Manchester City players have proved fantastic value for money so far, but can they survive what is shaping up to be a very tricky Christmas period?
Pre-Christmas Champions League games are traditionally forgettable affairs and an opportunity for the big teams in Europe to show just how much of a gulf in class there is between the elite and the chasing pack. And while that has remained true for Barcelona and Real Madrid this season, it certainly hasn’t been the case for the English sides.
Anyone, for example, who would have said that Arsenal would be the first English team to qualify for the knockout stages considering their early season woes and the apparent ease of Manchester United’s and Chelsea’s groups would have been heartily laughed at. People who speculated that United would face a struggle to qualify in second would also have been dismissed out of hand.
The biggest thing to take from this week’s European ties, however, is that Manchester City are, to borrow the title of a Daft Punk album, ‘human after all’. Fair enough, their group was a tough one but Bayern Munich and Napoli have both shown that Roberto Mancini’s side are beatable and that will encourage some of the domestic teams they will encounter over the next six weeks or so.
Between now and January 3, City will face Liverpool twice, as well as Chelsea, Arsenal and potentially tricky fixtures against Sunderland and Stoke. In the next four weeks, they will play Liverpool and Chelsea away and have a home game against Arsenal, for whom Robin van Persie is tearing it up at the moment.
That’s not to say that City won’t come through that period intact, but if there was ever a time to reshuffle the City pack a little on your Fantasy team, it is now. Wholesale changes are probably best avoided, but if it means sacrificing an Aguero for a Van Persie, or a Silva for a Bale, it might just be worth it, even if it’s only for a few weeks.
The gamble might come up trumps or it could blow up in your face, but, to quote my tough-talking colleague Sean Nolan, Fantasy Football is not for pussies, it’s all about taking risks.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Nani (£10.0 million). Although they’re still winning, you’d imagine that Manchester United will soon emerge from the current mediocre funk they seem to be stuck in. Newcastle were shown up against top quality opposition last Saturday and United will want to rub it in at Old Trafford after a frustrating evening against Benfica mid-week.
Long term, United’s fixture list includes games against Villa, Wolves, QPR, Fulham, Blackburn and Wigan before the turn of the year, so Nani could prove an astute buy if he can return to his early season form.
Mid-Range: Emmanuel Adebayor (£8.6 million). One of the more surprising and less heralded success stories of the season so far. Adebayor has always been a good player, it was just his personality that often got in the way of him becoming a real success. Like Spurs in general, he’s flying with five assists and five goals in total, including two in his last outing against Aston Villa.
Bargain Basement: Ivan Klasnic (£5.9 million). Bolton might be struggling this season, but they certainly have a few individuals punching above their weight. Last week, we tipped Chris Eagles, this week it’s Ivan Klasnic, who has scored six goals, provided four assists and is a far greater threat than the past-it Kevin Davies for the Trotters.
Irish Pick: John O’Shea (£5.0 million). Like the national side, the Sunderland defence looks a lot more secure whenever Long John is in the team and O’Shea has played 90 minutes on the four occasions the Black Cats have kept clean sheets this season. Besides, we can’t give it to Jonathan Walters every week.
Captain’s Pick: Robin van Persie (£12.9 million). In this form, how could it be anyone but RVP? Two goals against Norwich last Saturday, two goals against Borussia Dortmund in the week, the Fulham defence will be quaking in their distinctly average boots when they head to the Emirates on Saturday evening.
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