This weeks Premier League fixtures look incredibly tight so who are the best options from the so called ‘smaller clubs’…
Gameweek 6 Review
For a fair few of the JOE writers, week six represented the confirmation that Chelsea are the run away favourites to lift this years Premier League title as Mourinho’s men completely blitzed Aston Villa while Man City struggled to overcome Hull City.
The team of the week was unusual in that the most popular formation was a 5-3-2. Defenders were most definitely on top last week.
The rampaging Cesar Azpilicueta kept a clean sheet and contributed with an assist (11 pts) as he further cemented his importance to the Blues while Phil Jagielka will probably never score a better or dramatic goal than he did at Anfield (10 pts).
These tallies were very impressive but the duo were surprisingly outscored by WBA’s Craig Dawson (13) and the quietly impressive Scott Dann (12). Santiago Vergini, who has made a solid start to life at Sunderland, completes the back 5.
Round of applause for West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans though who was the weekends highest scoring player as a goal and two assists helped him earn 16 points. Aston Villa couldn’t get to grips with the powerful running of Willian who scored and set up another (14 pts) while Palace’s reliable skipper Mile Jedinak (10 pts) completes the midfield trio.
Saido Berahino made everyone take notice of his incredibly prolific strike rate by bagging twice for the Baggies in their 4-0 destruction of hapless Burnley (13 pts) while Eden Dzeko’s goals proved to be the difference for Man City as they laboured to a 4-2 win over Hull (12 pts).
J-League Top 5:
A combination of Diego Costa and Ryan Bertrand helped Terry O’Rourke’s Sporting Kilbeggan to 47 points and first place in the J-League. The gap is now nine points on previous leader John Thompson and his rather brilliantly named no pants dance fc.
John will be looking over his shoulder though as Looneytoonarmy are just a point behind while Martin Desmond’s BrainFart and the always reliable Baines on Toast complete the top 5.
J-League Top 5
Sporting Kilbeggan : Terry o’rourke – 381 points
No Pants Dance FC : JohnTthompson – 372 points
Looneytoonarmy : John Quirke – 371 points
BrainFart : Martin Desmond – 368 points
Baines on Toast : Niall Colfer – 366 points
The big teams might not have the big points earners this week…
While there is always no such thing as a guaranteed result in football this weekends fixture list looks incredibly tight to call as all the so called ‘big teams’ all face tough tests.
Without a win in their last three league matches, Liverpool welcome their bogey team West Brom to Anfield. Everton will have no fear of playing at Old Trafford after winning there last season and Mauricio Pochettino faces his high-flying former side at White Hart Lane.
Man City look like they have the easiest fixture on paper against Aston Villa but the champions did lose here last year and they haven’t exactly hit top gear just yet. Chelsea look imperious right now but they face an Arsenal team that will be desperate to make amends for last years 6-0 capitulation.
The matches between Hull v Palace and Sunderland v Stoke also seem like there is very little to separate the sides.
It’s a very likely scenario that the league’s most valuable strikers and defenders could cancel each other out so we’ve decided to look elsewhere this week for some cheaper options when it comes to scoring points.
Burnley’s defending looked absolutely hopeless against WBA while Leicester are turning the King Power Stadium into something of a fortress. We would be amazed if neither of the duo of Jamie Vardy or the extremely impressive Leonardo Ulloa manage to find the back of the net against the Clarets.
It’s a similar story for West Ham against QPR as the R’s have looked utterly clueless at times on their return to the big time. The rejuvenated Stewart Downing has already picked up 29 points this season and we expect him to provide a few more goal scoring opportunities this weekend.
Man City look the most bankable of the ‘big teams’ this week as Aston Villa seem happy to give up possession in an effort to defend deep and hit teams on the break. Consecutive 3-0 defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea have shown that Villa’s good start to the season has ended and the thought of Silva supplying the bullets for Dzeko and Aguero seems like an inevitability to us.
It seems like nothing is going right for Newcastle United now and the long trip to Wales isn’t the ideal fixture for their under fire boss Alan Pardew. Swansea have been very impressive so far, despite their strikers failing to catch fire just yet, so any of their dynamic midfield trio of Sigurdsson , Dyer and Routledge look like good cheap options to us.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Sergio Agüero (£12.2 million) We feel the brilliant Argentinian is worth splashing out on this week because most of the leagues other best strikers will be facing the league’s best defenders. Villa have shipped 6 goals in ther last two games and City will dominate possession in this one. Baker and Senderos can deal with big physical strikers like Dzeko but what about a cleverer player with better movement? The Argentinian has also scored 10 goals in his last 12 Premier League away games.
Mid-Range: David Silva (£9.1 million) We’re nailing our colours to the Man City mast here but we really don’t see Villa having any of the ball against the champions. They may be able to withstand for a period of time but there is no better player at exploiting space or tired minds than the Spanish playmaker.
Bargain Basement: Leonardo Ulloa (5.9 million) We have been really impressed with the old-school Argentinian striker and it seems that his robust, powerful, all-action style is perfectly suited to the Premier League. Burnley looked hopeless defending balls into their box, which is Ulloa’s speciality, so we expect him to add to his impressive 5 goal tally.
Irish Pick: Damien Delaney (£4.9 million) Not the most glamorous pick but the Irish defender is a key part of a well organised Palace defence. It looks like the Eagles have returned to their solid ways after a wobbly transition period following Tony Pulis’ departure and they should be able to restrict Hull’s goalscoring chances.
Captain’s Pick: Diafra Sakho (£5.5 million) We’ve opted for the striker for the sole reason that QPR look totally incapable of defending at times. West Ham have been impressive so far this season, the new signings have seemed to fit in nicely at Upton Park, and expect Harry Redknapp to have an unhappy return to his former club.
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