The calm before the storm.
J-League
With just three gameweeks to go, the situation is arse-clenchingly tight at the top of the J-League, with nothing separating the top two as matters draw to a fascinating conclusion.
Having topped the table for so-long before a mid-season crisis, Ciaran Tracey’s Bacuna Mata-ta are now level on points with Allan Johnson’s Comeback Kids after they were the only side to top 50 points in what was a pretty barren weekend all round.
It was a very much of case of holding on to what you’ve got as there was only one other change in the top five, with Mark Anderson’s Aidan Carroll is 38 nudging back in.
Brendan Nohilly’s Odds are against me! And Tremendous Tom Mulholland’s The Turbo Terrific have managed to hold onto third and fourth place respectively, with both well within distance of staging a last-ditch burst for the title before the season’s end.
J-League Top 5
1) Comeback Kids – Allan Johnson: 2,197 points
2) Bacuna Mata-ta – Ciaran Tracey: 2,197 points
3) Odds are against me! – Brendan Nohilly: 2,186 points
4) The Turbo Terrific – Tremendous Tom Mulholland: 2,176 points
5) Aidan Carroll is 38 – Mark Anderson: 2,169 points
Gameweek 36
On paper, Spurs’ trip to Chelsea for yet another Monday Night Football clash is the standout tie of the weekend, but it won’t count for much if Leicester City have already wrapped up the Premier League title by that stage.
The Foxes take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon and a win for the latter will keep them within touching distance of Manchester City and Arsenal, so they won’t be giving anything away easy.
Aside from those games, a prudent strategy is to try and identify the teams who have little to play for and are already on holiday and pick opposition players capable of doing some damage.
Stoke, for example, have shown signs that they’re already thinking of the beach, while Everton may well fall into that bracket after their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United.
Sunderland and Newcastle are usually best avoided, but they’re both showing a bit of fight in their relegation dogfight and their squads are worth exploring for bargains over the coming weeks.
Remember that Gameweek 37 is a bumper double gameweek (eight teams are in action twice) so bear that in mind if and when making any transfers.
This week’s picks
Safe bet: Daniel Sturridge (£10.1 million). Liverpool fans watched on in bemusement as Sturridge remained on the bench during the loss to Villarreal.
And with good reason too because he’s scored five goals in his last six league games, including one in each of the last four.
Dark horse: Andros Townsend (£5.7 million). Has played 90 minutes in all but one of the Magpies’ last five games and has registered two goals, two assists and 31 points in that time.
Captain’s choice: Alexis Sanchez (£11.1 million). We’re prepared to put last week down as a blip and have some faith in a guy who had managed six goals and three assists in his previous seven league games.
Norwich are fighting for their lives, but they rarely cause Arsenal much strife.
Potential to use chips
If you haven’t used any of your chips yet, then you best use one this weekend as there are only three Gameweeks left.
Hold onto your best one though as next week is when the magic happens… honest
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