Fantasy Premier League Blog: lineup

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Week Two Barn Door Team

~~A bit of analysis, including who is on the bubble, coming soon.~~

This was my team after the weekend matches, though in truth I do have Riise and Formica held "behind the scenes", as Nik likes to say. There's obviously a strong Manchester City contingent after yesterday's match. Aguero was devestating in his 30-minute cameo and I wouldn't expect his playing time to be limited going forward. Silva was the straw that stirred the drink, and Richards and Toure were sometimes the most advanced players on the pitch! They travel to Bolton this weekend (top of the table clash!), and I am still betting against the Trotters. Yes, I tried that last weekend with Taarabt and DJ Campbell, and no it didn't work out. Bolton have a settled back five at the moment, even if those players couldn't keep a clean sheet to save their lives last season. I'm not going to over-react to the QPR match (though maybe I'm over-reacting to the Swansea match?) and I'm going to bet on Citeh to do the business again.

Everton and Aston Villa get strong representation here, with two players apiece. Everton are opening their season and get to do so now at home, against QPR. Saha is fit and does well when healthy. Cahill should again play as a withdrawn forward, which is great for a fantasy midfielder. He's also healthy, and scored for Australia against Wales last week. Mikel Arteta is back for Everton, but I'm not sure he'll start. Osman is a bit more expensive than Cahill but could also represent a good bet.

Aston Villa are represented after their credible 0-0 draw at Fulham. Given goes into the team and can hopefully replicate the clean sheet at home against a struggling Rovers side. Rovers played Hanley and N'Zonzi at center back last weekend so N'Zogbia (battle of the N's!) gets the nod in midfield. Other candidates for the fantasy team would include Darren Bent - LOVE the idea of his running at that makeshift backline) and Warnock - who is back in the team and getting involved going forward as far as I can tell.

Rounding out the team is Luis Suarez, who picked up right where he left off after last season and seems to be a +10 fantasy player. He should love running at, and around, the Arsenal defence this weekend. That defence may or may not have Gibbs as he is not "unlikely" to be fit. I may keep Gibbs at his ridiculously low price, but I may look to gut Bosingwa and bring in two mid-price defenders (back to Riise?) for the combined value.

Provisional Line Up

You know, I don't hate this team... yet.

I'm looking to move my premium pick from Nani to Robin van Persie but I'm afraid that's too many eggs in the Arsenal basket. They have most players away for internationals today, then at Newcastle a the weekend with a tough but oh so vital Champions League qualification match against Udinese on Tuesday. I worry about their focus. Also, I think there's more value at the 6-something range at forward than in midfield. That being said I could swap Holt for Formica. However, while Formica has been good in pre-season, I'm hesitant to gamble on him and Rovers, even at home, against Wolves.

Oh, and specifically about the Ramsey pick...

FCB will pay 40m euros (30 fixed+5 variables+5m that Cesc will take off wages). Only little details to confirm but been told done by weekendless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyGuillem Balague
GuillemBalague

What do you think, and how is your starting XI shaping up?

Provisional Line-up

Obviously, this is a ridiculous exercise and the team will be very different come August 13. But for what it's worth, here's my first pass at a line-up.

Since I first set this up, Ben Arfa has been injured, Briggs has moved down the pecking order, N'Zogbia has been linked to - but not landed by - Aston Villa, and Ba... well, Ba I just want to like more than the match with Arsenal suggests I should.

Who is in your thoughts?

World Cup - Week 1 Lineup

Due to some family issues, I may be offline for parts of the next week. However, I wanted to be sure to share my line-up (barring any "Friday trades") for week one of the competition. We're playing the ESPN World Fantasy game - join "Beat the Bloggers 1". You should be able to see my picks for the starting XI and captain by clicking the image above. Below is my full 15-man squad with my take on each player.

Goalkeeper
M. Neuer - "ze Germans!" Neuer was a buck cheaper than the likes of Cesar or Casillas and the money can be reinvested elsewhere.
D. Benaglio - back-up plan. He's just 4 and might make the line-up against Honduras. A useful enabler, then.

Defender
P. Lahm - "ze Germans!" Like Neuer, he was cheaper than Maicon or Ramos but which ever flank he's on, he'll get forward and the Germans are good bets to keep clean sheets and advance far.
A. Pereira - We do love us some wing-backs and Uruguay could make the 3-5-2 fashionable again.
M. Cech - I never learn, do I?
N. Belhadj - See Cech, Marek.

Midfielder
G. Dos Santos - A striker listed in midfield against the host nation who only make the 32 because of geography.
Á. Di María - The cheapest entry in to the Argentina attack.
M. Özil - He'll either play centrally or wide right, but either way the new hope of German football should be the major presence in their attack. The only caveat is that Schwienie will likely take penalty kicks.
M. Fernandez - Our dark horse pick. Attacking midfielder on an attacking side for 5. A VERY useful enabler.
Kaká - He gets in (and gets the armband) against the North Koreans. Likely to be CRon by week 2.
M. Jovanovic - Another striker listed as a midfielder. He's cheap and he'll make my starting XI against the Socceroos at least.

Striker
L. Fabiano - Golden boot?
Robinho - Always seems to shine for the national team and should enjoy himself in week one. Another Brazilian who may make way as the opposition toughens.
D. Forlan - On the bench this week against France, but he should pay off big against Mexico and especially South Africa. One of the cheapest stars in the game at striker.

I'm heavy on Brazil, hoping that they put a beating on North Korea. I figure with 12 transfers, I can move from Brazil to Portugal (CRon, etc) or Cote d'Ivorie when they line up against the hermit kingdom. Or Spain after they move beyond the tough Swiss.

So that's that, then. Good luck to all. It's going to be an awesome month.

Week 1 Lineup

How quickly things change! 3-5-2:

Malouda's and Koumas' deals get finalized, so they come into the team. The potential reshuffle on the right side of Arsenal's squad lands Sagna and Eboue in the team. But as Eboue is a bit pricey, we're going from Cech down to VDS to save some cash.

Who's in your eleven?

Week 1 Lineup

Can we do this yet?

That's probably half the budget on CRon and Cech and the rest spread out amongst the new arrivals.

Who's in your eleven?