Fantasy Friday: Benteke wins the battle of the Belgians and why Sturridge or Soldado could be the ace in your pack


Welcome to Sportsmail's weekly Fantasy Football column which will try to help you get the edge on your friends, family and Jamie Redknapp.

Here, Rik Sharma considers the key issues in the game, from the men to bring in or avoid, through to which teams have a tasty looking run of fixtures.

Follow him on Twitter here: @rbsfeatures or email him rik.sharma@dailymail.co.uk

 

IT'S NOT TOO LATE

Heroes of the week

Aston Villa's hitman Christian Benteke has managed to score three goals in what, on paper, were two very tricky opening games.

First he put Arsenal to the sword with two goals, before adding another against Chelsea as Villa were defeated at Stamford Bridge (scoring 13 points in total). But blotting his copybook were two yellow cards (-2 each) and a missed penalty (-5). It could have been the perfect week for the striker, who would have finished on a superb 22 points.

Branislav Ivanovic is the leading defender in the points chart (21) because of his clean sheet on Saturday and his goal against Villa on Wednesday night.

Villans won't think so, because of his elbow on Benteke that could have seen him sent off (but he just got a booking) but Fantasy Football is no place for morality.

Oscar is the third points hero (19), leading the midfield charts thanks to his goal against Hull and making a key contribution in the build up to Chelsea's first goal against Aston Villa.

It's no surprise that Chelsea and Villa players are among the highest points scorers this week because they've played an extra game, thanks to the Blues' Supercup commitments.

Beast: Christian Benteke has scored three goals so far this season

Beast: Christian Benteke has scored three goals so far this season

Villains of the week

Steven Taylor, to put it frankly, was a disgrace this week. The Newcastle defender was sent off for an idiotic swipe at Sergio Aguero and saw his team collapse afterwards. He only ends up on -6 (-5 for a red card, -2 for letting in two goals, +1 for making an appearance), instead of -8, because two of Man City's goals were scored after he left the pitch.

Laurent Koscielny also saw red for Arsenal, after conceding a penalty. That leaves him on -6 too. And to add injury to insult, he might miss a game after he was kicked in the face by Pierre Webo and needed stitches in the Gunners' Champions League qualifier against Fenerbahce.

This isn't really Romelu Lukaku's fault, as he's looked the best of Chelsea's three strikers on display this week. But with Jose Mourinho opting to name him as a substitute in the first two games, he's done the fantasy managers who had faith in him up like kippers. In the battle of the Belgians, Benteke bests Lukaku every time.

Low points: Romelu Lukaku did not start either of Chelsea's first two fixtures this term

Low points: Romelu Lukaku did not start either of Chelsea's first two fixtures this term

Star man Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge has an excellent goalscoring record - seven in his last six Premier League games. You might not like how the 23-year-old plays, but you can't argue with the points totals. In the next few weeks Liverpool are playing against Aston Villa, Swansea and Sunderland away, and Man United, Southampton and Crystal Palace at home. With the exception of United, I'd back Sturridge to score in any of those games.

Spotlight on Sturridge: Danny boy will lead the line for Liverpool in Luis Suarez's absence

Spotlight on Sturridge: Danny boy will lead the line for Liverpool in Luis Suarez's absence

Why I'm sold on Soldado

He's Tottenham's main man. While the players behind Roberto Soldado will be chopped and changed, the Spaniard will lead the line for Andre Villas-Boas. He takes penalties too - as we saw against Crystal Palace. Home games against Swansea, Norwich, Chelsea and West Ham, along with away matches at Arsenal and Cardiff, should see him pick up a fair few points.

Spot on: Roberto Soldado is Tottenham's best striker and he takes the penalties too

Spot on: Roberto Soldado is Tottenham's best striker and he takes the penalties too

Midfield guns for hire

Goals from a midfielder are worth 8 points which makes players in that position who hit the target a lot invaluable. Opta have given us statistics on the midfielders who have shot the most in the first week of games.

Frank Lampard 8 shots (3rd highest scoring midfielder)

Oscar 6 (1st)

Kevin Nolan 4 (4th)

Peter Whittingham 4 (outside top 20)

Cabral 4 (outside top 20)

Points machine: Kevin Nolan is West Ham's most likely player to find the net and isn't afraid of a shot

Points machine: Kevin Nolan is West Ham's most likely player to find the net and isn't afraid of a shot

Whittingham and Cabral were hampered by their teams losing, but could be players to watch out for in the weeks ahead as Cardiff and Sunderland respectively find their feet.

Kevin Nolan, meanwhile, is West Ham's main goal-threat while Andy Carroll gets fit again, while we know about Lampard and Oscar. Although, maybe you should hold your horses on those two because it could be time to...

Ditch the Blues

Chelsea have a tough away fixture against Manchester United on Monday and then no game the following weekend because they are in Prague to play in the Supercup. It could be time to ditch your Blues, for now. If you have a striker (Ba, Torres, Lukaku) I'd get rid and not look back.

Mata didn't look fully fit against Villa on Wednesday so this could be a good time to get him out until he's ready. Hazard and Oscar are probably worth keeping, because you'll probably want one of them in your team for most of the season. But if you transfered Hazard out, you could afford almost any other midfielder - try David Silva, with Man City playing at Cardiff.

A Mata of time: Little Juan will score highly this season but perhaps you should drop him for now

A Mata of time: Little Juan will score highly this season but perhaps you should drop him for now

Zabaleta's looking better

With Micah Richards sidelined yet again with injury, Pablo Zabaleta is guaranteed to be a fixture in City's starting line-up for the next few weeks at least. He gets forward well and the Citizens looked superb against Newcastle.

First choice: Pablo Zabaleta will be an installation at right-back with Micah Richards out injured

First choice: Pablo Zabaleta will be an installation at right-back with Micah Richards out injured

 


Jamie Redknapp's team

Jamie Redknapp's fantasy squad - Week 2

Jamie Redknapp transfers:

Gael Clichy (Man City) IN Fernando Amorebieta (Fulham) OUT  (19/08/13)

Kevin Nolan (West Ham) IN Fernandinho (Man City) OUT (22/08/13)

 

Fixture guide

CLICK HERE to look at this incredible interactive fixture guide which helps you see which teams have easy and difficult runs of games.

It was lovingly put together by matchstory.co.uk (who you can follow on Twitter at @matchstory).

Big green molecules represent easier games while the big red ones are for harder encounters.
Scroll your mouse over to see the fixture and score from last season.

You can see that Liverpool don't have too many tough games until December

You can see that Liverpool don't have too many tough games until December

 

Premier League week 2 fixtures

VIDEO: Sportsmail created a series of viral videos to promote the game... watch the first below and then click HERE to watch the rest

 

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