My favorite fantasy player, by far, could haunt his old club
We will, of course, deliver our regularly scheduled Fantasy Premier League preview later on this week – analyzing the plethora of “double-gameweeks” in store for the likes of Arsenal, Birmingham, Blackpool, Newcastle, Stoke, Tottenham, West Brom, and Wolves.
But first, let’s take a look at the Manchester Derby and some of the key points surrounding the fixture:
- RIO FERDINAND INJURY: England sorely missed Rio Ferdinand in the 2010 World Cup (knee injury) and it looks like Manchester United will be without their influential centre back this weekend against Manchester City. Ferdinand had a groin injury a few weeks ago and now has a calf strain – though he is receiving treatment around the clock in an attempt to be fit for the match, his participation is doubtful. This is a major bullet point not only for the match but for fantasy footie managers. Rafael (5.7M) is obviously the better ‘cheap’ pick in the United back four (though rotation with O’Shea / Brown is a minor issue) but in ‘real’ life – United will suffer without Ferdinand. Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans are no substitute for Rio. Bad news for United as Tevez will be licking his lips if he sees the likes of Smalling or Evans in there… slow-footed, inexperienced defenders.
- NEMANJA VIDIC FIT AND READY: The Ferdinand news is terrible for Sir Alex Ferguson, but slightly better news comes in the form of Serbia’s decision to allow Nemanja Vidic to stay in Manchester for the week and rest. Vidic should have linked up with his Serbian teammates for a friendly with Israel today, but instead will rest and be ready to go for the Saturday lunch-time kick-off. Great news for United fans and Vidic fantasy owners.
- MIDWEEK INJURIES NEED TO BE MONITORED: We have a full slate of international friendly matches today including England visiting Denmark, France playing Brazil, and Northern Ireland taking on Scotland, etc. Both of these teams will hope their players come back unscathed from their travels – fit and ready to go for the weekend. We’ll of course update you if Wayne Rooney sprains an ankle in the meaningless match with Denmark…
- GOALS, GOALS, GOALS: Last week saw a historic number of goals scored in the Premier League, and the focus has been on attack all season. First Drogba was hot. Then Tevez. And now Berbatov, Rooney, and Van Persie. Strikers are taking the plaudits, and why not, clean sheets have been tough to come by. One forward who won’t be playing in the derby is Mario Balotelli – who is still out injured. His knee has yet to heal completely. So, with striking talent like Rooney and Tevez on display, and Ferdinand out with an injury, we should expect loads of goals, right? Wrong? The last time these 2 teams met we saw a 0-0 draw. Mancini likes to grind it out with a 4-5-1 -relying on Hart at the back and Tevez up front against the “Big” clubs and this one will be no different. I can see a 2-1 scoreline either way, but I can’t see a single team putting up 3 goals in this one…
- UNITED COMING OFF A LOSS: United were undefeated all (league) season but have just come off a loss to Wolves. It’s funny as their loss in the Carling Cup was to West Ham (a 4-0 loss!) – they have lost to the two bottom teams (19th and 20th) in the Premier League. Strange. Will they bounce back from the loss? They should do. Kolo Toure doesn’t think so, but I think United will be focused for this one.
- TEVEZ vs ROONEY: That’s what this one may come down to at the end of the day. I think United’s other classy finishers (Nani, Berbatov, and Chicharito) are slightly deadlier at Old Trafford than City’s world class new boys (Silva, Dzeko and Yaya Toure) so that could be a secondary story-line, but the Rooney vs Tevez showdown on opposite ends of the pitch is something to salivate over. You can get your tickets for this match in the UK at TixDaq but for me, here in the U.S., I’ll be content with a 4:45AM wake up call to watch it live on ESPN in HD. Thank you, (somewhat) trusty iPhone alarm clock…
So there you have it. A look at the key points for this weekend’s massive Manchester Derby. If Manchester City pull off the shock road win, it would be Arsenal, not Manchester United, in the clear driving seat for the title – but there is still plenty of football left to play.
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I wish I could play Obafemi Martins (for obvious reasons) as a 4th striker , but I would have to bench Tevez or Berbatov in order to do it. Berby’s not played in previous crunchers. But I don’t know… can’t decide.
Oba-Oba is doubtful for this gameweek (visa issues). It’s a pitty, he’s a candidate to wear my team’s shirt as well. We’ll have to wait until friday and see…
He’s already cleared visas.
A gossip about your “favorite fantasy player, by far”… he’s been left out from the Argentina-Portugal game of today because he had a bad attitude towards his last friendly match (vs Brazil): he was expected to go to Qatar for the match but claimed a certain injury. 3 days later he was playing for Man City.
I love Carlitos, but it was not cool from him to do that. Now Argentina’s coach, Batista, is making him pay for that behavior. Good news for Apache owners!
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This is a difficult gw for me. Should I sit Berbatov to play Adam and/or Barton?
I’m sitting Berbs probably for P-Wingie or Obafemi.
Martin.
In my league I have a comfortable lead with enough of a cushion on transactions. I don’t have to take creative risks. I’m still inclined to add Obafemi as a 4th striker and bench Barbie who probably won’t start. But, I’m going to wait on Friday’s injury lists.
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