Last week was a pretty embarrassing Dreamteam preview for me. After a 63 point week, I dropped down to 25. Granted, I fell victim to a few surprise results and the general unpredictability of midweek fixtures in December. But, that’s no excuse. Here’s Gameweek 17′s actual results:
This week, I’m sticking with the sure things – or the closest thing to a sure thing in the world of English football. Over the past few games, nothing has looked surer to me than the play of Aston Villa. Richard Dunne is, in my mind, the best transfer of the year and as proof sits a cool 17 points in the lead for fantasy defenders over the course of the season. James Milner has come to life since the start of November, with three goals and five assists in the six games he’s played in. To some extent, Brad Friedel will continue to succeed on the coattails of Villa’s resurgent defensive form, but in reality, Friedel has kept the bed-sheets bleached with some pretty outrageous saves in almost every game this season. Until Villa prove me wrong, they will be represented on my Dreamteam preview. After all, Villa has had a representative in the weekly Dreamteam nine of out 17 times. That’s over 50%. Huge.
Antonio Valencia seems to be settling in at United, and Fulham like giving goals away after a decent defensive run of form, especially to red-hot Wayne Rooney and United.
Fernando Torres is healthy, and Liverpool finally looked competent enough to win a game for 90 whole minutes. Granted, it was Wigan, but hey, Portsmouth is up next. If Liverpool play well, it has to be through Torres, and I fully expect him to have a HUGE game for the Reds.
Cesc Fabregas’ injury is leaving 34% of fantasy heads in need of scratching. I predict that most managers will place a straight swap of Andre Arshavin for Cesc, but I highly advise against it. If Arshavin has to lead the line again, which he has in the past few games, he will really suffer from the drop of passing accuracy in a Cesc-less midfield. Guys like RVP and Nick Bendtner don’t need perfect passes into their feet; they can body up and force their way into positions for the ball. Despite Arshavin’s overstuffed bag of tricks, he doesn’t have the size or strength to lead that kind of line. Maybe Wenger will run out Eduardo and drop Arshavin into the center of midfield, but that still leaves Andre with a lot of long-shots to hit before he puts up good fantasy numbers. Then again, the Gunners do play Hull…
Don’t expect Drogba to play, either, as he’s still out with that back injury. Anelka’s golden boot will shine against a Hammers team who have let in 14 goals in the past five matches.
Without further ado, here’s your Gameweek:
Good luck!
