Being away with England did little to halt the momentum of Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young, who are on fire at the moment.
Fantasy Football (In association with Champion)
The international break can prove an unwelcome distraction in a number of ways. First of all, due to the scheduling of the Friday night kick-offs and with the rugby on hiatus until this weekend, sports fans were left bored and bewildered on Saturday afternoon with no major action to while away idle hours.
Secondly, as Samir Nasri and Shane Long will testify, there is always a chance of picking up injuries and thirdly, international fixtures can often kill off momentum and form that players had built up at club level.
Fortunately for Manchester United duo Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young, being away with England didn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. Against Bulgaria on Friday, Rooney chipped in with two goals – one of which came from a Young assist – while on Tuesday against Wales, Young got on the scoresheet in an England win that was largely down to the woeful finishing (skip to 0.48 for the horror) of the man with the massive forehead, Robbie Earnshaw.
With both players reporting back to their club injury-free, all fantasy managers should be at least considering putting them into their team this weekend, if they haven’t done so already of course. Rooney is one of those players – Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard used to enjoy similar status – that is almost a must-have when he is in top form.
With 38 points, he’s the top points-scorer in the league this season thanks to five goals, two assists and six bonus points and judging by his general demeanour so far this season, looks a good bet to continue that form against Bolton this weekend.
When Rooney is off-colour, he growls, he spits fury and looks like a walking red card. When he’s in the mood, he smiles, banters with the ref and with the opposition and tries audacious things like his halfway line effort and his chip that hit the post against Arsenal. Gary Cahill will be a formidable opponent at the Reebok this weekend, but few can stop Rooney when he’s playing like he is at the moment.
Young, meanwhile, is in the form of his life at present. There were a few raised eyebrows when he signed for the Red Devils in the summer, but the doubters have been truly silenced now. Playing in a better team and with better players seems to have elevated him to a greater status and in fantasy football terms, that’s evident in the two goals, five assists and three bonus points he’s contributed so far.
At £10.2 million, he’s on the expensive side, but if he maintains this rich vein of from, his value will only skyrocket and it may be advisable to get him in now rather than pay the price further down the line.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks
Top Dollar: Wayne Rooney (£12.2 million). Having just blown his trumpet above, it would be churlish of us not to recommend the United number ten for this week. Besides, 41.3 per cent of managers can’t be wrong, can they?
Mid-range: Mikel Arteta (£8.0 million). Probably the most interesting of all the deadline day signings and could be the man to drag the Gunners out of their early season drudgery. At 29, it could be argued his best days are behind him, but he’s been a consistent performer for Everton for years and always looked as if he had the ability to succeed at a higher level.
Bargain Basement: Joey Barton (£5.9 million). It just had to happen that in his first game for QPR, Barton would come up against the club that seemed to be determined to get rid of him last month. For all his troubles, Barton is a good player and good value for a few assists when he’s on form. He seems destined to make an impression this weekend, although it could easily end in tears as opposed to triumph.
Irish Pick: Richard Dunne (£5.5 million). After his ‘none shall pass’ heroics in Moscow on Tuesday night, it would be a travesty to recommend anyone else but the Honey Monster as our Irish pick for the week.
Dunne has had a solid start to the season with two clean sheets in three games and will fancy keeping another one against an Everton side deprived of their primary creative force in Mikel Arteta and with only one goal to their credit so far this season.
Captain’s Pick: Edin Dzeko (£8.8 million). With six goals in three games so far, the Bosnian has taken to the Premier League by storm after a difficult bedding-in process last term. He’ll be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against the Wigan defence at the Etihad this weekend.
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