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Friday, February 8, 2013

Differential (con't)

In addition to my article on TodayOnline, there is an additional player to highlight based on his recent performance:

Valued at just 3.6mil, he has made a bright start to the Premier League with a brace and an assist in just 2 games. With Michu having a poor run of form, and Fellaini facing Man Utd, Arsenal and City in their next 5 games, Sissoko might be worth a punt to replace either fantasy favourites.

I have to emphasize the word might, as Sissoko was never a prolific scorer. As a box-to-box midfielder in Toulouse, he managed 24 goals and 9 assists in 218 games, though in 09/10, he scored 7 goals in 31 league games.

Also, the regular #10 role for Newcastle, Hatem Ben Arfa, is currently injured, as mentioned in the conversation from a forum below:

But, a word of caution. Marveaux was going to start in that position until he was injured just before the villa game. Perch came in and Sissoko was pushed forward. It could well be that when HBA returns he'll come into the number 10 role with Sissoko dropping back alongside Cabaye.  
It may be that HBA returns to the wing, but Gouffran has played very well on the left and Gutierrez seems vital to us in terms of workrate and defensive ability on the right.

Won't Tiote slot in next to Cabaye after the ACON? 


Thus leaving any 3 of Sissoko, HBA, Gutierrez and Gouffran for the 3 places behind Cisse?

Oops, I forgot about Cheick - mainly because he's been poor this season so far this season. Good point though, it's very possible, although Sissoko did say in an interview in the last couple of days that Pards had told him he would play in the advanced role for his first two games. Whether he says this because there has only been two games so far or because he knows the long term plan for him not to play there is not clear.
Deschamps certainly seemed surprised Sissoko had been deployed in the no 10 role in his press conference, but by some accounts replicated the idea for France tonight.

Somehow, I feel that his fantasy potential is similar to Yaya Toure, whose attacking returns come in spurts. However, since Sissoko comes at a much cheaper price (4.8mil vs 3.6mil), and with nice upcoming fixtures, I might consider rolling the dice if Michu doesn't perform in the next 2 gameweeks.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Possibility of Blank Gameweek in March

I know this relates to another fantasy game (Fantasy Premier League), but this information is also useful to managers who are aiming to win Manager of the Month in March:


Based on current form, Chelsea winning 3 games looks unlikely. :P

Of course, these games will be replayed at a later date, but one should bear this in mind when making their transfer plans.