Gameweek 11 Preview

No rambling this week as I've been moving home with boxes stacked high and much upheaval. This isn't unlike my fantasy team which is chaotic and unpredictable and might need a renovation of it's own very soon. I was saved last week by Vidic and Adam's performances but cruelly punished by last minute goals conceded by Williamson and Jaaskelainen.

As you have hopefully noticed I am starting to re-design the site a bit to give everyone constant access to the stats I try and incorporate into my work. I have started with the aPPMS and aPoints to the right of this post and I will be adding short and long term strength of schedules soon. Any requests for specific data to be posted would be welcomed.

Without further delay then, here are this week's rankings:

Clean Sheet Rankings
(expected goals conceded in parenthesis)

1. Birmingham (0.28)
2. Sunderland (0.38)
3. Man Utd (0.40)
4. Blackburn (0.60)
5. Fulham (0.64)
6. Arsenal (0.69)
7. Chelsea (0.98)
8. West Brom (1.02)
9. Everton (1.05)
10. Blackpool (1.13)
11. Bolton (1.20)
12. West Ham (1.21)
13. Tottenham (1.25)
14. Man City (1.33)
15. Stoke (1.42)
16. Wigan (1.53)
17. Liverpool (1.62)
18. Aston Villa (2.03)
19. Newcastle (2.99)
20. Wolves (3.78)

Captain Rankings: Team Goals
(expected goals scored in parenthesis)

1. Man Utd (3.78)
2. Arsenal (2.99)
3. Fulham (2.03)
4. Chelsea (1.62)
5. Blackburn (1.53)
6. Sunderland (1.42)
7. West Brom (1.33)
8. Bolton (1.25)
9. Birmingham (1.21)
10. Tottenham (1.20)
11. Everton (1.13)
12. Blackpool (1.05)
13. Man City (1.02)
14. Liverpool (0.98)
15. Newcastle (0.69)
16. Aston Villa (0.64)
17. Wigan (0.60)
18. Wolves (0.40)
19. Stoke (0.38)
20. West Ham (0.28)

Captain Rankings: Players

1. Nani*: I can't keep him from top spot for any longer though it's looking likely the Portuguese winger will miss out through injury. If he plays though, he's number one.
2. Dimitar Berbatov: With no Rooney and probably no Nani, Berbatov needs to step up in this one and take the strain. 
3. Cesc Fabregas: My favorite player hasn't really shone since returning from injury but he played well against City and you feel it's a matter of time before goals and points come his way. Newcastle only have one road clean sheet this season so this could be the week Cesc marks his return to the fantasy elite.
4. Didier Drogba: His early form has faltered a bit but he netted in midweek and faces a Liverpool side who he has scored 3 and assisted 3 goals against in the past 4 meetings. His must own status in wavering but he's still very very good.
5. Samir Nasri: I was a bit worried about Fabregas' impact on Nasri but he was heavily involved against City and actually had more touches than Cesc (though he was pushed a bit wider). He isn't likely to reach double figures again but I like him as a player to give you plenty of 6-8 point games throughout the season.

* Injury risk

Plenty of good clean sheet options this week make the captain picks pretty thin but as with the past few weeks you are really looking at United, Arsenal and Chelsea to supply your skipper. With United down to one true star this list is getting shorter by the week. It might be a week to field 4 at the back and limit your strike-force if they play tough games.