Gameweek 35 Summary

Cool, Calm and Collected Chelsea Cech Off Van Persie

Following their surprising triumph against Barcelona only a few days earlier, the Blues held their nerves for a credible draw against Arsenal. Cech's five saves were important in maintaining Chelsea's five match unbeaten run and means that Van Persie has only scored one goal from his last seven matches. However the draw leaves Chelsea in 6th place with the daunting realisation that they may have to go all the way and win the Champions League if they are to definitely play in the elite European competition next season.

Black Cats fail to get their claws into Villainous Lions

Coming into this match, both teams had failed to win in their last few league matches. Going out of it, the abysmal winless record continued for both as the match ended in a goalless draw. Villa's inability to win has made them shock last minute relegation candidates as Sunderland's recent poor form is sufficient for them to accept mid-table mediocrity.

Hoilett halts the rot for Rovers

Blackburn ended their five match losing streak with a much needed win at Ewood Park. Goals from Formica and Hoilett were enough to defeat Norwich. Rovers are now three points away from safety and could still be in with a shout for survival. It all now depends on how much they wish to fight until the end.

Elegant Eagles' goal not enough to down Swift Swans

Bolton were denied three points at home as they fight to avoid the drop. A draw seemed to be the inevitable outcome as Bolton's home record hasn't been that great this season, which was complemented by Swansea's poor away performances.  And so it ended in a 1-1 draw. See below for the outcome of Bolton's second GW 35 match...

Pog Riises and Sends Martinez's men back to the drawing board

Wigan came back down to reality with defeat at Craven Cottage, following back-to-back victories against Arsenal and United. Goals from Pogrebnyak and Senderos were enough to secure three points for Fulham, despite Boyce's goal for the Latics. With 3 games to go Wigan are 3 points above the relegation zone and must avoid complacency to avoid being dragged back down to the drop zone.

Geordies order Cab ride for Stoke in three goal rout

Newcastle continued to defy the odds as they recorded their sixth consecutive league victory with a comfortable win against Stoke. A brace from Cabaye and yet another goal from Cisse ensured that the Geordies remain 3 points above 5th spot and only 3 points away from 3rd. Never in their wildest dreams could the Toon Army have imagined such a tantalising scenario at the start of the season, of Champions League football within touching distance...

"Queen Kenny's" six appeal saves the day at Loftus Road

Half a dozen saves from QPR's goalkeer, along with an Adel Taarabt goal secured three unlikely points against fellow Londoners Tottenham. Taarabt may have got himself sent off later in the match but that wasn't enough for Spurs to score. The win leaves QPR 3 points safely above 18th place with 3 matches remaining.

Moyes' Boys shock Fergie's foxes in 8 Goal Thriller

He may have been at Everton for 10 years in a trophyless reign, but Moyes showed that his shoestring budget team can from time to time raise their game against the big teams. A win for United would have semi-sealed the title race. At 0-1 down they were in trouble. At 3-1 up they were cruising. Even at 4-2 up they were cruising. But perhaps United became complacement? With 7 minutes of time left, Everton blew open the title race with two late goals to finish the match 4-4. United may be regretting their poor defending and missed chances, but will have to avoid defeat in GW 36 at City to prevent losing complete momentum in the title race.

Hodgson comes back to Anfield and piles more misery on Liverpool

He may have been sacked in an unjust manner last season, but since then he has prospered and Liverpool have stagnated. This proved to be the case as West Brom defeated a wasteful Liverpool team at Anfield for the first time in 45 years. The once formidable Liverpool have unfortunately relegated themselves to the status of a cup team this season. Talking of relegation, Liverpool would be right in the mire if you look at the Premier League table from January 2012. The victory was West Brom's 3rd from their last 4 matches and puts them only 1 point away from Liverpool.

City beat and relegate Wolves (as well as reducing league lead)

Mancini's men made the most of United's lost two points at Old Trafford by picking three points of their own at the Molineux Stadium. Their 0-2 victory, courtesy of goals from Aguero and Nasri, automatically relegated a Wolves team whose fate seemed sealed weeks before. City will now hope to beat United in GW 36 and win their remaining matches to stand any chance of winning the Premier League.

and finally...

Eagles and Pets plunge Villa into relegation Dog Fight

Aston Villa may have been lacking three of their key players (Collins - injury, "Stan" Petrov - Illnes and Bent - injury), but this was no excuse to lose to a struggling Bolton team. Warnock's goal gave Villa some hope for victory. But that lasted seconds, as complacency set in and withing three minutes Villa were 1-2 down. The defeat means they have only won one match in their last ten where as Bolton now remain one point away from safety with a game in hand.

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A mixed gameweek for me. On the one hand 8 of my starting XI scored 2 points or less. No one from my defence kept a clean sheet other than Gibbs whose points will not count as he was unfortunately my third substitute. On the other other hand, Rooney's two goals complimented nicely with my GW 35 captain/endorsement Martin Petrov's assist and goal which added respectability to my score. Looking to DGW 36, I already have made one change by replacing the injured Walcott. I am willing to take a -4 for the first time in almost three months to accomodate another DGW player. RVP could surprisingly be axed from my team. His turnover of 1 goal in 7 matches has been unimpressive when the cheaper likes of Jelavic and Cisse (who have two matches in DGW 36) have scored freely. I will provide thought to my second transfer before carrying it out. I will upload my recommened player for Gameweek 36 shortly. Until next time ciao!

Recommended Player for Gameweek 35

Recommended Player for Gameweek 35 - Martin Petrov (Bolton)

Will he entertain us with goals?

After my 2 point fail from a player battling against relegation a few weeks back, I have decided to take a calculated risk and endorse another player in a similar situation.  My recommended player for Gameweek 35 is Bolton's Martin Petrov.  He may not have been a prolific goalscorer this season, but he is arguably Bolton's most important midfielder.  He has only scored 2 goals this season with 6 assists.  Petrov probably should have done a lot better, but what else can you do in a struggling team that has lacked creativity and a natural goal poacher upfront?

Admittedly his last two matches were 2 pointers against a dogged Fulham (H) and high flying Newcastle (A) respectively.  Though prior to that he managed a goal and an assist in the last two matches of March.  To give you some peace of mind he has started Bolton's last five matches, which is a rarity for a midfield that has been squad rotated and ravaged by injury.  Crucially, Bolton's next 4 fixtures are played over the next 2 Gameweeks.  This means that they have two consecutive Double Gameweeks (DGWs) that should act as an incentive for you to purchase him as follows:

DGW 1 - GW 35:

Swansea (H) - They have conceded 1.76 goals on average away. 

High potential for Bolton to score 1-2 goals.

Aston Villa (A) - They have conceded 1.38 goals on average at home. 

High potential for Bolton to score at least 1 goal.

DGW 2 - GW 36:

Blackburn (H) - They have conceded 2.41 goals on average away.  

High potential for Bolton to score at least 2 goals.

Tottenham (A) - They have conceded 1.00 goal on average at home.  

Some potential for Bolton to score at least 1 goal.

Bolton's average home scoring record for this season: 1.19 goals per match
Bolton's average away scoring record for this season: 1.06 goals per match

With the above in mind it's possible for Bolton to score approximately 4-6 goals over the next four matches/two gameweeks.  If that is the case, I believe that Petrov may at the very least be involved in some of those goals as an assister or scorer.  The 33 year old Bulgarian international is no stranger to scoring goals (see video).  He has scored a respectable 19 goals in 89 matches for Bulgaria (21.3% strike rate) and has had similar success earlier in his club career with 31 league goals in 126 matches for Vfl Wolfsburg (24.6% strike rate).

Of course, it will be hard for Petrov to replicate his former high strike rates at his age.  But sometimes when a team is under pressure and is battling against relegation their decent players' true class emerges, regardless of age.  I believe Petrov will play a pivotal role in Bolton's next few matches.  At 5.1 he is a steal and won't harm your funds too much.  Sometimes it takes a small investment to provide a big return.  This could be your final chance to do so for this FPL season...

I will post My GW 35 Blog Team (with confirmation of my selected captain and vice-captain) at least a night before the Gameweek commences. 

GW 35’s Double Gameweek - Scraping the barrel?

The upcoming Double Gameweek (DGW) for Aston Villa and Bolton in GW 35 is a small taster before the main course of DGW fixtures in GW 36. Villa and Bolton are two sides that will have seen scant investment across the season.  GW 35 provides an appetising pair of fixtures for both sides as follows:

The fixtures in question

Aston Villa v Sunderland

Bolton v Swansea

Aston Villa v Bolton

Villa host Sunderland first. The Martin O’Neil effect seems to be fading as of late with 2 losses, 2 wins and 2 draws in the last 6 games seeing them in mediocre form. More notably they have conceded 14 goals in their last 6 games away from home.

Bolton host a Swansea side in poor form who have lost 4 on the bounce. They have conceded 8 goals in their last 6 away fixtures. It appears as if teams have figured out how to stop Barcelona Lite as of late.

The final clash takes place at Villa Park. McLeish showed last year that you can get relegated AND keep a lot of clean sheets. This season however they have only one clean sheet in 12 at home. Bolton have kept only two clean sheets all season conceding the third most goals in the league. However home advantage gives the fixture edge to Villa and means they perhaps warrant greater investment.

The players

In goal Shay Given and Adam Bogdan are the two options. Given was expected to be a bargain when the prices for the season were announced but that has failed to materialise. Down to 4.7 he offers a good budget option and with two strong fixtures he should be a consideration if you have a transfer spare. Bogdan is the cheapest starting keeper in the game at 4.0. Clean sheets with Bolton are always improbable but with 4 fixtures in 2 GWs he could sneak one perhaps, if not then save points should at least compensate for minus points from goals scored.

In defence James Collins appears the only nailed on option and offers a decent goal threat with an impressive 7 shots in his last 5 games second most in defence only to David Wheater. Whilst Collins comes in at 5.3 Wheater is available at only 4.4. Beyond Collins the Villa defence looks like a bit of a minefield, Alan Hutton appears to be nailed on but is a liability or to quote one villa fan “Alan Hutton leaves so much space behind him you could put on a music festival there”. Eric Lichaj is a budget option at 4.0 but far from guaranteed from starting. Fit again Cieran Clark is an interesting option likely to find himself out of position in midfield and priced at 4.5 is a decent option. American Tim Ream is the Bolton budget option at 4.0 and is nailed on but for the small amount of extra budget Wheater appears to be a better pick.

In the midfield the pickings are pretty slim. Enigma Stephen Ireland has found a place in McLeish’s side and in an advanced position. Picking up an assist and 2 bonus points in GW33 he has however failed to fire off a single shot in his past 5 games. Former fantasy hero Charles N’Zogbia is a possible differential punt if your budget stretches that far. With Villa short on creativity he may find a starting place after returning from injury but remains a very risky pick. For Bolton speed demon Ryo Miyaichi could be a steal and has set-pieces in his Arsenal however he has seen rotation over the past two games. Martin Petrov could be the safer pick – having worked his way back into the side he has started the last 5 games in a row and does spot kicks as well.

If midfield pickings were slim then the forwards are size 0 supermodels. Bolton really have no good options. Ivan Klasnic scores goals but doesn’t start, David N’Gog starts but never scores and Kevin Davies doesn’t start, doesn’t score but does have a penchant for yellow cards. Avoid. Villa don’t fare much better; Gabby Agbonlahor had a strong start to the season but hasn’t scored or assisted since December. The only real prospect up front is Andreas Weimann. Priced at 5.0 and owned by 0.1% of players he could prove a real differential. He reportedly has a great eye for goal and has scored twice when being eased into the side in recent games. With McLeish talking him up in the press this week he should start both games. Weimann is a good pick for those chasing in mini leagues

With all of that in mind, it's up to you to decide on whether scraping the barrel could make a difference to your team.

Written by Billy Mac
(Follow him on Twitter!)