Week 24 - Player Picks

Week 24 is a single week & I'm very pleased about it. Despite having some decent double/triple weeks recently I much prefer it when sides are playing 1 game - it's more enjoyable to pick a team & probably more fair as it takes a lot of the "luck-factor" away (unexpected midweek injuries/suspensions/rests etc).

So we have 16 teams playing 1 game & 4 teams having a rest; Man Utd, Aston Villa, West Ham & Hull do not play. To start with, lets look at the fixtures...

WEEK 24 FIXTURES
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Birmingham v Wigan, 15:00
Bolton v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Burnley v Portsmouth, 15:00
Chelsea v Man City, 12:45
Stoke v Arsenal, 17:30

Sunday, 28 February 2010
Liverpool v Blackburn, 15:00
Sunderland v Fulham, 15:00
Tottenham v Everton, 13:00

Straight away you can see there are a lot of "tough to call" match-ups, with many of the bottom sides facing each other. I think the one stand-out fixture is Liverpool at home to Blackburn. The Scousers aren't playing well but Blackburn are TERRIBLE on the road. Also, given Man City's current inability to break sides down, I'd say Chelsea at home look pretty attractive.

Birmingham at home to Wigan is probably next in line, while I fancy Bolton & Burnley to edge Wolves & Pompey at home - these are game that you cannot afford to lose & in tight situations between clubs in trouble it's usually the home sides that find a way.

Stoke v Arsenal is very hard to predict; Stoke love roughing up the big sides at home & will be buzzing after knocking City out of the Cup last night. I also can't call Tottenham v Everton, although I'd like to think a slightly rejuvenated Spurs could snatch 3 points at home. As for Sunderland v Fulham, a side who can't win at all vs a side who can't win away...who knows what might happen, probably a 1-1 draw.

So with all that in mind (and remember we haven't yet seen the fall-out from tonight's Europa League games involving Fulham, Everton & Liverpool), here are my Week 24 Player Picks.

KEEPERS
Hilario
Jaaskalainen
Jensen
Reina
Hart

The injury to Petr Cech in last night's Champions League tie at Inter means we have the opportunity to own a Chelsea keeper at just a fraction over £6m, at home vs a side who are having real trouble scoring at the moment. It is extremely tempting, but annoyingly with my current team I'm 0.03 away from grabbing Hilario, so I might need to do some switching.

The next in line in terms of bargain keepers are Jaaskalainen & Jensen. Neither are playing for sides in good form, but both are at home & both cost under £5m. My personal preference is Jussi as he is stronger keeper & will tend to make more saves then Jensen, but then Wolves are a sterner test than Portsmouth, so it's tricky call. I think it has to come down personal preference (or whether you can use the extra £0.5m you'll have if you go with the Burnley man).

If you've got cash to burn then the premium choices are either Hart or Reina. Both should get a clean sheet, both cost roughly the same but I'd probably go with Reina - Liverpool are rock solid (as you should be with 7-8 defensive minded players on the field most the time) & Blackburn are very little threat away from home.

DEFENDERS
Vermaelen
R Johnson
Skrtel
Bale
Hutton
Cork
Knight
Dann
Carr
Foley
Finnan
Steinsson
Alexander
Shorey
Fox

A varied selection & a few new names in my defensive picks this week. I won't go in to detail on the regulars - you all know what you're getting if you go with Verm, R Johnson, Bale & Hutton. Skrtel was barndoored by a lot of people last weekend & he still represents a bargain with a very good chance of a clean sheet for Liverpool. I know Glen Johnson is close to fitness but I don't think he'll be rushed back after such a long spell out.

Dann & Carr are cheaper alternatives if you want a Birmingham defender but can't afford Johnson, while Zat Knight, Steinsson, Foley, Shorey (discount) & Finnan are all decent picks at reasonable prices for Week 24. Now the really interesting thing you'll notice is that I've included not one, not two but THREE Burnley defenders in my list. What's even stranger is only two of them actually play in defence.

Graham Alexander, penalty king & all round old bloke, is due to return from injury shortly & resume his place in defensive midfield, but keep an eye on reports before you go for him. Perhaps a safer choice is Jack Cork, on loan from Chelsea, lined up in midfield vs Villa & was probably Burnley's best player (grabbing an assist). Danny Fox is a new addition to the Burnley squad, but the fullback loves to get forward & will get the odd set piece. Both young men cost under £7m & could be picks that separate you from the rest.

MIDFIELDERS
Gerrard
Lampard
Fabregas
Eagles
Duff
Bowyer
Larsson
M Taylor
Lee
Bentley
Huddlestone
Arteta
N'Zogbia
O'Hara
A Johnson
Walcott
Maxi
Richardson

Unlike the defence there are lots of very familiar face in my midfield picks, none more so then the top 3. It's actually not often this season that all have been recommended in the same week, but this week they all have a chance of very good points & I expect their class to show. Gerrard has the best fixture so is my preference &there's not much to choose between Lamps & Fabs; again it's personal preference but Cesc could be in for a tougher game at the Britannia.

After these 3 you have a huge list of mid-range midfielders to choose from. I like Eagles for this week, I think he could cause Pompey real problems, Larsson & Bowyer are tempting vs Wigan, Duff is expensive but is sure to do well vs Sunderland, while Lee & Taylor are options at home to Wolves.

Bentley will also continue on the right in Lennon's absence, Arteta is the cheapest he'll ever be, O'Hara will still get all set pieces, while Walcott, Huddlestone & N'Zogbia are more risky picks but could pay off.

If you're strapped for cash then there are few very cheap players who are better than just "fillers". Adam Johnson is my favourite as he's another taking corners, Maxi is (for some reason) getting a start on the left wing for Liverpool while Kieron Richardson has been spotted taking Sunderland set pieces in Reid's absence & is dirt cheap. Lots of choices, lots of selection headaches.

STRIKERS
Drogba
Torres
Kuyt
Bendtner
Fletcher
Jerome
Bellamy
Doyle
Defoe
Saha
Bent
Fuller
Klasnic
Pavlyuchenko

If you don't have him at a big discount, is Drogba still worth £22m-£24m...scarily enough he might just be, as he tends to pull out his best in big games. I genuinely see him scoring 2 goals vs City, which to be honest he'd need to do just to return his value!

I can't really comment on Torres until we get team news, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him start vs Blackburn if he comes through tonight's Europa Cup game (as a substitute) unscathed. If not then Dirk Kuyt comes in to the equation. Bendtner was reasonably impressive last weekend, grabbing a goal & I feel he suits his team's play far better than Eduardo when it comes to being a centre forward. It's tough to turn down Arsenal's main striker at just over £8m, never mind at his barndoor price under £6m.

Klasnic, Fletcher, Doyle & Jerome are likely to be more "unpopular" picks that could see you climb places if you take the risk, as all have a chance of a goal. Defoe is Defoe, he'll shoot loads & almost always score, Pavlyuchenko is points chasing slightly, but he has 4 goals in 2 game so with Crouch is injured he's well worth it if you grabbed him at £6m (don't pay full price). Saha & Bent will cause Spurs & Fulham problems, Fuller will do the same to the Arsenal defence & Bellamy is a problem in general.

That completes my Week 24 Player Picks post - I think there's a really good variety of options & I'm quite looking forward to finalising my team over the next 36 hours!

Remember it's the 5th Round of The Blog Cup for the remaining 40 Teams (The winner gets a Premier League Shirt of their choice)...also, please remember to join the Facebook Group if you haven't already.

As always, please let me know if you think anyone is missing from my recommendations & post up your current teams so myself or others can help you with any dilemmas you may be having...

Cheers,
AM