EPL Official Fantasy

[Chelskiman]

Baines is too over priced for me.  He can get some nice numbers, but I wouldn't pay that price for him.  Only big player I would consider (and currently own) is Kompany.  I'm personally taking a risk on Rio Ferdinand.  If he can stay fit he will be a bargain.

Hazard is an interesting one.  I have started with him, but it could also be a good idea to see how he starts and trade him in later.  I have faith that he can start well.  My midfield is currently quite strong with Hazard, Ramires, Toure and Bale so I'm happy to have Hazard there because if he does start slowly the other three are known quality and can carry him until he hits form, which he will do at some stage.

Your strikers do look thin, but if you play 4-5-1 then that won't be an issue as Holt is good cover.  Even if you downgrade a player or two the strikers up to the 8.5 mark are quite thin.  I've gone with Lambert myself, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.  I think he'll have a decent season without being immense, but he is only playing second fiddle to Aguero.  I'll probably play 4-5-1 or 3-5-2.

[Chelskiman]

Would love peoples thoughts on the best DEF + MID Combo for 12.5 or under?

Thinking either Vermaelen + Noble OR Koscielny + Ramires....
Any thoughts appreciated  :)

I'd stay clear of Vermaelen.  If Lescott is fit then try him or go with a cheaper option in Williams or Shawcross.  If you go Lescott then you have the likes of Dyer, or Brunt to choose from.  Both are consistent enough to have in your team.  If you go Shawcross/Williams then you have Ramires, Sinclair or even Larson fo something different.  Ramires is your best bet though at this stage as he's a very safe pick.

[CrowsFan]

Pretty sure theyll just be playing a classic 4-4-2 now witha DM/AM..?

Yeah I can see the diamond happening, Cleverly or Carrick in DM as a ball playing mid to protect the defenders. Idk whether Young or Nani will be first choice on the right wing tho.

I assume you mean left wing? Valencia has the right wing spot ;)

[Jukes]

Yeah I reckon cheaping out down back is for the best. The highest scoring defender last season was Evra on 169 which is only about 30-40 more then most players priced at 5.0 will get, eg Hangeland, Williams, Shawcross, Collocini etc. That 2.0 I saved on Hangeland over Evra turned Pogrebnyak to Lambert and Dempsey into Silva

[Adamant]

Would love peoples thoughts on the best DEF + MID Combo for 12.5 or under?

Thinking either Vermaelen + Noble OR Koscielny + Ramires....
Any thoughts appreciated  :)

I'd stay clear of Vermaelen.  If Lescott is fit then try him or go with a cheaper option in Williams or Shawcross.  If you go Lescott then you have the likes of Dyer, or Brunt to choose from.  Both are consistent enough to have in your team.  If you go Shawcross/Williams then you have Ramires, Sinclair or even Larson fo something different.  Ramires is your best bet though at this stage as he's a very safe pick.

Cheers Chelskiman, going with ShawX and Ramires  :)

[Adamant]

Friedel (Federici)
Lescott, Koscielny, Hangeland (Clyne, Clark)
Silva, Bale, Hazard, Ramires (Guthrie)
Torres, Tevez, Pog

Going Ramires > Pienaar & Hazard > Kagawa GW2 and Torres > Rooney GW3 hopefully...
Also thoughts on Koscielny OR Shawcross + 0.5?
Cheers 

[elephants]

Petric or Graham

And

Michu or Pienaar

I'll help out more on Saturday during the countdown to lockout :)

[Jukes]

/\ Graham and Michu.

[essendon2]

D.Cisse over Graham!

Hazard + Tevez
vs
Ramires + Aguero??

[Chelskiman]

Hazard + Tevez
vs
Ramires + Aguero??

Thesafe option is Ramires and Aguero, but I'm loving the Hazard/Tevez combo.  I said a page or so back that Tevez is tempting.  His price is good too, becauseif City play two up top then he looks to be the one to partner Aguero.  He should get a lot of goals and assists this season.

[CrowsFan]

Hmm so finally got around to making a team. Took me about 5 minutes to put together so fire away with the criticism ;)

Szczesny
Rafael - Vertonghen - Jose Enrique
Bale - Kagawa - Toure - Pienaar - Michu
Tevez - Bent
Foster - Lambert - Fox - Harte

So I guess since no one is commenting on my team it must be perfect?

[KoopKicka]

Baines is too over priced for me.  He can get some nice numbers, but I wouldn't pay that price for him.  Only big player I would consider (and currently own) is Kompany.  I'm personally taking a risk on Rio Ferdinand.  If he can stay fit he will be a bargain.

Hazard is an interesting one.  I have started with him, but it could also be a good idea to see how he starts and trade him in later.  I have faith that he can start well.  My midfield is currently quite strong with Hazard, Ramires, Toure and Bale so I'm happy to have Hazard there because if he does start slowly the other three are known quality and can carry him until he hits form, which he will do at some stage.

Your strikers do look thin, but if you play 4-5-1 then that won't be an issue as Holt is good cover.  Even if you downgrade a player or two the strikers up to the 8.5 mark are quite thin.  I've gone with Lambert myself, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.  I think he'll have a decent season without being immense, but he is only playing second fiddle to Aguero.  I'll probably play 4-5-1 or 3-5-2.

Cheers Chelsekiman! Ive gone Kagawa to Ramires, I rate Baines more than others, so Im keeping him, which leaves me with 8.5 and this team

Krul (Federici)
Baines,Lescott,Williams (Barnett,Clyne)
Ramires,Bale,Hazard,Toure (Gunthrie)
Aguero,______,Pogrebynak

Is Podolski worth looking at?

[Chelskiman]

Is Podolski worth looking at?

He is now that Van Persie is gone.  Giroud could also be on a lot of people's radars.

Just realised you now have the exact same premium midfielders as me. :P

[essendon2]

Is Podolski worth looking at?

He is now that Van Persie is gone.  Giroud could also be on a lot of people's radars.

Just realised you now have the exact same premium midfielders as me. :P

I think Santi Cazorla is definitely worth the risk at 9 - playing Sunderland at home without RVP and then Stoke away - should be out to certainly prove himself

[Chelskiman]

I think I've finally settled on my starting line-up for the opening round.  There's a few safe picks and there's a few risks.  I also have 1.0m in the bank in case any of my risks fail and I need a quick upgrade.  Feel free to pick this team apart because I'm always interested in other people's opinions!



Keepers

Going with the rotation tactic here.  The only premium keepers I would get are Hart or De Gea, and even though De Gea was tempting, especially at his price, I have opted to remain with the rotation policy for the second year running.  Begovic is in a battle with Sorenson to see who will be the number one keeper at Stoke, and even though I think it's his to lose, I will be starting with Vorm for the opening round.

Defenders

I don't usually like spending big money of defenders, but I think Kompany is a class act, and it would be fair to say he is making a push as one of the best defenders not only in the EPL, but the world.  It's this reason why I have gone big at the back with Kompany.  City are a solid defensive unit, so he will rack up the points for me.  Just has to watch those cards though, as he can go in a bit too hard at times. 

Ferdinand and Gallas are massive risks and I'm well aware of that.  Ferdinand has injury issues and Gallas has selection issues.  If both can find their feet and cement places into their respective defences, then I will have pulled off two massive bargains as Spurs and United, like City, have good defensive set ups.  If they fail, which is a big possibility, then I at least have some money in reserve to trade them out to someone more solid.

Shawcross is well priced imo, and will proved great cover if and when I need him.  Stoke are very tricky at home, so I can see myself playing him over most players (except Kompany) when Stoke have a home fixture.  Stoke are one of those teams where they can either be impossible to break down or they can completely collapse, but I still feel good having him in my side.  As for my defender I've gone for a cheapy in Tierney.  I will most likely be playing 3-5-2 most weeks anyway (I've gone 4-5-1 this week due to the fact I don't think Lambert or Di Santo are going to trouble Man City or Chelsea respectively) so hopefully I won't even need to play him.  At Norwich he should actually be a starter for them, so on the rare occasion I do have to call him up to my team he should be playing for Norwich.

Midfield

This is easily my strongest area, and as with most fantasy teams you want a good engine room to keep things ticking over.  Bale is a star, and he will play a hell of a lot for Spurs.  He can be inconsistent at times, but I have no worries about that as I will be keeping him for the long run, and he should pump out similar numbers to last year (hopefully even better!).

I've started with the Chelsea duo as we have a good start to the season.  There's the whole debate over Hazard or Kagawa (In the blue corner is ele and in the red corner is Jukes :P) but in the end this is my decision and Hazard can have a similar impact to what Mata had last year.  He may slow, and that is the only risky part in picking him, but once he finds his feet he will explode.  Ramires is a gun, and he seems to be growing in strength.  He's quick, chips in with assists and can score the odd goal.  Exactly what you want from a midfielder.  Again, there is risk involved as he could be rotated a fair bit as we are well stocked in the creative midfield area these days.  That said, he should retain his place in the starting lineup, at least for the beginning of the season.

I hate City, but I love Toure.  He is an absolute machine, and he was my first picked midfielder this year (as he was last year).  He seems to have a bit of a free role, and that can only be a good thing in terms of fantasy.  He can play killer balls, resulting in assists, and he has a thunderous shot on him, which can result in some spectacular goals.  He's fast becoming one of the best mids in the world, and he's pretty much what you would call a complete midfielder right now as he is equally good in attack as he is in defence.  He's also surprisingly quick, and he has great movement, and it's a joy to watch him make a pass, burst into the box, get it back and slot home a goal.  As far as my fantasy team is concerned I hope he does that a lot.

With such a stacked midfield I had to throw a cheapie in there somewhere.  Swansea are an attacking team, which is also handy from a fantasy point of view.  Britton should be in their best eleven, and he should be picked most weeks.  Britton only got 81 points last year, but as my 5th midfielder, and priced at only 4.5, if he can replicate that then I'll be more than happy.

Forwards

Simply put, you won't win anything without one of the big three strikers (Aguero, Rooney and Van Persie).  With Van Persie and Rooney now playing in the same side, it's hard to look past Aguero.  He is the main man at City, and he should, and will, rack up the points this season.  With Tevez now back in the side there could be claims that Aguero's output may drop, but I don't think that will be the case at all, as he looks set to crack the 200 mark again this season.

I've gone for Lambert to parnter Aguero, opposed to someone like Ba.  For one, Lambert is cheaper, but I think people are underestimating Southampton a bit, and of all the teams to come up this season I think they could finish the highest.  A lot of that will depend on Lambert's forum, but he did have a great season last year.  Yes, I know it was in the Championshi, but he does know how to score, he is the penalty taker and most importantly he chips in with assists, which is important for a forward.

My final forward spot has gone to Di Santo.  Hopefully I won't even have to use him, but he should provide decent cover.  Wigan aren't the greatest scorers, but he did a decent job for them last year.  Looking at their attacking options you would aslo think he will be playing most weeks.  A lot of people have gone for Pogrebnyak as their third forward, and even though he is cheaper and I did originally have him, I've now decided that I'm not convinced by him, which is why I've spent the extra 0.5 on a player that scored close to 100 points last season, which is really all you want from a third choice forward.