Fantasy Football with NCNB: EPL, Week 4

Cheer up, Andrei. You might actually do well this week

While most Americans are concerning themselves with that “other” fantasy football this weekend, let’s not forget about our Premier League squads…

Here’s your weekly fantasy footie advice from the NCNB team.

TOP 3 PREDICTED PERFORMERS, Gameweek 4
Andrei Arshavin, FW – Arsenal
Russia may have been shocked by the Slovaks in their Euro 2012 qualifier, but the little Oliver Twist look-alike should be back to his best as Arsenal take on Bolton at home.

Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie are both out with long term ankle injuries (about 4-6 weeks for each), and Cesc Fabregas is just returning from a trip to Argentina where he was embarrassed along with his Spanish teammates 4-1, so Arshavin is the safest bet to bring home the fantasy footie returns – a goal or assist – against Bolton.

Samir Nasri could return from injury in this one, and Rosicky has looked good in limited playing time this year, so they are the “darkhorse” selections (along with Diaby) to put up the points. But if you want a premium player who could have the “Big” game then Arshavin is your man. One of Arshavin, Chamakh or Fabregas should be vital this weekend in a home win. I’ll go with the tiny Russian to pick up where the likes of Walcott left off.

Carlos Tevez, ST – Manchester City
Carlito had the “miss of the century” his last time out against Sunderland: Yaya Toure fed him in front of a wide open goal and the Argentine stud somehow put it over the bar. 100 times on the training ground and he scores it 98 times. This was one of those “two.”

Putting that horror miss behind him, Tevez scored a goal and dished out two assists on Tuesday in Argentina’s 4-1 win over Spain – so he looks back to form. He’s the type of player who scores in bunches – so if he can take his international form and confidence into the weekend home matchup against Sam Allardyce’s men, he’ll be fine for a goal or an assist.

Major caveat: Tevez was substituted early in the Spain game. I’m not certain if it was a legitimate injury, or just precaution, but if he misses out it could be Adebayor on the scoresheet against Blackburn instead. As he’s the club captain, I expect Tevez to feature.

Other Manchester City fantasy exposure—Adam Johnson, James Milner, Yaya Toure, Joe Hart—is also recommended for this home fixture.

Andy Carroll, ST – Newcastle United
Another possible injury concern (he hasn’t trained all week due to a ankle injury but he should shake it off before kickoff), the Newcastle striker takes on a Blackpool team at home and should provide decent returns. For the value, you can’t get a much better striker across most Fantasy Premier League games. He’s certainly Newcastle’s # 1 attacking threat, and he scored 2 goals vs Blackpool last season. He’s already hit for a hat trick against Aston Villa at home – so he’s got form and confidence, and he’s cheaper than the likes of Berbatov, Bent, Crouch, etc. – all good mid-priced options, but all on the road this weekend.

I’m sure Blackpool will make it tough for Newcastle but I think Newcastle have more quality on the pitch in attacking areas – Nolan, Barton (don’t laugh, he’s in form and perhaps has even put his past disciplinary problems behind him), and Carroll should lead the way. I expect a 2-1 or 3-1 home win for Newcastle so Carroll should be involved.

HOT AND NOT, Gameweek 4
Who’s Hot: Fernando Torres, ST – Liverpool
He was ¾ fit – and had yet to score in the league, but we picked Fernando Torres to score last gameweek, and he did just that – returning a goal in Liverpool’s 1-0 win. Torres then featured for Spain in their first Euro 2012 qualifier and scored 2 more… 3 goals in his last 2 games then and the Spanish striker is hot. He’s more clinical (in my opinion) than Rooney, Van Persie, or Drogba in front of goal when fit – but the problem is, he just hasn’t been fully fit over the last 12 months. Perhaps his bit of goalscoring form will carry forward now.

With matches at Birmingham and then at Manchester United he won’t have too many fantasy investors in the next two weeks, but I think he’ll keep it up and grab another goal or two despite the difficult opposition.

Who’s Not: Frank Lampard, CM – Chelsea
Hernia surgery over the international break could rule him out against his old club West Ham – Benayoun or Ramires would be the direct replacements for Chelsea – but even if Frank did play, would he perform? Chelsea won 2 penalties in their last Premier League game, and Lampard finished with 1 fantasy point. Amazing. On another day that could have been 10-15 points, with Lampard coolly slotting home both chances from the spot. Of course, he missed his PK and was then substituted just minutes before Drogba converted his.

Lampard is highly priced across most FPL games, and with the form of Drogba and Malouda is becoming almost peripheral to what Chelsea do well – from a fantasy perspective. I’m sure he’ll grab 12-15 league goals this year, and perhaps he’ll go on a run of something crazy like 6 or 7 goals in 4 games around Christmas, but right now, for me, Lampard is a massive disappointment and waste of fantasy cash.

So there you have it. A brief look at this weekend’s best Fantasy Premier League options. Come challenge us at our Never Captain Nicky Butt Fantasy Game and put your skills to the test or send us a tweet at http://www.twitter.com/nickybutt and we’ll answer all of your fantasy footie questions.