AM's Week 23 Player Picks
Welcome to Week 23 of my player picks for the Yahoo Fantasy Premier League game. It seems like an age since I last wrote a column after the week off of the 4th Round FA Cup matches, but the break came in handy for myself. Like many great athletes I'm suffering with a long term, nagging injury - namely RSI (I believe it's known as Carpal Tunnel in the US) due to excessive keyboard typing, mice clicking and iPhone tapping over the past decade.
In all seriousness it has become a bit of an issue for me and started to take its toll after the busy festive period when we were producing columns every couple of days, but I'm pleased to report the pain has reduced significantly after ten days of minimal computer use and I'm feeling refreshed to tackle the week ahead.
Check in with Rotoworld.com for news, analysis and fantasy predictions all season
Before that, a quick re-cap on Week 22, which was a decent one for AM FC, as 114 points were amalgamated. This was thanks in large to Christian Eriksen, Stewart Downing, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, and it moved me on to 2260 points for the season. How does this compare to your team’s performance so far? Let us know via the Facebook comments section at the bottom of this page.
Week 23 Fixtures
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Chelsea v Man City
Crystal Palace v Everton
Hull City v Newcastle
Liverpool v West Ham
Man Utd v Leicester City
Southampton v Swansea
Stoke v QPR
Sunderland v Burnley
West Brom v Tottenham
Without a doubt, the match of the weekend is Chelsea v Manchester City, but as is often the case with these high profile, top of the table clashes, they can prove to be cagey affairs, low on goals and high on cards. If you're holding long term discounts then continue to do so, but I wouldn't be rushing to make new fantasy investments in either side.
The pick of the fixtures are Arsenal at home to Aston Villa, followed by Southampton at home to no-Siggy-no-Bony Swansea and Stoke hosting away-winless Queens Park Rangers. Liverpool are improving by the week and can sneak past West Ham at Anfield, while Manchester United will be big favourites to beat bottom side Leicester at Old Trafford, although Louis van Gaal's team will need to show far more fluency in attack,
Aside from that there isn't much to get excited about, with Hull v Newcastle, Crystal Palace v Everton, Sunderland v Burnley and West Brom v Spurs all looking like tight matches which could fall either way. Unless you're confident of picking a goal scorer from these four matches fixtures I would advise you to concentrate on Arsenal , Stoke, Southampton, Liverpool and Manchester United players.
With that in mind please click over to the next page to view my Week 23 player recommendations.
Check in with Rotoworld.com for news, analysis and fantasy predictions all season
KEEPERS
David Ospina - I somehow missed picking up Ospina at his pre-Manchester City clean sheet price, but the Arsenal keeper is still the top option for Week 23 with a home game against goal-shy Aston Villa.
Fraser Forster - Make no mistake; Swansea could find themselves in a bit of trouble over the coming weeks. No Bony permanently and no Sigurdsson for three games will make goals hard to come by and puts the Saints and Forster in with a fine chance of a clean sheet.
Asmir Begovic - Stoke host a QPR side who have lost all 10 of their Premier League away games this season, which would suggest a home win at the very least, with a clean sheet for Begovic sheet also likely.
Tim Krul - It's always worth including a budget option for those of you unable to spend big on a keeper, and this week it's Newcastle's Krul. Available for just over £2million he faces a trip to a Hull side in terrible form and it's likely to be a low scoring match.
DEFENDERS
Ryan Bertrand - Two quiet weeks in a row for Bertrand has knocked him from his perch as the top defensive point scorer, but it's also dropped his price below the £10million mark for the first time in a long while. A home game against Swansea offers the left-back a chance to get back on track.
Hector Bellerin - With Mathieu Debuchy out for a while with a shoulder injury it should give young Bellerin an extended run in the team at right-back. The only concern is the possibility of Calum Chambers being given a run-out, but that would be a surprise given Bellerin's outstanding performance against Manchester City.
Patrick van Aanholt - An early season phantom-point scoring favourite in this column until - like Debuchy - a shoulder injury took him out of action for a few months. PvA is now back to full fitness and has picked up 16 points in his first two games back despite both ending in defeat for Sunderland, so a home clash with Burnley will offer further phantom opportunities.
Kieran Trippier - Would I pay full price for Tripper's away match this weekend? Probably not, but if you're holding the Burnley man at any sort of discount you would be wise to hang on as he continues to average 10 fantasy points per game.
Mamadou Sakho - Finally settled as part of Liverpool's back three, Sakho has started to return decent fantasy points over the past month and has a home match against the Hammers coming up, but there are concerns after he was withdrawn early again Chelsea due to injury. If there is any doubt over Sakho’s fitness then Dejan Lovren is the alternative, costing less than £6million.
Philipp Wollscheid - Steve has more details in his Bargain Hunter column on why Stoke's new German central defender Wollscheid should be high on your list of considerations this weekend. Click here ...
Martin Kelly – Mr. Reliable throughout the first few months of the season before Neil Warnock started randomly benching him, Kelly is now back in favour with Alan Pardew. Priced at £6million with Palace on a run of four wins in a row and Everton struggling for form.
Florin Gardos - Saints' back-up central defender has done a fine job covering over the past couple of weeks and deserves another start, but it's worth noting Maya Yoshida is back from Asian Cup duties. We await Friday's team news to check whether Gardos is still worth considering.
John Stones - Another well priced defensive option at around the £6million mark, Stones is back from his long-term injury and should line up alongside Phil Jagielka for Everton's trip to Selhurst Park.
MIDFIELDERS
Santi Cazorla - Cazorla's performance against Manchester City was the best I've seen in the Premier League this season, with the Arsenal midfielder currently going through his best spell since his debut season in 2012. Taking set pieces, penalties and at home to Aston Villa this weekend, the Spaniard could prove to be worth the £17million investment.
Angel Di Maria - Surely Van Gaal has realised that playing Di Maria as a striker is complete waste of time, and will shift the Argentine back to an attacking midfield role against Leicester? If not then it will prove the Dutchman's stubbornness knows no bounds.
Raheem Sterling - The break afforded to Sterling in early January seems to have done the trick, with the winger looking rested sharp and back running at full pelt. West Ham aren't blessed with pace at the back and could be missing some key players, so Sterling will be looking forward to this one.
Aaron Ramsey - Paying full price for Cazorla won't be an option for some fantasy managers, so you next best bet would be Ramsey. Priced below £10million, he's one of the few Arsenal attackers certain to start, with Ozil, the Ox, Walcott, Wilshere and Welbeck all likely to share game time between now and then end of the season.
Victor Moses - I was about to spin a yarn regarding Stoke's tricky winger Moses, but Steve beat me to it, so read his instead.
Eljero Elia - There will be ups and downs for Elia during his time at Southampton, but right now it's looking rosy with the Dutch star playing well up in support of Graziano Pelle. Still available for sub-£10million and facing a fragile Swansea side.
Cesc Fabregas - Another man to leave the field early on Tuesday night, but Jose Mourinho has since revealed Fabregas was subbed as a precaution after the player felt tightness in his hamstring. The staff will be doing all they can to get him ready for the crunch clash with City, and Fab has been a consistent fantasy performer for Chelsea throughout the season.
Jason Puncheon - Puncheon was a handy fantasy option last year before losing his way under Warnock, but the winger is back thriving under Pardew having scored two goals in two games. A home match with Everton will provide opportunities to make it three in three.
Remy Cabella - Newcastle will fancy their chances of getting back to winning ways at Hull, and Cabella has generally been at the hub of everything good since John Carver took on caretaker duties, returning 26 fantasy points in his past two matches.
Christian Eriksen - It's a tough match for Spurs as they travel to a Tony Pulis-rejuvenated West Brom, but my wife bought me an "Eriksen 23" Spurs shirt as a Christmas present, and since then the Danish star has not stopped scoring. I knew there was a reason I married her.
STRIKERS
Alexis Sanchez - Sanchez must be in your team for the home match with Aston Villa match. You must find a way.
Graziano Pelle - Once again, Steve and myself are on the same page regarding a potential bargain option for your Week 23 team. Read all about Pelle's pros here.
Olivier Giroud - It's rare that I recommend doubling up on strikers from the same team, but I wouldn't blame anyone for fielding both Sanchez and Giroud for this weekend. Giroud has returned from injury in sparkling form and has a good goal-scoring record against Villa.
Sergio Aguero - Clearly not fully fit at the moment, but another 90 minutes under the belt in the FA Cup will have helped Aguero recovery and Chelsea's defence have been far from their usual solid selves over the past month.
Peter Crouch - With Senegal knocked out of the African Nations Cup Mame Biram Diouf will be on his way home, but Stoke's game against QPR will probably come a couple of days too early for him. This should ensure Crouch plays the lone striker role against his old gaffer Harry Redknapp and the former Spurs and Pompey man is available for just £5million.
Radamel Falcao - The predicted line-ups across the interweb are tipping Falcao to keep his place upfront for the home match with bottom side Leicester, and if we get some sort of confirmation of this from van Gaal on Friday then the Colombian is a seriously tempting proposition.
Didier Drogba - With Diego Costa likely to be handed a three match ban today for his stamp on Emre Can it will leave Drogba as the red hot favourite to lead the line against City. The Ivorian may be in the twilight of his career but he's still a handful and will be bang up for this one as he looks to cause the out-of-form Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala further misery.
Jermain Defoe - We all know how much Defoe loves to shoot and at a price of less than £5million he only needs a couple on target to return his value. I wouldn't be surprised to see the ex-England man open his Sunderland account against Burnley.
Saido Berahino - Spurs cannot help but concede goals and Berahino is the man most likely to score them for West Brom. Plus he takes penalties.
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So those are the players I'm considering for my Week 23 Yahoo team. Please make sure you check back here on Friday for Ben Dinnery's extensive team and injury news column, where he'll run through everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's deadline.
My own team page currently looks like this ...
XI: Courtois, Cresswell, Bellerin, Bertrand, Fabregas, Moses, Eriksen, Di Maria, Cazorla, Pelle, Sanchez
Subs: Kelly, Okore, Costa, Robles
It’s a 3-5-2 right now with Van Aanholt, Wollscheid, Sterling, Elia, Giroud and Falcao still in my thoughts, and I need to decide what to do with Costa. I hold the Chelsea striker at under £6million from all the way back in Week 1, but he's set to miss three league matches and is just a couple of bookings away from an additional two match ban (for reaching 10 yellow cards), so it's a tough one. Follow me on @nikarg and I’ll tweet out a final line-up on Friday night / Saturday morning.
How's your Week 23 team looking?
