10th May
Okay, with many teams having
nothing much to play for/not much gas left in the tank, then we’re bound to see
a lot of rotation and fringe players getting games for the last two games of
the season, outside of the teams still embroiled in a relegation battle/push
for a Champions League place. This means it’s more vital than ever to have a
fully fit squad of players – including on the bench - who will actually see
game time, so if you’ve still got any of them, transfer out the likes of Michu,
Gerrard, Sessegnon, Suarez and Rafael Da Silva. Also Rooney, who’s
probably going to be benched against Swansea after saying he wants to leave.
One replacement in the midfield
could be Lampard. Benitez has publicly said that Fat Frank will definitely
start against Villa, as he’s in search of just one more goal to equal Chelsea’s
club record… his teammates will look to help him get this record any way they
can, either by teeing him up constantly or trying to win penalties that Lampard
will take. And if he doesn’t score against Villa, then he’s likely to play
against Everton in the final game so the same logic applies.
Other ‘likely lads’ to consider
are Arsenal’s Walcott and Cazorla, as they have two easy games remaining but
will attack with intent as they’re in pole position to secure the fourth and
final Champs League place.
Also, Fergie won’t want his
final home game to be a loss or a draw, so Man Utd are primed to run riot
against Swansea – I was thinking about transferring out van Persie due to
threat of rotation now the title’s wrapped up, but I’m keeping him for at least
this game now, and may even make him captain over Bale…
A couple of other punts include
Coutinho and Sturridge for Liverpool, who have easy games but not a big squad,
Benteke for Villa who still need his goals to secure their Premier League
status, and my personal outside bet of Man City’s Nasri… Yaya Toure’s fit again
and will almost definitely play against Wigan in the FA Cup final, which could
cost Nasri his place in the team but may mean that the latter will be given
game time in the remaining fixtures, on top of being pushed up front to support
the strikers and getting in good goal-scoring positions like he has in the
recent games I’ve watched…
3rd May
Okay, so quite similar to a few
weeks back, this week is all about preparing for next weekend
where six more teams have two games in the same week: Chelsea, Man City, Spurs,
Wigan, West Brom and Swansea.
Stocking up on City and Chelsea
players is the priority here, but it’s made complicated due to their
commitments outside of the Premier League – City have the FA Cup final
after the second fixture in their double gameweek, and may be liable to resting
some of their star players/those who have recently come back from injury. Their
two biggest players fall into both these camps, Aguero and Silva, so I’d
actually advise against them, instead opting for people who are likely to play
both games, such as Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Carlos
Tevez.
In their double gameweek,
Chelsea face Man Utd and Spurs - two tough opponents, but they are still
battling for a top-4 finish so haven’t given up the fight yet. Chelsea have an
annoying habit of rotating Torres and Ba up front, so instead it’s worth
investing in their attacking midfielders Mata and Hazard. In
defence, Ashley Cole returned from injury last night and picked up a
booking which means he’s suspended for the Europa League second leg next week,
meaning he’ll be fresh for their two fixtures. Bear in mind, though, that the
Europa League final (should they make it) is held a few days after the Spurs
game, so they may rest their star players… I don’t think there’ll be wholesale
changes, though, as there’s all to play for as five teams are still battling
for the remaining three Champions League spots.
Swansea face Man City and Wigan,
the first is unquestionably tough and the second is against a team fighting
hard against relegation, so I’d actually avoid their players if you haven’t got
Michu already.
Similar to Swansea, West Brom
haven’t got much to fight for – they’re safe from relegation and can’t
mathematically get a European place in the table, so I don’t think there’s much
incentive for them to warrant investment. Their best player, Lukaku, will be
prone to rotation now that the season is drawing to a close.
Wigan probably have the best
fixtures of the six teams (vs West Brom and Swansea) but, as mentioned, are
embroiled in a relegation battle. However, this means that they have to score
goals in order to get points (0-0 draws won’t be good enough now), and their
main man up front in Kone, with Maloney in midfield on free kicks
and penalties – always a good bet for chances of points.
As for Spurs: Gareth Bale,
Gareth Bale, Gareth Bale. They really are a one-man team, and he’s vital to
have, and probably to captain. Aside from the Chelsea game, they face
Southampton and then have a good run of fixtures to finish the season, so it
might be worth a punt bringing in Dawson in defence, and maybe even Defoe
up front if he gets the nod ahead of Adebayor this weekend.
That’s probably it
transfer-wise… this weekend I’m captaining Bale (no surprise) against Wigan,
with Tevez (against West Ham) a decent second option.
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