Football itself will almost be an afterthought after Deadline Day on Friday, which could have ramifications for Fantasy Football selections this weekend.
Gameweek 2 review
Granted it was a fairly obvious recommendation, but we can only hope for your own sake that you followed our advice and selected Eden Hazard on your team this week.
How long the Belgian can maintain this run of form remains to be seen, but as we said before the season started, it’s important to shamelessly hop on board a bandwagon before it’s too late and as Will Ferrell’s character in Zoolander might say, Hazard is so hot right now.
Hazard contributed a goal and yet another assist this weekend and finished with 13 points, enough to secure his place in the dream team alongside teammate Fernando Torres (11). Hazard was upstaged by the unlikely figure of Angel Rangel (14) as the highest scorer this week; less surprising was another notable performance from Michu (10), who had James Collins to thank for his goal against West Ham.
Goal-scoring defenders Benoit Assou-Ekotto (11) and Rafael (9) also feature in the best XI, as does as a leaner-looking Carlos Tevez, who benefitted from Martin Skrtel’s absence of mind late on at Anfield and netted a goal, an assist and three bonus points for a 12-point total.
J-League
We’re only two weeks in and Richard Snowden’s Release the Krakens have already opened up a significant gap at the top of the J-League, but it should be taken into account that Richard’s impressive start has catapulted him into fifth place overall in a league consisting of nearly 2.3 million people. That’s the sort of sky-high bar being set folks.
Richard topped the ton for the second week in succession thanks to a fearsome front seven of Michu, Kagawa, Hazard, Yaya Toure, Pienaar, Tevez and Torres and stands 23 points ahead of Derek Dickinson’s Haven’t Got a Kalou in second.
Jack O’Keefe’s JACKERBOMBERS ( No need to shout Jack) are a point back in third place, with Gavin Gingles’ Meath Lovers Pizza, Stephen Ruth’s Man Red and David O’Donnell’s Jimmyswinningmatches all battling it out for fourth on 196 points. Patrick McMahon’s Da Badgers complete the top five on 191 points.
Not that any of you will care, but if you were wondering about the fortunes of the JOE editorial team, the fact that the highest place occupied by a JOE member in the J-League is 623rd – yours truly – should tell you all you need to know.
J-League Top 5
- Release the Krakens – Richard Snowden: 221 points
- Haven’t Got a Kalou – Derek Dickenson: 198 points
- JACKERBOMBERS – Jack O’Keefe: 197 points
- Meath Lovers Pizza – Gavin Gingles, Man Red – Stephen Ruth, Jimmyswinningmatches – David O’Donnell: 196 points
- Da Badgers – Patrick McMahon: 191 points
Window clean-up
First things first, if you don’t already know, there will be no Chelsea or Reading players in action this weekend owing to the Blues’ involvement in the Super Cup so you might want to alter your team accordingly.
Because they had a double gameweek first time out, there’s a good chance a lot of you have overloaded on players from both sides, but you’re probably better off benching rather than getting rid of the Chelsea contingent especially after the brilliant start made by Di Matteo’s men.
Part of the reason for Chelsea’s success is that they got their signings in early and gave them time to settle and Di Matteo probably won’t be reaching for the chequebook again before midnight tonight.
Plenty of others will, however, and that’s why you’re better off delaying whatever business you might have to do until as late as possible before the really important deadline – the Fantasy Football Gameweek Three deadline – closes on Saturday afternoon.
By the time you read this, a lot of car windows will have been rolled down and quite a lot of things may have changed, but there is a possibility that the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Theo Walcott and Scott Sinclair will all be wearing different colours than usual and players of the calibre of Maicon, Ibrahim Affelay and Gaston Ramirez could be bound for their Premier League debuts.
It might be asking a lot for the new boys to make an instant impact, but it’s something worth mulling over all the same.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Carlos Tevez (£9.6 million). What a difference a year makes, eh? Nearly 12 months after that infamous night in Munich, Tevez is looking leaner and sharper than he has for some time and with compatriot Sergio Aguero on the sidelines, is likely to be the focal point of Citeh’s attack for the foreseeable future.
Mid-Range: Michu (£7.1 million). Some might think the Spaniard’s prolific start to his Swansea career is sheer luck, but 15 goals in La Liga for Rayo Vallecano last season would suggest otherwise. If he keeps this form up, Michael Laudrup will have got one of the bargains of the season.
Bargain Basement: Sylvain Distin (£5.5 million). Few teams have started the season as well as the Toffees, for whom Distin and Jagielka are looking very solid at the back. If money is tight, Distin is the cheaper option of the two centre halves.
Irish Pick: James McClean (£6.5 million). The Derryman scored a brace in the league cup during the week and will relish the chance to put a halt in Swansea’s gallop.
Captain’s Pick: Carlos Tevez (£9.6 million). Unlike the corresponding fixture last season and all the drama that went with it, we expect Man City to enjoy a routine victory over QPR at the Etihad and expect Tevez to be amongst the goals.
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