Little Leighton feels comfortable at home....
Toffees and the Carling Cup Champs
We are heading into the home stretch and while I never, ever, recommend spending transfer money (maybe if you can’t field a starting 11 but even then it may not be worth spending four points), you have to start maximizing your weekly returns. If you are watching the fixture list like a hawk, as you should be, then you have a spotted an opportunity. Everton and Birmingham City both play twice this week so you should spend at least your free weekly transfer on a player from one of these teams.
Everton
Coming off a clean sheet last week, Everton’s defenders — as well as keeper Tim Howard — are pretty good bets. The Toffees are away to Newcastle and then home to Birmingham City. Two of the top three fantasy performers on Everton are on the back line: Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman. Baines gets lots of offensive points by being the primary corner and free-kick taker, along with making some decent runs down the left side. He’s pricey but worth it.
More affordable and a bit of a fantasy rule-breaking grey area is Seamus Coleman. That’s because while he is listed in the game as a defender, he’s playing as a midfielder. This means when he scores or gets a clean sheet, your team will be credited with more points than you normally would if he was listed correctly.
Saha may light up the league this week... if he can avoid the knock...
Up front, Everton also have a couple of in -orm strikers in Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford. Beckford notched two goals last game to give him three in his last three games. Saha came up empty but he is always deadly as he showed in his four-goal performance a few weeks ago.
The latest injury reports have the great Aussie midfielder Tim Cahill out for three weeks so avoid him, along with the giant afro-sporting Marouane Fellaini, who is out for the season.
Birmingham
The Carling Cup winners have likely just peaked on the year, but they do have some players worth considering. This week, they are home to West Brom and away to Everton. Their top player this season has been goalkeeper Ben Foster who would be a solid pick this week as well.
Johnson points out how he's a solid choice.
The most in-form player on the team has to be Nikola Zigic who has three goals in his last four Premier League games, including one in the Carling Cup final. He’s also quite affordable. Same for Barry Ferguson who is having a solid season, but he’s a better long term investment then someone who will score big points in one week. New signing David Bentley has also impressed, though I’d like to see how consistent he is before grabbing him for my squad.
Finally, if you need a defender, Roger Johnson is a solid choice at the back. He won’t provide a lot of offence but he and Foster have a good chance of getting clean sheets against West Brom.
