Form and pretty much every factor go out the window on the last day of the Premier League season when anything can and probably will happen.
Gameweek 37 review
We might have instructed managers to focus on the two Manchester clubs in action twice in Gameweek 37 and while that advice worked out pretty well for some individual City players, it turns out we should have told you to concentrate on Sunderland all along.
Gus Poyet himself might as well have selected the Dream Team this week such is sheer number of Sunderland players involved, with the entire back five and one midfielder all belonging to the Black Cats.
It was a man in Manchester City colours who topped the individual scoring charts, however, and by some margin too, with Edin Dzeko picking up a whopping 25 points after four goals and six bonus points over two games. Next best was his City team-mate Yaya Toure with 17 points, a total shared by Sunderland trio Marcus Alonso, Wes Brown and Sebastian Larsson.
Aston Villa’s Andreas Weimann’s two goals earned him 15 points and a slot in the Dream Team front three alongside Dzeko and a surprise inclusion, Manchester United’s James Wilson, who struck a brace on his debut for 13 points.
13 also proved a not particularly unlucky number for Stoke midfielder Marko Arnautovic and Sunderland duo Vito Mannone and Santiago Vergini, while our own John O’Shea made the cut after totting up 12 points over two games.
J-League
Barry Curran’s Gambitbeer might have the J-League title sewn up and have done for some time in fairness, but the battle for second place took a massive twist after Anthony Murphy’s Sea Dogs blew away the competition with a massive 104 points this week.
That tally was good enough to put him 11 points clear of Michael Roche’s Hyperloopin’ Away in third, who themselves have a decent lead over Adrian Marnane’s Michu at De Gea Bar in fourth.
Michael Hanrahan’s ShawnMichaelsBabes haven’t been seen in the top five for a while but they have made a timely return to the elite in fifth place alongside James Curran (who keeps changing his team name on a weekly basis – that’s right we’re on to you James) and his outfit, MyGoodnessMyGuinness.
J-League Top 5:
- Gambitbeer – Barry Curran: 2,529 points
- Sea Dogs – Anthony Murphy: 2,476 points
- Hyperloopin’ Away – Michael Roche: 2,463 points
- Michu at De Gea Bar – Adrian Marnane: 2,450 points
- ShawnMichaelsBabes – Michael Hanrahan, MyGoodnessMyGuinness – James Curran: 2,446 points
Last day lottery
We don’t envy those of you who still have something to play for (possibly with money at stake) because it really is nigh on impossible to predict what’s going to happen on the final day of the Premier League season.
Exciting as this season has been, when it boils down to it, there are only two clubs with anything to play for on the final day, unless you think that Norwich are going to score 17 goals against Arsenal, that Manchester United might nick sixth place off Spurs or that the rest of the teams in the division or two care a significant amount about jumping a place or two in the table.
For the vast majority of teams in the Premier League, there is a danger that a sort of last day at school before summer holidays vibe will kick in, with the thoughts of the various players turning to the World Cup, the FA Cup Final (Arsenal and Hull City) or summer holidays in Marbella, Dubai, Las Vegas and other luxury destinations that prove irresistible to footballers travelling abroad.
When that vibe kicks in, anything can happen with both positive and negative potential ramifications as far as Fantasy Football is concerned; just think back to the last day of last season when Manchester United and West Brom shared ten goals in a 5-5 thriller.
As such, your best bet is sticking with players from teams who actually have something to play for and that means Manchester City, who are likely to win the title and Liverpool, who will fight until they know it’s impossible and will want to make a good impression on their fans on the final league game at Anfield this season.
The return of Sergio Aguero (£12.7 million) will tempt some managers but Edin Dzeko (£7.5 million) is probably a safer bet with five goals in this last three games. Pablo Zabaleta (£6.5 million) is enjoying a very strong finish to the season and if you don’t already have Yaya Toure (£10.5 million) you know what to do.
Despite a slight dip in form by his high standards, Luis Suarez (£13.1 million) is the obvious choice from a Liverpool point of view, but Steven Gerrard (£9.6 million) is also worth considering after bringing his assist tally to 13 for the season after two more against Crystal Palace on Monday.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Yaya Toure (£10.5 million). He justified our faith in him as captain last week and to be honest, it was a close call between himself and Suarez for the armband this time. Finishing what has been an excellent season in imperious form, he has collected 31 points in his last three games thanks to two goals, three assists and four bonus points.
Mid-Range: Edin Dzeko (£7.5 million). In the form the Bosnian is in, he’s impossible to ignore. In the last three games he’s scored five goals and totted up 33 points and there’s nothing to suggest he won’t build on that tally against West Brom on Sunday.
Bargain Basement: Sebastian Larsson (£5.4 million). The Swede has scored a goal and set up two more in his last three games, picking up 22 points in the process. One of a number of Sunderland players finishing the season in style.
Irish Pick: John O’Shea (£4.8 million). Sunderland have picked up three clean sheets in their last three games and O’Shea has played every single minute of them. We could do with this mean approach being replicated in a green jersey come the European qualifiers.
Captain’s Pick: Luis Suarez (£13.1 million). The goals haven’t been coming as thick and fast for the Player of the Year as they did earlier in the season, but he could make hay against a Newcastle side in pretty dire form at Anfield.
