The points total my side achieved in
Gameweek 22 would have been enough to beat eight other sides in the league, but
not @jwl_15. A Chelsea clean sheet along with a Victor Moses assist, and strangely,
a Christian Kabasele goal, had Jake winning by a comfortable margin. That loss
pushed my team down to fifth place, 12 points off leader @RotoZdroik, who won
for the fifth week in a row. This week’s fixtures are being played over Tuesday
and Wednesday, and it encompasses the end of January and the first of February.
This of course means some teams could be unsettled by the moving and shaking
that happens on Transfer Deadline Day.TM Most of my squad
looks like it will be unaffected though. Unless Real Madrid can cough up what’s
needed to prize Joe Allen from Stoke.
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| I bet you thought Watford had stopped scoring goals |
The IEFSA Fantrax fixture computer will
look to unsettle my team though by pitting my side against a team who has won
their last two games; a team who would have beaten me last week; a team with
two of the most inform strikers in the Premier League at the moment in Diego
Costa and Andy Carroll. That team belongs to @BenDinnery. The last time we met
it was a Costa brace that gave Ben the victory by less than two points. Even
with all that is stacked against me, I’m hopeful of gaining some form of
revenge this midweek.
@BenDinnery’s Team
Costa has 15 goals so far this season, and
barring him hopping on a plane to China Tuesday morning, he will be facing a
trip to Liverpool. The Reds have seemingly thrown in the towel for this year
over the last few games, and are struggling to keep lower tier Championships
sides out, so what hope against a fired up Chelsea. Andy Carroll only has five
goals this year. I say ‘only’, but he would be joint top scorer in my side!
Plus you have to consider he has only started seven games in the league because
of injury.
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| More stellar Crystal Palace defending |
Looking around his squad, most of the
points have come from Midfield. Harry Arter of Bournemouth averages nearly 15
points a game and will be hopeful of doing more than that at home to a woeful
Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Jake Livermore averages over 12 points a game. He is
a player who has already moved during this transfer window. Moving from Hull to
West Brom for a reported £10m. At the back, his best source of points will
probably be Phil Jones when Man Utd host Hull on Wednesday.
What I Need To Happen
Costa and Carroll do have tricky fixtures,
Liverpool and Man City, so it would be no surprise to see them held scoreless. At
least if Carroll gets a goal he will be taking points off Ben’s Man City
goalkeeper. Most of his midfielders and defenders will be playing at home too. So,
lots of goals from the away teams here would be helpful. It is also possible
that @BenDinnery could have all his players playing on Tuesday if he wished, and
building up a sizable lead. Whereas most of my squad will not hit the pitch
until Wednesday night. Do I leave slots open for players who may not even play
on Wednesday? Lingard hasn’t featured much lately. But Mkitaryan did start the
cup game at the weekend. Will he be rested?
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| Jack Wilshere taking one of his many goal-bound shots here |
The Ibrahim Afellay Experiment will
continue for another week. He has only started one game and averages 3.87
points per game over his five total appearances. At home to Everton is as good
a time as any to showcase his undoubted talents though. Elsewhere in Midfield we are
still waiting on Jack Wilshere to score that goal which all his good play has
promised. Bournemouth, as mentioned, will play Crystal Palace at home. The Eagles
have the third worst away defence in the league and are currently the most out
of form team with only two points gained from the last 24 available. Wilshere
has one or two goals waiting for him in this fixture if he wants them.
Predictions
Amazingly last week’s prediction once again
ended up six correct and three incorrect for the fourth week in a row.
@RotoZdroik has a nine point lead over @SportsByGotti. But he is surely in for
a tough test against @jwl_15 this week. To follow all the midweek action make
sure you keep tabs on @THE_IEFSA on Twitter. Let’s see how this week’s
predictions go.
Good Luck Everyone.
@RotoZdroik over @jwl_15
@jasonuk17 over @DFS_Hambazaza
@TAMc10 over @EPL_MOstradamus
@cjradune over @TomSunderland_
@nikarg over @FantasyYIRMA
@wrigavin over @nealjthurman
