Finally...

We're back. I'm not sure why this particular international break seemed so long, maybe it was because the US has already qualified and their matches were the equivalent of the beginning of World Cup training camp - good for the players and coaches (I guess) but not something you'd want to spend a ton of time watching. Maybe it's because I made up some ground on our group leaders last week and I'm in a hurry to keep the momentum going. Regardless of the reason, I can't wait for the games to get started again tomorrow. With that, away we go...

Chelsea - Chelsea host Bolton this week in a match-up that promises to be hotly contested and closer than expected. Nearly everyone on Chelsea's squad plays for their national team and are likely to be tired coming off of two qualifiers. Conversely, Bolton are healthy and tend to have guys who are good players but not quite national team material so they are likely to be rested and ready to go. Add to that the fact that Bolton generally play to the quality of their opponent (e.g., they play well against good teams and only so-so against mediocre competition) and you have the recipe for a close, low-scoring match or even a 1-0 upset to the visitors. Damien Duff and Jay-Jay Okocha are definitely out for this one. The usual (and expensive) suspects - Cech, Terry, Robben, Del Horno, and Lampard - are good bets if you can afford them but there are probably more cost effective alternatives out there. I've given up at even looking at Chelsea's forwards - too much uncertainty for too little reward. No Bolton players worth considering from a fantasy standpoint.

The Former "Big Two" - Apparently, it's a theme week for both Arsenal and ManYoo and that theme is injury. You could put together a pretty impressive all-star squad from the injury reports generated by these two clubs this week. Both are on the road against unimpressive opponents - ManYoo at Sunderland and Arsenal at West Brom - but it's hard to know what to expect from these depleted sides. Just to get it out of the way, here's the consolidated injury list - Henry, Hleb, A. Cole, Campbell, van Persie, Keane, Neville, Heinze, and Richardson - with Gilberto Silva also doubtful after his trip to Brazil for international duty. Obviously, there are still some attractive attacking options between van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Reyes, and Ljungberg and some oldies but potentially goodies like Pires and Giggs. Of that group, I think I'd focus on Ruud and Reyes. The more interesting question is that of the fill-in defenders for both teams. Bardsley is going to start for ManYoo and Clichy and Senderos are both going to start for the Gunners. If you're looking for a defender on the cheap, those are all good options. West Brom have the more potent home offense (6 goals scored from 4 matches vs. 4 goals scored from 4 matches for Sunderland) but neither is particularly potent. I don't think I'd take more than one of these three guys and it's sort of a coin flip between them in my opinion.

Vs. The Relegation Zone - As you'll recall we "promoted" West Ham from this group last time around and in recognition of that and Wigan's stellar early-season performance, we now have enough data on this year's teams to rename the entire category from "The Newbies" to "Vs. the Relegation Zone" which can just as easily be interpreted as "this is a good match-up".

This week, that means Everton, West Brom (already discussed) and Fulham who are bringing up the rear. Spurs host Everton which might present an opportunity for Spurs to score more than one goal and certainly represents the highest probability of a clean sheet for any set of defenders this week. Despite Jeremy's statistical analysis on Mido, you have to consider him strongly based on his combination of effectiveness, cost and opponent. Likewise, Paul Robinson is an excellent candidate in net and Jermaine Defoe is a great bet as a premium priced striker. Of course, nickname favorite YP (Free) Lee is a great, and inexpensive, bet in defense coming back from his injury. As in weeks past, stay away from Everton until they do something/anything to prove that they might score or stop their opponents from scoring.

Fulham travel across London to face high flying Charlton in what must be considered an extremely attractive match for Charlton supporters and fantasy owners alike. Once again, it's time to load up on Charlton players - Danny Murphy - in, Darren Bent - in, Charlton Defenders - in to the extent they're affordable. The big question in this match is around the goalkeeper position. Keily is back from injury but Andersen has gotten them this far and the manager hasn't tipped his hand that I have seen. Unless something definative is said, you probably want to go with Paul Robinson rather than either of Charlton's keepers.

Random Notes - Birmingham derby = lots of yellow cards and the uncertainty around Baros and Phillips for Villa makes this an even less attractive match for fantasy managers. Jiri Jarosik is back for Brum and still represents a good value but you might want to wait a week until after the derby to pick him up. West Ham travels to the City of Manchester Stadium for a battle of surprise teams thus far. The problem with both teams for fantasy owners so far is that the points seem to come from different people each week. Etherington has a great week followed by crap for two weeks where Benayoun does well once and Harewood does well the other. Great for the fans, bad for setting a fantasy line-up. Joey Barton has done well for Citeh pretty consistently but I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wish him well in showing Wayne Rooney what it means to mature but I'm still not ready to get on the bandwagon as long as there are other attractive midfield options available with equal potential and less potential for a meltdown. In other news, Stevie G is out for Liverpool leaving them without their leader and best fantasy option. The matchup at Anfield with Rovers makes a clean sheet a reasonable possibility but without Gerrard clogging up the middle, Rovers might find some inspiration somewhere. Boro/Pompey and Wigan/Newcastle both feature strikers with some potential (Yakubu and Owen) who have questionable midfields behind them but only adequate defenses between them and the net. I'd expect each of them to net at least once.

Sorry for the late posting, it's been a crazy week around these parts...