As promised, here's this Friday's Diving in the Box... today. I'm writing this as I'm preparing to head to Sin City, but at any rate, it's another big weekend of Premier League football. Of course, it's the Manchester Derby this Sunday and even though City will be without a few of their star players, the Derby is always a tantalizing fixture. Also, Tottenham have to rebound quick from their first loss of the season as they're facing the league leaders, Chelsea. How does this all affect your fantasy teams? Read on...
Week 5 Fixtures
Forwards
Must-haves:
- Wayne Rooney, Manchester United (v Manchester City)
- Didier Drogba, Chelsea (v Tottenham)
- Robin van Persie, Arsenal (v Wigan)
- Fernando Torres, Liverpool (at West Ham)
- Jermain Defoe, Tottenham (at Chelsea)
Start:
- Darren Bent, Sunderland (at Burnley)
- Eduardo da Silva, Arsenal (v Wigan)
- Gabriel Agbonlahor, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- John Carew, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- Craig Bellamy, Manchester City (at Manchester United)
- Tuncay Sanli, Stoke (at Bolton)
- Hugo Rodallega, Wigan (at Arsenal)
Risky business:
- Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea (v Tottenham)
- Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United (v Manchester City)
- Kenwyne Jones, Sunderland (at Burnley)
- Michael Owen, Manchester United (v Manchester City)
- Kevin Davies, Bolton (v Stoke)
- Robbie Keane, Tottenham (at Chelsea)
- Andy Johnson, Fulham (at Wolverhampton)
Take a punt on:
- Jo, Everton (v Blackburn)
- Yakubu, Everton (v Blackburn)
- Kamel Ghilas, Hull (v Birmingham)
- Kevin Doyle, Wolverhampton (v Fulham)
- Cristian Benitez, Birmingham (at Hull)
Toss out:
- Emmanuel Adebayor, Manchester City (at Manchester United)
- Carlton Cole, West Ham (v Liverpool)
- James Beattie, Stoke (at Bolton)
An interesting week for the elite must-have forwards, as four of the five have favorable matchups and it's somewhat difficult to distinguish them. It's safe to say that both the Manchester United and Chelsea attacks run through Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba respectively. So, which one to go with? Well, keep in mind that in Yahoo that Drogba is almost exactly 5 million cheaper than Rooney and Drogs has shown some assist potential with the way he interchanges roles with Nicolas Anelka. Tottenham tend to play a high line and their frailties are still prevalent at the back. As for Rooney, he has been equally as unplayable and City had shown that they can prove to be under the gun with relentless attacking. The best pure matchup of the five belongs to Arsenal forward, Robin van Persie, as the Gunners host a Wigan side who have been up and down at the back, but can be stretched with the quality personnel. RVP has been on quite a roll, even though he only found the onion bag last week at Eastlands. I reckon Arsenal will be looking at this match with added urgency, following two deflating losses to the Manchester clubs and will look to put the Latics to the sword. Fernando Torres had a very quiet game against Burnley and he has yet to string four games in a row with a goal for Liverpool. The Reds travel this weekend to Upton Park, as West Ham have conceded just three goals albeit the fact they have only faced offensively challenged sides such as Wolves, Blackburn, and Wigan (not counting Tottenham). Don't let the Hammers' good scoring record nor Torres' letdown last week get you down from buying the Spaniard, especially now that his price has dwindled to under 17.5m. Lastly, keep plugging Jermain Defoe at a discount although part of me thinks he'll have a harder time breaching the Chelsea goal unless he capitalizes on another Petr Cech gaffe.
There are two recommended starters that jump out to me: Darren Bent of Sunderland and the newly reinstated Eduardo, who had just gotten his Champions League ban rescinded. First off, Bent and Sunderland travel down to Burnley, which screams out as an appetizing matchup, although it should be interesting to see if the Clarets can muster giving up little to no damage on their goal at Turf Moor, as they successfully did in shocking wins over Manchester United and Everton. Just something to keep in mind, but I reckon D-Bent and Kenwyne Jones can cause Burnley fits. There's inherent risk in Eduardo starting or sitting because Arsene Wenger, especially now that he's eligible to make a splash in the Champions League group stage opener versus Standard Liege. Eduardo projects as the ultimate medium-risk, high-reward proposition as he is priced at a little over 7m in Yahoo.
If you don't want to swallow down the risk of Eduardo, then you could look at the warm boot of Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has netted in his last two matches for Aston Villa and maybe, just maybe he's over that flash-in-the-pan perception. For what it's worth, Villa are home to a Pompey side that has conceded 10 goals on the campaign. Only Hull have given away more this term at 12 goals and Everton have surrendered the same amount as Portsmouth. You can also roll with John Carew, Gabby's line mate, who has a bit of a tradeoff between the potential for a goal or two on a muted shot on target count and creativity on the open run of play. Elsewhere, you reckon Craig Bellamy will be relied on greatly with Robinho, Carlos Tevez, and Emmanuel Adebayor figuring to sit out the Manchester Derby for varying reasons and if you carried him on discount, he's worth your while. Likewise, Hugo Rodallega doesn't have the most eye-popping matchup against Arsenal but the Gunners have yet to record a clean sheet this term and I'm expecting an uptempo game in Arsenal's favor but I also see Wigan pushing the initiative a bit too. James Beattie's status sounds uncertain after landing awkward in unleashing a volley on the Chelsea goal early, which could open the way for Tuncay to feature in Stoke's starting XI and the matchup is riper compared to Chelsea. Bolton lack continuity in their backline and I can see Stoke breaking any chances of recording a donut.
Like I said last week, I believe Nicolas Anelka, Dimitar Berbatov, and Robbie Keane carry measurable risk to be sunk money. Michael Owen is still enticingly cheap, but in these big matches, I reckon Fergie will sit him for City this Sunday albeit the fact that he hasn't featured for the side in quite a while. Kenwyne Jones could go on to post a big game against Burnley although I'm more comfortable in selecting the hot boot in Darren Bent. The good news is he and Jones seem to be linking up well for Sunderland. Kevin Davies of Bolton (v Stoke) and Andy Johnson of Fulham (at Wolves) have some intriguing matchups, but once again I'd be leery of buying either for a fairly steep price for my liking and a risk for a letdown.
With Louis Saha proving to be made out of glass once again, Jo earned his first start for Everton last Sunday against Fulham but was rather ineffective. Yakubu could be set to return to the Toffees which makes him along with Jo, worthy albeit lukewarm starts against a Blackburn side that have held up fairly well at the back this term, as expected out of a Big Sam managed side. Again, there's the prospect of buying Cristian Benitez to come up roses with a patsy game ahead at Hull although if you've been brokenhearted by the Chucho Experiment, I'll suggest Benitez's opposite number, Hull's Kamel Ghilas who is equally as cheap and has contributed with a goal as well as an assist for the Tigers. Lastly, I'd also consider Wolves' Kevin Doyle against a Fulham side that have yet to record a clean sheet and their backline was exposed away from home last term, outside of the compacted Cottage pitch.
Easy to say that you should toss out Emmanuel Adebayor as at the least, he's serving a three game ban for that vicious stamp on van Persie and he's awaiting punishment for the inflammatory goal celebration in front of the Arsenal supporters. I wouldn't consider Carlton Cole against Liverpool even though he stands the best chance of pouncing on a mistake from the Reds and like I said, James Beattie's fitness could be quite sketchy heading into this weekend.
Midfielders
Must-haves:
- Steven Gerrard, Liverpool (at West Ham)
- Frank Lampard, Chelsea (v Tottenham)
Start:
- Matthew Taylor, Bolton (v Stoke)
- Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal (v Wigan)
- Ashley Young, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- James Milner, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- Stephen Hunt, Hull (v Birmingham)
- Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool (at West Ham)
- Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal (v Wigan)
- Clint Dempsey, Fulham (at Wolverhampton)
- Damien Duff, Fulham (at Wolverhampton)
- Nenad Milijas, Wolverhampton (v Fulham)
- Jordi Gomez, Wigan (at Arsenal)
Risky business:
- Andy Reid, Sunderland (at Burnley)
- Florent Malouda, Chelsea (v Tottenham)
- Shaun Wright-Phillips, Manchester City (at Manchester United)
- Morten Gamst Pedersen, Blackburn (at Everton)
- Liam Lawrence, Stoke (at Bolton)
Take a punt on:
- Tim Cahill, Everton (v Blackburn)
- Jamie O'Hara, Portsmouth (at Aston Villa)
Toss out:
- Mark Noble, West Ham (v Liverpool)
Same story as last week. If I had to choose between the two, I'm going with Steven Gerrard at West Ham over Frank Lampard vs. Spurs, but the difference between the two is slight in my opinion. Keeping things in perspective, I'd rather have Drogba over Lamps because the diamond formation benefits Drogba more in terms of goal/assist potential and he's considerably cheaper than Lamps. Don't count out Lampard just yet from breaking out in earnest this week though against Spurs.
The only expensive start option I'm bullish on is Bolton's Matthew Taylor, as again he does everything for a Trotters side that relies only on its head to score, and he'll be facing a Stoke side that aren't as stringent defensively away from the Britannia. He may be expensive, but I'm also thinking he has less of a chance to be sunken points like Cesc Fabregas or Ashley Young, both of whom don't take the set pieces for their side nor do they move forward with the intent to shoot as often as Taylor. For what it's worth, I do like Fabregas' matchup and the same with Ashley Not Cashley; if I had to go with one, it would be Cesc.
If you're skittish on starting Ashley Not Cashley for the hefty price tag, I'm going with his teammate, James Milner for the sub-10 price and he presents the best possible value against Pompey, barring a MOTM-worthy performance from Young. I'm also liking Hull's Stephen Hunt for under 10 as well, even though I'd vouch for Birmingham being a tricky side to break down in full. If Tomas Rosicky is handed a start by Arsene Wenger (he's been treating him with kid gloves of late and for good reason), he's a better for-value play than Fabregas and he'll have license to create and shoot for the Gunners. Last week's hattrick hero, Yossi Benayoun, will come at some premium after last weekend's blistering display, and is a worthy start if you're willing to buy in, against his former Hammers side (better yet if you had him on discount last week). I also like the Fulham duo of Clint Dempsey and Damien Duff to profit from an intriguing matchup against Wolves and on the other side of the coin, I also like Nenad Milijas for Wolves. Jordi Gomez might have a rough matchup as the Latics travel to the Emirates, but somehow I'm unconvinced that Arsenal will record a clean sheet here and Gomez has outproduced his value so far.
Looks like I'm in a hurry here. So, I advise that if you're looking bargain basement for mids, go to Tim Cahill, one of Everton's header specialists or Jamie O'Hara of Portsmouth, who moved over from Tottenham and figures to be instrumental in taking their set pieces.
Once again, I'm in a hurry to finish this up as I'm heading to Vegas. Sorry about this...
Defenders
Start:
- Glen Johnson, Liverpool (at West Ham)
- Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal (v Wigan)
- Stephen Warnock, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- Richard Dunne, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- Roger Johnson, Birmingham (v Hull)
- Johnny Heitinga, Everton (v Blackburn)
Goalkeepers
Start:
- Manuel Almunia, Arsenal (v Wigan)
- Brad Friedel, Aston Villa (v Portsmouth)
- Jose Reina, Liverpool (at West Ham)
- Craig Gordon, Sunderland (v Burnley)
- Joe Hart, Birmingham (at Hull)
- Boaz Myhill, Hull (v Birmingham)
That'll about do it this week. Sorry for writing this at a rush, but I'll be back a week from Friday with the next Diving in the Box. Until then, stay safe and keep your clothes on...
-Ray
