Week 22: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview 2017/18

Another Win! And finally, my side is actually off the bottom of the table! @FantasyYIRMA had a week to forget as some of his new signings failed to come alive (Mangala, Sturridge), while a goal from Milivojevic and six saves from Nick Pope was enough to see my side over the line. In an effort to scrape enough points and in order to give my team a chance at victory, Tammy Abraham was sent to Free Agency after he failed to start another game for Swansea. Dan Gosling of Bournemouth was brought in, and he contributed an acceptable 9.8 points. Gosling may have to be offloaded this week though as I try my best to get eight players onto the pitch. My side might be off the bottom, but they are lagging well behind in fantasy points scored, if I’m tied on wins at the end of the season with someone, I’ll be in big trouble. I need to try and address this imbalance.

Every game is a relegation six pointer now it seems

Abraham might have been one of my top scorers this season, but I had run out of patience with the striker, as I can’t afford to have too many players who are not guaranteed starters in my squad. My impatience is @FuzzyWarbles gain though, as he picked up Abraham midweek for a paltry $5. He was not the only big mover midweek, as a number of teams picked up players on big fees. @TAMc10 put $100 down on Lucas Moura of Spurs. @BenDinnery hopes the $19 spend on Alex Sorloth at Crystal Palace will help fire him to promotion. @TomSunderland_ spent his money on Joao Mario of West Ham, Defender Laporte of Manchester City, and Guido Carillo who now plays with Southampton. $68 for all these players could well be a bargain. The big money though was splashed by @cjradune. In order to secure the services of Arsenal new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang he bid $176. My opponent this week is @jwl_15, and he invested his budget on Gerard Deulofeu at Watford. Spending $25 to claim him for the remainder of the season. I refused to get drawn into any transfer bidding shenanigans after being left with a terrible squad beset with injuries and woeful form after the last signing window. A philosophy of scouting the dregs no one else is interested in, is how my side will play out the next few weeks.

@jwl_15’s Team

Deulofeu will slot straight into the Forward position for Jake. If needed he could put in Brighton’s Jose Izquierdo, who has three league goals this season (none of which were scored when he was in my squad by the way). In Midfield is where @jwl_15 gets most of his points. N’Golo Kante tips along with nearly 15 points per game. His two Arsenal players have been in fine form recently. Aaron Ramsey has six goals and six assists on the season, while his new teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan has eight assists, three of which came last week. Both of these players face a tricky trip to Wembley to face Tottenham in the early Saturday kick off this week.

Deulofeu could worm his way into the Spain World Cup squad

In goals is Swansea’s Lukasz Fabianski. Since the appointment of Carlos Carvalhal, things have been looking up at the Liberty Stadium. The Swans have not lost in eight games in all competitions. They may only have gotten two clean sheets in that time, but Fabianski has been racking up the saves. 99 on the season so far. Now if Carvalhal would only find a place for Renato Sanches…

What I Need To Happen

This tie could go one of two ways as early as the first game of the weekend, which as mentioned is the game between Tottenham and Arsenal. If Ramsey and Mkhitaryan inspire a Gunners victory, it could be a long couple of days for my side. If on the other side of the coin Serge Aurier starts and Spurs keep a clean sheet, I could try and ride out the upper hand that gives me.

I'll be heading to bed early if Ramsey and Mkhitaryan are on song this weekend

Unfortunately, it looks like I will have five injured players this week and not a lot of room to move people around in order to get the magic eight starters playing. As I alluded to before, Gosling could be sacrificed for a Defender or a Forward if need be.  If Dan is to keep his place, I’ll need to see starts from players like Tom Ince, Marcos Rojo, Ayoze Perez and Victor Lindelof. But I wouldn’t be holding my breath on too many of those.

Predictions

A poor five correct from nine last week, in what was a surprisingly low scoring round overall. My opponents this week, @jwl_15 were the highest scorers of course, hence why the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer ‘threw’ us together. The big game this gameweek is the clash of the top two in @TRKingston and @FuzzyWarbles. To follow all the transfers, scores, and general mayhem in the league, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone

@RotoZdroik over @EPL_MOstradamus

@TRKingston over @FuzzyWarbles

@TAMc10 over @FantasyYIRMA

@wrigavin over @nikarg

@BenDinnery over @SportsByGotti

@cjradune over @TomSunderland_

@jasonuk17 over @RotoWireAndrew

@jforquer11 over @FPL_MNOP

@DFS_Hambazaza over @nealjthurman

IEFSA Fantasy League Cup Semi-Finals Preview

An expected loss to @TRKingston in the IEFSA Premier to round off 2017. It was perhaps closer than the 40-point loss indicates, and would have definitely been closer if Luka Milivojevic had converted his injury time penalty ending Manchester City’s unbeaten run. Todd had the highest score of the week and is still six points clear at the top of the table. My side on the other hand continue to sit on the bottom with half of the season gone. Star man Ibrahimovic also got himself injured and will be sent to the Injured Reserves. The second half of the season looks like it will be a tough slog to get players on the pitch every week, never mind getting the points needed to achieve safety.

If it wasn't for bad luck...

But let’s park all that negativity to one side for a few days as we dip back into our glorious cup run. We are at the semi-final stage now after putting @FantasyYIRMA to the sword last midweek. Hopefully my players can raise their game for one more herculean effort and give all their fans (fan?) something to cheer to start the new year. So, who has the IEFSA/Fantrax cup drawing machine pulled out of the hat for us this time?...

… @TRKingston…

OH!..............oh….

Of all the hot and cold balls rigged pre-recorded cup draws, this surely takes the biscuit. Unbelievable! The book of evidence of IEFSA/Fantrax bias against my side gets a little thicker.

@TRKingston’s Team

I’m pretty sure he has got the same side as two days ago. Only now he can call on in-form Marko Arnautovic. Even all of his players seem to be fully fit again, apart from Victor Wanyama, who has only featured in two games this season anyway. My only hope is that, because he had so many players figure prominently so recently, perhaps a few of them will be rested this time out.

Arnautovic has five goals in his last five games

What I Need To Happen

Rotation is probably more of a danger to my players though. And unluckily for me five of my squad don’t have a game until Tuesday. Do I leave a slot open in case Serge Aurier or Renato Sanches start for their sides? Joe Allen is one player who seems sure to start though. He was missing from the starting line-up in Stoke City’s last game as Mark Hughes used the full strength of his squad when getting hammered away to Chelsea. A home fixture against Newcastle is far more enticing, especially from a fantasy points perspective. Newcastle have only two wins and 10 goals away from home all season.

Someone pass Tom Ince the ball so he can get some points

Tom Ince is also one who could be in line for more minutes after he was substituted with only 55 minutes gone against Burnley on Saturday. Was he brought off with the coming game against Leicester in mind? In those 55 minutes he gained my team 1.8 points. I’m not sure what he did in those 55 minutes, as you pretty much get 1.8 points for togging out.

Predictions

We have already established that if my side was to win this week it would be a cup shock to rival Sutton beating Coventry or Wrexham beating Arsenal in the FA Cup; but let’s look at the other fixtures and see if we can predict the winners.

Who will get to lift the IEFSA Cup Trophy?

@nikarg vs @EPL_MOstradamus

Two teams in the bottom half of the IEFSA Premier meet, hoping to kick-start a run of form to climb the table. @EPL_MOstradamus has two victories over @nikarg already this season and I expect him to make it three from three here. His forward line of Firmino, Depoitre, Benteke and Son, is just too strong at the moment.

@RotoZdroik vs @jforquer11

Third in the Premier plays third in the Championship in this tie. @jforquer11 might have two more wins in the lower division but @RotoZdroik has scored 275 more fantasy points. @RotoZdroik will be missing Romelu Lukaku for this game, but I think he will have too much for his opponent, who has a side struggling with a number of injures and players in danger of being rested.

@FuzzyWarbles vs @wrigavin

Second plays sixth in the Premier, with @wrigavin on a horrible slump that has seen him drop his last five league games. He will also be sweating on the fitness of Harry Kane. Even if the Tottenham striker plays against Swansea, I don’t envisage it being enough against the players at @FuzzyWarbles disposal this week. Aguero and Mane have two winnable fixtures with their sides, and if they start, you would fancy them to score.

Normal league action will be back in a few days. Until them, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. Happy New Year and good luck everyone.

Week 2: IEFSA Fantasy League 2017/18 Preview

Gameweek 1 was nothing short of a disaster. Joe Allen had a below par performance. Luka Milivojevic was hauled off at halftime. Big signings Lindelof and Gayle didn’t contribute any points. And finally Jonjo Shelvey got sent off for Newcastle on the way to a suspension and minus two points. The one upside was the performance of Michael Keane, who in his debut performance for Everton picked up a clean sheet and 24.1 points. @nikarg barely had to break into a sweat as he took all three points in our match-up.

There was good and bad on both sides, but Shelvey sees red #unfair

But don’t worry fans as there is a ray of hope on the horizon, in the shape of Gareth Barry. The 36 year old midfielder has recently signed for West Brom and will be playing in his 21^st Premier League season. The Baggies usually play with around six midfielders so surely he will get some minutes under Tony Pulis. Barry can also play at centre back if needed. I will probably need Barry to go straight into my side this week as the IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer sees fit to pit my team against @FantasyYIRMA. Only four teams outscored YIRMA last weekend, unfortunately for him though, he was in a match-up with one of them. He will be determined to get his season underway with his first win.

@FantasyYIRMA`s Team

All bar one of his players scored double figures last weekend. He even had two goal Steve Mounie resting on the bench (his inclusion wouldn’t have altered the result). He also had two goals from Jamie Vardy and one from Wayne Rooney. His forward line has hit the ground running this season it seems. In Midfield Dele Alli earned over 20 points and Mesut Ozil over 15. Top this off with a David De Gea clean sheet and he can be very happy with his opening weekend performances, if not with the final result.

Mounie can't possibly score another brace can he??

Gameweek 2 will see his squad face some favourable fixtures. Vardy and Leicester City will host new boys Brighton on Saturday. Ozil will get to display his silky skills against the plethora of Champions League winning stars that currently ply their trade at Stoke City. Mounie continues his chase for the golden boot against Newcastle on Sunday; and Wayne Rooney gets a chance to add to the 11 goals he has scored against Manchester City in his career to date, when Everton head to the Etihad Stadium on Monday. @FantasyYIRMA will have a choice to make though, as he can only play two from Mounie, Vardy and Rooney. But that’s why YIRMA is paid the big bucks!

What I Need To Happen

A lot of my players could well find themselves facing off against those starting for @FantasyYIRMA. Joe Allen (the best player not to win the Champions League?) will be tasked with shackling Ozil and also causing problems for YIRMA`s defender Nacho Monreal. Summer signing Tom Ince of Huddersfield can hopefully have more luck this weekend when he comes up against Newcastle United and defender Jamaal Lascelles. In another game of attack versus defence, that will help determine the winner of our match-up; will see David De Gea face Tammy Abraham of Swansea. Abraham will hope to get his first goal for his new club after scoring 26 goals in all competitions for Bristol City last season.

West Brom love an aging star in the heart of midfield

Jonjo Shelvey being suspended until September will leave my Midfield relatively thin. Allen and Ince seem assured of starting places. Milivojevic will hopefully keep his place in the Crystal Palace midfield as they hope to bounce back from a poor opening result. West Brom might pick an unchanged eleven for their trip to Burnley meaning Barry will have to be content with a place on the bench. Of the five defenders in my squad, three of them didn’t play last weekend. The best chance of getting three players on the pitch is probably Jose Fonte of West Ham breaking into the team. With the Hammers shipping four goals at Old Trafford, if he can`t break into that backline soon, he won`t get in there all season.

Predictions

A solid start of five correct and four incorrect last time out. This week will hopefully go a bit better. To keep track of all the scores this weekend don’t forget to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. The big clash this weekend will see the top two scorers from last week going head to head. @FuzzyWarbles (171) and @RotoZdroik (182) is also a clash of Aguero v Lukaku.

@DFS_Hambazaza over @jforquer11

@jasonuk17 over @TomSunderlad_

@BenDinneryover @nealjthurman

@SmokeyLoogy over @cjradune

@RotoWireAndrew over @SportsByGotti

@jwl_15 over @wrigavin

@nikarg over @TAMc10

@TRKingston over @EPL_MOstadamus

@RotoZdroik over @FuzzyWarbles

Week 36: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

A touch of drama last gameweek as the ever eventful IEFSA/Fantrax points compiler decided to reset most teams’ rosters on Sunday. For some sides this was probably an improvement! But after all the dust had settled, come Monday night my side had earned the victory. But because of other results I am still left in fifth position battling it out for a top four spot. Another significant result saw @RotoZdroik take home the title after a Sigurdsson freekick and a Jakupovic penalty save was enough to win a high scoring match-up with @TAMc10.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand...... Sunderland are relegated 

This week the fixture computer doesn’t let my side have an easy ride. My side has to face sixth place @nikarg. Nik beat my side by nearly thirty points back in Gameweek 17. He won’t have an Ibrahimovic brace to fall back on this week though. But he still has players who can do a lot of damage. Hopefully it will be a closer contest.

@nikarg’s Team

Nik needs to win his last three games to have a chance to break into the top four and take home the coveted Fourth Place Trophy. He will have to do so without Zlatan, so he will have to fall back on his next two biggest signings. Christian Eriksen and Georginio Wijnaldum play in Midfield and cost $49 and $26 respectively. Eriksen averages 25.76 points per game and will need to be in top form away at West Ham on Friday night in order to keep Tottenham’s title hopes alive. Wijnaldum averages ‘only’ 14.59 points and can surely earn a similar amount as Liverpool chase a Champions League spot in a game at home to Southampton on Sunday.

Erikson helps cancel St Totteringham's Day 2017

If these two fail to shine then perhaps @nikarg will fall back on two players who cost the minimum of $1. Ashley Barnes has been filling Zlatans boots for Nik in the Forward position. Burnley have a favourable fixture at home to West Brom on Saturday, where Barnes will get a change to add to his six goals this season. Crystal Palace travel to play Manchester City and Andros Townsend will be trying to get the Eagles enough points to avoid relegation. Man City have not been on top form lately and are vulnerable to giving up the odd goal or two. Townsend averages over 15 points a game too.

What I Need To Happen

Most of my team is playing away from home this weekend, and most of them still have something to play for. The question is though, will some of these players be playing at all? My back three has remained unchanged for a number of weeks now, but with Michael Keane a doubt for Burnley’s game against West Brom, that means Hector Bellerin could well be called from the bench. The problem there is, that Bellerin has found himself frozen out of the Arsenal first eleven ever since he came back from injury and Arsene Wenger invented something called the back three.

Sunderland and Bournemouth were charged with not controlling their players. Although, when was the last time Sunderland controlled their players in any meaningful fashion?

On the attacking front, things are not looking too good. Battling relegation did not seem to bring the best out of Fabio Borini, so now that Sunderland are actually relegated, maybe the Italian will cut loose. Or more likely, with relegation confirmed, David Moyes will cut Borini loose and play Joshua Erowoli Orisunmihare Oluwaseun Maja up front. Henrik Mkhitaryan played for Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday night. He was subbed off with over ten minutes to go. He should be in United’s plans for their game against Arsenal, but more because of all the injuries the Red Devils must deal with, rather than any undroppable form he finds himself in.

Predictions

Six correct and three incorrect predictions last weekend. @RotoZdroik will be doing his victory lap against @FantasyYIRMA this weekend. Other interesting games at the top of the table include, @FuzzyWarbles (4^th) facing @EPL_MOstradamus (3^rd), and @SportsByGotti against @TAMc10 with a place in the top half at stake. Remember to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter as we come to the business end of the season. Here are this week’s predictions.

Good Luck Everyone

@nealjthurman over @TomSunderland_

@EPL_MOstradamus over @FuzzyWarbles

@TRKingston over @jforquer11

@RotoWireAndrew over @jasonuk17

@jwl_15 over @SmokeyLoogy

@wrigavin over @BenDinnery

@RotoZdroik over @FantasyYIRMA

@cjradune over @DFS_Hambazaza

@TAMc10 over @SportsByGotti

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 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

@wrigavin over @DFS_hambazaza

@SportsByGotti over @FantasyYIRMA

@cjradune over @TAMc10

Week 15: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

A return to winning ways sees my side move up the table to sixth. It wasn’t a vintage performance by any means as I struggled to 109.5 points. It was a pair of defenders getting on the scoresheet that turned the tie in my favour over @jforquer11. Leighton Baines and Steve Cook left it late to score equalizers for their teams on Sunday, and the twenty plus points they each scored was better than what Pedro, Wilshere and Yacob put together managed for my side.

Baines slots home his penalty with ease

And with this victory, what has the IEFSA Fantrax fixture computer saw fit to do this week? Why it’s decided that I should play the highest scoring team in the league, because it doesn’t want me winning too much. That high scoring side belongs to @FuzzyWarbles. If our sides had met every week this season he would have ten wins to my four. So once again I’m up against it. There is one green shoot of hope though, as @FuzzyWarbles will be missing his top goal scorer Sergio Aguero through suspension. But even this doesn’t help much, as even without those ten goals, his side have outscored mine 21 goals to 15 after fourteen weeks of the season.

@FuzzyWarbles Team

Aguero will miss the first of four games this week. Steve has a number of choices in who will deputise for the Argentinian. He has three other Forward players who could slot in. Fischer of Middlesbrough, Bojan at Stoke and Lucas Perez with Arsenal. None of the three are guaranteed of a start but perhaps after his hat trick in midweek, Perez will get the most minutes this weekend. Although Viktor Fischer did start last week for Boro, and could keep his place for the trip to Southampton. Elsewhere in his team the goals have mostly been supplied by the Liverpool pair of Sadio Mane and James Milner. Twelve goals between them, and they face a West Ham team that shipped five goals against Arsenal recently.

At the back @FuzzyWarbles has gotten three goals out of Gareth McAuley this season, but the West Brom defender faces a stern test in trying to breach the Chelsea backline this Sunday. Another West Brom player in his side, and  onethat has had positive recent form, is Chris Brunt. Brunt has found himself deployed further up the pitch in recent games, yet will probably have to do more defending than he’d like when his team head to Stamford Bridge. Steve might get more points in Midfield from the return of Yaya Toure. Pep Guardiola will have to shake up his starting eleven for the trip to champions Leicester, with the Ivorian perhaps gaining one of the attacking midfield spots.

What I Need To Happen

With @FuzzyWarbles having Hugo Loris between the sticks, I’m hoping that my Manchester United players earn the start and cause him problems. I’m more optimistic about Mkhitaryan getting game time than Jesse Lingard though. Any goals created by the Armenian will doubly hurt, as @FuzzyWarbles also has Jan Vertongen in Defence. My Top scorer Joe Allen was a surprise omission form the Stoke line-up last week, with the Potters heading to Arsenal this week, perhaps Mark Hughes will adopt a more defensive approach and use the Welshman in midfield where he will be kept busy while racking up the points.

The red flags all over my team seem to be abating somewhat going into Gameweek 15. Leighton Baines returned last week and it looks like Hector Bellerin could return this week. If he does return in time for the Saturday three o'clock kickoff, that would mean the end of the ‘Claudio Yacob Experiment’, as the West Brom midfielder would have to be jettisoned. Despite West Brom having some positive results of late, the Argentine has not been doing enough fantasywise and failed to get into double figures for the last two games.

I have two pairs of players playing against each other in the Bournemouth Burnley match; a goalkeeper and defender for Burnley and a defender and midfielder for Bournemouth. A nice boring scoreless draw would be perfect here, but that’s not going to happen, because as we all know, Jack Wilshere is due a goal.

It's tight at the top (and the middle, and the bottom)

Predictions

An improvement to six correct from nine predictions last week. The league is very tight, with everyone bar the bottom two sides within six points of the top four. Hopefully things go a little better this week. To see how every tie is progressing follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter.

Good Luck Everyone.

@nealjthurman over @jforquer11

@RotoWireAndrew over @nikarg

@TomSunderland_ over @SmokeyLoogy

@TRKingston over @FantasyYIRMA

@cjradune over @jasonuk17

@jwl_15 over @TAMc10

@SportsByGotti over @BenDinnery

@RotoZdroik over @DFS_Hambazaza