 1 (2) |   Wayne Hubbard | 1825 | +105 | 15 |  |
 2 (1) | MickTheGooner | 1810 | +85 | 20 | |
 3 (3) |   Karl-Yngve Lund | 1720 | +75 | 15 | |
| 4 (5) |  Abu K | 1655 | +105 | 10 | |
| 5 (4) |  KildareGunner | 1615 | +55 | 15 | |
| 6 (6) | Paul Kingston | 1575 | +60 | 10 | |
| 7 (7) | Michael Sheehy | 1455 | +25 | 10 | |
| 8 (8) |  goonerdhanesh | 1290 | +10 | 0 | |
| 9 (9) |  Sulabh | 1210 | -10 | 0 | |
| 10 (10) |  Gaurav Ahuja | 885 | 0 | 0 | |
Saturday March 15
Hull City v Manchester City
12.45pm GMT, KC Stadium, Hull
Hull have an FA Cup semi final to look forward to, but they need to insure their Premier League survival for the moment. They're five points clear of the bottom three and their home form has kept them safe up to now but they have only taken one point in their last four home games. They need to get another couple of wins on the board, but this might not be the ideal game for them to do so.
It's not easy to see any Hull players to choose at the moment, but Shane Long, Nikica Jelavic and Allan McGregor might do better against lesser opposition.
City are nine points behind Chelsea at the top of the table with three games in hand and have to start winning games to catch them. They have only won six of their 13 away games and have only scored one goal in their last three league games. After exiting both the FA Cup and the Champions League in the last week the pressure is on them to finish strongly in the league.
Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero are probably the must have City players with David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri worth considering too.
City have to win this game and I think will do just that.
Prediction: 0-2
Everton v Cardiff City
3pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool
Everton got back to winning ways in their last league game after three defeats in four games saw them drop to seventh place. They have only lost once in their 13 home games but their hopes of a top four finish have faded. If they're going to make the Europa League places for next season they are going to have to finish in the top six at least.
Romelu Lukaku is the best fantasy choice in the Everton team, but Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirallas have all done well too.
Cardiff got three priceless points at home to bottom club Fulham last week and it has given them new hope in their relegation battle. Before that win they had only taken five points from 12 games, but they're now only in the relegation zone on goal difference. I didn't think they stood a chance of staying up before last week's game, but a few more performances like that might just be enough for them to stay up.
I can't see any Cardiff players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Everton will be too good for Cardiff and win by a couple of goals.
Prediction: 2-0
Fulham v Newcastle United
3pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham just don't look up for the fight in the relegation battle and that doesn't auger well for them. They have only taken two points in their last nine games and haven't kept a clean sheet in their last 14 league games. They have taken less points and conceded more goals at home than any other club, but they're still only four points from safety with nine games to go.
I can't think of any Fulham players who might make an impression for fantasy managers for the rest of the season.
Newcastle have won their last two games after winning only one of the previous eight and a win in this game could see them close in on Everton or a United if either of them don't win. Only Spurs, Arsenal and United have won more away games than Newcastle and they will fancy their chances away to the bottom club. They will have to do it without the services of their manager who is serving a ban for head butting Hull's David Myler last week.
Loric Remy is back to his goal scoring ways and well worth a punt for fantasy managers.
This is a game Fulham have to win but I think they might just end up losing it.
Prediction: 1-2
Southampton v Norwich City
3pm GMT, St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton
Southampton are ninth in the league with nine games to go and they won't finish any lower than they are now. A strong finish could see them finish as high as sixth but they will have to win most of their games to do that. They've only lost four of their 14 home games and should be strong favourites to win this game.
Jay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert continue to impress for Southampton and their defenders have done well recently too.
Norwich have only won two of their last 14 games and have lost their last four away games. They have only won two of their 14 away games with only Palace and Cardiff scoring less goals away from home. They're only four points above the relegation zone and if they're going to stay up they're going to get the points at home.
I can't see any Norwich players who might make a difference for fantasy managers for the rest of the season.
I think Southampton should be strong enough at home to win this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Stoke City v West Ham United
3pm GMT, Britannia Stadium, Stoke
Stoke have taken nine points in their last six games to move six points clear of the relegation zone. They have only lost two of their 14 home league games and have won at home to both Arsenal and United in recent weeks. They play five of their last nine games at home and should get more than enough points in those games to insure their survival.
Stoke players are at their best at home but I can't see any of them making a difference for the rest of the season.
West Ham lost their last game at Everton but they had won four in a row before that to move six points clear of the bottom three. They have only conceded two goals in their last six games and only Chelsea have a better defensive record away from home. They have only won three of their 14 away games though and have found goals hard to come by away from home.
West Ham's defenders have been in good form recently and have to be considered along with Kevin Nolan and maybe Andy Carroll too.
I can see this being a dour affair and probably ending in a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Sunderland v Crystal Palace
3pm GMT, Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunderland are only a point from safety and only three points behind Palace with better goal difference and two games in hand. They have only won three of their 13 home games though and they're the joint lowest scorers at home along with Palace and Norwich. They lost the Capital One Cup final to City and Hull put them out of the FA Cup last week so they can concentrate on getting enough points in their last 12 games to stay up.
Adam Johnson and Vito Mannone still look like the best fantasy choices in the Sunderland team.
Palace have only taken seven points in 13 away games and they're the lowest scorers away from home. They did very well to climb out of the relegation zone after Tony Pulis took over the manager's job, but they have slipped back dangerously close to the bottom three. They have taken only one point in their last three games and they're the lowest scorers in the league too.
Palace players need to be avoided away from home but maybe Glenn Murray might get a few goals at home before the season ends.
Sunderland need to put a few wins together to avoid the drop and I think they will start to do so in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion
3pm GMT, Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Swansea have been inconsistent this season and have not been able to put a few good results together at any stage. They have only won four of their 14 home games, but only the top four have scored more goals at home. They're only four points clear of the bottom three and they need to beat one of the teams below them in this game to give themselves some breathing space.
Wilfried Bony has done well for Swansea recently and most of his goals this season have come at home.
West Brom have only taken four points in their last eight games and conceded 15 goals in those games. They're only outside the relegation zone on goal difference and have only won once in their 13 away games. They're the Premier League draw specialists with 13 draws in 28 games, but they will be relegated if they can't start winning games very soon.
It's hard to see any West Brom players doing well between now and the end of the season.
I think Swansea will be too good for a West Brom team that look in dire trouble.
Prediction: 3-1
Aston Villa v Chelsea
5.30pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham
Villa are relatively safe as they're six points above the relegation zone with 10 games to play. They have lost eight of their 14 home games though and only Fulham have lost more home games. Lack of consistency has been their biggest problem and they haven't won consecutive games since August.
Christian Benteke is gradually finding his goal scoring touch again but he is running out of games.
Chelsea have won 11 and drawn three of their last 14 league games and have a seven point lead at the top of the table. The teams below them may have games in hand, but the league is Chelsea's to lose at the moment despite Jose Mourinho insisting otherwise. They have only won half of their 14 away games so far, but they have the best defensive record away from home.
Eden Hazard remains the best of the Chelsea players for fantasy managers with John Terry and their other defenders close behind.
I think Chelsea will be too strong for Villa and will put three more points on the board in pursuit of the league title.
Prediction: 1-2
Sunday March 16
Manchester United v Liverpool
1.30pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United are having their worst season since the outset of the Premier League and their chances of a top four finish are virtually non existant. They are unbeaten in their last four games though and have kept clean sheets in their last three. Their biggest problems have been at home where they have only won six of their 13 games and only managed 18 goals.
Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Patrice Evra continue to rack up the fantasy points despite United's poor season.
Liverpool are on a great run at the moment and they're the highest scorers in the league too. They have won seven and drawn two of their last nine games and are up to second in the table. They have only won six of their 14 away games, but they're the highest scorerers away from home and only four other teams have conceded more away goals.
Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard are the must have Liverpool players at the moment with Raheem Sterling worth considering too.
I think this is going to be a very close game but I have a feeling United might just sneak it.
Prediction: 3-2
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
4pm GMT, White Hart Lane, London
Spurs were well beaten by Chelsea last week but they contributed to their own downfall by handing Chelsea all four goals on a plate. Benfica gave them a footballing lesson in their Europa League game on Thursday night and they have only won seven of their 14 home league games. Despite some real hammerings this season they're only four points outside the top four, but they have played more games than the teams above them.
Emmanuel Adebayor remains the best fantasy choice in the Spurs team and he usually does well against his former club unless he gets himself sent off.
Arsenal have only won two of their last six league games, but they have won through to an FA Cup semi final. They went out of the Champions League this week and their star performers are getting injured one by one at the moment. They have won eight of their 14 away games with only Liverpool and United scoring more away goals.
With many of their star performers out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud could be the Arsenal players to have.
I think this will be a really close game but Arsenal should have just enough to take the three points.
Prediction: 1-2
That's it for this week.
See you next week.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Giroud coud be the Arsenal players to have......(what) ?
ReplyDeleteIf Arsenal are going to keep pace at the top somebody hax to score the goals and they could do well for fantasy managers over the next few weeks.
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