This weekend sees Liverpool taking on Bolton at Anfield after what can only be described as a epic failure against Wolves previously. Will Liverpool bounce back this week? Will Bolton lose a second consecutive match after their loss to Chelsea? What other matches are of interest to Yahoo Fantasy Managers?
Liverpool’s home lost to Wolves came as a surprise, shock and rude awakening. This should spur them on to perform better this time around. I expect tactical switches from Hodgson which could bring a turn of fortunes. Furthermore, last match could have counted as a warmup session and Liverpool should be aiming for a win. Nevertheless, we should never underestimate Bolton. They have been in good form especially Holden and Elmander. With Liverpool’s defense still shaky and hurting, they might find holes to exploit. I do not think Liverpool will manage a cleansheet in this match but they should be hungry enough to just manage a win. Prediction: 2-1 to Liverpool.
ManCity vs Blackpool – ManCity are on a roll with 2 wins and are expected to continue their scoring form. The only question to YFMs is “Who will score?”. Blackpool will be no match for ManCity and I expect ManCity to win this easily. Prediction: 3-0 to ManCity
Tottenham vs Fulham – Fulham are a dreadful team this season and their away form is quite bad with only 8 points to show out of 9 matches. However, they do not let in a lot of goals (tied with ManCity for least goals conceded on the road). I expect Tottenham to win but I will be quite low scoring. Prediction: 1-0 to Tottenham
Chelsea vs Aston Villa – Chelsea managed to find a win again against Bolton to halt their winless streak. Aston Villa are even worse than Fulham on the road with only 4 points to show. Their 22 goals conceded away from home ties with Blackburn for most goals conceded. Chelsea should have a good time. Prediction: 2-0 to Chelsea
Yahoo Fantasy Managers
Strikers:
Drogba
Balotelli
Elmander
Carroll
Against Aston Villa’s bad away record, Drogba could have a revival. Though he costs a lot and may not return his value. High potential to go either ways. Balotelli scored a hat trick last time out and is likely to continue as Tevez is still recovering. Elmander against a struggling Liverpool. I hate to say it but he looks likely to score. Carroll is an interesting option. He has a potential to score in this week’s matchup as Newcastle visits Wigan and he has usually done well (barring a few low scoring weeks).
Midfielders:
Malouda
Van der Vaart
Milner
Silva
Holden
Barton
Malouda did quite well and he may continue against Aston Villa. VdV was superb last week and looks set to continue being superb. Milner against Blackpool looks an above average bet. Silva as well. Holden and Barton are usually consistent in returning their values and above.
Defenders:
Ferriera
Hutton
Bale
Kolarov
Bosingwa
Ferreira and Bosingwa are good bets to keep a clean sheet this week and should be given consideration. So must Hutton and the high scoring Bale. Kolarov isn’t a bad option either.
Keepers:
Hart
Gomes
Cech
Hennessey
Hart, Gomes and Cech are all solid bets for getting a clean sheet and while Hennessey isn’t the most reliable of options, he is facing West Ham who are rock bottom but have little in terms of wins at home. This is most likely a draw but he could still get a good number of points for saves.
My team:
Hennessey
Stearman, Hutton, Bosingwa
Barton, VdV, Holden, Milner
Balotelli, Carroll, Elmander