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 21st 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.
@jasonuk17
over @TomSunderlad_
@SmokeyLoogy
over @cjradune
@RotoZdroik
over @FuzzyWarbles
Congratulations on the new arrival Gaz!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Baby YIRMA to the fold
BabyWatch is almost as stressful as LukakuWatch!
Delete