Fantasy Football – Week 4

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As we look forward to the next round of fixtures, after the international break, TKTG brings you upto speed with our Fantasy Football picks for the week. Remember to join our league using the code: 101892-53185.

Norwich City v West Ham United

The Hammers will be without new loan signing Andy Carroll, but expect Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole to be in the mix here. Matty Taylor has had a good start to the season as well so not a bad buy if you’re looking for a cheap option in midfield. Jaaskelainen is valued at £4.5m and has already racked up 15 points, so provides some competition for the back-up keeper role in your squad. Norwich have Grant Holt leading the line again this season, and will surely be amongst the goals this weekend.

Arsenal v Southampton

The main news surrounding the Gunners is the fitness of Abou Diaby. He picked up a knock on international duty and is doubtful for the home game against the Saints. Expect Ramsey to fill in for him, but you’re probably better off jumping on the Santi Cazorla bandwagon. He should be your captain. Podolski has looked sharp up front so expect him to gain you some points here as well. Arsenal have the meanest defence in the league, but will face a stern test against a team that has scored twice against both United & City this season.

Aston Villa v Swansea City

Villa played well away to Newcastle last week, and will have new signing Benteke available to partner Darren Bent. They face a Swansea team on fire at the moment, and with the free-scoring Michu in their ranks they are probably favorites for the 3 points. Dyer is still fairly cheap at £5.9m and so get him in before his price shoots up.

Fulham v West Bromwich Albion

New signing Dimitar Berbatov should start for Fulham, and at £6.9m provides decent value if he continues to be the focal point of their attacking play. Duff & Kacaniklic are also expected to be amongst the points as its expected to be an open game. For the Baggies, Shane Long & Odemwingie have been combining well upfront, whereas Ridgwell & McAuley have been solid at the back.

Manchester United v Wigan Athletic

With star strikers Robin Van Persie & Wayne Rooney out of action this week, Wellbeck will have to shoulder the attacking burden for the Red Devils. Kagawa’s fitness is also questionable, so better check up on that before you play him. Its still unclear whether De Gea will return to the starting lineup, but whatever team Fergie sends out you’d have to expect them to win. In fact I fancy a clean sheet here for United.

Queens Park Rangers v Chelsea

The main talking point here is whether John Terry and Anton Ferdinand will shake hands before kick off. But we don’t really care about that do we? Instead we’re worried if Eden Hazard can continue his sparkling form for the Blues, and continue to get the best out of Torres. QPR are yet to convince, but they’ve bought fairly well, so should start clicking soon.

Stoke City v Manchester City

Playing Tevez as captain was our fantasy pick last time out, although we won’t recommend that this week. City will face a tough examination at the Britannia, but you’d have to back the champions to pick up a win. Their defence is still questionable especially since we’re not sure how the new signings will line up. The big news for Stoke is that Michael Owen could be involved, but he’ll have to do a phenonmenal job to be popular amongst fantasy football managers.

Sunderland v Liverpool

Rodgers continues to face a tough start in his first season at Liverpool. Their striker situation hasn’t improved, and until they formally recall Carroll, we’ll continue to recommend Suarez in that forward role. Spearing has looked lively and is cheap at £4.5m. Sahin hasn’t had the start we expected and will probably need some more time to adjust in England. Reina‘s form has been miserable in the first few games, so he’s not the keeper you should be looking for. Sunderland will be tough to break down this season, especially at home, and in Adam Johnson & Steven Fletcher have good options up top.

Reading v Tottenham Hotspur

Like Rodgers, AVB hasn’t had the best of starts in his new role at White Hart Lane. Adebayor should be fit enough to play though and at £9.6m, could be someone you’d want to hold onto for the rest of the season. Defensively Spurs have been inconsistent, but in the middle of the park have some good options in Dembele & obviously last seasons standout performer, Gareth Bale.

Everton v Newcastle United

This should be a cracking game, especially with both teams looking to play attacking football. As we mentioned last week, Felliani & Pienaar should be amongst the points whereas Ben Arfa, Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse are your picks for this game.

Injuries:

Stay upto date with the latest round of injuries at Physio Room.

Further reading:

If you feel like you still need to do some further research in order to top your fantasy league then have a look at Fantasy Football Cheat or Fantasy Football Geek