AM's Week 7 Player Picks

Welcome to Week 7 of my player picks for the Yahoo Fantasy Premier League game. Firstly, I need to apologise for recommending Manchester City's Eliaquim Mangala last weekend. I made a lot of good picks, but Mangala was one I got spectacularly wrong as the central defender scored an own goal, conceded a penalty and was booked, leading to a disastrous -10 points. Can anyone remember a worst score from an outfield player? I’m not sure I can.

If you were one of the fantasy managers who made the Mangala pick based on my advice then you'll hate me even more when I reveal that I avoided him, as AM FC scored 129 points in Week 6. Ryan Bertrand, Dusan Tadic, Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa (again) all performed well, and there were solid contributions from Thibaut Courtois, Radamel Falcao and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Again, apologies if you weren’t so lucky.

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Here are your fixtures for the week ahead...

Week 7 Fixtures
Aston Villa v Man City
Chelsea v Arsenal
Hull City v Crystal Palace
Leicester City v Burnley
Liverpool v West Brom
Man Utd v Everton
Sunderland v Stoke
Swansea v Newcastle
Tottenham v Southampton
West Ham v QPR

It's quite a refreshing round of match-ups because it gives us an opportunity to focus on some of the teams that don't often feature highly in this column.

We'll start with the obvious clubs - Manchester City should beat Aston Villa at Villa Park, with Paul Lambert's early season bubble close to bursting after back-to-back 3-0 defeats, and odds-on title favourites Chelsea are likely to prove too strong for an Arsenal side missing Aaron Ramsey and a host of other players as Arsene Wenger bemoans yet another injury crisis. Liverpool are also rightly favourites beat West Brom at Anfield, so some of their attacking players will be worth considering, but I remain sceptical of the Reds' defence.

From the not-so-obvious, Swansea stand out as they host struggling Newcastle, who at the time of writing are still managed by Alan Pardew. This managerial situation may change between now and Saturday but it shouldn't effect this weekend's match, where I'm tipping Garry Monk's men to pick up a comfortable three points.

Leicester City suffered a surprise defeat at Crystal Palace in Week 6 but can put that result out of mind with victory over Burnley at the King Power stadium. You have to admire what Sean Dyche has achieved at Turf Moor, but unfortunately the board failed to invest sufficiently over the summer, leaving the squad short on depth and attacking quality. Dyche is also without his two biggest goal threats, Sam Vokes and Danny Ings (both injured), so an upturn in fortunes looks unlikely right now.

West Ham and their new brand of attacking football were unlucky to leave Old Trafford without a point and they will be looking to bounce-back as Harry Redknapp's QPR side (who cannot stop losing away from home) visit Upton Park for a London derby.

Hull are scoring goals but conceding far too many, so their clash with Crystal Palace looks like a potentially entertaining affair which could go either way, while Manchester United v Everton is another match difficult to call in either team's favour. There should be goals in both fixtures though, so attacking players from all four sides should be on your radar. The opposite could be said of Sunderland v Stoke, with a low scoring draw likely.

Finally, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino faces his ex-club Southampton who are flying under new manager Ronaldo Koeman. The match may be at White Hart Lane but the Saints are playing the far better football and looking like a cohesive unit from back to front, so with the added motivation of revenge - and with Spurs playing in the Europa League on Thursday night - the south-coast club can come away with at least a point, and possibly all three.

With all that in mind, click over to the next page to view my Week 7 player recommendations.

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KEEPERS
Lukasz Fabianski - A few eyebrows were raised when Fabianski was signed to replace Michel Vorm as the first choice goalkeeper at the Liberty stadium, but the ex-Arsenal man has made a fine start to his Swansea career. The Polish stopper has formed part of a defensive unit with three Premier League clean sheets already, and they can make it four at home to Newcastle.
Kasper Schmeichel - As has been discussed already, Burnley are badly struggling to score goals thus far and are missing their two leading strikers, which gives Schmeichel a terrific opportunity to keep a clean sheet in Week 7. At a price of just over £4million the Leicester keeper is a bargain option.
Adrian - West Ham host a QPR side who simply cannot win away from home, so Adrian could be in for a fairly easy afternoon. The Hammers keeper has a clean sheet and a win on the cards, and is just 0.2% owned in the Yahoo game, so selecting him could provide a differential over your fellow fantasy managers.

DEFENDERS
Patrick van Aanholt - Another nine point return in Week 6 and an average weekly score of 10 points per game suggests van Aanholt's form could be permanent rather than temporary. The left-back remains a fine option for Sunderland's home game with Stoke, as Steve has explained in his bargain hunter column.
Aaron Cresswell - Quietly impressive all season, Cresswell has been stuck on my bench at his opening weekend price of £1million despite his productivity in the Yahoo fantasy game, so he deserves a chance in the starting XI as West Ham host QPR.
Richie de Laet - As discussed in detail earlier in the column, Leicester have a great clean sheet opportunity against Burnley, and de Laet is also picking up a bunch of miscellaneous points, so the defender should be in your thoughts as an option for Week 6.
Alberto Moreno - Since Moreno's superb goal against Tottenham he's had a bit of a tough time, picking up a couple of yellow cards as Liverpool have dropped points, but there are clear signs he has the potential to be an excellent Premier league full-back and I'm tipping him to get back on track against West Brom.
Martin Kelly - Another all-action display from Kelly against Leicester suggests (like van Aanholt) that he could be set to continue this fantasy form for the long term. An away game at Hull isn't likely to bring a clean sheet, but the ex-Liverpool man is pulling in points for a variety of defensive and attacking contributions.
Neil Taylor - Relishing his run in the first team since Ben Davies departed for Tottenham, Taylor has been playing well and is the cheapest way to get in on the potential Swansea clean sheet against West Brom.
Marcos Rojo - Manchester United took a bit of a battering from West Ham after Wayne Rooney's red card in Week 6, but Rojo was impressive as he marshalled his inexperienced defensive partner to help his side hang on for a vital win. The Argentine's performance brought 10 fantasy points and he will need to be solid again in Week 7 as Everton visit Old Trafford.
Liam Moore - See de Laet above, only with the potential of slightly less phantom points but at a much lower price.

MIDFIELDERS
Stewart Downing - Heavily tipped in last week's column, Downing put up another 13 points (on the losing side without a goal or assist) to keep his average points per game at the 12 point mark and he can top those figures in a West Ham win against QPR this weekend.
Angel Di Maria - The British record signing was my "headline" pick last weekend but struggled to get in to the game against the Hammers and returned a disappointing four points. I'm expecting a far better return from Di Maria this weekend against Everton.
Dusan Tadic - Ronald Koeman has done some phenomenal business over the summer to rebuild his Southampton squad, and Tadic is at the top of that list of signings. The attacking midfielder is playing on the left side of a front three and has displayed creativity (3 assists), expert delivery (11 successful crosses) and an eye for goal (seven shots on target and two against the woodwork). I've already expressed my concern for Spurs this weekend, and Tadic is the danger-man.
Cesc Fabregas - Chelsea look so powerful, it's difficult to see Arsenal getting anything from Stamford Bridge this weekend, and you just know Fabregas - who Wenger reportedly turned down in the summer - will put in a performance to haunt his former manager.
Gylfi Sigurdsson - Swansea have a cracking home match-up against Newcastle, and Sigurdsson should get the opportunity to dictate the attacking play from his free role behind the striker. Having not scored since the opening day of season at Old Trafford, the Icelandic star is definitely due one.
Raheem Sterling - Practically playing as Mario Balotelli's support striker in the absence of Daniel Sturridge, Sterling is picking up points for fun at the moment and remains Liverpool's biggest attacking threat for the match against West Brom
Mile Jedinak - I will repeat the same paragraph wheeled out here more-or-less every week. "Once again Jedinak is proving a terrific performer in the Yahoo fantasy game ... the Australian is essentially fixture proof, putting up points home and away, no matter the opponent." The only thing I can't explain is why I never, ever pick him.
Yaya Toure - There were glimpses of the old Toure against Hull in Week 6 as the midfielder found actually won a few tackles and got himself in to some more advanced positions. With Samir Nasri injured and David Silva a peripheral figure recently, Yaya is back on the list as the most attractive option from the Manchester City midfield for the trip to Aston Villa.
Victor Moses - Another 15 points from Mr Moses in Week 6, with an assist for Peter Crouch's winning goal and host of attacking contributions. The winger is constantly busy and involved, which are both key to success in the Yahoo fantasy format, so feel free to pick him up for Stoke's trip to Sunderland.
Esteban Cambiasso - It was essential to include a Leicester midfield option for their match against Burnley, and Cambiasso is that man. The 35-year-old may no longer have the engine to run box to box for 90 minutes, but he's still got the experience to influence games and has popped up in the box on more than one occasion in his brief time in England. Well priced, and owned by less than 1% of Yahoo fantasy managers.

STRIKERS
Diego Costa - No-brainer.
Sergio Aguero - Finally back to full match-fitness and looking sharp, Aguero's partnership with Edin Dzeko has clicked back in to place in recent weeks, and Aston Villa's defence will find it difficult to handle the duo this weekend. Both strikers are a great options, but the Argentine gets the nod due to penalty duty.
Radamel Falcao - I can't be the only person with a feeling that Rooney's three match ban could benefit Manchester United. Louis van Gaal has found it difficult to find a place for all his attacking talent so far, but the suggested starting XI's without his captain actually looks to have a better balance on paper, and Falcao could benefit with a proper number 10 feeding him.
Leonardo Ulloa - After a quiet match against Crystal Palace in Week 6 Ulloa will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Burnley at home. Again, Steve has the in-depth analysis here.
Mario Balotelli - The Italian wasted numerous chances against Everton as he did against Tottenham on his debut, but his movement is good, he's constantly involved in the play and is keeping his temper in check. Eventually Balotelli is going to break out with a couple of goals and a big score, and it could be against West Brom.
Diafra Sakho - There are signs that Sakho and Enner Valencia are going to prove quite a handful for Premier League defences around the country, with Sakho in particular displaying a touch of quality that has been missing from Sam Allardyce's side in recent seasons. A home game against QPR gives the Senegalese front-man a chance to add to his two goals.
Abel Hernandez - Another new signing with a couple of goals to his name already, Hernandez has one heck of a shot on him and has taken on penalty duty, so he could prove a smart selection for the fantasy manager looking to do something different as Hull host Palace.
Graziano Pelle - On first glance Pellè appears to have the physique to make it in the Premier League, and the giant striker is starting to look the part with four goals already. Once again Koeman looks to have signed a real gem of a player, and along with Tadic he can cause Tottenham's defence major problems.

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So those are the players I'm considering for my Week 7 Yahoo team. You can probably guess roughly what my team will look like from the analysis above but I haven't actually started picking it yet, so I'll tweet out my projected XI closer to the weekend.

How's your Week 7 team looking?