After an impressive performance against Arsenal, Manchester United will be looking to their captain to keep his good run of form going…
Gameweek 12 review
We would happily give a crisp €10 note to anybody who managed to pick the dream team from week 12, such is the diversity of the players included.
JOE has rarely seen such a motley crew of Premier League players perform to such a high points scoring standard but last week was indicative of the ‘topsy-turvy, anything goes’ nature of this year’s Premier League season.
Costel Pantilimon was a busy man in the Black Cats draw with Leicester making four important saves and keeping a clean sheet bonus to earn nine points.
The subject of Manuel Neuer’s nightmares, John O’Shea, was impressive in his duel with Nigel Pearson’s men as was his teammate Santiago Vergini, the Sunderland defenders earned nine and seven points respectively.
The form of Newcastle United left-back Massadio Haidara has been a key factor in the Magpies’ reversal of fortunes and he completes the back-three having registered eight points.
The supremely gifted Christian Eriksen was the week’s highest points earner after he scored and created a goal in Spurs’ win at the KC Stadium (13 pts) while Eden Hazard had a relatively easy day against the 10 men of West Brom (11 pts).
Liverpool simply had no answer to the powerful running of Yannick Bolasie as he created two goals for the Eagles in their 3-1 win over Liverpool (10 pts) while Leon Osman and Moussa Sissoko (both 10 pts) complete the midfield five.
Burnley picked up a valuable three points with an away win against Stoke thanks to a brace from Danny Ings (12 pts) while Dwight Gayle’s goal and assist condemned Liverpool to another league defeat (12 pts)
J-League
Terry O’Rourke’s Sporting Kilbeggan climbed to the top of the table with an impressive haul of 60 points last week as they take their overall tally to 770 points while the previous leaders, Stephen Mullett’s wecouldwinitsixtimes, slip into second place 9 points behind.
Last week was almost impossible to foresee and Enda Mc Gearty’s Coin Men complete the top 3 on 755 points.
Diarmuid McCarthy and James Wong are tied for 4th/5th spot respectively as ABCDE F.C. and The Return can’t be separated.
J-League Top 5:
1) Sporting Kilbeggan Terry O’Rourke: 770 points
2) wecouldwinitsixtimes Stephen Mullett: 761 points
3) Coin Men Enda McGearty: 755 points
4) ABCDE F.C. Diarmuid McCarthy: 749 points
5) The Return James Wong: 749 points
Wayne’s World
If there’s one thing that’s consistent about Manchester United this season it’s that they are wonderfully inconsistent.
Encouraging performances against Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City (to a certain extent) were mixed with disappointing results against Leicester City, Swansea and West Brom.
Every win is now being heralded as the launch pad or as a turning point for Louis Van Gaal’s new look side but his team are entering a crucial stage of the season and can’t afford any more slip-ups in their bid to rejoin the Champions League.
Defensive injuries have hampered the side while Robin Van Persie’s alarming drop in form has placed an increasing amount of pressure on Wayne Rooney to find the back of the net with more regularity.
The Man Utd skipper has always been a striker who scores in purple patches but when he is on form United are a different proposition altogether.
The injury problems surrounding Radamel Falcao haven’t helped the Colombian’s bid at nailing down a starting place in the side while Van Persie has been more of a hindrance than help to Van Gaal in recent weeks.
James Wilson is being touted to feature against Hull City but we’re tipping Rooney to kickstart one of his goalscoring runs. The striker started the season brightly, scoring three in six, before picking up a stupid red card against West Ham in a nervy 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
As Alex Ferguson said, Rooney is the type of player that needs at least two or three games to find his stride and the subsequent three match suspension for his red card against West Ham didn’t help his momentum. On his return, Rooney failed to find the back of the net in tight matches against Man City and Crystal Palace but his goal at the Emirates could be the start of a welcome goalscoring run.
Hull, Stoke and Southampton are all in line for the Red Devils before they welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford. United will need Rooney firing on all cylinders over this important Christmas period.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Diego Costa (£11.1m) The Spaniard made an impressive return from injury against West Brom as he picked up right where he left off, bullying defenders and finding the back of the net. 11 goals is a phenomenal return already and we expect him to add to his tally at the Stadium of Light.
Mid Range: Aaron Ramsey (£8.7m) The Arsenal midfielder hasn’t quite matched the incredible standards that he set at the start of last season, injury interrupted his and the Gunners fantastic start, for which they never really recovered. Wenger’s men will be coming arriving at the Hawthorns with their tails up having dispatched of Dortmund midweek and Ramsey’s class is without question. Worth a shout.
Irish Pick: Ciaran Clark (4.3m) The Irish players in the Premier League face a difficult set of fixtures this weekend but injuries to Ron Vlaar, Nathan Baker and Philippe Senderos have given Clark an opportunity to force his way into Paul Lambert’s plans. Villa are on a rotten run of form but maybe Roy Keane’s departure will provide the much needed wake-up call to shake then out of their domestic slumber.
Captain’s Pick: Cesc Fabregas (£9.7m) We’re amazed that the brilliant Spanish playmaker is valued at such a low price because he is the cog that makes this Chelsea machine work. 10 league assists speak for themselves and the former Arsenal and Barcelona man has said that he feels he is playing the best football of his career. Frightening stuff for the rest of the league especially Gus Poyet’s Sunderland.
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