PLFantasy

Looking back at last season One of three sides (with Newcastle and Man Utd) to average over 2.0 GPG at home. Also one of three sides (with Arsenal and Man Utd) to average more than 1.5 GPG at home and on the road Failed to score a goal a surprising 9 times, equal with West Brom and once more than Blackpool 15 clean sheets ranked second only to Man City with 11 at home also second in the league (again, Man City led). Averaged just 1.05 GPG conceded on the road, a league best mark, but yet only recorded 4 clean sheets away from Stamford Bridge. Started the season with 7 clean sheets in the first 9 gameweeks; adding just 8 more over the next 29. Goalkeepers as a unit ranked 2nd overall in points (after Man City) but ranked just 16th in value for money ( P$ 0.621) Defenders were the best unit in the league with 683 points. Even with their high prices this still translated as the second best value around ( P$ 0.715 after only Fulham). At home the defensive unit was formidable, ...

There have been justified rumblings lately about whether Drogba is, gasp, on the chopping board. I do not hide my admiration for the Ivorian legend and the fact he has recently played games while suffering with malaria (presumably caught while doing his extensive charity work ) only increases Drogba’s legend. However – perhaps unfortunately – there are no points awarded for bravery or good deeds and so we must brush aside our personal feelings and look at the cold hard stats (cue half the readers screaming that I am unable to do this Fabregas on a weekly basis . . . and me having no response). First things first, Drogba has really had two separate seasons already this year, or for the cliché lovers he’s been a ‘game of two halves’. The first five games were all quality starts (6 points or more) and he amassed an insane 55 points, including 5 goals 5 assists and 11 bonus points: perhaps the best 5 game run of any fantasy player in history (cue Ronaldo looking up suddenly from his tan...

I am going to post a quick statistical dis-proof of all the 'common sense' nonsense the commentators spew on a weekly basis. The first is the oft-quoted rule that Drogba and Anelka can't play together. It is hard (if not impossible) to prove things like how well they interchange passes, link up and create space together but what can be proven is the ultimate result of all that work: goals. Looking at this season only (a small but still useful sample size) we see the following data (including the Champions League and Community Shield): Games played with Drogba and Anelka starting: 8 Goals per game in these games: 2.89 Goals by Drogba and Anelka in these games: 8 (3 for Anelka, 5 for Drogba) Games played with either Drogba or Anelka starting: 7 Goals per game in these games: 2.29 Goals by Drogba and Anelka in these games: 7 (6 for Anelka, 1 for Drogba). Conclusion The pair seem to be able to play well together given that they are averaging over half a goal more...

Apologies but I am in my final week of traveling and so this week's preview is going to be a condensed version. I will however respond to all comments in the previous post to answer your questions and will try and get to anything posted below before Saturday. Injuries seem to be dominating the fantasy landscape at the moment with Valencia and Zamora the latest long term injuries. Modric will be back quicker than expected though this could be a double edged sword as the Spurs midfield remains a crowded place. As this is the time of year when we all need to start making changes I have included the mid-long term ranks of all players I discuss below to indicate if they are one week options or should be transfer targets. Clean Sheet Rankings Chelsea Man Utd Tottenham Blackburn Aston Villa Stoke Man City Everton WBA Sunderland Arsenal Fulham Wigan West Ham Birmingham Newcastle Liverpool Bolton Wolves Blackpool  Captain Rankings Didier Drogba Florent Malouda ...

The official game price list is out and it makes for some interesting reading. Before delving too much into strategy I thought I'd throw out a few names of players who jump off the page as being potential bargains or players I like better than those for the same value: Casillas 8m lloris 6.5m Stekelenburg 6.5m Cole 7.5m Chiellini 7m Evra 7m Van der Wiel 6.5m Albiol 6m Subotic 4m Kaka 10m Xavi 9.5m Di Maria 8m Lennon 7m Fernandez 6.5m Gourcuff 6.5m Hamsik 6m Dempsey 5.5m Messi 10m Villa 10m Van Persie 8m Suarez 7m Sanchez 6m Frei 5.5m Keepers are valuable in the game given their extra two points for clean sheets and so I think it's worth paying extra for a premium guy. Strikers probably have slightly more value that midfielders as all players score 5 points for a goal regardless of position. However, I think that the position falls off quickly and so I will load up on two or even three top guys and go for the mid range midfield option (not unlike my favourite EPL tactic for th...

Get your bets in now guys, Doc Brown has fired up the old Delorian and left us a treat on the Sky Sports website. The highly anticipated England-US game is going to finish 2-2. For reference, Bet365 are quoting 22-1 (+2200) on that result.

Gameweek 17 Fixtures Sunderland v Aston Villa Birmingham v Blackburn Bolton v West Ham Man Utd v Wolves Burnley v Arsenal Chelsea v Portsmouth Liverpool v Wigan Tottenham v Man City The most important issue this week are the four teams on a buy and what you should do with their players. To briefly sum up my thoughts: Stoke - Sorensen has b een in incredible form (35 points in 4 games) of late thanks to 3 penalty saves in that period. The defense hasn't actually been that good with just 3 clean sheets in the last 11 games though the Stoke defense as a whole remains okay value for the time being. The next two games after the bye are tough and so you might consider selling but unless you need to play them this week or next, I would simply bench my Stoke defenders and hold them for the double gameweek 20. I don't like the attack as much and I think Etherington is the only legitimate fantasy option for now. Sanli Tuncay intrigues me for the future but until he proves his ability to ...

Another interesting week is in the books, which seemed to follow the recent trends of striker goals and a clear scarcity of clean sheets. Drogba, Van Persie and Bent ( sort of ) all managed to find the back of the net, while the fortunes of the other big strikers were much worse with Torres and Rooney missing through injury, and Defoe being sent off against former club Portsmouth (having scored earlier in the day). Only Sunderland and Fulham managed clean sheets despite good prospects for the likes of Arsenal, Everton and United. It is becoming clear that until one of the big five or six sides can sustain a run of clean sheets the best strategy is to load up on mid price/cheap defenders and play them based on matchup. Transfer Watch Defoe owners will likely want to move early in the week as the Spurs striker is set to miss the next two gameweeks after his suspension. His price has already fallen in the past couple of weeks due to a run of three games without a goal. At the time of wr...

I thought it might be useful to do a bit of analysis on how bonus points are awarded with a hope of getting a higher return on these valuable extras available each week. First then, let's look at the facts so far, through 7 weeks of the new season: 92% of bonus points are awarded to players from the winning side, 51% of bonus points are awarded to players who score a goal during the week, The top 5 strikers account for 36% of all points awarded to forwards. The top 5 midfielders account for just 13% of midfield points, 47% of all bonus points awarded to midfielders have been given to players who cost 6m or less. This figure is only 24% for strikers, Goalkeepers account for just 4% of bonus points awarded and Ben Foster is the only 'keeper to score any points (2) from the big four sides, 32% of all defenders' bonus points have been given to a defender that scored that day, The 'big five' teams (including City) account for 38% of all bonus points awarded; including 44...

Gameweek 7 fixtures Portsmouth v Everton Birmingham v Bolton Blackburn v Aston Villa Liverpool v Hull City Stoke City v Man Utd Tottenham v Burnley Wigan v Chelsea Fulham v Arsenal Sunderland v Wolves Man City v West Ham It could be a great week to have players from the big sides as all top s even sides are strong favourites to win this week. In fantasy terms, Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea have particularly attractive fixtures and should be a good source of points this week. Of the big four sides, Liverpool are by the far the strongest p lay, with the bookies offering 23-1 odds on a Hull victory. Liverpool have the most home goals this season while the Tigers have the second worst away record. The potential for goals is so strong that it might be worth considering using your transfer solely for the purpose of getting Torres or Gerrard in just for this week. Captain Rankings 1. Steven Gerrard 2. Fernando Torres 3. Jermaine Defoe 4. Frank Lampard 5. Nicholas Anelka As noted above, three ...

After week 1, fantasy fans were happy with Ancelotti for providing them two premier strike options up front, as well as pushing Lampard into a more advanced role, with Drogba benefiting the most with his brace against Hull. However, after week 2, many will have a different opinion with Ancelotti having no place in the side for Anelka (Kalou), Malouda (Deco) or Carvalho (Ivanovic). I have questioned the long term value of Malouda before due to the potential to rotate him for Deco, Zhirkov or Cole but I expected Anelka and Carvlaho to be all but guaranteed a weekly spot. Ancelotti explained , "I changed the team because I trust my players and I wanted to rest some. I know we have quality in the other players and I want to use them and keep them all fresh." This is not good news for fantasy fans and I have downgraded the aforementioned players due to the fact that (a) they might be rotated and (b) they are likely to come off the bench, hence preventing your sub from coming in. C...

If your team is based around 11 7m guys then this article isn't for you. If however, like most fantasy players you like to have a premier player or two, then read on for some thoughts on how to pick your lynch pin. The main advantage in my eyes of bringing in a premier player for your team is the fact you can captain him and bring in a unrivalled amount of points. For example, last year Lampard scored 226 points, which would give you 452 points if you captained him every week. Even at his steep price tag of 12.5m this season, a similar level of production would lead to a 0.952 PPMS and almost 12 points per game. This kind of production is just not possible from 2 or even 3 mid level players, even if you strike it rich with a cheap superstar like Stephen Ireland. Factor in the chance to find a bargain to play alongside your stud (perhaps Larsson, Jimenez or Muamba) and the choice to grab a star player appears to be made for you. But who do you take? With over a tenth of your whole b...

16:09 Back under way in the Premier League with no notable substitutions to comment on. 16:12 100 league goals for Lampard as the goals keep flowing at Stamford Bridge. Lampard is in delicious form and is a must have for fantasy teams if your budget will stretch to it. I can almost feel the 3 bonus points. 16:13 Anelka hattrick! Okay so maybe it'll be 2 bonus points for Lamps. Another assist for Malouda too. Chelsea are rampant 5-0. 16:16 Bednar makes a claim to the top sub-6m striker title with his 4th of the season. At 5.4 he might be worth a look. 16:17 United get their 4th through Vidic, assisted by Rooney. That's Vidic's first this season. 16:22 West Brom take the lead as they punish 10 man Blackburn, no points for identifying the turning point of that game! This time its a sub-5m man, Ishmael Miller, who has tempted me in the past. If he continues to play he is a steal at 4.9m. Only the second time this season the Baggies have bagged two. 16:26 As we stand Pure Juice ...

First of all, apologies for the lack of posts recently, its been a combination of work and the international break that has stifled my blogging of late. Before previewing this week's games I thought it might be useful to have a quick look around the league to see who's in and who's out for gameweek 8. Goalkeepers No injuries here of any note, though if for some reason you're one of the 2% of players to own Paul Robinson, you may want to look elsewhere as he is still questionable for this week (@Bolton). His potential replacement, Jason Brown (4.5m) is not particularly good value. Defenders Chelsea are the biggest question mark this week with Terry, Carvalho, Alex and Cole all listed as injured at physioroom.com , and Bosingwa being ruled out of the midweek game against Albania. Carvalho will almost certainly not figure, where as the other four look set to play at this point (all have missed international duty tonight). If you hold them, you are probably safe to start th...