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 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 5: IEFSA Fantasy League 2017\18 Preview

“A life spent defensively, worried, is a life wasted”                         -                      Lance Armstrong

Four weeks, four losses. Times were getting desperate. I couldn’t field a whole starting roster, injuries were mounting up as Tom Heaton injured his shoulder which would necessitate a lengthy absence, goals were becoming a rarity (two in four games), and an assist had yet to be seen. Something had to be done. I could not just ride it out and hope Dwight Gayle battles his way back into the Newcastle starting eleven, or that Victor Lindelof would finally usurp Phil Jones from the Man Utd back-line. Actions needed to be taken before I was cut adrift at the bottom of the table.

Shoulder surgery will keep Tom Heaton sidelined for months

That those actions would entail me spending almost my entire budget on three players who probably won’t start for their respective teams this weekend, was not something people could have foreseen. In fact, I didn’t even see it that way, as I had expected to be outbid on at least one of the three players I now possess. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a value of $68 last season, so I assumed he would go for slightly higher this time around and I had initially bid over $70. But I kept notching up the value until I settled on $85. I probably could have acquired him for a fair but less. The Swede can’t come back from injury fast enough. My other two players each cost me $40 less than Zlatan, but I vastly overpaid. Serge Aurier becomes the most expensive Spurs defender in the game and is fighting with $1 Kieran Trippier for a spot in their line-up. Renato Sanches was made the fifteenth most expensive Midfielder in the league. Not bad for a player who completed 90 minutes only once during a year at Bayern Munich, where he was largely anonymous. While signing these players I had to let go Gayle and Shelvey, what with the earlier release of Jose Fonte, means I’ve basically thrown away nearly $100 since the draft. This sounds like doom and gloom, but my new team get their chance to prove themselves this coming gameweek against @wrigavin. Gavin has three wins this season and would have beaten my side handily if we had met on any other gameweek. Thanks IEFSA/Fantrax fixture computer!

@wrigavin’s Team

 

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU><"{{@$^!$$*!)(!!@#$

What I Need To Happen

Zlatan is injured. Heaton is out for months. Rojo is also still injured. Lindelof might as well be injured. Izquierdo (who?) can’t seem to start a game. Tammy Abraham has less accurate passes in 330 minutes of football than Renato Sanches managed in 70 minutes last weekend. Joe Allen is off form. Keane and Cook are defenders in name only as they don’t seem to want to keep clean sheets anymore. Gareth Barry is……. still in my squad??? My only hope this weekend could be the longshot of my Bournemouth and Brighton players outscoring @wrigavin’s Anthony Knockaert (a tough ask in itself), followed by some sort of nuclear war that gets all the other games on Saturday and Sunday cancelled.

Kim Jong-Un has won every season of the North Korean Fantasy League

Predictions

An improvement from the week before sees six correct predictions from nine. It was the tough-to-call games in the Primary League that were my undoing. To heap praise on this week’s predictions, feel free to follow me on Twitter @GarryIrwin. Also, feel free to badger @THE_IEFSA to ease up on the fixture congestion my side unfairly has to face every week.

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

@TRKingston over @TAMc10

@jwl_15 over @RotoZdroik

@FuzzyWarbles over @FantasyYIRMA

@nikarg over @EPL_MOstradamus

@jasonuk17 over @cjradune

@SportsByGotti over @jforquer11

@RotoWireAndrew over @nealjthurman

@SmokeyLoogy over @TomSunderland_

@DFS_Hambazaza over @BenDinnery

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 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 17: IEFSA Fantasy League Preview

The fantasy gods threw injuries, penalties and red cards against my team in midweek, but fortunately my players were able to overcome and eke out a win. 27 points leaves me 9 points off table topper @RotoZdroik and stuck in a tight tussle of teams separated by only six points between fifth and eighteenth. The fantasy gods do not take these slights lying down though, so this week the IEFSA Fantrax fixture computer pits my side against a team with three of the most in form players in the Premier League. A team that scored the highest points total in Gameweek 16 with 178 points. @nikarg can call upon nine goal Zlatan Ibrahimovic (my whole team has only managed 16!), West Brom’s Salomon Rondon who is fresh off a midweek hattrick, and Christian Eriksen who only scored two goals midweek. If you were a betting person, I might struggle to convince you that I had a chance in this matchup. It seems like @nikarg has been given a slam dunk here!

@nikarg’s Team

I’ve already mentioned three of @nikarg’s strongest players, but even if one or two of them have an off day, he has a few more names to call upon. Liverpool’s Georginio Wjnaldum has started most of the Reds games this season and has added a goal and two assists so far. Elsewhere in midfield he can call upon Marc Albrighton of Leicester or Wayne Routledge of Swansea. Both these players have started over ten games for their clubs, and they average around ten points each.

Can Boruc claim a fifth clean sheet this weekend?

At the other end of the pitch he has Bournemouth’s keeper Artur Boruc. He will be up against Southampton at home this weekend. The Saints have been rather goal shy of late so the Polish international should have no problem reaching his average of over eight points per game.

What I Need To Happen

I simply need to get a fully fit squad of players out onto the pitch. This may call for the need to play four Defenders again. With Mykitaryan still out injured, and now Arnautovic missing through suspension, my side will be missing some of its most potent goal threats.  Joe Allen does not seem to get forward as much lately but may be able to get some joy against Leicester on Saturday. Second top scorer on my team (3 goals), Pedro heads to Crystal Palace with his Chelsea team and could have a shot or two if he plays.

Fabio Borini getting stuck in against Chelsea midweek

Looking elsewhere for goals, Fabio Borini got about ten minutes midweek and can surely force his way into the Sunderland side. Jack Wilshere had one of his better games for Bournemouth midweek but is still due to score a goal. With all the players I have sitting on the IR, Claudio Yacob still finds himself in my squad, will he do anything that makes him worth keeping? Only time will tell.

Predictions

Only three of the nine matchups predicted correctly midweek. @RotoZdroik has opened up a six point gap at the top and has the longest current winning steak with five victories in a row. @jwl_15 has lost his last two games but still hangs on in second place. It’s very tough to call these games, but I’ll give it another try. To see how good, or bad, I do, please follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter.

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

@SportsByGotti over @TAMc10