PLFantasy

Having tackled the elite and the new arrivals to the Premier League, it's time to turn out attention inwards, starting with the top half of the middle. Here we find a fixture of fallen giants and rising stars, each providing several options throughout the squad. Presence in this group is not so much of an indication that I think they're a top-10 team, more that they offer top-10 quality and depth of fantasy talent. Players highlighted as being on my personal shortlist are shown in blue with those who I believe to be secure in the starting eleven shown in bold . Fulham Projected lineup: Schwarzer (5.0) , Riise (5.5) , Hangeland (5.0) , Hughes (4.5), Riether (5.0) , Duff (6.0) , Diarra (5.0) , Dempsey (9.5) , Dembele (6.0), Petric (6.0) , Ruiz (6.0) I like this defense quite a lot as they have 4/5 of last year's useful unit returning plus the addition of Riether at right back who should, at worst, be a lateral move from Kelly. Readers will know I am hesitant to pay...

Looking back at last season One of the best defenses in the first half last season with 9 clean sheets through the first 18 gameweeks. They had just 4 over the next 20 though, serving as a perfect example of why it is important to know when to cut ties with an out of form player. Despite the late season decline, their 6 clean sheets on the road still tied them with Man City for first in the league. Conceded 20 goals in the first half of the season then 36 in the second. Which defense shows up early on for Bruce's men will dictate whether they have any value. Failed to score 12 times, 4th worst in the league. Again, much of this failure came in the second half including 6 zeros in the final 11 gameweeks. Keepers provided good value last year (2nd in P$ ) after ranking 7th in P90 . It looks like Mignolet will get his chance between the sticks to open the season and if the team can return to early season form, he should provide good value again. The defensive unit also pro...

So here is the final team previews, brought to you just one day before the start of the new season (apologies for cutting things a bit close). I will post later tonight a review of all the last minute injury news, as well as tweeting them tomorrow morning before the 11:30 deadline. Today's previews lack the star power of yesterday but plenty of bargains can be found, and each team has something to offer Sunderland Projected Team: Fulop, McCartney, Collins, Ferdinand, Bardsley, Richardson, Cattermole, Cana, Malbranque, Bent, Jones After being given a substantial war chest by the board, Steve Bruce has spent very well on Weirside and his team look stronger than they ever have. It would not be surprising at all to see Sunderland pushing Fulham and West Ham for top half spots rather than scrapping at the wrong end of the table. At the back the team is largely unchanged, which is disappointing for a team who ranked just 13th in total defense (16th home, 12th away) last season. Paolo de ...