Fantasy Football Insider – Gameweek 34: Time to reinvest in Chelsea?

With a fairly unglamourous double gameweek ahead, we at JOE have been distracted by whether or not we should plough our resources back into Chelsea.

By Emmet Purcell

Fantasy Football in association with Champion Sports

Gameweek 33 review

With both Chelsea and Arsenal getting the double gameweek treatment, last week looked to be a high-scoring affair for plenty of fantasy football managers and so it became.

The average score for last week was 61 points, while anyone that had the dream team of Didier Drogba and Flourent Malouda in their team were to receive 44 points alone from the in-form duo, or 66 if either had been captain.

Malouda and Drogba ran riot over Fulham and Birmingham

Outside of the Chelsea two, the usual suspects got on the scoresheet, with last week’s tip Peter Odenwingie netting his third goal in three games, Robin Van Persie scoring his fourth in five and even defender Leighton Baines grabbing his second in two.

Dirk Kuyt meanwhile, continued his illustrious form with a last-gasp penalty to give the Dutchman his sixth goal from midfield in five games.

Other players whose points went into double digits included bargain buys Charles N’Zogbia (£5.4m, 13pts) and Sebastien Larsson (£5.0m, 16pts). With Chelsea beginning to really hit their stride, however, the final gameweeks could involve several costly dips into the transfer market for the Blues' finest.

Champion J-League

The last few weeks must have been nerve wracking for perennial Champion J-League leader Shane Halligan, who has seen his seemingly insurmountable lead dwindle in recent gameweeks to Stephen Fox’s Makin Up D Numbers*. To put things into perspective, the league leader is just the 69th best performer for April and that sort of form suggests a stumble, rather than a sprint to the title.

Therefore a quick glance at Shane’s haul of 78 points this week looks initially impressive, until you spot that no-one in the entire Champion J-League top ten scored less than 73. The all-conquering fight between Hal’s Allstars and Makin Up D Numbers* has now been clawed back to a buttock-clenching 28 points.

As for JOE’s Journeymen, a total of 65 wasn’t enough to stop our incredibly slow decline, as the team dropped a single position to 23rd. Worryingly for us, the site may have to suffer criticisms of bias in our Champions League jersey giveaway for the league’s monthly leader, as our sport contributor Frankie McCann is leading April by 12 points. Awkward.

A special mention must also go out to Kieran Gallagher’s Ninetys Angels, who amassed an incredible 120 points last week. Kieran’s starting eleven scored 7 goals and had four clean sheets - he's clearly a man that owns a sports almanac from the near future.

Champion J-League Top 5:

1.       Hal’s Allstars – Shane Halligan: 1908 points

2.       Makin Up D Numbers* – Stephen Fox: 1880 points

3.       UpDown FC – Keith Donnelly: 1852 points

4.       Team of Gary Breens – John Murphy: 1846 points

5.       Sinking like a stone – Donal Barrett: 1835 points

Sultans of Ping FC – Mark Dinan: 1827 points

What to look out for this week and JOE’s Fantasy Football picks

What to look out for this week

First things first - this weekend is another double gameweek, albeit an unglamourous one. This weekend Stoke City, Fulham, Wolves and Bolton play twice, with arguably Fulham (away to Wolves, home to Bolton) having the easiest games.

Elsewhere, Chelsea’s relatively untroubling recent fixtures list continues unabated with a home tie to West Ham. Though the Hammers have shown great resilience in recent weeks, Carlo Ancelotti’s newly-gained second place position is sure to embolden Chelsea, as will the Italian boss’ increasingly wise decision to drop Fernando Torres, or Shevchenko Mark II as he prefers to be known.

Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool shouldn’t encounter too much trouble at Anfield this weekend either, as the Reds host a Birmingham City that hasn’t won in their last four away games. Manchester Unitd look to continue their fantastic home form with a tricky tie with Everton, who are enjoying David Moyes’ customary post-Christmas resurgence.

Meanwhile, winning-averse North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs (1 win in 9 for Arsenal, 1 win in 8 for Spurs) take on Bolton away and West Brom at home respectively. On paper Spurs have the easier tie but don’t be surprised for both sides to fluff up hugely games that have hugely important ramifications for their season hopes.

Splash the cash or save the pennies?

After their monstrous performances last week, the great news for fantasy football players everywhere is that Flourent Malouda and Didier Drogba’s next challenge is against a visiting West Ham. The downside, of course, is that buying the two costs an eye-watering £21.7m.

As we’ve mentioned, this weekend’s double gameweek is filled with three mid-table sides and one relegation dead-cert, so try not to get too excited. On the other hand, the likes of Clint Dempsey (£7.4 million), Bobby Zamora (£6 million), Kenwyne Jones (£6.3 million) and Daniel Sturridge (£5.3 million) can all be acquired at bargain basement prices.

Soccerball superstar Dempsey's forward head-strikes should prevent EPL goaltender shut-outs

The question of who to replace gets trickier too, as pre-Christmas superstars Samir Nasri and Rafael Van der Vaart sprang back into life last week. As controversial as it sounds, bar his hat-trick against West Ham, Wayne Rooney has received 2 points or less in the last four performances from five.

We’re not saying you should flog him off asap, but keep an eye on the situation as Robin Van Persie, Drogba and Peter Odemwingie have all provided much greater points recently, particularly the cheap-as-chips Fulham striker.

JOE’s Fantasy Football picks

Top Dollar: Didier Drogba (£12.2 million). With four goals and three assists from his last four games, the Ivorian is showing the kind of form that either assures his Stamford Bridge future or ensures that top European sides will be opening their chequebooks this summer. Either way, Drogba is beginning to fulfil the demands of his hefty fantasy football price tag.

Mid Range: Clint Dempsey (£7.4 million). The fifth highest-scoring midfielder of the season, Dempsey has two relatively tame fixtures this weekend. Although the American has been off the pace a little in recent weeks, he’s our pick for the double gameweek player with the most potential to make a real impact.

Bargain Basement: Daniel Sturridge (£5.3 million). Owen Coyle’s loan signing got off to a wonder start for Bolton, hitting the net four times on his first four appearences. Since then, the 21-year-old appears to have faded a little, though that was until he scored a brace against West Ham last weekend. With two games to bolster his impressive statistics, Sturridge is a real bargain at just £5.3m.

Irish Pick: Jonathan Walters (£5.5 million). After two goals in a stunning FA Cup semi final demolition of Bolton, Irish international Walters is in the form of his life. The midfielder has provided two goals and two assists in his last three Premier League games, while the well-travelled player has scored 11 times in 40 appearances in all competitions.

Captain’s Pick: Didier Drogba (£12.2 million). Much as we’d love to pick someone embarking on a double gameweek, we’re sticking with the Drog for this one.