Week 29 - Player Picks

I've just about got my breath back after witnessing one of the games of the season at the Emirates last night. I don't think I'll ever see a side "out-football" an Arsene Wenger team more than Barcelona did for 60 minutes last night. How it ended a draw I really don't know, but Arsenal showed some bottle to give themselves a sniff of a chance in the 2nd leg.

Yet the fantastic fight back has come at a big cost to the Gunners - Fabregas thinks he may have broken his leg & would therefore be out for the season, Gallas was rushed back, has re-injured his calf & is likely to be out for the season & Arshavin has a reoccurrence of his calf injury that could see him miss the next 2 weeks.

After Rooney's injury, you'd have to say that Chelsea are the big winners this week.

Talking of this week, Week 29 is single games for all...

Saturday, 3 April 2010
Arsenal v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Bolton v Aston Villa, 15:00
Burnley v Man City, 17:30
Man Utd v Chelsea, 12:45
Portsmouth v Blackburn, 15:00
Stoke v Hull, 15:00
Sunderland v Tottenham, 15:00

Sunday, 4 April 2010
Birmingham v Liverpool, 15:00
Everton v West Ham, 16:00
Fulham v Wigan, 15:00

...but admittedly there aren't too many attractive fixtures.

Obviously the big game is Man Utd v Chelsea, but it's one of those I like to avoid when it comes to picking fantasy players. Hard to predict, likely to be fiercely contested, lots of cards, not many goals, plus all their players are expensive after big wins last weekend.

So even with injuries, Arsenal at home to Wolves stands out, as does Everton home to West Ham & Man City at Burnley. I'd expect Fulham to win at home to Wigan (although Roy may rest players again) & Stoke should beat Hull, although Ian Dowie will have the Tigers up for it.

It's tough to call Bolton v Aston Villa given the current form of both, but I suppose Bolton will feel they can win while Villa will feel they have chance to get back to winning way - I see a draw. Blackburn should beat a broken Portsmouth at Fratton Park, while Sunderland v Spurs & Birmingham v Liverpool could both end up draws.

So those are the fixtures ahead of us - here are the players:-

KEEPERS
Howard
Given
Brown
Jussi
Myhill

A lack of attractive fixtures means a lack of keeper choices this week, so I'm not particularly happy with the list above. Howard & Given are the top picks but you'll pay a fair wedge for them both (unless you've held them for a while), with Howard shading it because I trust Everton at home more than City away.

Jason Brown is a risk, but at a fraction over £6m & facing a Portsmouth side with both eyes on the FA Cup semi final next week, he could prove a shrewd move & it's one I'm considering. Jussi @ 4.5 & at home is also tempting me but that nagging fear that Villa could bounce back is stopping me clicking the "save" button.

The final alternative for those of us who still hold Myhill at 1.6 from last week is to keep him & hope Hull's new found fight is on display at the Britannia. Stoke don't score many goals & I could see a possible 0-0, but sticking with him is risk city.

DEFENDERS
Vermaelen
Bale
Jagielka
Garrido
Campbell
Heitinga
Smalling
Konchesky
Wilkinson
Alexander
Ricketts
Vanden Borre
Finnan

A real mix of defensive choices including a huge number around the £6m mark means you don't need to break the bank this week.

I don't need to mention Bale, but Vermaelen is back below £10m & should have a decent shout of a clean sheet. He hasn't scored for a while either, so I wouldn't be surprised if he grabbed a goal. If you can't afford him then Sol Campbell represents outstanding value at just 5.79.

Jagielka, Heitinga & Garrido will all start in games their sides should win, although I'm not sure I'd pay full whack for Johnny despite the fact he's playing in midfield. I've got a couple of Fulham defenders on the list although it's tough to know exactly who will start. We might have better idea after tonight's UEFA tie, but Konchesky tends to score well & United bound Chris Smalling is a bargain at just 3.

The final batch of defenders are slightly risky but all very good value. Alexander is surely due a penalty soon & his value is at 7.5 for the first time in ages & Wilkinson could be back in the Stoke line-up if Faye fails to recover. Sam Ricketts has done well for Bolton, Vanden Borre has been playing attacking midfield for Portsmouth & Finnan always gets forward.

MIDFIELDERS
Arteta
O'Hara
Nasri
Etherington
Walcott
Gera
Dempsey
Pienaar
Rosicky
Dunn
A Johnson
Osman
Bullard
Maxi

The 2 top picks in this list yesterday were Fabregas & Arshavin, but with both certain to miss the Wolves game it's time to reassess. Arteta remains a doubt with his groin strain, but if he's fit he's pretty close to a must have.

I imagine Nasri will be asked to play the Fabregas role & tends to do very well in that position, and we know exactly what we'll get with O'Hara & Etherington in home games - free kicks, corners, successful crosses, shots on target & the chance of a goal...all 3 could be great picks.

Walcott's goal from the bench last night could mean he starts on the right, as could Rosicky in Arshavin's place on the left. Gera & Dempsey will get opportunities vs Wigan - they may even be the strike partnership if Zamora doesn't make it - while Pienaar & Osman become very interesting picks if Arteta doesn't make it.

David Dunn is back to match sharpness nows & should continue to do well vs Portsmouth, Jimmy Bullard will be running around like a crazy man at Stoke & we finish with Adam Johnson & Maxi as possible fillers around the £7m mark (is that too expensive to be classed as a filler?)

STRIKERS
Bendtner
Tevez
Saha
Torres
Fuller
Bent
Crouch
Roberts/Kalinic
Adebayor
Zamora

Not a huge variety of strikers to pick from this week with Rooney out & Drogba doubtful. Bendtner is probably the best value at home to Wolves although a fully fit & flying Louis Saha is going to cause West Ham huge problems at Goodison. I'd expect at least 1 goal from both players this weekend.

Carlos Tevez is fresh from another hat-trick so is sure to give Burnley the run around & I'm finding it very difficult to drop Torres. Yes, Birmingham away is far from ideal, but in his current form he'll score against most & he has a piss-easy run of fixtures to follow.

Fuller scored a wonder goal last weekend so should start at home to Hull & Darren Bent will be desperate to get one over on Spurs & Harry Redknapp. Yet Spurs are playing well & will fancy this - Defoe is back in training but we now have to work out which 2 from him, Crouch, Pav & Gudjohnson get a start. My guess is Crouch continues after his goal last weekend.

It's the same problem with Blackburn - you would love to pick a striker playing Portsmouth but Big Sam can't decided between Jason Roberts & Kalinic at the moment so how are we supposed to? If you can find some useful team news then going with one of these 2 could give you the edge if you're looking to do something different. Adebayor & Zamora won't be in my team but may interest some.

Player Picks done....

My team currently: Brown, Bale, Campbell, Smalling, Arteta, Malouda, Etherington, Nasri, Bendtner, Tevez, Torres.

I don't like it at the moment so it will change...

If Arteta is going to miss another week I think he might go for Osman, Pienaar or O'Hara & I still haven't decided on Malouda. I'm not happy with my defence or keeper (I still hold Myhill) but Bale, Nasri, Etherington, Bendtner, Tevez & Torres will almost certainly stay, so sadly there won't be room for Saha.

That's it, another week done, only a few more to go now! As always I hope you find the player picks useful. Any advice on my team would be appreciated & of course let me know how yours is shaping up!

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Cheers,
AM