Week 35: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

An odd week in IEFSA last time out as managers scrambled to get a full set of players playing. My side was one of only eight teams who got nine scoring players earning points. And this was only after the late acquisition of Evandro at Hull because the previous weekends big signing, Tom Huddlestone, found himself on the bench. Evandro only contributed 4.65 points though, so I don’t know why I bothered. Especially since Joe Allen had made a miraculous recovery from injury and plundered 15.6 points away at Swansea. These points were lost to the bench. Allen got more points on his own than the playing trio of Evandro, and the normally more reliable, Arnautovic and Mirallas.

Joe Allen couldn't stop Stoke going down to Swansea last weekend

A low scoring week then, with the total coming to 100.2 points. This was enough to beat @FuzzyWarbles, who was hampered by the omission of Man City players from the gameweek. Steve can feel doubly unlucky, as he would have beaten five other sides with his total of 70 points.

This week could see the title being decided if @RotoZdroik can avoid defeat to @TAMc10. I don’t have time to worry about that though, as the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer has handed me a fixture with @nealjthurman. My side is still in fifth position, but with the right set of results, I could rise up to second with a win.

@nealjthurman’s Team

Neal is out for revenge after I beat his side by a slim 1.25 points in Gameweek 16. I had a Leighton Baines assist to thank for the victory that day, as a few of @nealjthurman’s team didn’t show up. Neal may have a number of players on the missing list this week too. He has four red flags to content with and a few players struggling for gametime with their respective clubs. Of course, one of those players that will be struggling for playing time for a considerable amount of time is Joey Barton. The Burnley midfielder has been handed an eighteen month ban for gambling offences. He placed 1,260 bets over a ten-year period, including 15 on games involving teams he played for at the time. Burnley travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday evening, and someone else will have to fill Barton’s ‘Dafabet’ sponsored jersey for the game. In Neal’s team, that hole will probably be filled by Man Utd’s Ander Herrera, if he can survive the fickle hand of rotation.

What odds @nealjthurman keeping Barton in his squad until next season?

Building from the back is probably @nealjthurman’s best bet this weekend. In goals he will have Ben Foster of West Brom. The Baggies are usually stiff opposition at home, and face a Leicester side who have failed to ignite in front of goals this season. In that game he will also have Christian Fuchs lining out for Leicester. His other two defenders are Ben Gibson of Middlesboro and Andrew Robertson of Hull City. Those players average over 12 and 11 points per game respectively.

What I Need To Happen

Joe Allen is back, so that means Evandro will probably be dropped back to Free Agency (cue a brace against the Saints on Saturday now!) The other Midfield spots looked to be filled by Kevin Mirallas and Luka Milivojevic. I have a few choices up front. Marko Arnautovic missed a penalty last weekend, and surely won’t repeat the trick against West Ham this week, though he’ll probably be taken off spot kick duties. Fabio Borini will more than likely start from the bench for Sunderland again, although he is the last player to score for the Black Cats and might be called on again in a must win game against Bournemouth. Pedro is the other Forward option. The Chelsea man was only a substitute in the last game, but still gained an assist, and will surely get some minutes against Everton on Sunday.

Arnautovic will hope for an improved display at home to West Ham

Trying to stop Pedro doing anything positive will be Defender Leighton Baines. Averaging nearly 15 points a game, the left back will be in direct opposition to the Chelsea Forward in this gameweek. Elsewhere across the defence, we welcomed back Hector Bellerin from injury in midweek. Arsenal have recently changed to a back three though, and we have yet to see how this will impact on the Spaniard averaging over 12 fantasy points per game. Two Burnley players will face Crystal Palace and hopefully keep them from scoring. Keane and Heaton have been some of the more reliable players in my side this season, and will continue to be as long as Sean Dyche’s side don’t decide to head to the beach too early.

Predictions

Only four correct predictions last week as the fixture list really messed up some sides. Not @RotoZdroik though, who rolls on, and as mentioned, only has @TAMc10 standing between him and the title. To keep track of all the action, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. And remember there is a Monday night game this week in the shape of Watford hosting Liverpool, so don't start etching the name on the trophy until then. Anyway, here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone.

@FuzzyWarbles over @nikarg

@TomSunderland_ over @jforquer11

@EPL_MOstradamus over @RotoWireAndrew

@TRKingston over @SmokeyLoogy

@wrigavin over @jasonuk17

@jwl_15 over @FantasyYIRMA

@cjradune over @BenDinnery

@RotoZroik over @TAMc10

@SportsByGotti over @DFS_Hambazaza

Week 33: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

A third loss in a row sees my side drop to fifth in the table. I have the worst form in the top half of the table at just the wrong time of the season. In true premier league manager fashion, I need someone to blame for the latest loss, and unfortunately that someone is my player of the season Joe Allen. The Stoke midfielder went off injured against his old club Liverpool after only gaining a paltry 5.45 points. If he had been replaced in the lineup with the two midfield players that sat on the bench, my side would have picked up the win. Kevin Mirallas had two assists on his way to 31.6 points, while Luka Milivojevic converted a penalty against Arsenal when he scored 22.25 points. I also had to content with @RotoWireAndrew lucking out and getting a third start of the season from Kieran Trippier, who posted a total of 37.55 points. This total is the highest Trippier has ever gotten in Fantrax Fantasy Football. Amazing how the IEFSA/Fantrax Points Computer rates a clean sheet against Watford. For those wondering, Plan B Jack Wilshere scored 13.45 points (his second highest score in over two months). I never said Plan B was a good plan.

Deeney was on the bench and Trippier wasn't? Bizzaro world at White Hart Lane

This week my side is made face @jforquer11. The IEFSA/Fantrax *cough* biased *cough* fixture computer knows that Joel has one of the most inform strikers in his squad at the moment in thirteen goal Joshua King. My highest scorer is seven goal Chelsea man Pedro. If all @jforquer11’s players simply get to their average points total, I will need to score 117 points to beat him this week. That’s a total which my side has failed to achieve sixteen times this season already. Did I mention that I have three midfielders on Injured Reserve too?

@jforquer11’s Team

Joshua King is key to success or failure here. The Bournemouth Forward has scored 10 goals since the turn of the year. None of these goals have been assisted by Jack Wilshere by the way, so I’m going to presume he gets all his chances from defensive mistakes, meaning King puts in lots of work and gains lots of points. In goals he has Stoke keeper Lee Grant. They may have let up two goals last weekend, but this week they face Hull City, who are the lowest scorers away from home in the league with only eight goals so far. He also has Erik Pieters at the back for Stoke, as he looks to double up on the cleansheet.

It wont matter who @jforquer selects if my players can't stop getting injured

Also at the back he has West Ham’s new signing Jose Fonte. He hasn’t had the brightest start to life with the Hammers, but this weekend gets to play against Sunderland, which is pretty much a gimme these days. Filling out @jforquer11’s backline is Man Utd’s Daley Blind. The Dutchman averages a little under 16 points per game, and on Sunday faces Chelsea at home. Two players in Midfield will be playing for Josh on Monday night. Marten de Roon of Middlesbrough and Alex Iwobi of Arsenal. If I’m not 25 points clear at that stage, (if I’m in the lead at all!) my side will be in big trouble.

What I Need To Happen

Hull City need to improve on their average of half a goal a game away from home against Stoke. When pressing for those goals, if they could let Marko Arnautovic sneak in at the other end for a goal or two, that would be great. Kevin Mirallas must surely be certain of a start for Everton. But who knows the mind of Ronald Koeman. Unfortunately, if he does start, and score, he will be taking points from my goalkeeper, Burnley’s Tom Heaton. I also have two Burnley and Everton defenders in Michael Keane and Leighton Baines, so this will be an interesting match. Hopefully they will keep each other busy and rack up the points.

I feel Moyes' struggle in getting the best out of Fabio Borini

With three midfielders injured now in Allen, Winks and Cazorla, it looks like I will have no choice but to start Jack Wilshere. But there is an upside. Bournemouth are playing Spurs, and the Arsenal man will be doubly determined to score. He is a due a goal after all. Perhaps he has been saving it for this game. Some of my other players will be playing against each other on Sunday too. Pedro travels with his Chelsea teammates to Old Trafford to face Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Neither of these two players are assured of ninety minutes though, so I might have to fall back on Plan… ummm… C. That would be… aaah… Fabio Borini…

Predictions

Six correct predictions last Gameweek as the league tightened up again. Nine points separate second from tenth. @RotoZdroik is still 12 points clear at the top and faces a stiff test against @BenDinnery this week. That’s not the tie of the round though, which is probably the fixture between @TRKingston in third and seventh placed @TAMc10 who is six points behind him. Don’t forget to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to see how my side is being screwed… every one of the matchups is panning out. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone.

@FuzzyWarbles over @RotoWireAndrew

@Smokey_Loogy over @nealjthurman

@nikarg over @wrigavin

@FantasyYIRMA over @TomSunderland_

@EPL_MOstradamus over @cjradune

@TRKingston over @TAMc10

@SportsByGotti over @jasonuk17

@jwl_15 over @DFS_Hambazaza

@RotoZdroik over @BenDinnery

Week 31: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

The instant Harry Winks went tumbling over the sideline during the Spurs v Burnley game never to return, I knew my chances of victory against @wrigavin were sunk. What made the defeat an ever more bitter pill to swallow, was that helping Gavin to a 13 point victory was dabber extraordinaire Jesse Lingard. A player I had discarded because he seemed so far down the Man Utd pecking order as to become fantasy irrelevant. But thanks to a combination of (list gleamed from Mourinho press conferences), injuries, an unfair fixture list, the international break, Russian hackers, and the earth`s rotation around the sun, Lingard found himself starting at the weekend against West Brom, and duly went huffing and puffing his way to over twenty fantasy points.

Winks injury jinx sinks fantasy hopes methinks.

Winks was brought in after patience had finally ran out with the fortunes of Ibrahim Afellay. The Stoke City player was not in the starting lineup once again for the Potters trip to Leicester City, and in the end was never even summoned from the bench in a two nil defeat. With Kevin Mirallas not starting for Everton, my two other Stoke players woefully out of form (but at east playing games), Luka Milivojevic restricted on possession in a game against Chelsea, and Jack Wilshere being Jack Wilshere. I really needed to bolster my Midfield. Unfortunately with this injury, it looks like I’ll have to head back to the drawing board for the upcoming midweek fixtures. Fixtures where the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer pits my side against against @Smokey_Loogy. The fixture computer knows full well that @Smokey_Loogy would have beaten my side in Gameweek 30, even when using only eight players because his top scorer didn’t see any minutes!

@Smokey_Loogy`s Team

His top scorer is Troy Deeney. The Watford captain missed out at the weekend because of illness, but in truth, wasn`t really needed in a routine home win against Sunderland. Another home game, this time against West Brom should see the striker get a chance to add to his goal tally. @Smokey_Loogy could substitute in Divock Origi to his front line if needed though. The Liverpool player smashed in a goal a short time after coming on in the Merseyside derby for the injured Sadio Mane. If Mane does indeed miss time because of that injury, Origi could well be the player to take his place in Klopp`s side.

Mahrez coming into form when he faces my side. Coincidence?

@Smokey_Loogy`s other players to impress at the weekend were, Jordan Pickford of Sunderland, and his duo of Leicester players, Danny Simpson and Riyad Mahrez. Pickford picked up over twenty points despite conceding a goal, this is largely thanks to standing behind one of the poorest defences in the league. He`ll get another chance to rack up the save points when the Black Cats travel down to play Leicester City. Knowing my luck, all the shots that Pickford will face will be from Simpson and Mahrez.

What I Need To Happen

That dreaded word `rotation` will get bandied about this gameweek, as managers take on the thankless task of picking a team three days, sometimes four days, after having previously played a game. Squads will be stretched to breaking point. Unfortunately the rumours that Sunderland were playing someone who won a competition on the back of a cereal box in midfield, turned out to be a cruel April fool’s day joke. Or it actually turned out to be Darron Gibson, I’m not quite sure. With rotation in mind, I’ll hope that most of my players get rotated in, while @Smokey_Loogy has the headache of players being rotated out.

Koeman wants to run through the whole youth squad before starting Mirallas.

Seven of my players will be playing on Tuesday night, all involved in two games. Manchester United are at home to Everton, and fingers crossed, Mirallas, Baines and Mkhitaryan will be starters. In the Burnley game against Stoke, my Goalkeeper (Heaton) and Defender (Keane) will face off against my own Midfielder (Allen) and Forward (Arnautovic). Best case scenario here is probably a highly entertaining nil all draw, or narrow Burnley victory.

Predictions

@RotoZdroik stretched his lead at the top to 12 points, and he will be tested again this week when he faces fifth placed @EPL_MOstradamus. Last weekend saw seven correct predictions out of nine. As always, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to keep up with the winners and losers of each match-up. Here are the predictions for midweek.

Good Luck Everyone.

@wrigavin over @RotoWireAndrew

@FantasyYIRMA over @jforquer11

@FuzzyWarbles over @cjradune

@TAMc10 over @nealjthurman

@nikarg over @SportsByGotti

@TomSunderland_ over @DFS_Hambazaza

@RotoZdroik over @EPL_MOstradamus

@TRKingston over @BenDinnery

@jwl_15 over @jasonuk17

Week 30: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

Finally, the international break is over and we can get back to the nitty gritty of league football. What seems like an eternity without fantasy football will come to an end with Liverpool facing Everton at Saturday lunchtime. My side won a nineteenth game of the season in the last gameweek, thanks largely to another clean sheet from Tom Heaton. That win keeps my side in second place, nine points behind @RotoZdroik.

Tom Heaton is the only goalkeeper with over 100 saves this season

This week the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer gives me a change to get revenge on a two-point loss from Gameweek 12. That painful loss was inflicted by @wrigavin. Gavin is on a run of three losses which has seen him drop down the table to ninth place. He knows a win, coupled with the right set of results, could move him into fourth though.

@wrigavin’s Team

@wrigavin has only one red flagged injury, but unfortunately for him it is to his most valuable player. Harry Kane has more goals than the rest of Gavin’s squad put together. Now without the Spurs forward, he will have to rely on Alvaro Negredo for goals. Normally this would be a pretty vain hope, but with Middlesbrough sacking their manager, perhaps they can start scoring goals off the back of that new manager bounce. Negredo heads to the worst defence in the league on Sunday, Swansea. The next top scorer on the team is his Defender Craig Dawson. The West Brom player will get a change to add to his three goals this season at Old Trafford on Saturday.

It was only Arsenal right? We can't read too much into this??

Gavin has made a few changes to his squad since the turn of the year. He overhauled his Midfield with the signings of Robbie Brady (Burnley), Lazar Markovic (Hull), and Luciano Narsingh (Swansea). All three have yet to cement places in their respective sides, but in only nine starts between them, they have contributed a goal and three assists. At the back he has added Bryan Oviedo. The Costa Rican defender joined Sunderland from Everton in January and averages over twelve and a half points per game.

What I Need To Happen

Tom Heaton will not have to face Harry Kane, but will have to contend with the rest of a potent Spurs attack. If not a clean sheet, then hopefully many save points will be coming his way. Michael Keane at the back will also be kept busy in the same game and should reach his thirteen point average. In Midfield, it would really help my side if Henrikh Mkhitaryan got back into the Manchester United starting lineup for the visit of West Brom. Scoring a goal would also take points off Craig Dawson. Elsewhere across the middle of the park; Jack Wilshere is slowly recovering from an injury, yet may get more minutes for Bournemouth this weekend; Ibrahim Afellay travels to the champions Leicester City but it would be a surprise if he gets into the Stoke first team.

If I had any hair it would have went white waiting for Borini to score too.

I may be reaching a bit, but it’s April now and Sunderland a running out of time to start trying to stay in the division. With that in mind, someone is going to need to help Defoe score goals, and that someone may as well be Fabio Borini! Failing that, I may have to fall back on Chelsea’s Pedro. He has a game at home to Crystal Palace come three o’clock on Saturday. If Borini and Pedro draw blanks, all my eggs will be in the Kevin Mirallas basket. Everton have a shockingly bad record against Liverpool recently though, so I’m not going to expect too many points from either Mirallas or defender Leighton Baines.

Predictions

Six from nine last time out. Lots of close games keep the league table nice and tight. Only six points separate the team in third from the team in eleventh. The big match-up this gameweek pits leader @RotoZdroik against fifth place @nikarg. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone. Also go follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter.

@FantasyYIRMA over @SmokeyLoogy

@RotoWireAndrew over @cjradune

@TAMc10 over @jforquer11

@FuzzyWarbles over @SportsByGotti

@nealjthurman over @DFS_Hambazaza

@RotoZdroik over @nikarg

@BenDinnery over @TomSunderland_

@EPL_MOStradamus over @jwl_15

@TRKingston over @jasonuk17

Week 29: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

Kevin Mirallas helped seal a victory against @cjradune with a goal against West Brom. Both our sides were missing players thanks to the F.A. Cup games, but C.J. was really set back when Raheem Sterling was rested. In the end I managed to field eight players to his five and win by over 18 points. That victory keeps my side in second place, nine points off leader @RotoZdroik.

Mirallas with a.... wait.... why is Morgan Schneiderlin wearing number 2??

This week the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer has decided that I need to face a side that has won four games on the trot. A team with a host of star players who all seem to be hitting form going into the last few months of the season. A team that is out for revenge after our match-up in Gameweek 10 saw my team triumph in a week where he would have beaten every other side in the league. That team, @FantasyYIRMA.

@FantasyYIRMA’s Team

Recent surgery to his side has seen @FantasyYIRMA acquire Jamie Vardy and Vincent Janssen in the Forward position. Vardy has rediscovered his scoring boots in Leicester City’s upturn in results, which has seen them get to the Champions League quarter finals. The Janssen pickup is probably due to the fact that Spurs will be without Harry Kane for a run of fixtures, and by the law of averages, they have to play someone up front. He could also call on Wayne Rooney in a pinch if the England captain is fit to return against Middlesbrough on Sunday. Rooney has five goals against Middlesbrough in his career to date.

Will Janssen start on the pitch or on the bench? Will we notice??

@FantasyYIRMA probably has one of the best Midfield trios in IEFSA at the moment, and they all have favourable fixtures this weekend. Juan Mata scored midweek in the Europa League. Dele Alli is YIRMA’s top scorer with 13 goals. Mesut Ozil of Arsenal will face a West Brom team that appears to have already booked their summer holidays, and are simply packing the bucket and spade for the beach at the moment. At the back all his defenders have home ties. Ashley Williams faces Hull City. Winston Reid gets to tackle Vardy and Leicester City. While Jonny Evans will have the headache of Ozil and Arsenal.

What I Need To Happen

Thankfully a number of @FantasyYIRMA’s players will face each other at the weekend and will hopefully take points off each other. His Goalkeeper will more than likely be Simon Mignolet for Liverpool, who play Man City away on Sunday. Mignolet has only four clean sheets this season and will be doing well to keep out City. Although City were held scoreless by Stoke City in their last home Premier League game. Trying to outscore YIRMA’s Midfield this week will be difficult. Joe Allen has a tough game against Chelsea. Jack Wilshere has found himself on the bench at Bournemouth of late. Ibrahim Afellay has still to break into the Stoke side. While Kevin Mirallas is always a 50-50 chance to start for Everton. The one bright spot could be the return from injury of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who may need to be the main play-maker for Man Utd this week.

A few players have injury red flags to worry about too. Leighton Baines went off at halftime in Everton’s last game. Marko Arnautovic missed Stoke City’s game against Man City, but is due to return against Chelsea. Speaking of Chelsea, Pedro could be a doubt to start again (isn’t he always), the Spaniard hasn’t completed the full ninety minutes in the league since January fourth. If Pedro does miss out, he could be replaced by Cesc Fabregas, who is currently sitting on @FantasyYIRMA’s bench, waiting to pounce.

Predictions

Seven from nine last time out, with leader@RotoZdroik scoring the highest total of the week. First plays third in the clash of the round this time out, as @FuzzyWarbles will be trying to cut into @RotoZdroik’s lead. To keep tabs on the action, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone.

@wrigavin over @cjradune

@TAMc10 over @SmokeyLoogy

@SportsByGotti ovr @RotoWireAndrew

@jforquer11 over @DFS_Hambazaza

@RotoZdroik over @FuzzyWarbles

@nealjthurman over @BenDinnery

@nikarg over @jwl_15

@TomSunderland_ over @jasonuk17

@EPL_MOstradamus over @TRKingston

Week 28: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

Okay, okay. I’ll hold my hand up! I got the bench players wrong last gameweek. You see, it’s not only Arsene Wenger who struggles to put his best starting eleven out onto the pitch. I took a chance that Jack Wilshere would get more points off the bench against Manchester United, than both Ibrahim Afellay and Kevin Mirallas. I was convinced our Jack would get a decent twenty minutes chasing a huffing and puffing Man U. Instead, Bournemouth went down to ten men and dug in, while Wilshere never left the bench. I was sure Mirallas would only scrape together a few points away at Spurs. He got an assist. Because of these miscalculations, I lost to @TAMc10 by three and a half points.

I'm sure Bournemouth's terrible run ending when Wilshere was absent was just coincidence

No time to dwell on that loss though, as Gameweek 28 starts midweek with the fixture of Manchester City at home to Stoke City. Also, because of the FA Cup next weekend, there will be only a further four fixtures in which to score points. This means it will be difficult for IEFSA managers to get out a full squad of starters. This week the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer throws up a match-up with @cjradune, and of course he can call on three of his top four average scoring players, while my side on the other hand, will only have Joe Allen from my top three average scorers.

@cjradune’s Team

Raheem Sterling averages nearly 17 points per game and is C.J.’s top scorer with six goals. Sterling has also added five assists. His highest scoring fantasy player is Everton’s Ross Barkley. He averages over 18 points a game and has chipped in with four goals and six assists so far this season. His third high scoring player for this week is in Defence. Nathaniel Clyne of Liverpool averages over 15 points per game. And to help confirm the ‘hidden’ bias against my team, all of these players have very winnable home games this week.

Raheem Sterling should probably be rested with the Champions League next week, right?

If the six players @cjradune has this week, start and hit their averages, I will need my side to score 85 points in order to win. But will I have enough players to be able to achieve this?

What I Need To Happen

Top scorer Pedro doesn’t have a fixture this weekend. Arsenal are another team on FA Cup duty, meaning Bellerin will also be absent. New signing Luka Milivojevic has had a pretty respectable start to life at Crystal Palace, but no game for them this week, means he’ll sit on the bench here. Fabio Borini is another with no game to play, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

Of those who can start, the three players who gave me such a headache in Gameweek 27 will all probably still occupy their sides respective subs list. Wilshere, Mirallas and Afellay could benefit from rotation, but when combined they only got 29 minutes last weekend, so I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Two fairly consistent performers from Stoke will get the gameweek underway on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, that game is away to Man City, and Arnautovic will be subject to a late fitness test, leaving Joe Allen to carry my side’s workload. Not for the first time!

Predictions

There are going to be lots of interesting match-ups this week because teams will be so shorthanded, so make sure you are following @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. @RotoZdroik has extended his lead at the top to nine points, and will be tough to catch this week because he has a full playing squad to choose from.

Last week saw six correct and three incorrect predictions. Will less teams playing mean the match-ups are easier to call this time around?

Good Luck Everyone

@FantasyYIRMA over @TAMc10

@SportsByGotti over @wrigavin

@SmokeyLoogy over @DFS_Hambazaza

@RotoZdroik over @RotoWireAndrew

@BenDinnery over @jforquer11

@FuzzyWarbles over @jwl_15

@nealjthurman over @jasonuk17

@nikarg over @TRKingston

@EPL_MOstradamus over @TomSunderland_

Week 18: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

The Fantasy Footballing Gods came down hard on my team last gameweek in my loss to @nikarg, and they show no sign of letting up as we head into the Christmas fixtures and @THE_IEFSA and Fantrax’s clearly biased fixtures computer has me facing a resurgent @TomSunderland_. I would have beaten eleven other sides in Gameweek 17, but @nikarg’s third highest score of the week helped by an Ibrahimovic brace totally blew my side out of the water. That result put me down to ninth, with the only consolation being that most of the sides at the top of the table came unstuck too, resulting in only six points now separating second from fifteenth. With everyone in close proximity to one another a win over this festive season is even more vital. But to do this I’ll have to see off @TomSunderland_’s side, whose star players are slowly coming back from injury and into form.

I've never seen Santa and Zlatan in the same room together. Just saying...

@TomSunderland_’s Team

Philippe Coutinho might still be side-lined for Liverpool, but Tom did welcome back Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez recently with two goals away at Bournemouth. This should sort out his Forward position as his other two players eligible for that slot, Martial and Stuani, have only managed to start seven games each this season. In Midfield he could also welcome back another player from injury this week in the shape of Leicester City’s Danny Drinkwater, and when the midfielder plays he averages nearly 17 points a game. The remaining Midfield spots will more than likely be taken up by a combination of Spurs and Saints players; two teams who face each other in the Wednesday night kickoff. Sissoko of Tottenham, with Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg of Southampton making up a formidable trio if Tom needs his team to get back in the tie come Wednesday evening.

@TomSunderland_ will be wearing his Southampton Christmas jumper this week

He may not even need them though, as he has three of the most in form Defenders in the game making up his backline. Marcos Alonso averages 18 points per game and has been collecting clean sheets for fun at Chelsea recently. While, both Seamus Coleman and Patrick van Aanholt have been racking up to points thanks to their goal scoring exploits, despite playing in two teams struggling to find form. In goals he will rely on Leicester stopper Kasper Schmeichel. The Dane has only two clean sheets in nine starts, but does welcome an out of sorts Everton side at three o’clock on Boxing Day.

What I Need To Happen

That old adage that goals win games means I’ll be hoping that Tottenham can find a way to stop Rodriguez from finding the back of the net again this week. With potentially three Saints players in Tom’s side, a nice boring, but with lots of yellow cards, nil all draw, would do very nicely. Speaking of goals, if my players could find some in the fixture between Leicester and Everton, that would be great. At the back, hopefully the ball ends up at Leighton Baines’ side of the pitch rather than Coleman’s. If Kevin Mirallas could find a way to place the ball in the net that would be great; yet if he could find a way into the Everton starting eleven first that would be a bonus.

I do have a dilemma up front as Pedro did not start last time out for Chelsea, while Arnautovic is still out through suspension. Should I bring back in Fabio Borini, what with Sunderland making a daunting trip to Old Trafford? And if I do, that surely spells the end for Claudio Yacob. But can I afford the jettison the West Brom man when I’m unsure of the chances of a starting spot for Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Mirallas, Wilshere, etc? Regardless of who starts, it looks like I will have to fall back on Joe Allen to dig my side out of whatever hole they have dug for themselves. The Stoke City midfielder heads back to Liverpool on Tuesday with a point or two to prove, and will hopefully pick up about forty fantasy points in the process.

Predictions

Five correct and four dead wrong predictions last Gameweek. Getting more right than wrong is a positive I guess, and I’ll aim to end the year on a high with a clean sweep of correct predictions. Here goes! Remember to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to keep track of the ups and down of each match-up.

Good Luck Everyone, Plus, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

@EPL_MOstradamus over @nikarg

@TRKingston over @nealjthurman

@FuzzyWarbles over @jasonuk17

@jwl_15 over @jforquer11

@RotoWireAndrew over @BenDinnery

@RotoZdroik over @SmokeyLoogy

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