigavin

@SportsByGotti over @TomSunderland_

@jasonuk17 over @jforquer11

@cjradune over @nealjthurman

@BenDinnery over @FPL_MNOP

@DFS_Hambazaza over @RotoWireAndrew

Week 16: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Sometimes you ride your luck a little bit, you get the rub of the green, the bounce of the ball, and no amount of IEFSA/Fantrax ‘scoring’ can prevent an upset victory. One such victory occurred last weekend when my side topped the high flying @FuzzyWarbles by a score of 105.3 – 102.6. I had clung onto the lead going into the Manchester Derby on Sunday, knowing I had one player to play (whoever might take the field out of Zlatan, Rojo and Lindelof. It was Rojo who started), yet @FuzzyWarbles still had Aguero to play. But the skillful Argentinian was sitting on the City bench. As the game was going on, Rojo was booked and taken off injured at half time. My lead was slim. If Aguero was summoned to the fray I was surely looking at defeat. City were always in the lead though and were never chasing the game which might have improved the chances of Aguero seeing some action. Ninety minutes came and went, Aguero went unused, and the three points were mine.

Aguero has often sat out the easier games this season

I don’t have time to celebrate that victory though as my team will be thrown straight in against @TAMc10 in a fierce relegation six-pointer. Both our sides have four wins and twelve points. The only thing separating our sides at the moment is fantasy points scored. Oh and @nikarg in ninth place. The last time we faced each other was in Gameweek nine, where @TAMc10 beat my side by over 70 points! I’ll be hoping for something closer this weekend.

@TAMc10’s Team

An Alexis Sanchez goal and assist, as well as a Shane Duffy clean sheet, did the damage that day. He will be hoping for more of the same, Sanchez plays against Newcastle at home and Duffy hosts low scorers Burnley. He can also call on the return recently of Forward Callum Wilson of Bournemouth. The Cherries entertain Liverpool on Sunday, and Klopp’s side have been known to leak the odd goal or two when playing away from home. @TAMc10 may be streets ahead come Sunday though. In fact, he could be out of sight by the time the Saturday three o’clock kick-offs are in view.

If Duffy scores against Pope, @TAMc10 is almost assured of three points

The early kick-off is between Leicester City and Crystal Palace. Normally I would have the ever-reliable Luka Milivojevic in my side, but after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season, he will be suspended for this game. That leaves Tate with two players playing where he can build up a sizable lead. Under the right conditions of course. Kasper Schmeichel will be keeping goal, averaging nearly 17 points per game. While Wilfred Ndidi will be bossing the Midfield scoring an average of over 13 points per game. I expect to be 30 points down before my first player has even laced up his boots.

What I Need To Happen

I need Palace to halt this winning streak that Leicester have been on lately and come away with a victory. Yes, it looks again like I will have to hope that my opponent has a bad day at the office rather than that my players will run up an unbeatable score. The vast chunk of my players are playing with sides struggling in the bottom half of the table, and if they are not, they are not an automatic choice to get into their teams starting eleven. Now would be a good time for managers to start rotating their squads for the busy Christmas New Years games. Fingers crossed some of my squad get rotated into teams, rather than out.

Sanchez is due a good game. Please be due a good game!

If I am within spitting distance of @TAMc10 after Saturdays and Sundays games, I could have three players gaining me points in the Monday night fixture between Swansea and Everton. This includes my top scorer, 4 goals, in Tammy Abraham. My top Fantasy Points scoring player is my Goalkeeper Nick Pope. The Burnley stopper has kept seven clean sheets, and if he can do so again against Brighton, then my side may have a fighting chance.

Predictions

Seven from nine last weekend in what was a very entertaining round. @nikarg scored a week high 164 points, which got him the win and kept my side on the bottom of the table.  I only managed to correctly prediction one of the four midweek cup ties. So, the less said about that the better. The magic of the cup eh?

Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@TRKingston over @jwl_15

@EPL_MOstradamus over @FantasyYIRMA

@FuzzyWarbles over @nikarg

@RotoZdroik over @wrigavin

@cjradune over @jforquer11

@FPL_MNOP over @nealjthurman

@RotoWireAndrew over @TomSunderland_

@BenDinnery over @jasonuk17

@DFS_Hambazaza over @SportsByGotti

Week 15: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

After a win that briefly lifted my side off the bottom of the table in Gameweek 12, following by an agonising late defeat in Gameweek 13; last week saw my side well beaten by @jwl_15 and a return to the bottom of the table. Even if I had rejigged my side to a full complement of outfield players, I still would have been soundly defeated. The only way is up from here, if only my players could grasp the initiative and perhaps get in the starting line-ups for their clubs.

This week the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer really wants my side to suffer as they have pitted me against @FuzzyWarbles. Steve is only kept from the top of the table by virtue of Fantasy Points scored, and has only tasted defeat twice this season. Our previous encounter saw my side lose by over 65 points. I’m not saying that if I were to win this weekend it would be the greatest upset in IEFSA Fantasy League History. But it would be in the top one.

@FuzzyWarbles's Team

Let’s see who we are due to face this week then…..

Oh…..

Ummmm, I’ve seen enough.

Moving on…

What I Need To Happen

I could stay glued to the Twitter feed of @BenDinnery and see if any of my squad actually get a game this festive season. Or, I could just pray that the FA and the authorities err on the side of caution and call off a few games that involve @FuzzyWarbles’s players.

Predictions

@TRKingston won the top of the table clash last week thanks to both of his Manchester City players, Otamendi and David Silva, scoring both of City’s goals in a 2-1 win. This week he will face fourth placed @wrigavin. To keep track of these and more (or just to hurl abuse) please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter.

Only four correct predictions out of nine last week, as teams battled for precious points coming into this busy new year’s season. Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@EPL_MOstradamus over @TAMc10

@jwl_15 over @nikarg

@RotoZdroik over @FantasyYIRMA

@TRKingston over @wrigavin

@jasonuk17 over @FPL_MNOP

@BenDinnery over @RotoWireAndrew

@jforquer11 over @TomSunderland_

@SportsByGotti over @nealjthurman

@cjradune over @DFS_Hambazaza

The IEFSA Cup has reaced round two and it will be played this coming midweek. Here are those predictions.

@BenDinnery over @cjradune

@DFS_Hambazaza over @FPL_MNOP

@TAMc10 over @jforquer11

@wrigavin over @SportsByGotti

Week 14: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Last week my side's unbeaten run, if you could call it a run, was brought to a screeching halt by @wrigavin with goals from Harry Kane and Xerdan Shaqiri. My side didn’t manage to find the net, but they were still a Nick Pope penalty save away from victory. A penalty save which didn’t materialize as Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez scored and condemned my side to an eight-point loss. @wrigavin stays in the top four while I’m still second from bottom.

If you're thinking,encroachment. Should be retaken! You're right. But there's a conspiracy against my side!

This week my team is up against a side which beat them handily back in gameweek four. @jwl_15 suffered a cruel 0.2 point defeat last weekend at the hands of @RotoZdroik. (scoring 33 points more than my side in that loss by the way) So this week he will be hurting and determined to get back to winning ways as he attempts to climb into the top 2 in the table.

@jwl_15’s Team

His two highest scoring outfield players will be facing each other this week in Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Ramsey has three goals and five assists on the season so far, while Mkhitaryan has one goal and five assists. He also has Jesse Lingard in that Arsenal versus Manchester United fixture. The midfielder scored his first league goal of the season against Watford in midweek. Ramsey is his joint top scorer with those three goals. Also sitting on three goals for Jake are Manolo Gabbiadini of Southampton and Mame Biram Diouf of Stoke City.

I'm not sure how many points this is in the IEFSA/Fantrax scoring system.

It’s actually between the sticks where @jwl_15 gets a good percentage of his points each week. Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski may have only five clean sheets in fourteen, with sixteen goals conceded, but he has racked up 60 saves and averages over twenty points a game. Swansea travel to Stoke on Saturday. At least if Diouf finds the net it will take points away from the Swans goalkeeper. Other players who chip in with points for @jwl_15 are Jordan Henderson of Liverpool (over 14 points per game) and Harry Maguire at Leicester City (who also averages over 14 points per game).

What I Need To Happen

While it is good to see Victor Lindelof getting starts and seeming settling into the Man Utd side, I would prefer if he kept more clean sheets. Also returning to the United backline was Marcos Rojo after a long injury absence. Do I risk playing both in a game away to in-form Arsenal? That decision may well be made for me depending on which eleven Jose Mourinho chooses to play in the Saturday night game. Hopefully Jose does indeed decide to finally start a game with Zlatan up front though. The big man could well be my best hope of victory (Hell, he could be the only think keeping me from relegation!)

Jose hopefully telling Rojo to keep his head and not get booked.

The Defence was a bit of a sore point last weekend. Ciaran Clark and Michael Keane both saw three goals fly in behind them as they combined for 16.3 points. On the bench was Watford’s Christian Kabasele, who thanks to a clean sheet scored nearly 25 points. A total, which if he had played instead of either Clark or Keane, would have secured victory for my side. With Keane now injured, and the uncertainty around starts for Lindelof and Serge Aurier of Spurs. I will probably be forced to just play any player who starts for their club regardless of fixture.

Predictions

Lots of tight games going against me saw my predictions slip to only four from nine last weekend. But if you factor in the midweek cup games, I actually had a respectable seven from thirteen. The tie of the gameweek in @THE_IEFSA is surely the clash of the top two in the Primary League. @FuzzyWarbles is three points ahead of @TRKingston and is looking to gain his tenth win in a row. He will be tough to stop.

Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@RotoZdroik over @EPL_MOstradamus

@FuzzyWarbles over @TRKingston

@FantasyYIRMA over @TAMc10

@wrigavin over @nikarg

@SportsByGotti over @SmokeyLoogy

@cjradune over @RotoWireAndrew

@BenDinnery over @jforquer11

@jasonuk17 over @nealjthurman

@DFS_Hambazaza over @TomSunderland_

Week 13: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

So you’re telling me there’s a chance!

Despite having the lowest scoring squad of players in the league (Primary League, @nealjthurman has scored fewer in the Secondary League. Sorry for that mention Neal), a win over @nikarg in Gameweek 12 has shot my side up one place to ninth in the table. Another Nick Pope clean sheet went a long way to gaining the three points. But we all know how I achieved the victory! The return of Zlatan froze the star players on @nikarg’s team into a below average week. And he didn’t even have to get off my injured reserve list!

Zlatan has the knees of a Lion. But the smile of a Cheshire cat

Ibrahimovic will probably be needed this week though, as the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer sees fit to throw my rebounding side against fourth place @wrigavin. A team who in our previous encounter ran away easy thirty-point winners. If I am to fit Zlatan in this week though, I will have to send someone back to Free Agency. Will @wrigavin be as quick to snap up Gareth Barry, as he was Jonjo Shelvey??

@wrigavin’s Team

Harry Kane has not scored in the Premier League since October 22^nd. @wrigavin, (and I’m sure IEFSA/Fantrax!) will be hoping he can end that poor run of form this weekend against West Brom. This barren patch for the striker coincides with Gavin dropping two of his last three games. Kane averages over 20 points per game for Gavin, and behind the England striker, who did score midweek in the Champions League by the way, is another Spurs player; Davinson Sanchez, who averages over 16 points per game.

Kane scores in the Champions League against Dortmund. Or the German Norwich City if you will

Looking elsewhere for points on @wrigavin’s team, the Liverpool goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet has kept three clean sheets in a row at home. This week he is up against Chelsea though, but if he does keep a clean sheet, he will surely be made to work for it. The second top scorer on @wrigavin’s team is Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri with two goals. Stoke City travel to bottom of the table Crystal Palace on Saturday at three o’clock. Shaqiri also has five assists on the season. Though who he’s assisting on the Stoke team I’ll never know. They were probably all for Peter Crouch.

What I Need To Happen

Just give Zlatan the ball. The big Swede will surely make mincemeat of the Brighton defence. The Seagulls haven’t beaten Manchester United since 1981, back when Moses was parting defences. I’m going to make a bold prediction and say the newly promoted side won’t be adding to that win from the eighties on Saturday. In other good Man Utd news for my squad. Marcos Rojo has returned from injury, and Victor Lindelof is getting into the first team. He’s falling over and giving away goals, but it’s a start!

Lindelof settles down to the perfect view of Dwight Gayle's opening goal

In fact, most of my squad now is returning from injury. It’s very refreshing to be able to change around players rather than being worried if it’s even possible to get eight outfield players scoring points. The only injury concern this week (so far) is Swansea’s Tammy Abraham. The young forward has been rated as 50/50 by his manager to start this weekend against Bournemouth. Another who has been absent from his side’s first team recently has been Newcastle’s Ciaran Clark. But with Lascelles injured at the moment, the Irishman should slot into the Toon backline for the visit of Watford.

Predictions

Only @wrigavin and @RotoWireAndrew let me down after I tipped them to win last week. Seven from nine is still a respectable score though.  Please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to see how my side is fairing. Don’t forget that the gameweek starts on Friday night with Leicester traveling to West Ham for David Moyes first home game in charge.

This midweek will also see the first round of the IEFSA Cup, as eight teams battle it out for a place in the last 16.

Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@TRKingston over @TAMc10

@jwl_15 over @RotoZdroik

@FuzzyWarbles over @FantasyYIRMA

@EPL_MOstadamus over @nikarg

@cjradune over @jasonuk17

@SportsByGotti over @jforquer11

@RotoWireAndrew over @nealjthurman

@TomSunderland_ over @SmokeyLoogy

@DFS_Hambazaza over @BenDinnery

IEFSA Cup

@BenDinnery over @TomSunderland_

@DFS_Hambazaza over @jasonuk17

@RotoWireAndrew over @jforquer11

@SmokeyLoogy over @nealjthurman

Week 12: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Young, Alli, Bong, @FantasyYIRMA, your boys took a hell of a beating! Burnley and Bournemouth were the architects of your downfall; a Steve Cook winner and a Nick Pope clean sheet were your undoing. How does it feel? How does it feel when Gareth Barry does a whole lot of nothing, except get booked, and gets more points than your Vardys and your Rooneys and your Ozils. How does it feel?????

Only one Cook needed to spoil Newcastle's day

This was my side’s second victory of the season. The first victory strangely enough also came before an international break. Perhaps my players up their games in order to cement places for their countries at the very highest level of competition. If this is true, the next international break can’t come soon enough. *checks fixtures* The next international break is in March…. Bugger. I’m not sure how the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture compiler swung that one, but it’s surely just further proof of the uphill struggles my side must face. And struggle it will, as this week sees a fixture against @nikarg, the only other side with two wins to his name. This is surely the match-upnic of the weekend. Nik has been eyeing up this fixture for a while now. So much so, that he has lost his last nine games in a row in preparation.

@nikarg’s Team

We last met in Gameweek 1, where Nik picked up the victory thanks to two Christian Eriksen assists. It’s hard to believe but Eriksen has not provided an assist since then and he scored almost a fifth of his season’s total points in that opening game. The Dane is coming into the North London Derby in great form though, having scored three goals midweek against Ireland in the World Cup playoffs. Arsenal’s defence are not going to be as generous as the Irish were in Dublin though.

Christian Eriksen ran riot midweek. (also pictured, Ireland's answer to Eriksen; Aiden McGeady)

The rest of @nikarg’s players, apart from perhaps Riyad Mahrez, will have somewhat favourable fixtures this weekend. Sam Vokes at Forward will face Swansea at home. He could also rotate in Defoe or Chicharito who are playing Huddersfield and Watford respectively. That’s providing either of them start for their clubs. Andros Townsend in Midfield will be up against Everton on Saturday. The Toffees haven’t kept a clean sheet since the opening day of the season. Unless you count a game against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup in September, but no one counts a game against Sunderland! At the back he has Scott Dann of Palace, and a couple of players who face off on Monday night. Lewis Dunk and Ryan Shawcross both average over 15 points a game. If @nikarg is behind in our match-up going into this Monday night fixture, just watch as Brighton and Stoke play out a nil all draw.

What I Need To Happen

I have no less than five players who will be sweating over late fitness tests and are basically game-time decisions for their managers. But….. But….. if the stars align for my side, then this man is back…

 

Zlatan is back. Quick, everyone look busy!

You may as well hand that IEFSA Primary League Trophy over to me now if Zlatan returns this week. He inspired his own nation Sweden into knocking out Italy in the World Cup Playoffs and he didn’t even have to play! Everyone had an eleven-week head start, but playtime is over. Manchester United play Newcastle United at home in the evening kick-off on Saturday. Zlatan could well be the Premier League’s top scorer come Saturday night.

Predictions

Six correct predictions last gameweek, as several tight fixtures went against me. There is no doubt as to the tie of the round this week, it’s my side against @nikarg. While the Secondary League has a rather intriguing set of fixtures because the top four all play each other. Remember to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to keep abreast of the goings on in the league. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone

@TRKingston over @RotoZdroik

@FuzzyWarbles over @EPL_MOstradamus

@jwl_15 over @FantasyYIRMA

@wrigavin over @TAMc10

@cjradune over @SportsByGotti

@RotoWireAndrew over @SmokeyLoogy

@BenDinnery over @TomSunderland_

@jforquer11 over @nealjthurman

@DFS_Hambazaza over @jasonuk17

Week 11: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

For all those following @THE_IEFSA on Twitter, you will have seen a brief rundown of how all the teams in the league are doing with a third of the season completed. My side was encouraged to find some attacking talent in order to improve. But do they not see that I have Swansea’s top scorer Tammy Abraham in my team! I also have Crystal Palace’s second highest scorer of the season! Milivojevic has 33% of all Palace’s goals this season. In addition to all this, in Ciaran Clark, my side also boasts Newcastle United’s joint third top scorer! So, with that slightly optimist take on how my squad is doing, let’s check in on who they face this gameweek.

You asked for goals.. step forward Tammy Abraham

Ooooh it’s @FantasyYIRMA. A side that was described in @THE_IEFSA recap as a Top 2 side languishing with a 5 - 5 record. A side that is sure to climb the table soon. To make sure this prediction sticks, the biased IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer pits him against my side this weekend. YIRMA has won his last three fixtures after a run of three defeats. Those defeats were to sides that had to post the highest points totals that gameweek in order to get the win. If my side has to have any chance, it looks like they will have to score more points than they have ever scored before!

@FantasyYIRMA’s Team

His side has scored 21 goals, spread across eight players. Top scorer Jamie Vardy has six, and Wayne Rooney has four. If needed, he could also call on Daniel Sturridge in the Forward position. With Rooney missing out on the Europa League game on Wednesday, he should be fresh for the fixture against Watford. It’s then up to @FantasyYIRMA to play Vardy or Sturridge away to Stoke or West Ham respectively. In Midfield most of the goals have come from Tottenham’s Dele Alli, who has contributed three. Mesut Ozil has chipped in with one, and Robbie Brady has only contributed one assist but does average nearly 12 points per game.

FantasyYIRMA has a Vardy party most weeks

His highest scorer though has been his goalkeeper David De Gea. In fact, it was largely thanks to    De Gea in Gameweek 2 that YIRMA managed to get one over my team by a measly five points. The Spaniard averages over twenty points a game and has kept eight clean sheets in ten games. In front of De Gea, @FantasyYIRMA has a back-line that are no strangers to finding the net. Nacho Monreal has two goals this season, as has Jamaal Lascelles. Jonny Evans is the man bringing up the rear at the back, with only one. That came from his only shot on target this season. Evans is probably as deadly as Sergio Aguero, if only Tony Pulis would take the handbrake off his team.

What I Need To Happen

Nick Pope has been on a one-man mission to keep the scores of these matchups respectable of late. Last weekend he scored over 30 points, meaning my side only lost by 20 points to @RotoZdroik. Did I mention my side also got their second highest total of the season in Gameweek 10 too. Things really are looking bleak. If goals are needed, Zlatan Ibrahimovic can’t return soon enough to guide my side to safety. Seeing as this weekend won’t see the return of the Swede, Tammy Abraham will have to be the one who scores the goals that fire my side to victory. The youngster will be up against Brighton at three o’clock on Saturday. The Seagullls against the Swans is one of the highlights of the Premier League and Bird Watching Magazine calendars.

A battle as old as time.... but who will win this weekend?

My side is facing another injury crisis. Micheal Keane is still side-lined for Everton with a foot injury. Renato Sanches is nursing a thigh injury and the game against Brighton is perhaps too soon for him. Ciaran Clark is still waiting on a recall to the Newcastle side, meaning it looks like I will struggle to get three defenders onto the field this weekend. Without a full roster playing, I will just be cannon fodder to the big guns of @FantasyYIRMA, which will delight the Fantrax computer no end!

Predictions

Two predictions wrong last weekend, as ruining the slate were @BenDinnery and (of course) @FantasyYIRMA getting big wins. This weekend in the tie of the round my previous weeks conqueror @RotoZdroik will get the opportunity to upset table toppers @FuzzyWarbles, and a chance to prove he didn’t just raise his game against my side!

Here are this week’s predictions. Good Luck Everyone.

@TRKingston over @EPL_MOstradamus

@FuzzyWarbles over @RotoZdroik

@jwl_15 over @wrigavin

@TAMc10 over @nikarg

@SportsByGotti over @RotoWireAndrew

@cjradune over @SmokeyLoogy

@jasonuk17 over @TomSunderland_

@BenDinnery over @neajthurman

@DFS_Hambazaza over @jforquer11