Big ups to Jeremy for a superlative first weekend. The rules paid off in spades for him, especially as they apply to Nigel Reo-Coker who, in addition to a great goal, played a great match and led the Hammers to an impressive season-opening win. All that while I watched Darren Ambrose destroy a promising first match as a starter with a terrible challenge resulting in a red card - the difference between a 10 point day and a 1 point day. This is the first week that the Champions League insinuates itself into EPL fantasy thinking with ManYoo, Liverpool, Everton, Charlton, Wigan and West Ham playing only one match to everyone else's two. Throw in the Arsenal/Chelsea match up on Sunday and it should be quite an interesting weekend. Here we go...
Chelsea - what a crap first match against a team that they should have crushed. Robben looked sort of lost before he was replaced at halftime. Chelsea was lucky to get the win and their players just didn't look good for fantasy purposes. The defenders and Cech managed some good points but don't be deceived, they were more lucky than good - Wigan had a bunch of good chances. Frank Lampard showed why he is a fantasy stud by having an adequate day despite the Blues' offensive woes. And now come the Gunners. A shutout seems unlikely. Drogba seems like a good bet based on his success against Arsenal in the Community Shield and their continued inability to defend in the air. Lampard is always a reasonable pick-up if you can afford him.
The Former Big Two - ManYoo looked pretty good, but not great, in their season opener against Everton. Ruud looked more lively than he did at any time last year. The worry in picking up any ManYoo players is that they only have one match this week before their Champions League qualifier. No word on Ronaldo's health but Giggs and Wes Brown are definitely still on the shelf. Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge for the showdown with Chelsea before they welcome Fulham to Highbury in midweek. Freddie and Henry had nice fantasy weeks last season but are both expensive. Bergkamp, sadly, looked his age while van Persie looked superior replacing him for the last 20 minutes. Fabregas and Gilberto Silva are still inexpensive options but not likely to have two superlative fantasy performances. Hleb seems destined for a role as "super sub" until the regulars need to be rested. The big question is who will line up next to Henry - Bergkamp? Reyes? van Persie? The answer isn't clear enough for me to take a risk on any of them.
Playing Against Newly Promoted Teams - This didn't turn out to be much of a bargain last weekend unless you were playing for Charlton. Both Wigan and West Ham turned in excellent performances. Liverpool play Sunderland at Anfield but that's their only match so you'd better hope that any 'pool players you include has two games worth of points against Sunderland. Newcastle plays host to West Ham on the weekend and then travels to Bolton - now if only anyone on Newcastle was healthy. Like Liverpool, Charlton gets newly promoted Wigan at home but only plays the one match. I'm sticking with Bent because I have him cheap but otherwise, it's tough to justify their inclusion in your line-up.
Other Bargains and Thoughts - Promising (and cheap) newcomer Emre managed to hurt himself on international duty in midweek so scratch him from your rosters...Craig Bellamy also seems unlikely to play either match for Blackburn this week...Boro looked pretty mediocre on offense at home vs. 'pool - hard to tell if they miss Bolo that much or if Liverpool is just getting better defensively. Either way, Yakubu dropped a little bit in price but plays on the road twice. I was impressed with Wayne Routledge last season and think he might be a nice low-budget midfielder - even more so since he has a home game and then an away match at struggling Blackburn (who do get Ryan Nelsen back this week). Otherwise, remember to look at Jeremy's rules article and act accordingly.
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