Week 33 - Player Picks

Welcome to the most boring player picks of the season!

"Why the most boring AM?" I don't hear anybody asking, because they already know. But I'll explain anyway.

It's nearing the end of the season and when you near the end of a season you need do everything you can to scrape as many points as you can. There are lot of games to squeeze in, so that means we're going to see a lot of double game weeks (note: Wk 33, 34 & 36) & in these double game weeks you must fill your team with as many DGers as possible, forgetting all but the best discounts (Adam @5, VDV @6, Kolarov @4).

So why does this make the Week 33 player picks boring? Well, it's because only three teams have two games, meaning almost all of my picks are from these three teams & therefore very, very obvious.

Fixtures...

CHELSEA - @West Brom, Birmingham
ARSENAL - Liverpool, @Spurs
BIRMINGHAM - Sunderland, @Chelsea

Chelsea have the stand-out fixtures, Arsenal have two tough but winnable games & Birmingham have a decent home & a very difficult away game.

From the single games, the only ones that would interest me are:

EVERTON V Blackburn - The Toffees the form team in the league.
MAN UTD @ Newcastle - United are hitting their peak at the right time.
BLACKPOOL v Wigan - If 'Pool play as they did against Arsenal they will win easily.

Man City, Fulham, Bolton, Stoke & Wolves DO NOT PLAY in Week 33, so don't bother picking any players up from these sides for this week (but note Fulham, Bolton, Stoke & Wolves play twice in Week 34).

Boring players list....

KEEPERS
Cech
Howard
Kingson

DEFENDERS
Luiz
A.Cole
Terry
Koscielny
Squillaci
Johnson
Ridgewell
Carr
Parnaby
Heitinga

MIDFIELDERS
Lampard
Fabregas
Nasri
Malouda
Wilshere
Walcott
Larsson
Adam
Ramires
Gardner
Hitzlsperger
Southern (filler)

STRIKERS
Drogba
Van Persie
Philips/Jerome
Anelka/Torres
Santa Cruz (filler)

I'm not going to write analysis for each player because, as I said, it's obvious why they are listed. Some of them might only get one game, but that's still the same as any of the SGers and the chance that they COULD play twice across the week should tip the balance in their favour.

Who are the definites to play twice? I'd guess:

Cech, Luiz, Cole, Terry, Carr, Johnson, Ridgewell, Koscielny (Djourou could be back in Squillaci's place), Lampard, Fabregas, Nasri, Wilshere, Larsson (provided Bentley remains out), Gardner, Van Persie & Drogba (given his performance from the bench last night & how garbage Torres was) will almost certainly start both matches, barring injury or suspension.

The others will probably see at least 90 minutes, possibly 120, and maybe even the full 180, depending on the mood of their managers, but hopefully I'll be able to provide a lot more information on Friday as the team/injury news starts leaking out of the clubs/press conferences.

So how does my team look? Well, it's not anywhere near finished, I've changed it four or five times already today, but this currently sits on my page:

Howard, Kolarov, Heitinga, Luiz, A.Cole, Wilshere, Larsson, Lampard, Santa Cruz, Van Persie, Drogba

7 DGers & Torres is gone. He was woeful last night & although I still think he'll get at least one start, Drogba looked close to his best & is going to cause West Brom & Birmingham major problems. His cost is hurting my team a bit, but I think he could be worth it.

Howard + Heiti are cheap & give me a chance of a clean sheet, Kolarov is almost certainly staying @ 4 because there's nobody worth replacing him for (can't quite stretch to Carr), Luiz is a no-brainer at under 6 & Ashley Cole is in despite his price as he gets forward like a winger against lesser teams. Wilshere, Larsson & Lampard should all start two, RvP is another no-brainer & Santa Cruz completes the line-up as an enabling filler.

By no means is this my final team but it's a good starting point with 3 days to go until the deadline. I think I have a good selection of the DGers set to play twice, but I am aware I'm missing a Fabregas/Walcott/Malouda from my midfield because of the Torres > Drogba upgrade, so that's something I'll think about.

I'm leaving it there as I'm off to watch Spurs try to salvage some pride against Real Madrid! I'll be back on Friday with my update post, but until then, please let me know how your team is shaping up. How many DGers for you? Who do you think is a rotation risk and who do you think will start both games?

Cheers,
AM

p.s. Blog Cup Final results will now be up NEXT WEEK as there is still a chance of a point adjustment right up to the week.

p.p.s. It's never too late to join the Blog Facebook Group - we've passed 1250 members & it's always great to add more! You can also follow me on Twitter (@nikarg)!