Milo was about to light up his smoke when his phone buzzed. It was a text from his best friend, Doc.
"Not again" He thought.
Doc was reminding him that the international break was over and that he should update his fantasy squad.
He put the lighter down and replied back
"OK"
The indicator on his iPhone showded that Doc Daneeka "... is typing". He sighed.
"Have you sold Aguero yet?"
He really was in no mood to talk to Doc right now.
"Yes" He replied, laconically.
Doc was typing again. He muted the phone, picked his lighter up and lit his smoke."Every week the same shit", he thought. He dragged to the living room as his phone was lighting up
"What do you think about Sanchez?"
"Do you think I should opt for him?"
"But then I should sell Salah"
Milo opened his TV to watch a movie. Somehow, he just seemed to get the better of Doc every season. Every week. Poor Doc.
The truth was that Milo never really prepared pre-gameweek for a match. Actually, it wasn't even he who was playing.
The truth was that he had given his fantasy account to his 11 year old nephew who wasn't even interested in football.
"I'm all set" He texted Doc back.
 |
| Yes. He's back! |
Arsenal v Spurs
Finally a home game against one of the big guys for Arsenal. Abysmal at Anfield and the Etihad, while clinching a draw at the Bridge, they are now facing Spurs. We can actually see them winning this one, but without keeping a clean sheet. 2-1 is our prediction for Spurs' last fixture of a very tough schedule.DOs:
- Sanchez (11.8): The Chilean will have the last word, and score.
- Eriksen (9.7): An amazing season for both club and country, having practically taken Denmark to the World Cup all by himself.
DON'Ts:
- Kolasinac. We won't see him rampaging against the Spurs defence since Wenger will most likely want to keep a compact back four
- Kane. Unless you already own him, don't opt for him just yet. An easy set of fixtures coming up for Tottenham, so please be patient and plan to fit him in your squad next week.
Bournemouth v Huddersfield
Huddersfield have been more or less horrible in their away games so far, having managed only to win at Crystal Palace and get a goalless draw so far. Bournemouth, your typically average side, proved against Brighton that they can handle this kind of matches and grind out a win.DOs:
- Begovic (4.5): Only two clean sheets so far, but will inevitably get his third against Huddersfield.
- Surman (4.7): Quality midfielder playing for a side that somehow finds a way to provide us with fantasy points more often than not.
DON'Ts:
- Lossl. No clean sheet or Liverpool PK taker against him this week, so move along
- Ince. His maximum point contribution is 5 points (in one occasion). For a starter this is woeful.
Man Utd v Newcastle
Newcastle coming from a surprise home defeat against Bournemouth, while Manchester United coming back from a lost against Chelsea. Mourinho v Benitez is always fun to watch since their feud started back in 2005, but -unfortunately for our buddy, Rafa- you don't have to be a fortune teller to predict the scoreline here. 4-0. We predict a nice stroll in the park for Mourinho's side in a picturesque rainy Saturday afternoon at Manchester. .DOs:
- Lukaku (11.5): The beast is back and will score
- De Gea (5.7): The walking clean sheet will surely walk in our starting 11.
DON'Ts:
- Lascelles. Goals to be conceded? Check. Player doubtful? Check. Get rid? Check
- Atsu. Can't see him getting anything against ManU
Crystal Palace v Everton
We will start a petition calling the lack of clean sheets, "pulling a Palace". No clean sheets in 11 league matches this season for Roy's incredibles. Rather surprisingly, Everton are not too far off these numbers with only 1 clean sheet in the league so far. Still, Everton should win it as they will be looking to make it two in a row after last gameweek's thriller. Obviously, we are looking at another high-scoring classic. We expect a 2-4 for Everton.
DOs:
- Rooney (7.3): Vintage Rooney. Two goals. You heard it here first. Which brings us to...
- Gueye (4.9): Someone has to assist Wayne, right? Who better than the player who hasn't missed a minute this season.
DON'Ts:
- Hennessey/Speroni. Whoever plays, you have 0 clean sheets
- Milivojevic. Mr Yellow card. Stay away
Burnley v Swansea
Definitely not the most exciting draw of the weekend. Burnley usually wins with 1-0. Swansea, on the other hand, are having a lousy season so far. Reason says Burnley will get another of their customary 1-0 wins here, but this weekend there is no reason. We have this weird feeling for a crazy Burnley win with the thrilling scoreline of 2-1.
DOs:
- Gudmundsson (5.0): He has been playing full 90 minutes lately and has three assists in his last four matches.
- Abraham (5.9): He will be the fantasy player for Swansea this year. He has the skills to make the next move in his career rather soon.
DON'Ts:
- Fabianski. It is difficult to keep a clean sheet and there are better options for this week
- Ward. He is the Burnley's version of Abraham. He is the top fantasy player for Burnley, but this weekend we would suggest to avoid him as we don't see Burnely keeping a clean sheet.
West Brom v Chelsea
Chelsea beat Utd and it is their moment to start rolling. They will have to face ... (drumroll) our favorite Pulis side! So, Conte should know how to handle the parked bus they will most likely find at the Hawthorns. One way or another, they will manage to escape with a a victory. We would expect a win for Chelsea 0-2 or 0-3
DOs:
- Azpilicueta (6.8): Full back that delivers.Not much more to ask
- Morata (10.3): Our suggested captain for this week
DON'Ts:
- Hegazi. The man. The myth. The legend. Everyone got him after the first games, everyone is getting rid of him now. We love saying "I told you so".
- Rodriguez. 2 goals in 11 games, we do not expect something better against Chelsea.
Watford v West Ham
Marco Silva might be the hot new name in the Premier League, but Watford seem to be going through a rough patch lately. Three losses against Chelsea, Stoke and Everton leave Watford with a bruised ego and a point to prove. However, all lights should be on West Ham. Thank you Hammers for bringing Moyes back to the premier league. The big tinkerman and master of the benches is back and Pulis has some competition for this blog's favourite manager. We do have a suspicion, however, that in spite of Moyes's herculean efforts, West Ham will be eventually relegated this season. And it will all start with a 4-1 loss at Watford.
DOs:
- Richarlison (6.5): (Not Richardson! :) ) He is doing great so far and he will score in this game.
- Gray (6.3): Deeney is suspended and he will be in the starting 11. We expect him to add some goals next to Richarlison (Not Richardson!)
DON'Ts:
- West Ham defence. They are doing bad and with Moyes they will do worse.
- Watford defence. They will win but they will concede goals for sure.
Brighton v Stoke
We do expect a Brighton win here, but -honestly- would rather watch Mersham play Lowestoft than watch this game. Brighton might not be pretty in the eye but they do deliver. It is a fact. Stoke are not too different, but not as effective. Brighton have done the transfer of the season, Gross Pascal; he was playing in Ingolstald and he leads safely Brighton to another year in Premier League. Our prediction is 1-0 for Brighton.DOs:
- Gross (5,9): Get him now that he is still cheap. He scores and he assists.
- Ryan (4,5): A very cheap option for your keeper. We do not see Stoke scoring at this game.
DON'Ts:
- Diouf. We do not see them scoring, so why to pick their striker?
- Jese. After his summer transfer and first displays, we thought that he is a bargain. Big Mistake! Avoid him!
Leicester v Manchester City
We expect the unexpected. We think that City will not manage to grab the 3 points. The international break might have influenced Pepe's team. It is our sixth sense. Also, Aguero will not be starting. Leicester have managed to solve their attacking issues in the last games and they will do their best to stop Guardiola's train. We expect a 1-1 draw.
DOs:
- Mahrez (8,4): He is born to deliver in such games. He will find the spaces that he really needs and he will be a constant menace for City's defence
- Sane (8.9): He just keeps improving week in week out. We might not expect a win for City but if someone scores, it will be him
DON'Ts:
- Both defences. We predict a draw, but we see that bot teams will win.
- Albrighton. He started the season as a starter, playing the full 90 minutes. Then, he was the first substitute. Now he is the last player to come on from the bench. Why invest your money in a player of 1 fantasy point?
Liverpool v Southampton
And so they meet. After this summer's drama and Van Dijk fiasco, Liverpool are hosting Southampton for the first time. A lot of tension between the two clubs lately, with rumors that Southampton are in fact Liverpool's incubator being dismissed as nonsense. Liverpool are coming back from an easy win at London that led to the eventual sacking of Bilic, while Southampton coming back from a loss at home to Burnley. In typical Liverpool fashion, we expect Liverpool to come back from an International break and fire blanks. 0-0.
DOs:
- Matip (5,5): Seems to be a thread from set pieces, scored -albeit luckily- at West Ham, expecting him to keep a clean sheet.
- van Dijk (5,4): You just know it, don't you? If Southampton are to score, it has to be him
DON'Ts:
- Liverpool Midfield. A lot of shuffling seems to be going on lately by Klopp. Logical, since Liverpool's midfield three contribution has been abysmal this season
- Gabbiadini. Started as this blog's pet favorite, now we are leaving him out dry. It is a cruel world the fantasy world.
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