Premier League Fantasy Football 2013-14: Top Player Picks for Gameweek 8
After an international break which saw a hectic conclusion to qualification for next summer's World Cup, our thoughts now return to domestic bliss and Fantasy Football.
We've all had a fortnight sabbatical to mull over potential changes, and it's now time to assess who can be an asset and who should be escorted to the exit.
Let's cast our mind back, pre-internationals, to the most recent chapter of the English Premier League.
Manchester United came from behind to clinch an unconvincing 2-1 win against basement boys Sunderland, Tottenham were stunned at home as West Ham completed a virtuoso smash-and-grab 3-0 victory, while Arsenal stretched their unbeaten run to six games following a 1-1 draw with West Brom.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, meanwhile, all completed 3-1 wins against, respectively, Crystal Palace, Norwich and Everton.
With the EPL now in full flow and allowed to remain uninterrupted until the next international break in November, let's take a look at who can make a point-scoring return to Fantasy Football and who will be a drain on resources.
Football stats from www.squawka.com
Fantasy football stats from www.fantasy.premierleague.com
In: Ravel Morrison
1 of 5
Position: Midfielder
Club: West Ham
Opponent: Manchester City (H)
Fantasy Price: £4.4m
After a turbulent start to his career, Ravel Morrison appears to be revelling in life as a professional footballer.
Raised locally, Morrison graduated through the renowned Manchester United youth academy but seeking regular football and an escape from personal tribulations—an innate fiery spark which made an ugly return as he clashed midgame with England Under-21 teammate Wilfried Zaha—he migrated south to Upton Park a year ago.
A loan spell at Birmingham City last season earned him the trust to aid his team and to utilise his undisputed ability. Now back at West Ham, manager Sam Allardyce has continued this show of faith and has bestowed confidence in the 20-year-old.
In their last EPL outing, nobody had backed Allardyce’s goal-shy charges to hoodwink title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur in their own backyard. But in a 3-0 victory, Morrison was inspirational, capping his performance with an irrepressibly irresistible solo goal.
Valued at a mere £4.4 million, Morrison looks to be a mainstay of the Hammers’ midfield: With a pass accuracy of 79 percent, the youngster has scored two goals in his last three games.
This is augmented by the fact that his spark and creativity will be a welcome addition to a team who have only one fit striker: the misfiring Modibo Maiga (the less said about him the better) and who exude profligacy in Andy Carroll's absence.
Playing Manchester City is never an easy task. But when they are missing central lynchpin Vincent Kompany (who has been ruled out through injury) and with Joe Hart still short on confidence, Morrison may just do his United allegiances proud and nick a goal or an assist.
In: Adnan Januzaj
2 of 5
Position: Midfielder
Club: Manchester United
Opponent: Southampton (H)
Fantasy Price: £4.7m
Before the international break, Manchester United's latest whizz kid was the talk of the town, league and the football-loving nation.
Whilst his name resembles a Scrabble rack and appears unpronounceable—the official Manchester United approach is "yan-a-zii" (as reported here by Jack de Menezes of The Independent)—the 18-year-old lit up the Stadium of Light as he rescued an unlikely looking 2-1 win against Sunderland in only his third league appearance for the club.
Scoring two goals in that win, the first was an erudite right-footed finish as he bared down on the on-rushing hapless Keiren Westwood, while the second was one that teammate Robin van Persie would be proud of: A scorching left-footed volley from a cross into the area.
Possessing an abundance of preternatural talent and flair, the former Anderlecht youth player is clearly not afraid to run at players, nor does he appear daunted by the prospect of being the beacon of hope for an ailing Manchester United.
Despite having only played a total of 146 minutes in his three appearances (an average of 50 minutes per game), he is the leading point-scorer for United's midfield: With 19 points, he is ahead of teammates Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Tom Cleverley.
While the hierarchy at Old Trafford will be keen to gently ease the Belgian-Albanian-Turkish-Serbian-Croatian youngster (his hotly disputed nationality is a subject for another time) into the EPL, a home game against Southampton represents a prime occasion for Moyes to buoy supporters who will be keen to see their new manager blood their new hero.
In: Andros Townsend
3 of 5
Position: Midfielder
Club: Tottenham
Opponent: Aston Villa (A)
Fantasy Price: £5.5m
As is commonly known, the modern footballer thrives on confidence: A player who is riding the crest of a wave will feel like a world-beater.
And if there is one player who, following international duty, will return to his club brimming with confidence it is Tottenham's and England's lightning-heeled Andros Townsend.
Rounding off a group of recommended trasnfers which focuses heavily on youth, the 22-year-old proved when playing for England what many observers had long suspected: The Spurs winger is a quality prospect.
In last week's 4-1 dismantling of Montenegro, Townsend not only belied his years by expertly assisting the opening goal, but he also rampaged at the opposition defence to bag the third goal. Against Poland, as England eased to World Cup qualification with a 2-0 win, Townsend was a constant threat.
It speaks volumes about his ability when, in an ill-fated campaign which saw them relegated, he was Queen's Park Rangers' outstanding performer last season despite only joining in January on loan until the end of the season.
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas possesses a phalanx of attacking talent, but in Townsend he has a prodigious individual who will want his stock to remain at the sky-high level its currently floating at.
Following nine loan spells in a mere four seasons, he will thrive now he has stability. A game against an Aston Villa side who only just survived relegation last year will give Townsend the chance to do what he does best: Run at defenders and set up goals.
Out: Wilfired Bony
4 of 5
Position: Forward
Club: Swansea
Opponent: Sunderland (H)
Fantasy Price: £7.5m
Now in their third season sat at the top table, Swansea are an established entity with a proven reputation as a team who exude an aesthetically pleasing style of football, a brand which resulted in League Cup success last year.
The foundations of this success, however, were primarily laid in place by players signed on a frugal budget: Michel Vorm, Chico Flores, Jonathan de Guzman and, of course, Michu.
And so when they spent £12 million on one player, as they did when they signed Wilfried Bony from Vitesse Arnhem in the summer, it was always going to be a pivotal moment for Swans boss Michael Laudrup: He could unbalance the team or he could have found the missing link which achieves further glory.
With his six league appearances producing just one solitary goal, however, the Ivorian looks to be erring towards the former.
Having picked up seven points out of a possible 21, Laudrup’s team has made an inauspicious start to this campaign. Balancing domestic life with their maiden foray into Europe—a venture to which they have taken to competently, following two wins out of two—they are yet to resemble the slick passing outfit that we have become accustomed to marvelling at.
This would be a different story had the 24-year-old Bony hit the ground running.
Priced at £7.5 million, this is a player that does not represent good value for money: His one goal was in the opening-day 4-1 home defeat to champions Manchester United, while his only full game came most recently in the away 2-0 defeat to Southampton.
Out: Paulinho
5 of 5
Position: Midfielder
Club: Tottenham
Opponent: Aston Villa (A)
Fantasy Price: £7.0m
When Luis Felipe Scolari, the coach who guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002 and has now returned for a second crack ahead of next year’s finals, states that he has moulded his team around the playing style of one particular individual—as detailed here by The Guardian's Fernando Duarte—it is impossible to not sit up and take notice.
Capped 21 times by the Selecao, Paulinho will be pulling on that famous yellow jersey next summer and welcoming the world's finest teams to his home country. Domestically though, there is work to be done.
Now that a certain Welshman has departed White Hart Lane for a record-breaking amount, there is a void in Spurs’ lineup for an attacking midfielder.
Signed for £17 million from Corinthians in the summer, the 25-year-old is already a mainstay in his national team’s lineup, proven by his performances last week as he helped Brazil overcome South Korea and then, in a game staged in Beijing, Zambia.
With a penchant for a longer pass—the average distance being 15 metres—Paulinho has the eye to unlock opposition defences with a passing accuracy of 86 percent.
However, like Bony, he does not appear to be firing on all cylinders just yet.
Christian Eriksen is a good foil for the Brazilian, but Paulinho is playing defensively, sitting in front of the back four and breaking up opposition play. Commendable, yes, but it will not win you points.
"I like going forward," the midfielder says—until that happens more often though, replace him.
With Andros Townsend flying high as England’s latest golden boy, he looks like a shrewder acquisition if you wish to have a Spurs midfielder in your team.
