Battling against the odds, my plucky squad have climbed to
second in the table. I said last week I would need 130+ points to win against
@cjradune, and thankfully a Pedro goal and assist pulled my team over 150
points, and when Sturridge failed to take the field for C.J., I knew I was
within touching distance of the win come Sunday. A positive from last weekend
was that all of my nine players posted double figure scores.
A glance at the table this week and you would be forgiven
for thinking that as I’m facing second from bottom @FantasyYIRMA, I should be
favoured to pick up the three points. But sometimes the table does give a false
impression this early in the season. @FantasyYIRMA has scored more points than
eight other sides and if his players hit their fantasy points average, I will
need 128 or more points to win. As usual the IEFSA/Fantrax fixtures computer
tries its best to hamper my team, as both of @FantasyYIRMA’s highest scoring
players have enticing fixtures; Dele Alli is at home to a Leicester side that
don’t seem to bother playing away from the King Power Stadium; while Mesut Ozil
faces bottom of the table Sunderland, who don’t seem to bother playing
anywhere.
@FantasyYIRMA’s Team
Alli and Ozil are joined in Midfield by two players who
average around fifteen points a game, and both play at home on Saturday. Juan
Mata scored midweek in the EPL Cup against Man City, so he will surely fancy
his chances facing Burnley. Wilfried Zaha hasn’t had the same luck in front of
goal lately, but still has goal and two assists in seven starts this season.
The only problem here though, is that if Zaha does get on the scoresheet, he
will be taking points away from @FantasyYIRMA’s Liverpool goalkeeper. In his
squad is another Palace player who could return from injury and take over the
Forward slot that is currently up for grabs with Wayne Rooney’s injury. Loic
Remy is trying to shake off a thigh injury in a race to be fit for the Saturday
evening kick-off.
At the back @FantasyYIRMA can count on the return of Jonny
Evans from suspension. The West Brom defender will get a chance to rack up the
points against a Man City attack determined to stop a slide of no wins in their
last six games. Evans might not be assured of a spot in @FantasyYIRMA’s back
three though, but with two defenders facing each other in Reid (West Ham) and
Williams (Everton) he may be forced to choose one over the other. His remaining
defender is Bournemouth’s Simon Francis. The Cherries kept a clean sheet last
week against Spurs, so should be fancied to do the same again against Middlesbrough,
who haven’t scored since October 1st.
 |
| One of these players is due a goal |
What I Need To Happen
Stoke are at home this week, which can only mean one thing…..
Joe Allen getting himself back up the scoring charts. The only problem here
though is that Stoke face Swansea on Monday night. I guess I will have to hold
a roster spot open for both Allen and Arnautovic. But can I afford to? Pedro is
coming off the back of his best game of the season, but has an awkward fixture
away at Southampton. Kevin Mirallas was back in the starting line-up for
Everton last week, but after that game was lost I would not be surprised to see
Ronald Koeman change his first eleven. Elsewhere in Midfield I have two Man Utd
players. Jesse Lingard could possible take the field against Burnley, but
Henrikh Mkhitaryan appears to be on the missing list. My biggest summer signing
has barely 25 points to his name this season. I don’t expect that to improve on
Saturday.
 |
| Juan Mata will look to keep Man Utd in the hunt for seventh place. |
Thankfully a number of @FantasyYIRMA’s players face each
other and could cancel each other out. Ideally I’d like his players to have a
quiet day and let others do most of the work. Big hitters like Dele Alli, Ozil
and Mata having an off day on Saturday would help a lot. Come Sunday night I’m
thinking that if my side is within 80 points, then I can just sit back and
watch Joe Allen drag me back into the tie, and hopefully to victory.
Predictions
The league seems to get tighter and more difficult to
predict every week. It really is wide open and anyone can beat anyone. The
predictions last week saw only four correct from nine. A number of intriguing games
this week doesn’t make things any easier. The leader @EPL_MOstradamus plays
last week’s high scorer @TRKingston. Who will win that battle? Well, you’ll
just have to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter to find out.
This week’s predictions. Good luck everyone.
@TAMc10 over @SmokeyLoogy
@RotoZdroik over @FuzzyWarbles
@nealjthurman over @BenDinnery
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