My Team
I made quite a bit of changes after the guide for Gameweek 29 was published, so pardon me. My instincts got the better of me, and unfortunately it made me change my captaincy from Hazard to Evra. With a shortened gameweek, I obtained 35 points after the deduction from transfers. It was quite worth it I supposed if you look at it in the long run, but I admit though the money could have been put to better use.
I make two changes this week to my squad. I shipped out Southampton custodian Paulo Gazzaniga and Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen out to bring in Arsenal duo Wojciech Szczsny and Laurent Koscielny with a surprising £0.4m still in the bank. Against a Tottenham side who just got mauled at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal should be able to capatilise on a low morale, especially after a confidence-boosting win against Everton in the FA Cup and an encouraging draw against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League. Point for consideration for me though, is that Arsenal are playing at White Hart Lane. As mentioned earlier, Arsenal have won none of the last five Premier League north London derbies at White Hart Lane, with all three defeats by a 1-2 scoreline. Hence, I'm opting only for one Arsenal player in the defence department, with Szczesny getting the nod over Koscielny. David Marshall has been left on the bench because the likelihood of Everton scoring are reasonably high. Although I mentioned earlier that I'm expecting the Manchester United-Liverpool game to be a high scoring encounter, I'm still including Evra in my first XI as I believe his attacking capabilities will compensate the points lost from conceding goals. With an Aston Villa offence that is unlikely to trouble Chelsea much, save for a potentially dangerous Christian Benteke, Ivanovic gets the go-ahead. José Fonte is the final player in my 3-men defence. Against a Norwich side that scored only thrice in their last five games, the Southampton player is expected to cash in on the points. Yaya Touré plays against a defensive-minded Hull City, but the team who has just been knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League should still be able to break them down. A good guess of the scoreline for me would be 2-0 to the Sky Blues, with the big Ivorian involved in one of the goals. Raheem Sterling has impressed greatly over the last couple of games. Against a relatively weak United midfield, he should be able to do some damage. Eden Hazard likewise have been on form for pretty much the entire season, carrying the bulk of attacking responsibilities for the Blues. Against Villa, I don't expect him to be at his absolute best, but an assist and a goal should be what he's aiming for. Adam Lallana enjoyed a decent outing and hence a firm spot in my starting lineup. Thomas Ince, who have been relegated to performances from the bench, have well, been made to sit on the bench in this week's fixture. In attack, Victor Anichebe and Luis Suárez are poised to deliver an assist or two, while the man spearheading the offense, Daniel Sturridge would look to further stake his place in England's World Cup squad with a couple of goals against the Red Devils.
In next week's edition, a new section called
"Don't Make These Mistakes" will be added, where I'll highlight some really mind-boggling mistakes that a significant portion of Fantasy Premier League players make. Also, at the end of every edition, I'll throw in a tip to help novice players improve in their squad-building and decision making. The debut edition of this series did extremely well, so a big thank-you for your support. To make sure you won't miss out on a new edition,
visit here and bookmark the page. I'll see you guys next week in the double-fixture Gameweek 31. Best of luck!
What are your essential transfers this week? Tell me in the comments below.