Week 32 - Player Picks

What a disappointing end to a fantastic Champions League run for Tottenham Hotspur. The 2nd leg in North London next Wednesday is now a formality - this one is over. 4-0 did not flatter Real Madrid at all, they battered us in a way that was reminiscent of Barca's domination of Arsenal last month in a completely one sided game.

I knew we'd been in poor form so I'd predicted a defeat last night against a far superior side, maybe a couple of goals if we kept our discipline, 2-0 or 3-1, giving Harry a slim chance to turn it around at White Hart Lane. Sadly any hope of keeping things competitive were blown out the water thanks to two moments of stupidity from Peter Crouch, and to be honest it was all a bit embarrassing from then onwards, with the final 30 minutes really hard to watch.

It would be great to salvage some pride with a win next week, but you can see this Spurs squad is running on empty now and with 4th place looking further away by the week I'm fearful this was a one-off adventure. It makes me sad thinking that could be the case, because I've loved seeing my club up against the very best in Europe for the first time in my life.

If we do want it again then a monumental effort is required to lift the players for the final 8 league games. We probably need 6 wins to have any chance of another Top 4 finish, but With Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea & Liverpool still to play you have to be realistic, it's extremely unlikely.

City look set to grab that final spot, and their ability to offer Champions League football alongside mega-wages will mean they'll finally be able to attract the very best. With Liverpool sure to be stronger next season it will become incredibly difficult to crack the elite, which could mean Bale, Modric & VDV start looking elsewhere. It's such a fine line between success and failure, and unfortunately Spurs are set to end the season on the wrong side of that line.

Anyway, before I start crying, I'll move on the upcoming fantasy week. It's Week 32, a single week for all teams ahead of a double week for Arsenal, Chelsea & Birmingham in Week 33. It's important to keep that in that mind when picking your teams. With only a few weeks to go it's time to forget about discounts and pick players based on match-ups if you want to make a late surge up the rankings.

This week's fixtures:

Stand Out
CHELSEA v Wigan
MAN UTD v Fulham
ARSENAL @ Blackpool

I can't see Chelsea or United slipping up, and despite Arsenal's troubles they're up against a team in free-fall who can't defend, so it should be a comfortable away win.

Should Win
TOTTENHAM v Stoke (please!)
SUNDERLAND v West Brom
BOLTON v West Ham
ASTON VILLA v Newcastle

Spurs need the fans to really get behind them on Saturday and I think the may just be able to scrape a narrow win here. I expect Sunderland to snap out of their slump withh Gyan & Wellbeck causing problems & reckon Bolton & Villa can edge past their opponents thanks to home advantage.

Close/Draws
Liverpool v Man City
Blackburn v Birmingham
Wolves v Everton

Very hard to call these either way, so I'd predict score draws all round.

Now, the players...

KEEPERS
Cech
Almunia
Friedel
Mignolet

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket for Week 32 then Chelsea's Petr Cech is the top keeper pick this weekend with an easy home against Wigan. If you can't stretch that far then Almunia represents decent value at Blackpool. Holloway's men love to shoot so there'll be plenty of save points on offer, and I'm convinced Arsenal will win so I think he has a decent chance of a positive score to follow on from the clean sheet / 11 points picked up vs Blackburn.

Don't like Almunia? Then Brad Friedel could be the way to go at home to Newcastle. Villa are starting to get their defenders back which will make them more solid & he's dirt cheap, so I'm seriously considering him as an option. Sunderland's Mignolet is the final keeper option, home to West Brom. His value plummeted after the 5-0 hammering at City last weekend, but generally he's been in great form and he could be a nice pick to separate you from the crowd.

DEFENDERS
Luiz
Bale
Evra
Kolarov
Walker
Cahill
Bardsley 
Smalling/Fabio/Rafael
Heitinga

David Luiz was cup-tied out of last night's Champions League game but he'll return to the side this weekend, Ivanovic likely to move out to right-back & Bosingwa dropped. Bale is expensive but Stoke play centre backs at full back so he's likely to have the beating of whoever he faces - provided he overcomes the bout of cramp he suffered towards the end of the Madrid game. I also quite like Patrice Evra as an option - he's dropped in value after his penalty give-away at West Ham, so he's now affordable for the home game against Fulham.

Kolarov continues to pick up points thanks to set pieces so he'll always do well, even without a clean sheet, while Kyle Walker has been consistent since he joined Villa on loan from Spurs and has a decent home game. Gary Cahill is a bit of a hunch - he's quite pricey (out of my range) but I have a feeling he'll pop up with a goal this weekend so he could be worth the gamble if you have the cash & Phil Bardsley has been playing very well, has dropped in price after conceding a penalty last week & Sunderland have a nice fixture.

Now we come to the confusing bit - how will Manchester United line-up defensively? We know Evra & Vidic will play, but will Fergie play Ferdinand again or let him rest before the CL 2nd leg? It's an important decision as so many of us are holding Smalling at a big discount. If Ferdinand does play, then we need to know who plays right back - last night it was Rafael but he went off injured, so Fabio could be a great alternative to Smalling if he's brought back in. If all this fails & you need a cheap defender to fill that spot then Heitinga is your man.

MIDFIELDERS
Lampard
Nani
Fabregas
Young
Valencia
Walcott
Hitzlsperger
Hoilett
Henderson
O'Hara
Huddlestone
Bilyaletdinov

Frank Lampard was terrible last night & I think we may be coming to the end of him him being able to perform at his very best against the very best teams, but he'll still fill his boots against the minnows, making him a fantastic pick for the game against Wigan. Nani has been benched the past couple of matches but I'm certain he'll come back this weekend & he could be on penalties if Rooney's suspension is confirmed, while Cesc Fabregas @12 is as cheap as he's been for ages and we all know his quality, so I'm seriously considering him for what will be an open game at Blackpool.

Ashley Young disappointed many managers two weeks ago with a paltry 2.5 points, but he was better at Everton on Saturday and he always gives you a chance of big score with corners, free kicks & penalties. Valencia is fantastic value at his current price representing a far cheaper alternative to Nani if you can't stretch that far, Walcott will get plenty of space to run in to at Blackpool so I prefer him to Nasri this week & Hitzlsperger didn't do much in Week 31 but it was a tough game, I'd expect more from him at Bolton.

You'll notice VDV is missing this week, and that's because the guy simply isn't fit at the moment. He'll probably play and he could score well, but I can't recommend spending £15m on a player who is struggling to complete 45 minutes. I can recommend some less obvious pick: the increasingly impressive Junior Hoilett at home to Birmingham, Sunderland set pieces taker Jordan Henderson, Jamie O'Hara at home to Everton, Tom Huddlestone (who I believe will be brought in to freshen things up) & our old favourite Bily, who had a great game against Villa last weekend and should keep his place at Wolves.

STRIKERS
Van Persie
Hernandez
Torres/Drogba
Gyan
Sturridge
Bent
Suarez
Wellbeck

Wayne Rooney's two match suspension has been confirmed so Van Persie becomes the number one striker pick this weekend, with Hernandez also a fantastic option as he should lead the line at Old Trafford. Torres had another poor game last night but I'm thinking Ancelotti might give him another go as he won't have a better chance than Wigan at home to get his first goal and break the hoodoo. If not, Drogba is due a big match, but you'll need to find £18m to bring him in.

I like Gyan as an option for Week 32, I think his movement will cause West Brom's defenders loads of problems and he seems to work well with the returning Wellbeck, so I could see a goal for each of them. Sturridge is another interesting pick as he's having a great spell at Bolton and with all three of these men priced under £10m there's plenty of variety to choose from.

Darren Bent could be worth a go at home to Newcastle (although you know it's either a goal of a zero with him) and Suarez (still priced at £8m) will want to impress the Anfield faithful in their big game against Man City. Beware, his price will likely shoot up to £15m as he plays his seventh game and is averaging 12 points per week.

That's it for another week!

Obviously we have Champions League injury fallout which could still have a big bearing on whether all the above players are good picks come the weekend. For that reason, please check back on Friday for my full update post containing all the latest team news.

This is the team on my page currently...

Almunia, Smalling, Kolarov, Luiz, O'Hara, Hitzlsperger, Valencia, Lampard, Suarez, Rooney, Van Persie

However, now Rooney's suspension has been confirmed & if Ferdinand is set to replace Smalling then I'm considering quite a few changes:

Friedel, Fabio, Kolarov, Luiz, Hitzlsperger, Valencia, Fabregas, Lampard, Suarez, Hernandez, Van Persie

I haven't made up my mind on Almunia or Friedel yet and I may even switch Suarez to Gyan or Sturridge as Liverpool have a really tough game. These are decision's I'll save until nearer the deadline.

How's your team shaping up?

Cheers,
AM