Week 33 - Update

Only a short update post this week as I'm very tired after a long day sitting my Prince2 exam and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to concentrate or settle on a team for Week 33. What I do know is we'll all be picking up players from the three teams with two games, so I'm focusing on their news.

Chelsea are going to be without Ramires & Alex for the first game at West Brom, but both could be back for the Birmingham game. This news is extremely annoying for anyone who had Ramires in their side as he was a great cheap DG option & enabled extra spending elsewhere.

So who replaces him? If 4-3-3 remains then it's likely to be either Benayoun or Zhirkov, with Benayoun the more likely. If the Israeli does start then Ancelotti could be tempted to start with Torres as the two had a great understanding at Liverpool, but then again, Torres was so awful in midweek it would be a big suprise if Drogba sat on the bench again.

Could Ancelotti use 4-4-2 again to accommodate both the strikers?  Would that means Essien & Lampard in the middle with Malouda left, Benayoun right? What about Anelka? The honest truth is we just don't know, so you're going to have to go with your own instincts on this one, but I'm now trying to fit both Drogba & Torres in my team, despite the fact it appears impossible.

Arsenal have Szczęsny (I haven't missed spelling that name) back from injury & he's set to come straight in to the starting line-up for the Liverpool game. Eboue may continue at right-back with Sagna struggling & Djourou is being tipped to return alongside Koscielny at the expenses of Squillaci. Alex Song will be hoping to take back the anchor role from Diaby and the rest is s fairly likely to be Wilshere, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott (or Arshavin) & Van Persie.

Birmingham are expecting Roger Johnson to be ready after suffering concussion last weekend, so McCleish may stick with a back four of Carr, Johnson, Ridgewell & Parnaby. Zigic and Bentley could return to the squad but Jiranek and Obafemi Martins remain on the sidelines.

Philips & Jerome will probably continue upfront as they've been playing well, so even if he's back Zigic may have to settle for a place on the bench. The midfield is less certain but I'd be really surprised if Larsson was benched, he's been playing well as an out-and-out winger since Birmingham moved to 4-4-2. Ferguson & Gardner are near certainties for the centre, so that would leave Bowyer & Bentley (if he's back) fighting for the final midfield spot.

From the recommended single games, Everton are still without Mikel Arteta, Louis Saha & have doubts over Jack Rodwell, Seamus Coleman & Tim Cahill. This means Bily, Heitinga & Beckford should all keep their places.

Blackpool are without David Vaughan again so Southern should continue & Richard Kingson will remain in goal despite Matt Gilks' return to the squad. If I could afford Charlie Adam this week I would as I feel he's going to score big in Blackpool's biggest game of the season so far.

Remember, 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).

That's all I've got time for in terms of injury news, so please check Fantasy Football Scout, BBC Sport or Jeremy & Neal over on FantasyEPL if you're looking for news on any of the other SG teams.

I have no idea what I'm doing with my team at this point in time, but this is on my page:

Howard, Heitinga, Carr, Luiz, A.Cole, Wilshere, Benayoun, Lampard, Philips, Van Persie, Drogba

Spending £19m on Drogba will be a disaster if he doesn't start both, but the thought of not having him as he grabs two hat-tricks is a scary one. I've toyed with the idea of getting Cech, Malouda, Fabregas & Torres in at different times this week, but it's very difficult to manoeuvre with A.Cole, Lampard, Drogba & RvP taking up over 65% of my budget.

Stephen Carr is there in place of Kolarov at the moment, I've squeezed Phillips in & Benayoun is in too, but none of those switches are likely to remain. In fact, the whole damn team could change before the deadline, I'm that confused!

I'm going to leave it there I'm getting stressed. Please let me know how your team is shaping up. Anyone else finding picking a team this week one of the toughest of the season?

Cheers,
AM (not such a short post after all!)

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