Gameweek 5: The Pre Game

Gameweek 5 brings us some very interesting clashes and some opportunities for certain teams to pick themselves up after disappointing games last week. The likes of West Brom, Swansea and Wigan will look to bounce back from their losses, and while they have the calibre of players to do so, they face in-form sides such in Reading, Everton and Fulham respectively. Chelsea's and Spurs' squad depth will no doubt be tested again by the resilience of Stoke and QPR respectively, while on Sunday, the big clashes between United and Liverpool, and Man City v Arsenal will certainly set the stage for the emergence of new heroes.

Swansea v Everton

Swansea are into their second game without Chico and Neil Taylor, and will see their passing game tested against a physically intimidating Everton side. Beyond the obvious strengths of their wide men in Dyer, Routledge and Pablo Hernandez waiting in the wings, Michu will be a constant threat. However, as exploited in their loss against Villa, the center-backs do have a tendency to switch off especially in the second half, and Everton do have the players to capitalise.

Everton, who usually play Neville at right back in away games, will probably have the same starting XI as last week, seeing that Kevin Mirallas impressed in the right wing spot. However, with Swansea's wing play significantly more direct than Newcastle's, Moyes might field Naismith instead to prevent Hibbert being exposed by the adventurous Ben Davies and Dyer/Routledge.

Key Battles: 

Swansea's wingers vs Naismith/Hibbert, Fellaini/Osman v de Guzman/Britton. Fellaini and Osman's job of dispossessing Swansea's holding players will no doubt be one of the most difficult, as Britton and de Guzman have an amazing off-the-ball movement to receive passes in the first place. However, while Fellaini's aerial duels against them is a no contest, Swansea's centerbacks will have more trouble against him when Everton play it long, and I can see this pattern being repeated by Everton. Anichebe, if he starts in place of Jelavic, is in a very promising position.

Prediction: 

Everton's aerial strength will be the deciding factor for me here. Although Swansea will have majority of the ball, Everton can easily operate without it, and expect Everton to score late in the second half. Swansea 1 Fellaini 2

Key Fantasy Picks: 

While Fellaini is the obvious pick here, Moyes could introduce Kevin Mirallas in the second half to go up again young Ben Davies or Tardarelli, which makes him a decent differential. Despite the fact that I highly rate Everton's attacking ability on the left hand side, Angel Rangel and Dyer would probably do well enough to minimise their threat, especially since Swansea will aim to starve Everton of possession. If you are backing Swansea, Routledge or even Davies are decent options.

Chelsea v Stoke

Chelsea would have learnt their lessons from the 2-2 draw with Juventus, as well as the 0-0 draw against Stoke. Chelsea's lineup will be relatively unpredictable at the moment, with Wolves ahead in midweek and then Arsenal the next weekend. However, their 4-2-3-1 system with Mikel and Lampard advancing in tandem seems to have been consistently used over the last few games, with RDM only varying Fernando Torres' supporting cast up front. 

While Hazard's place in the starting XI should be secured, the wide/advanced midfielders are dependent on RDM's mentality going into this game; at home against a Stoke side are not known for their prowess on the wings nor on the ball, Mata, who was rested again Juventus and perhaps Moses or Oscar might feature. Stoke will probably field the same XI as last week, and will utilise their fresher squad and their directness to beat RDM's men on the counterattack. 

Key Battles: 

Hazard v Nzonzi, Crouch v Chelsea centerbacks. While Stoke's playing style is predictable, must will depend on whether Chelsea can outscore Stoke, really. If Chelsea field the same attacking trio as against Juventus, it might pay dividends actually, but the game should revolve around Chelsea picking a lock open with patience, and we'll certainly witness a lot of quality on the pitch, unless they don't show up like Man City last week. 

Prediction: 

Will Chelsea show up against Stoke? I think so. Sadly, I think Chelsea will win it through a pen. All them Lampard owners better be ready to jump for joy. Chelsea 1 Stoke 0

Key Fantasy Picks: 

I honestly would like to say that Walters and Crouch have shown they can tough it against strong opposition, but sadly I would beg to differ. With Hazard and/or Lampard as must-haves, I could see Ramires or Oscar making a difference. 

Southampton v Villa

There was an interesting article on Southampton written my ZonalMarking's author, Michael Cox the other day about Southampton's problems, and in short he mentioned that Southampton rely more on interceptions rather than hard tackles to obtain possession. While this may not be bad news for them against the likes of Villa, their only game against a non-top four side, ended in a tame 2-0 defeat. I would admit that I have yet to look at the Saints' merits from that game, but with this game we will finally see what Nigel Adkins' men are made of, assuming the same XI start against Villa.

The resemblance of Paul Lambert's current Villa side with his previous club, Norwich is starting to become more obvious. His tendency to use playmakers and central midfielders on the wings are starting to yield results, with Barry Bannan and Brett Holman playing significant roles in his attacks so far. El Ahmadi and Weimann will also have their tails up to capitalise on Southampton's slack marking by the midfield, and there is almost no doubt that they will look to hit Villa as hard as they can.

Key Battles:

Bannan v Schneiderlin, Lallana/Lambert v Vlaar/El Ahmadi. With Lambert having the potential to get the slight edge over Villa's defence, Southampton will look to find ways to get the ball to him. Lallana or even Ramirez would play an important part in moving into the space between the lines that El Ahmadi and Stephen Ireland may leave behind. Expect the center of the park to be filled with individual battles, and the winner dictating the course of the game. 

Prediction:

This game is hard to call. Both sides have enough quality to score, but Villa look like they have the more solid defence. Maybe the Saints will give up defense altogether and play Ramirez and Lallana up front behind Lambert. Either way, Saints to score, but Villa to score more. Southampton 2 Villa 3

Key Fantasy Picks:

Barry Bannan for Villa, Weimann if you want a differential. For Southampton, Lambert will be among the points if the Saints score. Ramirez's output will depend on his game time.

West Brom v Reading

Steve Clarke will be aiming to find a panacea to West Brom's problems against an out of sorts Reading side, but will encounter a significant obstacle in Reading's quality being in their wingers and counterattacks. West Brom will no doubt learn from Spurs' and Chelsea's win over their opponents by involving their central midfielders in their attacking play. Mulumbu's energy and Morrison's off-the-ball movement will be the key to dismantling Reading, but Shane Long will look to spearhead the attack with Odemwingie suspended. 

With Steven Reid still set to be sidelined, Billy Jones was exposed at right-back by Kacaniklic last week, and Reading do have the quality to do exactly the same. Their standard 4-4-1-1 should be fielded again this coming Saturday, but Reading's 3 central midfielders have to much more than they did against Spurs to win this game. With Mulumbu, Yacob and Morrison/Dorrans likely to drop in to assist, they have to take the bull by the horns and prevent West Brom from wearing them down. An alternative tactic could see Le Fondre starting and Reading bypassing the midfield to have McAnuff and McCleary taking on West Brom's fullbacks.

Key Battles:

McAnuff v Jones, Guthrie v Mulumbu/Yacob. Reading will try and hit West Brom's soft spot on the right flank, while West Brom's aim is to dominate the game by utilising their front 4 well. Expect a West Brom possession game to go up against Reading's counterattacking strategy, and the team who pulls off their tactics better will win the game.

Prediction:

While this game will be relatively straightforward, I see a score draw as the outcome. I have a sneaky feeling, though that I'm giving Reading too much credit, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt once more. West Brom 1 Reading 1

Key Fantasy Picks:

McAnuff for Reading, Long or Morrison for West Brom. As differentials, Mulumbu could get a goal if Reading are slack, and while Pogrenbyak will be marked quite tightly, if Reading counter successfully he might be among the points.

West Ham v Sunderland

West Ham's route one football is now getting much attention from opposition teams, but not being dealt with. At least not yet. With Norwich, Fulham and Villa failing to score against them, Sunderland roll up next to Upton Park, where West Ham's ability to break down a more defensively minded midfield will come under scrutiny. While previously Nolan, Taylor and Vaz Te could pick up second balls from Cole or Maiga's knockdowns, Cattermole and Colback might stifle that plan and West Ham could turn to Matt Jarvis to double up against Craig Gardner with Guy Demel. Expect Diame to exploit that space and create something.

Sunderland still have Adam Johnson not fit and will rely on Larsson on the right, and McClean on the left to provide width. Guy Demel will be a much more solid opposition for the Sunderland right hand side, and perhaps would count of McClean to be the difference against Joey O'Brien. How Sunderland deal with Mark Noble will be the real question though, as he will most likely be harrying Sessegnon throughout the match, and sooner or later Colback and/or Cattermole will have to enter the fray to cause problems.

Key Battles:

Nolan/Taylor vs Cattermole/Colback, McClean v O'Brien. With West Ham largely relying on getting to the second ball to generate most of their chances, Sunderland's two central midfielders have a huge task in preventing that from happening as Nolan and Taylor's directness is complemented by a decent first touch and decent shooting. Sunderland can do one of two things: press West Ham high up the pitch in order to prevent long balls being sent to the lone forward, or play the patient game and utilise their widemen to have a run at West Ham's defence.

Prediction:

West Ham's long ball game plays into Sunderland's hands, if Sunderland execute their strategy properly. I have a feeling that Sunderland might not be up to the task: West Ham 3 Sunderland 1

Key Fantasy Picks:

Nolan is the obvious picks here for those supporting West Ham, while the inform Steven Fletcher will no doubt be at the end of most of Sunderland attacks. Matt Taylor has proven himself to be quite clinical himself lately, and McClean might just be the winner for Sunderland if things come to a stalemate in the closing stages.

Wigan v Fulham

Wigan, barring any injuries, should field the same XI that started against Manchester United last week.
Fulham, however, have a relatively unpredictable lineup with Mladen Petric competing for one of the front two spots with Berbatov and Hugo Rodallega, and Bryan Ruiz is fit again, which creates doubts for Kacaniklic or Duff. While Fulham use a very mobile 4-4-2, Wigan's 3-4-3 system is actually quite similar to the setup at Napoli, where Napoli employ a counterattacking playstyle utilising the quality of their front three. Napoli's wingbacks, however, are positioned quite deep by default and rely on the deepest of their front three to transition between defence and attack.

As exhibited by Manchester United last week, the space left behind by Wigan's wingbacks could be exploited quite easily, where Fulham will seek to move into. Fulham could do so very similarly to the way Man United did by using mobile forwards such as Rodallega. Fulham's other area of strength are the flanks as well, where Riise and Riethers can cause Beausejour a lot of trouble. Wigan's area of strength, however, lies in the extra man they have in midfield and attack. Shaun Maloney, James McCarthy and James McArthur have to use their extra man wisely to transition between defence and attack smoothly. A lot of Wigan's chances will be created on Maloney's movement or one of the two central midfielders advancing past the Fulham midfield.

Key Battles:

It'll be interesting how this battle will play out. Because of the difference in formations, individual battles wouldn't be the key feature of this match. Rather, how each team will utilise their "spare man" will be key to whether their attacks will come to fruition or not. Fulham will focus on Wigan's vacancy on the flanks, while Wigan will either counterattack or rely on Maloney to roam around and provide the extra option on offense.

Prediction:

Today's results will largely come down to who starts on the wing for Fulham; while I am an avid fan of Damien Duff, I feel that he would prefer to run at defences in tight spaces rather than running into space as Wigan would offer. Kacaniklic, however, will be at the heart of the most of Fulham's moves and I don't see Wigan answering to that: Wigan 0 Fulham 1

Key Fantasy Picks:

Those that are backing Wigan can count on Maloney as a must have in their squad, while Fulham supporters should have Kacaniklic in their squads. Duff is the other viable option, and edpect Hugo Rodallega to help stretch the Wigan back three the same way Hernandez did for United last week.  

Liverpool v Man United

Brendan Roger's possession hungry Liverpool face an injury-hit Manchester United side that have fielded sides that attacked their opponents' weaknesses this season. Liverpool will field the same 4-3-3 that opened against Sunderland last week, unless Jonjo Shelvey is rested following his cameo against Young Boys midweek. Man United's lineup is still a mystery at the moment, with only the centerbacks and Robin van Persie the only REASONABLE guarantees to start. Sir Alex might have figured out the trending "anti-Liverpool" formation in the 4-2-3-1s which have worked so well for Sunderland, West Brom, and Arsenal, and we shouldn't be surprised if he follows suit.

Possession is the name of the game for Liverpool as they attempt to play Man United out of the game, and since ironing their errors out of their gameplay and figuring out a decent starting XI to execute the 4-3-3, you could say that Liverpool are facing Man United at the right time. However, Man United have proved time and time again that they have the capability to use possession well. While I expect Sir Alex to conjure up something interesting against Liverpool (surprise start for Anderson perhaps!?!?), I at least expect Man United to be playing a 4-2-3-1, and Scholes and Giggs to start again.

Key Battles:

EVERYWHERE. I'm not quite sure where to start, really. Since the 4-2-3-1 is mainly used to stifle the more fluid 4-3-3, I will start with the key battles that Liverpool have to win to score against United. in the center of the park, Shelvey and Gerrard (who nowadays plays a deeper role) have to hog the ball and use it effectively against Scholes, Carrick and Giggs (still estimating here), and without winning this, Liverpool's plan B is usually to go direct and use the wing-forwards, which Brendan Rogers won't do.

For Man United, whoever plays on the wings (Nani, Young, Valencia, Kagawa, Buttner/Evra, Rafael) have to get the one-up against Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly. Morrison (WBA), Podolski (ARS) and Gardner (SUN) have all counterattacked and scored or created goals from those positions, and unless Suarez and/or Borini improves in protecting their flanks, (I nearly choked from my laughter writing that phrase) United's source of goals will most likely come from counterattacks from the flank.

Prediction:

United to win because Liverpool's game plan is simply too predictable and United have the personnel to deal with them. Liverpool 1 United 2

Key Fantasy Picks:

United's wingers, if you can figure out who starts. For those backing Liverpool, Shelvey is the pick of the bunch, while everyone else is on "hold-monitor" status for now. Possible differentials are Kagawa for United, or Sterling/Borini for Liverpool.

Newcastle v Norwich

Newcastle managed to adapt to their injuries in the 2-2 draw against Everton, and should field the same lineup against Norwich, who had an encouraging performance despite not getting goal against West Ham. With Krul, Taylor, Simpson and Coloccini most likely to be out, Pardew's managerial aptitude will be tested as we will see whether he can figure out how to dismantle a very hardworking Norwich side. Norwich, on the other hand, have enough to grab all three points at the Sport Direct Arena, if they can take advantage of Newcastle's depleted defense.

Beyond the obvious strategy of constantly testing Newcastle's right flank, Chris Hughton might be able to make use of Jonas Gutierrez's slack marking against Everton to trouble the Magpies. If Norwich can use their mobility to their advantage, the likes of Harry Kane and Simeon Jackson, both making intelligent off-the-ball runs, can run Newcastle's midfield ragged and dominate the attacks. Newcastle's route to victory is slightly more puzzling; against Everton, Newcastle changed formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-2-2-2, with the right-back (Perch) and Gutierrez (defensive midfield) replacing each other's position while Ba came in for Sylvain Marveaux, who played on the wing.

Key Battles:

Norwich's victory will come from the wings, where their quality is. Rob Snodgrass will be a marked man by Davide Santon, while on the left, Surman/Pilkington will seek help from one of the forwards to emulate Everton's movement that beat Newcastle's right flank so well.

For Newcastle to beat Norwich, Cabaye will have to rely on his passing range to find his forwards, because Howson and Bradley Johnson press quite highly up the pitch. Ben Arfa's movement will probably be the key creator of Newcastle's goals tonight, depending on which flank he decides to take on.

Prediction:

Score draw. Unless both sides fail to fire, this game should be an entertaining game to watch,  Newcastle 2 Norwich 2

Key Fantasy Picks:

For Norwich, Surman/Pilkington is actually my first pick for the Canaries, while for Newcastle will have Ben Arfa among the points if Newcastle win. Possible differentials are Snodgrass, Jackson or Demba Ba/Cabaye.

Man City v Arsenal

Man City have surprised many by allowing their orthodox wide men to start last week, but we should expect no surprises against an Arsenal side on the crescendo. Man City's strongest XI should see the back four shielded by Javi Garcia, with Nasri, Silva, and Yaya Toure behind Tevez and Balotelli or Dzeko. With so much quality in the midfield, they will look to the obvious inexperience of Carl Jenkinson as an avenue to create goals. Although City's obvious gameplan would be to outclass Arsenal in every department, City's pressing of Arsenal's double pivot midfield of Arteta and Coquelin or Ramsey will be key to beating Arsenal. Expect a surprise start here for Gareth Barry or maybe a third center-back, as Mancini might go to his preseason plan B of a 3-4-1-2 like the one against Real Madrid in midweek.

Arsenal have finally demonstrated to us what they can do with a mobile lone forward against Southampton. Will they do the same against Man City? Or will they have a targetman in Giroud instead? While Gervinho was allowed a lot of room against Southampton, expect the lone forward to get a lot less change out of City's defense, especially if Mancini starts two defensive midfielders to cut out Arsenal's passing in the center of the pitch. Arsenal could possibly emulate Read Madrid in midweek by having Podolski taking on Maicon or Zabaleta 1v1, but all these thoughts are in the air at the moment without Mancini's game plan.

Key Battles:

The key battles here will be dependent on Mancini's starting formation. With a 4-4-2, Man City will win the game if Javi Garcia and Yaya Toure deny Arteta, Cazorla and his central midfield partner possession. With Mancini's 4-2-3-1, it will come down to Podolski or Oxlade-Chamberlain/Walcott to exploit the weakness of the wingbacks (although Clichy would probably do a decent job against whoever starts on the right)

Prediction:

The results at the moment is anyone's guess and it comes down to who pulls off their strategy better.  I DON'T KNOW

Key Fantasy Picks:

And I thought the score prediction was hard. Those banking on Man City to win would probably have Yaya Toure in their squad, as he would be in charge of winning the midfield battle and providing the incisive pass. Arsenal supporters should go with Podolski at the moment, but expect Arteta to contribute should Arsenal win.