PLFantasy

In hindsight perhaps this wasn't perhaps the best game to review these two teams in. We knew Chelsea were good and that West Brom were somewhere between solid and inconsistent though ultimately lacking a great depth in quality. Both these hypotheses proved accurate this weekend as Chelsea not only won the game but did so with almost embarrassing ease. 74% possession, 21 totals shots and eight shots inside the box (versus 24%, 5, 1 for West Brom) go some way to illustrating Chelsea's dominance but while they do capture the result, they don't quite show the ease as which that result was obtained. One positive - at least in terms of forming a nice narrative to fit into a 500 word review - was the fact that Chelsea's dominance was only matched by the predictability of how that dominance came to be. Fabregas led the way with the created chances (5), Costa contributed his customary shot haul (4 SiB, 1 goal) and Hazard came inbetween the two with a piece of both pies (4 crea...

Chelsea Learn About Tableau So this Chelsea defense is pretty solid. They've topped -20% SiB +/- in all but three of their games and currently rank second in supressing opponent SiB with -25% overall, trailing only Arsenal. At home they've been frankly ridiculous with three games over -60% including the -100% effort against Leicester (one of only two such games in the league this year). So far this has only translated into three clean sheets but with an incredible four games allowing five SiB or less yet still conceding a single goal, we can expect some steep improvement in the future. If we want to access this defensive unit then, who should we focus our attention on? Ivanovic comes with a much higher price tag while the cheapest option - Azpilicueta - is probably the one player who faces at least some rotation threat with Felipe Luis hanging around on the bench. Let's take a look at their respective attacking threat to date: Learn About Tableau As e...

Hopefully you've made it through the international break unscathed - unlike many players - and you're ready for the fantasy fun to start again. We start this week with a new set of team's to adopt, headlined by the all conquering Chelsea and supplemented by a hard-to-pin-down West Brom side. Let's start with the team who appear to be have been crowned as the Champions-elect, which seems like a great idea in mid-November: Chelsea Learn About Tableau Chelsea are generally regarded as having the deepest bench in the league, though at the back they don't have a multitude of options and are thus somewhat limited when it comes to rotation options. This, of course, is good news for fantasy managers as while Felipe Luis has shown flashes in limited time, Azpilicueta was quickly restored to the side last time out and still looks fairly entrenched at left back. Zouma meanwhile will be closely watched by the Football Manager crowd having brought a sizeable reputation...

Warning: some of the following lineups may cause severe depression and bewilderment. Be assured that they are indeed Premier League lineups and take solace that we still have three weeks before the transfer deadline. If the below gets too depressing, check out the other previews for comfort: The Elite The Maybes The Promoted Aston Villa Projected lineup: Given (5.0) , Stevens (4.0) , Clark (4.5) , Vlaar (5.0) , Lichaj (4.5) , N'Zogbia (6.5), El Ahmadi (4.5) , Holman (6.0) , Delph (5.0), Weimann (5.5), Bent (8.5) This lineup would be more settled if not for the one month or longer injuries to Agbonlahor and Dunne which make the opening lineup tricky to predict. Hutton and Warnock appear to deemed surplus to requirement with Stevens, Lichaj and Lowton apparently being left to fill the void. A new arrival is surely imminent with Aaron Cresswell widely regarded as the man to take the left back spot, but for now Stevens is pencilled in by default. Though this unit should imp...

Looking back at last season By far the worst team in clean sheets, managing just 2 all season, including zero on the road. Those two came in GW2 and GW37 with a 34 game drought in between. Road defense (2.16 GPG ) was 19th, better than only Blackburn. At home (1.58 GPG ) they ranked 17th. Their goal scoring power was one of the pleasant surprises of the year, adding 1.58 GPG at home (10th) and 1.37 GPG away (4th). It's that consistency which makes some of their outfield players good value for the season. Closed the season with the longest streak of games without being shutout (12) and were only shutout twice at home all year (bettered only by Man Utd and Blackpool). The numbers for the 'keepers last year were not pretty. They ranked 20th in total points, P90 and P$ , averaging just 2.3  PPG . Foster is an upgrade but he seems massively overpriced at 5.0m. It's a similar story for the defensive unit, managing just 1.8 PPG on their way to last price ranking in ...

I have touched on the double gameweeks earlier but I think we need more analysis if we are to fully enjoy the fruits of them when playing the transfer window wildcard. Let's look at every team who has one or more double gameweeks coming up, who looks set to benefit and how you can maximise the opportunity: Arsenal Who they play and when : GW27 - Wolves and Stoke Who are the best plays : Arsenal look like a very good play both defensively and offensively. The Wolves fixture alone would likely rank Arsenal as the top defensive pick of the week and the addition of another sub-1 GPG team makes them a great play. They've only kept 3 clean sheets at home so I'm not crazy about paying the big bucks for a Thomas Vermaelen (if fit by then) but I would rate Fabianski as a very good pick and Djorou as sensational value if still in the first team. As we know, Arsenal are always a good option to score goals and my prediction tools have them scoring 4.7 goals in the two fixtures. I ...