Arsenal-Chelsea stats

• Drogba has scored 13 goals in 13 matches (all competitions) against Arsenal  including 10 in his last 7 and five in the last three PL matches. 
• Arsenal have won only 2 of their last 18 (all competitions) against Chelsea
• Arsenal have already dropped 9 points at home this season. No team has won the PL that has dropped more than 10 points since Arsenal in 2001-02 
• Gunners have kept just one clean sheet in their last 7 PL home matches.
• Samir Nasri has scored 7 in his last 7 PL matches at The Emirates. 
• Chelsea have won the last four PL matches against Arsenal keeping a clean sheet in the last three. If Arsenal lose it will be the first time in PL history they have lost 5 consecutive against another club.
• Arsenal have lost their last six PL matches against both Chelsea and Man Utd - and not won in their last 11 against them (all competitions)

Merry Christmas!

Ok, a couple of days late but sleigh ho.....

We're taking a short winter break at FC Roger but will be back in the new year - see you then!

x

Man City v Everton

As mentioned before there may be a lack of goals tonight as Man City home matches only average 1.62 goals and Everton away matches just 2. Much could rest on whether transfer yo-yo Carlos Tevez plays or not. The Argentine now seems to love the club again so the stage is set for a barnstorming, goalscoring performance and the City faithful clutching him to their bosom again. Or maybe a bore draw and the little scamp gets himself sent off.- got to be one of the two?

Man City's terrible goalscoring record at home seems to show up in the Picklive points averages for their players. Kompany (56), Barry (59), the Toure boys (Kolo 55, Yaya 54) and De Jong (55) all have defend, destroy or dullness hardwired although that may be slightly harsh on Yaya on recent form. Barry and Yaya are (understandably) the only ones of those 5 that have a goal or assist to their name in Picklive this season so I'm recommending picking both if they start tonight. De Jong is suspended, even though he's not been booked in a Picklive match so far this season (don't the FA take this into account?), so he can be ruled out.

Tevez has an average of 47 which is a healthy amount for a striker. He's posted a 50+ in 6 of his 9 Picklive appearances this season and scored a brace 3 times. Perhaps it's the Christmas cheer or possibly my absolute desperation for some goals after the Real game last night but I'll be including Tevez tonight if he starts. If I end up picking 4 or more from City I'll then balance my optimism/desperation with a centre-back. I will probably resist my man-crush on David Silva (41) who I think has a huge score in him at some point soon and pick someone like Kolorov (62 last time out) who I think is a Picklive legend in the making (i.e. full-back and likes to bomb forward - a thinking man's Glen Johnson?).

As for Everton, they fluctuate wildly in their contributions to the Big Game, having had 3, 1, 1, 1, 3 & 4 men in the top 5 this season. They have players with huge averages including Arteta (87!!!), Baines (64), Fellaini (63) and Pienaar (58) but their talisman Arteta is suspended and Pienaar is struggling with a groin strain. So Fellaini and Baines may be the way to go although I fancy a centre back to do well and Jagielka (56) and Distin (52) both have decent averages.

My team (picked before the lineups are announced...): Yaya, Barry, Tevez, Kolorov and Jagielka.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Real Madrid v Sevilla

Sevilla are 14-1 longshots (on Betfair) to win tonight which kind of sums up their chances as Real have a very impressive 100% record to defend. However they are masters of the dark arts, if their mid-week match against Dortmund was anything to go by, so could make life awkward for Ronaldo's gang.

Stuttgart v Bayern Munich

Stuttgart are on their 3rd Coach this season and the latest one, Bruno Labbadia, recorded a 5-1 win over Odense in the Europa League in his first match in charge. The Stuttgart players are bouncing around training like Bambi according to bundesliga.de, apprently Bruno makes his players feel all warm and gooey inside. And he'll need to as Stuttgart are languishing, one place off the foot of the table.

Is Papa Grande behind this snow?

Perhaps the Big P is getting worried? With matches being postponed all over the place there's only 4 chances left to catch him before he goes to ground again. What are the chances? Well Papa G loves goals so we'll need a thrashing or a thriller to nail him...

Real Sociedad home matches only average 2.42 goals and Valencia away only 2.56 so I don't think we'll find him in Spain tonight. Despite being pants Stuttgart like to entertain by maintaining a healthy average of 3.74 although Bayern Munich may, unsurprisingly, spoil things by bringing their 2.42 average to the party.

Matches at big show-offs Real Madrid average 3.99 and Sevilla a not too shabby 2.99. With Tevez in a huff there may be no hope of improving the Man City average of 1.62, striker-phobes Everton won't be much help with an average of 2.

So it seems as if Madrid is the place to be if you want catch the cigar-smoking, sombrero-wearing, pick-tease. There's been a couple of close shaves, not least at the Emirates  so that reward (at least £1800) may not go unclaimed.

Good luck one and all, we're going to need it.

BensBulls

Real Sociedad v Valencia

9th placed Real Sociedad are decent at home having won 5 of their 7 home games in the league this season. Their only 2 defeats were at the hands of two strong Madrid teams, Atletico and Real. Valencia, 5th in the league, have the fourth best away record in the league, even though they've lost 3 games on the road (Barcalona, Sevilla and Real Madrid) from 7.

Sunderland v Bolton

The new Picklive dataclock provides a very useful pair of numbers for analysing previous matches. Looking at the dataclock for the Sunderland match against West Ham (and selecting 'All Actions' in the drop-down) you can see 574-464. These are the totals of all the actions for both teams (home then away) during the match. A quick look at the BBC match report shows that Sunderland had 58% of the possession. This maps roughly to the amount of 'actions'. This could be very useful when picking your Big Game team...

Sunderland-Bolton stats

• Bolton have failed to score in their last three PL matches against Sunderland.
• Darren Bent scored four goals in the two matches last season including a hat-trick in the 4-0 home win (March). He has scored 10 PL goals against Bolton.
• Bolton haven't kept a clean sheet in their last 15 PL away matches.
• Sunderland have lost only one of their last 18 home matches.
• Sunderland have kept four clean sheets in their last five at home.
• Bolton have won one of their last 7 away matches
• Sunderland failed to score twice in their last 14 at home - both to Manchester United

Monchengladbach v Hamburg

There could be plenty of goals in the final game of 2010 for these two teams before they go into winter break. Games involving Monchengladbach average 4.37 goals while games involving Hamburg seem miserly in comparison at 3.24. Could be a good opportunity to catch Papa Grande?

Useful web-sites No. 1: football-lineups.com

A simple but very useful site to kick this series off. Football-Lineups describes itself as a 'collaborative database' where fans can upload lineups from matches they've watched or attended. The slightly clunky design masks a very rich resource, perfect for researching teams you may not be familiar with.

Juventus / Man City stats

• The two sides have met in 3 previous games (including a 1-1 draw in Manchester earlier this season), with both sides winning a game each.
• City have met Italian opposition on just five previous occasions, winning two, drawing two and losing just one.
• Juventus have met English opposition in 40 previous games, winning 14, drawing 11 and losing 15.
• Juve have won just one of their last 12 European games against English opposition.
• City are unbeaten in their last eight games (all competitions)
• Juve themselves are unbeaten in their last 16 games.
• Manchester City have enjoyed just one victory in their last 6 European away games.
• Adebayor has bagged 4 goals in his last 2 Europa League games for City.
• Alessandro Del Piero has  had a competition-high twenty shots so far (including one goal).
• Milos Krasic has successfully completed 20 dribbles, a competition-high.

DinamoZagreb/PAOK

It's a big match for these two teams tonight - only one of them can qualify and it's all kicked off already.

Not much in the way of Picklive previous for these two though, just a solitary hammering for the Croatians away to Villareal. One notable performance in that match was of the goalkeeper, Kelava. He racked up a huge 79 points despite a yellow card (-10 points). I'd be surprised if he had another 11 shots on target to deal with though.

The other insights for tonight from that match are that the full-backs (Vrsaljko and Cufre) & central midfielder (Badelj) were the next biggest point scorers and so could be worth picking again as players in those positions traditionally do well on Picklive. The Press Kit tells that Sammir scores plenty and plays in midfield - a perfect Pickliver? He completed the 5th highest amount of passes in that match against Villareal which does suggest that he will be heavily involved tonight, playing at home. He may even get more than one shot off this time. He's scored 17 and made 9 assists this season.

For PAOK I'm relying on IMScouting who flag up Vieirinha and Vitolo as two key midfielders. I may just take them up on that suggestion. If not I'll have a look at whoever's partnering Vitolo in the middle (Pablo Garcia?) or one of the centre backs (Contreras?) who could well be busy tonight.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Brentford/Charlton

Tonight I am venturing out of my Championship comfort zone to have a look at a League One fixture (albeit in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy); it's Brentford v Charlton Athletic.

Brentford have been much better away from home this season; their last 5 away matches have been wins and 5 away victories is the highest in League 1. However, at home, they have lost 4 matches which is the joint second lowest number of home defeats after Walsall. Charlton have also done really quite well away from home with victories at Peterborough, Swindon, Southend and Carlisle. Last time these two teams met, at the beginning of October, Brentford won a rare match at home. Brentford are on run of good form at the moment but Charlton's last match was a rare home defeat to Walsall. Despite that, I think I am trying to say that I fancy Charlton to win but it will be close.

I am going 3 from Charlton and 2 from Brentford. Both teams featured before (Charlton twice).

Brentford's best players last time they were on Picklive were Spillane (Defender - 58 points), Woodman (Defender - 55), O'Connor (Midfielder - 50). Woodman also has Brentford's second most assists and has scored 2 goals this season so he's probably in. Spillane also has two assists to his name this season. Brentford have 2 strikers on 7 goals each; MacDonald and Alexander, but none particularly shone last time.

Charlton have a lot more to recommend I think, especially in midfield. After appearing on Picklive twice, two players have average scores (over the two games) of 55+; Francis (Defender - 63) and Wagstaff (Midfielder - 59). Wagstaff is Brentford's third top scorer with a respectable 7 goals and 4 assists so far. Francis scored a massive 76 points against Luton and Wagstaff scored 63 (admittedly with 2 goals). Defender Matt Fry will also make my team, he is on loan from West Ham. Midfielder Johnnie Jackson is also having a great season being Charlton's top scorer with 9 goals from midfield. And despite not appearing many times this season, midfielder Kyel Reid has the most assists for Charlton, with 7. He might get a run out in this cup game.

So 3 from Charlton out of Francis, Wagstaff, Fry, Jackson and Reid, and 2 from Brentford out of Spillane and Woodman.

Good luck!
Robin (Warriors)

Contributors Wanted

Fancy writing for FC Roger? We're looking for a few more contributors to join the stable. If you can write a bit, play Picklive and can commit to a minimum of one post a week (which will be no more than an hours work) we want you. If you have a specialism, maybe a foreign league or random clutch of teams, then even better - especially if you know a bit about La Liga. If not, there's still loads of Premier League matches to cover, no experience necessary.You don't need to follow the style (or lack of it?) of the current contributors, you can carve out your own niche.

Drop an e-mail to footballclubroger@gmail.com if you're interested and we'll give you a test match to write for in the next week or two.

Ben

Analysis: Man Utd

Just three tidbits tonight as there's tons of previous articles on this blog and stats on the Picklive team pages for these two teams.

If Vidic and Ferdinand start then Vidic is the pick if you fancy a centre-back. The Serbian has out-pointed his other half in all of their four previous starts (although Ferdinand was subbed after 50 mins against Valencia) and was United's 3rd, 2nd, 2nd and 4th highest scorer in those games.

If Scholes and Carrick start then Carrick is the pick. Legend though Paul Scholes is, Carrick has pipped him comfortably in their last two starts together. Scholes did demonstrate two additional qualities though, getting yellow carded and getting subbed. Not convinced? 4 of Scholes' top 5 scores have been without Carrick, the other one he finished behind Carrick.

Pick Fletcher if he starts in a 4 man midfield with Scholes or Carrick. Fletcher scored 82 and 84 the last two times this happened, the top and second top scores respectively. Conversely he only got a 42 when part of a 5 man midfield against Man City.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(by Ben Wraith)

Man United - Arsenal stats

I'll be at the match later, so will give you the stats now....

• Arsenal's record in their last 10 (all competitions) vs United & Chelsea - W0 D1 L9 F5 A22 
• Rooney netted in both PL matches with Arsenal last season and has 7 in 16 matches against the Gunners in total.
• Arsenal have had at least five players booked in each of their last 3 league games at OT
• Arsenal have picked up 17pts on the road this season - the best away record in the division.
• Man United have the best home record with 22 points.
• 10 of Berbatov's 11 goals this season have been scored with Rooney on the pitch.
• Last time Arsenal lost a game with Howard Webb as the referee was at OT (April 2008) - since then they have won six and drawn three when he was in charge.
• United have picked up more PL wins (15) and points (56) against Arsenal than any other club. 
• Arsenal's only win in the last nine against United was a 2-1 win at Emirates in November 2008 - Nasri scoring both goals.
• Arsenal have failed to score in 5 of their last 8 league visits to OT and have not scored more than once in their last 25 league visits since a 4-2 defeat in old Division One in November 1984.

Barcelona - Real Sociedad

Victor Valdes was the only Barcelona player who didn't score more than Xabi Alonso's 40 in their destruction of Real Madrid. They also had the top five players in their match against Villareal! Real Sociedad have featured twice on Picklive and haven't had a player score more than 50 (both home matches) so I will going with all five players and can't seriously recommend any of their players! 

So which 5 Barcelona players do you want in your team?! I think there will be a lot of people with the same teams! Xavi has to be in most BG teams and there is something wrong with you if he doesn't get into yours! I think Iniesta and Busquets will have to be in your BG team if you want to win. I am sure most people will be going with Messi and why not? He managed to get 71 even without a goal against Madrid - considering he has scored 56 in 51 matches for Barcelona this year, the chances are he's going to get another...  The three for me that could differentiate your team from others is Alves, Pedro and Villa. Alves is very consistent and can score highly (91 vs Villareal). David Villa will need a goal or two to get more than 50 really but is worth a gamble I think tonight. Pedro is another who would probably need a goal. 

• Barcelona have won 15 of the last 16 against RS including last 12
• Catalans are unbeaten in 12, winning 11
• Messi has scored 10 of his 15 goals away from home.
• RS have won their last two matches
• Barcelona have not conceded in their last three and only two in their last seven.
• Barcelona have scored three or more goals in their last 6
• RS have lost four of their seven away matches

Spurs-Chelsea stats

• Chelsea are without a win in their last four at White Hart Lane - losing three including the last two.
• Spurs are unbeaten in their last 11 PL home London derby matches winning the last 6. 
• Tottenham have won their last three at home against 'Big four' clubs - all by a 2-1 scoreline.
• Chelsea have failed to win both PL away matches this season after a CL match - 1-1 draw at Newcastle and 2-0 defeat at Liverpool.
• Chelsea have not scored more than once in their last six.
• Drogba has score 6 in the last 7 in London derbies. 
• Chelsea have just five points from last 18 available - their worst run since 2000 

Spurs/Chelsea

There's plenty of Picklive stats available for both Spurs and Chelsea and there's 6 or 7 players from each side to pick from this afternoon.

First job then is to decide on the split between the two teams.Spurs had 3 of the top 5 at home to Liverpool (Assou-Ekotto 83, Modric 76 and Palacios 64) 2 away to Arsenal (Kaboul 81 and van der Vaart 57), and 3 away to Bolton (Gallas 71, Kaboul 63 and Hutton 63).

Chelsea have had a more mixed time recently. They had 5 of the top 6 away to Newcastle (Mikel 73, Malouda 71, Bosingwa 69, Ivanovic 66 and Kalou 62) and then 1 and 4 of the top 5 when losing to Sunderland (Ferreira 64)  and Liverpool (Terry 97, Mikel 87, Alex 71 and Cole 66) respectively. Looking back at some of Chelsea's bigger games shows a more balanced result, 3 of 6 at home to Arsenal (Alex 71, Mikel 65 and Essien 62) and 3 of 5 away to Man City (Essien 83, Malouda 74 and Cole 65).

With Tottenham on a better run of form than Chelsea, and at home, I'll be going for 3 Spurs and 2 from Chelsea.

Narrowing it down to five though is tricky. One player I will be going for is Assou-Ekotto, in the last four Spurs home games on Picklive he's been their top scorer twice and second twice. Similarly I'll be looking for consistency with my two Chelsea picks. Essien has the highest average and hasn't dropped below 50 this season. John Terry scored 97 in his last game on Picklive and also has a decent average.

That leaves me two Spurs players to pick and I'll go for a centre back (some doubt over Kaboul who would be my first choice) plus one of either Bale or Modric. Mind you, you could pick any five from these two teams and you'd have a good chance of winning.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Bolton/Blackburn

Bolton have a clutch of players who average around 40 points: Steinsson, Robinson, Cahill, Holden, Knight and Davies. Robinson (47) and Knight (45) are the stand out picks and, I would suggest, should be the first on your shortlist. Kevin Davies averages 41 but that masks a wide range of scores: 87, 22 and 15. Petrov, Taylor and Lee could rack up some serious Picklive scores but have rarely played the full 90 and so are probably too risky. One thing to note is that Holden is coming back from injury and so this may affect the length of time he stays on the pitch.

Blackburn have only had 2 players in the top 5 in their last 3 Picklive games. No players in the top 5 against Arsenal is no disgrace but to only have Pedersen in there at home to Sunderland and Villa is less impressive. Pedersen then seems to be the stand out pick for Rovers but he had a miserly 36 points in the Arsenal game and his 70 against Villa included 40 points for two goals. All the other Blackburn players have fluctuated wildly with the exception of Nelsen with a 54 and 44. The New Zealander should be heavily involved today as he'll have a battle on against Davies and Elmander.

I fancy Bolton to score slightly above their average today (As Blackburn are not of the same calibre as Spurs or Liverpool) and Blackburn slightly below as they're away from home for the first time on Picklive this season. That feels like it should translate into a 4/1 mix. However, if you were picking just on averages you would go for Knight, Robinson, Steinsson/Holden, Pedersen and Nelsen. Blackburn do have a fantastic record against Bolton so maybe that is the best mix?

Personally, I fancy Bolton to buck the trend so I'll be going for 4 Trotters, Knight, Robinson, Cahill (Holden is too risky) and Petrov (he's my risky punt if he starts). Plus 1 Rover, Nelsen.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Bolton-Blackburn stats

• Blackburn are unbeaten in their last 7 league matches against Bolton - winning 5 of them.
• Bolton have failed to score in three of the last four against Blackburn.
• Bolton have lost only one of their last 10 at home in the league. 
• Blackburn have conceded 11 goals in their last two away matches and have conceded the most away goals in the division (19). 
• Bolton are without a win in all 6 matches against fellow North-West clubs this season.
• There have been 51 goals scored in Bolton matches - only Blackpool and Arsenal matches had seen more goals before this weekend (52) 
• Allardyce in unbeaten in his four matches against Bolton since leaving - winning three. 
• Blackburn have won four of their last six (12 points) - only Man United have a better record over this period (14 points). 

Newcastle/Liverpool

There's plenty of previous discussion of these two teams on this blog. Liverpool here, here and here, Newcastle here and here. Not much has changed since those games. Both sides have a consistent core to pick from and it's impossible to recommend anyone outside of that group

For Newcastle, Barton, Tiote and Enrique are consistently excellent as is Nolan when he scores. For Liverpool, Lucas, Meireles, Johnson and Konchesky are the regular picks, Maxi Rodriguez has been improving recently.

So the Big Game will all boil down to which team sees more of the ball and how many goals are scored. I'll be leaving those decisions until just before kick-off. Tiote, Enrique and Lucas will almost certainly be in my team, I'm a bit concerned about Barton and Nolan as they've had knocks recently and could be sub risks. A punt on Torres or Carroll could be worth it to get an edge but they'd probably need a brace to make it worth it.

Good luck!

By BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

ICT/Rangers

Rangers can go clear at the top by five points if they win in Inverness this lunchtime. The Thistle are in fourth so should give the Glasgow side a good game. However, they're far better away from home and I can't seeing them ending Rangers' 100% away record. They should however get at least one player in the top 5 - they had 49% possession at home to Hibs recently and 49% at home to Celtic back in August, Rangers had 53% at Kilmarnock in their last away trip. If Inverness get up around 48/49% then it should be worth including one or two of their players.

But who to pick? For Rangers it's quite straightforward. Broadfoot (46 points avg.), Papac (49), Davis (61), Whittaker (54) and Bougherra (47) all racked up decent scores in the two games against Man Utd. in the Champions League. All except Broadfoot are in the squad, although Papac is an injury doubt, and should make up the core of your Big Game team. Naismith could also be worth a try, he would've had 51 in the home game against Man Utd. if he hadn't picked up a yellow. Miller is top scorer with 18 and worth considering if you fancy goals.

Without stats for Inverness I'll be picking across their back four and central midfield. Munro and Tokely are the usual centre back pairing, Cox and Duncan have been in the middle recently (due to injuries to others), McCann and Shinnie are probably the full-backs with Duff possibly starting at either right-back or central midfield based on the last few games.

One thing to note for the Live Game is that Rooney takes the penalties for ICT and has scored a massive 6 of his 13 goals that way so far this season. If you're feeling brave he could be worth a punt in the Big Game too. (Nb. Miller takes the pens for Rangers and has 4 from 18 goals)

My team: Munro, Duff, Davis, Whittaker, Naismith (unless I have a last minute flash of bravery and drop Duff for Rooney and Naismith for Miller).

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Atletico-Deportivo stats

• Atletico have won six of the last seven against Deportivo.
• Deportivo are without a win in their last 8 at Vicente Calderon (1999)
• Forlan has scored five in his last five matches against Deportivo. 
• Atletico have lost their last two La Liga matches. 
• Deportivo have won only one of their seven away matches and lost four. 
• Atletico have won four of their seven home matches and lost only twice.

Newcastle - Liverpool stats

• Liverpool have won seven of their last eight PL matches against Newcastle including the last four  - scoring at least three goals in the four matches.
• Dirk Kuyt has scored three in his five starts against Newcastle.
• Ryan Babel has scored in his last two at St.James Park
• Newcastle have won one of their last 7 PL home games.
• Liverpool have won two of their last 17 PL away games. 
• Pardew has failed to win any of his last 7 PL matches in charge. He has lost three of his four matches against Liverpool and drew 2-2 at Anfield in his last match with Charlton.
• Newcastle have scored five goals in their last six.
• Newcastle have conceded nine goals in their last three. 

Inverness - Rangers stats

• Inverness are in great form picking up 10points from the last 12 available including a 2-2 draw at Celtic in their last match.
• However they have failed to score in their last three home matches against Rangers. 
• Caley Thistle are unbeaten in their last two against the Old Firm and in 43% of their matches against them - Only Dundee Utd have a better record (49% unbeaten). 
• Rangers have taken 18 points from matches in which they have gone behind this season.
• The match at Ibrox finished 1-1 
• Rangers have won all 7 away matches this season - they have netted at least twice in all of these matches. 

QPR v. Watford

More 'proper football' action tonight as Picklive features another non-premiership game. QPR have famously not lost all season while Watford have had an ok season - they are currently sitting 10th and last week's victory against Leicester was their first win in 8 games. Watford have more points away from home but this one, I'm sure, is going to go QPR's way today.

 

QPR are the team to beat in the Championship this season and I think it's a question of "Who am I going to leave out?" tonight; you could pick 5 random players and have a good chance of winning. I am contrary though, so I am going to go 4 from QPR and 1 from Watford.

 

QPR have featured on Picklive once before, a 1-1 draw away to Bristol City. On that occassion, the highest scring players were Faurlin (midfield - 77, with no goals and no assists!), Clint Hill (defender - 64), Matthew Connolly (defender - 62), Kyle Walker (defender - 53). Any of these should do well tonight.

 

Last time QPR played I singled out Kasper Gorkks (defender) but he didn't quite perform on the night. Despite this, I will still be picking him again and hoping last time was a one off. He likes to get forward and is QPR's 4th highest scorer this season, with 4 goals.

 

Adel Taarabt also under performed last time out - he scored 44 points overall and was the 7th highest QPR player. He is QPR's top scorer, QPR's top goalscoring assistant (assister?) and the Championship's top, er, shooter 65 shots on goal! 42 on target!). However, tends to get subbed around the 70th minute, as he did last time.

 

Watford featured on Picklive once before too. On that occasion, midfielder John Eustace was the top scorer with 84 points (one goal). Striker Danny Graham is Watford's top scorer (10 in all competitions) and scored a healthy 63 last time around, but 40 of those points was from 2 goals. I have a mental glitch which prevents me fom picking strikers for the big game though, so I may look at midfielder Stephen McGinn, defender Adrian Mariapa or defender Martin Taylor. But I wont pick any of them. With Taarabt shooting so freely, goalie Scott Loach might be worth considering.

 

I MAY pick midfielder Jordan Mutch (on loan from Birmingham - most attempts on goal, 5 assists).

 

So 4 from Faurlin, Hill, Connolly, Gorkss, Walker, Taarabt and 1 from Eustace and Mutch.

 

Good luck!

 

Robin (Warriors)

Luton/Charlton

So, the "magic" of the Cup has conjured up this F.A. Cup replay between Blue Square Conference Premier high flyers Luton Town and League One high-flyers Charlton. Paul Daniels could not have done it better himself.

Luton surprised Charlton by drawing 2-2 at the Valley and earning this replay on November 27th. Due to the snowy weather neither team have played since. The winner of this goes to play Tottenham in early January, so lots to play for for both teams. Both teams doing well in their leagues so this could be closer than expected; I think Luton might fancy this one. I, however, dont. I think Charlton will win and I think Luton might get a goal or two. Charlton did not play a full streangth side last time out and they are unlikely to tonight. With this in mind, I am assuming that the squad will be unchanged from the last game.

With all this in mind, I will be picking most from Charlton. It's hard to pick any stand out players as stats are hard to come by in professional footballs nether regions.Midfielder Also, 3 Charlton players who would be in contention for my pick are either ineligible or banned (Christian Dailly, Lee Martin, Marcel Seip).Kyel Reid will make my 5. If playing, midfielders McCormack and Wagstaff and Defender Simon Francis will make my pick due to good showing the one and only time Charlton were featured on Picklive.

Two Luton players I will be mulling over are Midfielder Andrew Drury and Striker Matthew Barnes Homer, who is Luton's top scorer this season - and Luton need to score tonight. Drury scored twice at the Valley but has Luton's worst disciplinary record..If I am feeling particularly dangerous I may stick the Luton goalie, Mark Taylor, in my sqaud. But probably not.

So my team is McCormack, Wagstaff, Francis and Reid and from Luton, one from Drury, Barnes-Homer and Taylor.

Good luck!

Robin (Warriors)

Arsenal/PartizanBelgrade

It would seem an open and shut case tonight. Partizan Belgrade have zero points, -9 goal difference and nothing to play for. Arsenal need to win to be sure of qualifying and have won their last two home games in the Champions League 5-1 and 6-0. So surely it's best to pick 5 Arsenal players for the Big Game?

Well, yes. No clever turn of analysis here to subtly convince you of anything else!My recommendation is pick 5 Arsenal players.

In the 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk four of the usual subjects from midfield (Song, Nasri, Wilshire, Fabregas) made the top 5 plus Clichy. Although a seemingly obvious five, only one player nailed the 100% Big Game score - old favourite Ivar the Engine. Contrast that with the 6 - 0 against Braga, only three predictable players were in the top 5 (Fabregas, Clichy, Wilshire) at the end of that. Arshavin (only three times over 50) and Chamakh (only twice) made up the other two points. There was no Big Game that night but I would bet that no one (save for a maverick or lucky newbie) would've got the 100%

So, who to pick? First off, Nasri will probably be in almost everyone's five. He's only twice ever scored less than 50 and his average is second only to the mighty Fabregas (66.3 to 68.8). Wilshire (60), Clichy (59.6), Denilson (52.2), Song (50), Sagna (49.9) have the next highest averages and are all in the squad. Eboue is the main name missing from that list and his average has suffered due to being frequently used as a sub (or subbed). If he starts and can play most of the game he could repeat previous scores of 76, 81 and 92.

The main problem with a game like this though is that several people could select the same side. The options to get an edge mainly revolve around Arshavin, whoever plays upfront, the centre backs or the Partizan goalkeeper. I'll be going for Nasri, Wilshire, Clichy and then one of Denilson, Song, Sagna or Eboue depending on the starting lineup. And then I'll be adding a random 5th player to try and find me that edge.

Good luck!


by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Arsenal - Partizan Belgrade stats

• This will be only their second meeting - Arsenal won  3-1 in Belgrade (September)
• Partizan have lost five of their last six matches against English opposition. 
• Arsenal need to get the same/better result than Braga to qualify for the next stage of the CL. 
• If Arsenal don't qualify they will be the first team to win their first three group matches and fail to qualify.
• Arsenal have nine different goalscorers this CL season, more than any other club. 
• Belgrade are without a CL win - their last point was 7 years ago in a 1-1 home draw with Marseille.
• Arsenal have not scored in four of their last five CL matches in December. 
• In the first match, Arsenal had 17 shots (13 on target). 
• The Gunners average 3.7 goals per game in their last 7 CL home matches.
• Partizan have lost all 5 of their CL away matches, scoring only once. 

Man Utd. v Valencia

Man Utd. could set a pretty impressive record tonight; to become the first ever team to complete the group stage without conceding a goal. If that's not reason enough to go for a win then maybe avoiding Barcelona and Real Madrid in the next round is? Perhaps they will play conservatively in order to avoid defeat? This could well allow Valencia a greater share of possession than normal.  The breaking news is that Rooney and Berbatov start. This would suggest attacking intentions by Ferguson and so I'm recommending a 4/1 split in favour of the home team.

Man Utd. have been much discussed on these pages before, the midfield is usually the key with Scholes, Fletcher and Carrick all Picklive favourites. Carrick's average of 44.8 looks lower than it should be as it includes a 15 and a 7 which can both be ignored. The full-backs often do well but a centre back like Ferdinand can dominate the passing from the back and so should be considered carefully. Nani has his moments, averages over 50 and is capable of huge scores. Rooney also has a great average (49.7) but that masks a wide range of scores and whilst you could pick up an 84 or 80 you could end up with a 43, 36, 28 and 27 - which could leave your Big Game team struggling or storming ahead!

Valencia have been on more recently than Man Utd. when losing to Real Madrid on Sunday. The totals on the game page don't seem quite right so treat with caution. The two stand out performances seem to be from the goalkeeper Guaita (66 points) and Mata (47). Bruno Saltor, T Costa, Navarro and Mathieu are the other strongest contenders.

Getting the balance right will again be the key tonight. If Man Utd. dominate as they should then 5 reds in your Big Game team is they way to go. It also depends on Valencia - will they attack and try and top the table? Or will they not bother?

Tips: Go for Anderson and Carrick. If you fancy 5 Man Utd players add either Vidic or Ferdinand, one of the Silva twins and Nani. If you think Man Utd will dominate but still want to include a Valencia player, consider Guaita or Navarro. If you think Valencia may have a fair bit of the ball I would recommend 1 or 2 of Albelda, T Costa, Mata and Mathieu.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Man United - Valencia

Quick one from me, not sure if Ben is about to post a preview?

Looks like United have put out a strong team and Valencia a slightly weakened one with no Soldado / Mata.

I think the Real Madrid / Valencia match shows that Valencia players will not be scoring too highly tonight at Old Trafford. They also struggled in their match at Sevilla!

I will be going all five United players. Carrick & Anderson will probably be the highest scorers, as usual for United the centre-midfielders do very well! You may want to gamble on Rooney and that wouldn't be a bad idea as shown with his 84 at Rangers - 64 without a goal is still very respectable! Nani and Park are worth looking at but may need a goal to feature in top 5. Rafael and Fabio both like to go forward and I think they will do well tonight. I prefer Vidic to Rio and has a good average score of 66.

I think substitutes might play a part for United with Ferguson giving some of his stars an early night if the match is over?

If you want to go with a Valencia player then I would recommend Abelda, Mathieu, Banega or Miguel.

I will be going with Carrick & Anderson. Then it's a choice between either Rafael, Fabio, Nani, Park and Rooney

Simon G

Useful article on Valencia

Interesting article on Zonal Marking reviewing the Real Madrid v. Valencia clash. Plenty of useful insight to be gleaned!

Manchester United - Valencia Stats

• If United keep a clean sheet it will be the first time a club has not conceded in the group phase. 
• Valencia have failed to score in five of their seven matches against Manchester United 
• United have lost only two of their 18 home matches against Spanish opposition - losing to Real Madrid (3-2) in 1999/2000 and Deportivo La Coruna in 2001/2002. 
• Valencia have not lost in their last five visits to England in the CL winning one and drawing four. 
• United have only scored two goals in their last eight against Spanish opposition but have kept seven clean sheets in those matches.
• Since the start of last season, Valencia have lost only two of their last 19 European matches (9-8-2). These defeats came against Club Brugge (1-0) in last season’s Europa League and against Manchester United (0-1) earlier this season.

Liverpool v. Aston Villa

“The return of Houllier”

Houllier returns to his former club where he won five trophies in six seasons. Carragher and Gerrard are the only Liverpool players still there from when he was a manager, however they are both injured so won’t face their former boss.

Liverpool have some good home form winning their last three at Anfield and keeping a clean sheet in their last two. I think they should win and control possession against a young Aston Villa side. I will be going with 4/5 Liverpool players in my BG team.

Lucas is one of the better Liverpool players on Picklive and should benefit without Gerrard – the only time he hasn’t scored more than 50 when starting was when he got sent off at Stoke, he averages 57 when he starts and is pretty consistent. Meireles seems to do well on the game and his 94 in the 3-0 win at home to West Ham is a good indication that he could put in a good performance tonight. Rodriguez seems to be finally getting used to the PL and his highest two Picklive games were his last two against West Ham (94) and Tottenham (63). Liverpool full-backs seem to do well especially at home and when they can go forward more – Glen Johnson averages 63 in his 3 matches at home and Konchesky 59. If you think Aston Villa will cause Liverpool some problems then Kyrgiakos and Skrtel should be considered. Kuyt and Torres will do well if there are goals.

Six of Aston Villa’s last nine goals in the league have been scored by players aged 21 or younger – says it all really. They seem to be struggling at the moment losing their last two and have lost five of their seven away matches. If Liverpool are as dominant as I think then Dunne and Collins could put together some scores like they did against Arsenal (66 and 62). Warnock and Young could do ok but are prone to a yellow card. Bannan is a doubt so I will give him a miss tonight. Clark is a nice pick and can find the net as he showed against Arsenal, he has scores of 78, 61, 51, 31, 29 but again is a yellow card risk.

I am tempted to go with all Liverpool players, a choice between Lucas, Meireles, Rodriguez, Konchesky, Johnson and Kuyt. If I go with an Aston Villa player it will be one of the back four or Clark.

Few stats to finish with….

• Aston Villa’s only win in their last 17 PL matches against Liverpool was 3-1 at Anfield last season.
• Liverpool have scored in each of their last ten PL home matches against Aston Villa, since a 0-0 draw in March 2000.
• Hodgson has won three of his four PL home matches against Villa – his only defeat was a 2-0 in his last meeting on January 30.
• Pepe Reina is on 99 PL clean sheets - he can become the ninth goalkeeper to reach this milestone in the division.
• Aston Villa have conceded 10 goals in their last four PL matches and 24 in total this season. 
• Villa have picked up four PL away points – only Wolves (1) and West Ham (3) have fewer points this season.
• Only one of the last seven meeting between Liverpool and Villa have been won by the home side.
  
  
  Simon G (grunny27)

Sunderland/WestHam

A quick post for this one - not that it needs much more that that for two teams that have a few predictable leading players each.
 
West Ham only got 1 player in the top 5 when beating Man Utd. 4-0 in the Carling Cup. That player was Obinna and he only made it into the top 5 due to 3 assists. The Hammers' previous match also saw them get 1 player in the top 4, Mark Noble, against Liverpool. I think this partly shows that West Ham are a poor Picklive side no matter what they're doing on the pitch. Only Noble and Parker stand out (although Gabiddon isn't far behind) and I feel it's only usually worth picking one of them for any match.

Sunderland on the other hand have had stronger performances on Picklive recently. They got two in the top 5 against Everton and 4 against Chelsea. Henderson is their strongest Pickliver, Bardsley, Welbeck and Onuoha the next best. It's a mixed bag after that so I can't recommend anything other than those four from Sunderland and then taking your pick from the 3 (or 4 including Obinna) Hammers mentioned above.

My team: Henderson, Bardsley, Welbeck, Onuoha and Parker (who is doubtful so Gabiddon as back up - Noble is out)

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

WestBrom/Newcastle

Last time out I tipped Jara, Mulumbu, Brunt, Morrison, Tamas and Shorey for West Brom. Similarly I think picking across the midfield and the full-backs will serve you well in this match. The problem is tipping before the teams are out. As it stands Mulumbu is suspended, Brunt, Scarner, Shorey and Morrison are all doubtful. My advice is to wait for the line-ups and pick as many players from the above as you can.

The Baggies tend to pass the ball a lot and get decent possession stats. Their Picklive stats don't necessarily show that but those two matches include a 6-0 hammering by Chelsea and a strange match against Blackpool that saw them down to 9 men.

West Brom still got 7 players over 50 points across those two games and I fully expect them to get 5 or 6 over that mark against the Toon. So a Big Game team full of West Brom players would probably still rack up a nice score. It boils down to getting the right amount of Newcastle players into that five.

Tiote, Barton and Enrique are the stand out consistent Magpies. Nolan usually scores when on Picklive and if you think he will again he should be in your five if he starts (he is rated as doubtful though). Otherwise my tips differ little from last time out

So, tips are: Brunt, Shorey and Morrison if they start - Tiote and Enrique for Newcastle. One thing to consider is if West Brom struggle to get a midfield out Newcastle may dominate and you could add Barton in.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Update:
Brunt, Morrison, Scharner and Shorey all start. Barton and Nolan don't.
My team - Brunt, Morrison, Cech, Tiote & Enrique.
Good luck!

Millwall/Scunthorpe

The second of today's Championship matches on Picklive is the glamour tie that is Millwall v. Scunthorpe. They may have outbid England for the World Cup, but their icy weather cant stop this one going ahead! Take that, Russia!

I fancy Sucnthorpe to get a draw here; Millwall are mid table and Scunthorpe are warming up the relegation zone but Millwall have only won one of their last five at home and Scunthorpe have won 3 of their last five away. Should cancel each other out. Millwall also have the worst scoring to shot ratio in the Championship and are in a dismal run of form.

Both teams have injuries and uncertainties; Millwall have 3 regular players who might not play today, dependant on a fitness test. Not an easy one to predict, or get excited about for that matter.

So, Milwall. They have never appeared on Picklive before and I cant find much to recommend any of their team. Striker Steve Morison has had 62 shots on goal, on and off target, in all competitions. This has resulted in 6 goals for Millwall. He is their top scorer but has not scored in 6 games. Paul Robinson (Defender) has had the most appearances this season and is a decent player; a defender who likes to get forward on occassions and is sixth most prolific shooter for Millwall. Kevin Lisbie might make my team, if playing. Midfielder Josh McQuoid is on loan from Bournemouth and, if playing, might score some suprise Picklive points; only 21, in four seasons with Bounremouth he has made 15 appearances and scored 9 goals from midfield. Probably wont start.

Scunthorpe made an apprearence on Picklive before, when they were beaten 5 - 2 at home by Man. U. in the cup. In this game, 4 players scored more than 60 (Wright (midfield), Woolford (midfield), Nolan (defender) and Byrne (defender)); Wright scored a massive 99 points, which included a goal and a yellow card. He doesnt start every game and when he does, he tends to get subbed around the 70th minute.
Micahel O'Conner (midfielder) will also get a place in my squad; Joint top scorer (6 in all competitions) with Woolford. As Millwall have an awful shot to goal ratio, I might consider the Scunthorpe goalie Joe Murphy as there might be a lot of saves to be had for the big lad between the sticks.

So, I will be going mainly for Scunthorpe players with Woolford, Nolan, Byrne with maybe O'Conner OR goalie Murphy PLUS one of Morison or Robinson for Millwall.

Good luck!

Robin (Warriors)

Ipswich Town/Swansea CIty

TWO Championship games featured on picklive today! First up is Ipswich v. Swansea. Ipswich have not previously been featured on Picklive but Swansea have had the pleasure once before when they beat Cardiff 1 - 0 away from home. Both teams have lots to play for as Swansea are 3 points behind hated rivals Cardiff in 2nd place in the table, and Ipswich are 4 points away from the relegation zone. Also, Ipswich have lost their last 4 matches and Roy "Up Yer B******s" Keane will be anxious to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat.

Ipswich have had only 4 clean sheets this season. Also, Keane has used more players (29) than any other manager in the Championship. So I don't really fancy Ipswich much. But Tommy Smith and Grant Leadbitter are both decent players; I might consider one or both of them. I also MIGHT consider Northern Ireland international Gareth McAuley who is solid at the back for Keane.Well, not solid as such looking at Ipswich's recent form, but he is a quality player.

When Swansea City last played (picklive stats here) I tipped midfielder Scott Sinclair. As you can see from the points on the day, Sinclair didn't do anything spectacular, with 24 points. But I still rate him and will be picking him for my team; he remains Swansea's top scorer.

Defender Garry Monk was the top scorer last time, with most of his points coming, unusually, from interceptions - however he is "unlikely" to feature today, so wait until the teams are announced before going ahead.. Two other players got over 50 points; Midfielder Mark Gower and the amsuingly named defender Angel Rangel. Rangel managed his impressive score of 58 despite being awarded a yellow card. To this, I am going to add Ashley Williams and Alan Tate, both defenders. Tate scored well last game, Williams didn't but thats no barrier to getting into my team. Both players figure highly on the ACTIM index and I expect them to do well.


So: Sinclair, Gower, Rangel, Tate and one from Williams, Smith, Leadbitter and McAuley.

Good luck!

Robin (Warriors)

Villareal/DinamoZagreb

It's even harder to tip for this match. There are two Picklive games for Villareal here and here. The results of these games seem to suggest that Bruno, A Lopez and Marchena are the most reliable bets. These stats show that Rossi (8 goals, 56 shots), Cazorla (4, 37) and Nilmar (8, 40) are the ones to go to for shots and goals.

In their last home game in the Europa League Villareal had 61% of possession against PAOK Salonika. In fact, in the match in Zagreb they got 50% of possession despite losing 2 nil and having a man sent off. This suggests to me that Villareal will dominate possession and so therefore the Picklive points.

I just don't know enough about the Zagreb side to be able to offer any insight and I couldn't find any stats either. Although I may just pick Igor Biscan for old times sake.

My team: Bruno, A Lopez, Marchena, Cazorla and Nilmar. (depending on starting line-up)

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Steaua/Liverpool

It's difficult to offer any concrete tips for tonight's match as I just can't seem to find any weighty tips for Steaua. From their last (and only) Picklive match you can assume that Geraldo is pick of the centre-backs, Latovlevici is the better of the two full-backs and Bicfalvi the better of the central midfield pair. Interestingly (maybe) those three are on the left of their respective pairings. Steaua seem to put more passes together down that side of the pitch (but again - only based on a sample of one!!).

Tanase and Stancu seem to be the goalscoring threats, both having picked up 2 goals and an assist in the Europa League. If you think Liverpool will concede two or more tonight then I would advise including one of them.

As for Liverpool I can't see past Kyrgiakos and Poulsen. Both have made big scores and are reasonably consistent. Pacheco, Jovanovic and Babel haven't done in enough in Picklive terms to make a case for inclusion in a game where Liverpool may well have the minority of possession. Joe Cole is just too unpredictable for me to risk but I wouldn't be surprised if he got a 28 or a 75! The rest of the back five hasn't got the pedigree to impress. Two exceptions that I might risk are Kelly and Shelvey, I have a hunch on both of them but can't make the statistical case.

Steaua should be well up for this tonight as they need the win more than Liverpool do. Steaua should see more of the ball but Liverpool have a great points/possession ratio. For that reason I'm going for a fairly balanced split. I'm going to go for 3 for Steaua and 2 for Liverpool, the same split that would've won the Trabzonspor game.

My team: Geraldo, Vlatovlevici, Bicfalvi , Poulsen and Kyrgiakos


Good luck!

By BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Brum/Villa

Birmingham City have only won once in 10 cup games against the Villa but they may fancy their chances tonight. Villa have 10 first teamers out and will be fielding a young side again.

In Picklive terms this may all be irrelevant though. Even with their young guns Villa have had 10 different players score 50 or more in their last 3 Picklive outings, Birmingham only 5.

The Villa list looks like this (scores in last three matches in brackets):

Clark (78, 31, n/a)
Dunne (66, 75, 52)
Collins (62, n/a, 37)
Friedel (56, 58, 20)
Warnock (53, 54, 44)
Bannan (52, 69, 31)
L Young (47, 73, 30)
Downing (30, 65, 53)
Hogg (n/a, 55, 27)
Albrighton (n/a, n/a, 66)


And for Birmingham like this:

Johnson (60, 46, 32)
Larrson (57, 35, 1)
Ridgewell (54, 44, 33)
Gardner (53, 40, 44)
Ferguson (48, 62, 53)

Honourable mentions should go to Carr (36, 47, 42) and Dann (31, 47, 38) who have both almost reached the 50 mark and have a bit of consistency about them.

So, for Birmingham, the stand out pick is Ferguson who is by far the biggest and most consistent points scorer. After that I would go for Gardner whose 40 would've been a 50 were it not for a yellow card. 53, 50, 44 is dependable but not exciting and that's why.....


....I'm recommending going for Ferguson plus 4 Villa players. Narrowing those Villa players down to 4 is a trickier decision though.

First off I like Dunne, his score of 66 last time out included a 10 point assist but he consistently scores 50+ and his 75 proves he can score big too.

Clark was more impressive in midfield than at centre back and his scores reflect that (78 and 31 respectively). However, his 78 includes two goals and he has been booked in both of those Picklive games. You need him to score and I won't be risking that against a tough Birmingham defence.

Collins would've outscored Dunne last time out were it not for the latters assist. He could be a good pick if you want to drop the shoulder on all those players going for Dunne?

Friedel can score well but I just can't see him being that busy tonight.

Warnock is consistent but I just don't excited about picking him. He doesn't seem as dynamic a player as he once was and he seems to get involved in spats and unnecessary challenges. He is solid though and, much like Gardner earlier, will be close to sneaking in the five for the Big Game.

I've been deeply impressed by Bannan and he's delivered solid scores in the last two games. His 31 would've been more impressive without the yellow card, especially as it was a low scoring match for Villans.

Luke Young is similar to Dunne as he is consistent but also capable of big scores, that 73 is his second of the season. I think Dunne edges him though.

Downing has posted some good scores this season (including a 71 and two 65s) but needs to have a great game and/or score to be worth picking. He's hard to leave out - toss a coin?

I haven't got enough stats on Hogg to argue his case and Albrighton looks like he's out injured. So lets roundup with my picks:

My team tonight: Ferguson, Dunne and Bannan are certainties if they start. After that I will go for either Clark or Downing and try and get a goal. Plus one from the dependables: Collins, Luke Young, Warnock or Gardner.

Good luck!

by

BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

WestHam/ManUnited

Bottom vs Top of the PL. However, this is the Carling Cup which will mean plenty of changes to the United side that thrashed Blackburn 7-1 at the weekend. It also doesn’t mean the obvious and going for 5 United players – they only had 2 of the top 5 against Wolves and 3 against Scunthorpe.

There have been 22 goals scored in United’s last five CC matches (4.4 per game)– including 12 this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of goals tonight! Both of United’s CC matches this season were on Picklive and there is the United 3-0 win against West Ham to look at to give some indication who to pick in the BG.

The standout player for West Ham has to be captain Scott Parker – arguably there isn’t a team in the PL more reliant on a single player. So what are his picklive numbers like? This season he has appeared just the three times on the game but top scored with 78pts at Stoke (including a goal), 74pts at Old Trafford (6th highest score and top scorer for West Ham) and 54pts against Newcastle (2nd highest scorer for West Ham). Mark Noble should be considered on his recent form with a 68 in their 3-0 defeat Liverpool and 62 at Old Trafford – despite yellow cards in both matches! Not sure really who else to consider from West Ham, Upson could be quite busy and has a 65 (vs Liverpool) and a 51 (vs Stoke) or Gabbidon 58 and 67 in the same matches. If you think there will be goals with West Ham scoring a couple it may be worth giving Piquionne a go – I won’t be though….

So what team will Fergie pick for tonight? I’m not too sure, but you should go with the two central midfielders – they always seem to do well for United. Gibson will probably start and he has done alright on Picklive with 76 at Scunthorpe (4th highest overall/ 2nd highest United scorer), 64 against Wolves (5th highest overall / 2nd highest United scorer) and an impressive 102pts against Rangers – only bettered by Fletcher’s 109. I guess Anderson will play alongside him, his record on the game isn’t very impressive with a high of 65 against Scunthorpe. However if he plays like he did against Blackburn at the weekend I can imagine him getting close to 100!

Park has done well in the two CC matches with goals in both – 71 vs Wolves and 72 vs Scunthorpe, he may be rested though and would probably need a goal again to see him score more than 70 again. I suspect Hernandez should start and if he does, I am sure he will score so it may be worth giving him a go, however his only score on Picklive above 35 was when he scored twice at Stoke and got 70pts to his name. Wes Brown would be a more reliable pick if he starts – scoring 61 against Wolves and 65 against Scunthorpe – also an impressive 79 in the home draw against Rangers.

I would recommend going with one or two West Ham players. For me it has to be Scott Parker and Mark Noble but if you think United will dominate more, then Upson/Gabbidon could do quite well. For my United players it will be the central midfielder partnership (Gibson/Anderson?) and Wes Brown. I may be tempted by Park or Hernandez.

·      West Ham have won eight and lost only once in their last nine at home in the CC.

·      This will be only their 2nd meeting in the CC – United won 1-0 at OT in 1985-86

·      United have won the last five against West Ham without conceding.

·      United have kept only one clean sheet in their last eight CC away matches.

Not sure this will be as good as last night!

Simon G (grunny27)

The Big One

Ok, so I'll narrow it down for you: I don't think it's worth choosing Victor Valdes tonight. So that only leaves you with 21 players to choose from...

Simon G (aka Grunny27) has kindly supplied a multitude of stats to work through so here we go:


1. Barcelona have done the double against Real Madrid in the last two seasons, winning the last four Clásico’s home and away.

2.The Catalans are undefeated in their last 10 league matches, winning nine and drawing one.

3. Real are unbeaten in their last 19 La Liga matches (16-3-0) - their last defeat was a 2-0 loss at home against FC Barcelona on 10 April.

1. 2. & 3. Now I think that this suggests picking more Barca players as they should just have the edge. Plus, my instinct is that Mourinho will try and suck Barca in and hit them on the break. This may well win the game for Real or not but it should mean that the Catalans dominate possession and therefore the Picklive points.


3. Messi has scored at least once in the last nine official matches he played for Barça. Including the Argentina friendly against Brazil, he has now scored in his last 10 official matches.

4. Messi has scored seven goals in eight El Clásico’s in La Liga. Only César Rodríguez (12), Estanislau Basora (8) have scored more goals representing Barça against Real Madrid.

5. Messi has never scored against a side coached by José Mourinho. He played against the Portuguese coach seven times in the Champions League, four against Chelsea and three against Internazionale.

6. Ronaldo has never scored against Barcelona (5 matches).

3. 4. 5. & 6. So this means that Messi will definitely score unless Real stop him.... But Ronaldo definitely won't...


So, based on all that I'll be going for at least 4 Barcalona players and not Ronaldo. That's because if you strip goals & assists out of Real Madrid's last two Picklive performances then Ronaldo would've finished behind Alonso, Marcelo and Ramos both times (plus Carvalho if you ignore a yellow card). What this suggests to me is that Ronaldo is only worth picking if you think he'll score. I would even go further than that as I think Barca will dominate possession and so Ronaldo will need to score two or more as he won't see as much of the ball - particularly if he ends up as a lone striker to replace Higuain.

Xavi is a must pick even if he is a bit of a sub risk. He scored 107 against Villareal and 126 the last time he faced Khedira. I would consider Alves, Iniesta and Busquets next as my gut feeling is that there won't be many goals in this. So, i'll be weighing Messi against each of them (or possibly including him at the expense of any Real players?).

If you fancy a punt I can see Marcelo or Carvalho being kept busy and so may rack up a fair few interceptions and clearances.  But my head says stick to what you know, namely the Barcalona midfield.

Good luck!

by Ben and Simon

And a few stats to finish you off:
It will be the first time since 2006/2007, when Rijkaard and Capello were in charge that both managers had a CL title to their name.   



This is the third time El Clásico will be played on a Monday. The other Clásico’s on Monday were on 30 March 1964 (Barcelona – Real Madrid 1-2) and 3 April 1972 (Barcelona – Real Madrid 1-0).


Losing El Clásico at home almost always means the end of any title hopes. Only on two out of 32 previous occasions has a team lost a home Clásico and gne on to win La Liga: Barcelona in 1928/1929 and Real Madrid in 1975/1976.

Valencia/Almeria

Well out of my depth for this match so I'm going to merely present some stats for Valencia (couldn't find any for Almeria) - I hope they're useful!

Two facts first off. Almeria are 19th and Valancia 5th. Almeria lost 8-0 to Barcalona last week. So I'll be going for 5 Valancia players...

Top 5 Picklive scores in the match away to Sevilla:
Fernandes: 50
Mata: 49
Joaquin: 47
Mathieu: 44
Miguel: 41

Top 5 home to Man Utd.:
Miguel: 73
Albelda: 72
Mathieu: 69
Navarro: 62
Mata: 46

Completed passes stats from Champions League games:
Away v. Rangers: Costa (71), Saltor (69), Topal (69), R. Costa (61), Mathieu (57), Navarro (57)
Home v. Rangers: Banega (99), Albelda (88), Mata (63), R. Costa (58), Miguel (54)
Home v. Bursaspor: Costa (47), Mata (47), Maduro (46), Albelda (43), Alba (37)
(Nb. Mata scored a penalty in this match)

My team: Mata, Mathieu, the central midfield pair (Costa, Topal, Albelda, Banega etc.) and Miguel if he plays.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Spurs/Liverpool

Gareth Bale either does excellently (114, 78, 74 & 70 points) or decidedly average (52, 46, 39, 36 & 35). Compare this with Assou-Ekotto's string of results (78, 67, 67, 65, 63, 62, 57, 56, 29, 9) which are much more consistent. So it boils down to whether Bale will score or not. Think he will? Then pick him. Think he won't? Then there'll be several other players out-pointing him.

Kaboul (81, 63, 58, 39 & 36) and Gallas (71, 51, 43, 42, 39, 35) have been 2 of the 3 highest points scorers for Spurs in the last two games. I would take Kaboul over Gallas, just, based on his slightly more impressive record but I can't see both centre-backs dominating for a third game in a row.

With van der Vaart out it'll fall to Modric to provide much of the creative spark and he should deliver around 60 points barring injury, cards or substitution.

Spurs tips: Assou-Ekotto & Modric are safe bets. Then Bale, Kaboul, Gallas and possibly Hutton are worth considering.

Gerrard is out of today's game, as he was for the last Picklive game against West Ham when Meireles (94), Rodriguez (94), Johnson (85), Konchesky (73) and Skrtel (61) were the top 5. I fancy those five to be there or thereabouts again, especially Meireles and Konchesky who have the highest average after Gerrard. Poulson and Lucas should also be considered. Lucas ranges 52-74 when he's playing for most of the match and not getting himself sent off. Pouslon is steady and dependable.

Liverpool tips: Pick from the top 5 last time out plus Lucas and Poulson.

My team: Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Kaboul, Konchesky & Lucas

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Newcastle/Chelsea

If the snow stays away we could be in for some intriguing Picklive action this afternoon.Both sides have been unpredictable recently which makes picking players all the more challenging.

Newcastle have moved from the sublime to the ridiculous with ease this season. A 5-1 thrashing of local rivals Sunderland last time out on Picklive was preceded by a 4-0 tonking by Arsenal at St. James' Park.Their Picklive performance was appropriate for both matches, all 5 of the top 5 in the former game, 0 of the top 5 in the latter.

One thing that does seem predictable is Kevin Nolan's goalscoring on Picklive games. Out of 13 league games 6 have been on Picklive - Nolan has scored 7 goals in total this season and all of those 7 have been on Picklive....

Newcastle have Williamson, Barton and Ryan Taylor out, all of whom would've been strong Picklive contenders. Enrique, Tiote and Guthrie seem the next best bets, the former two having solid Picklive pedigree, the latter picked up 56 points in match against Arsenal which was no mean feat.  Carroll can post big scores but needs at least one goal to be worth picking.

Chelsea also have some big players missing. Picklive goliaths Essien, Terry and Lampard are all suspended or injured. Picking defensive players seems the way to go for Chelsea recently. In their last two Picklive games their defensive six (Back 4, Mikel and Cech) have made up the top 6 points scorers in one (v. Sunderland) and 5 of the top 6 in the other (v. Liverpool). Only Malouda managed to get in amongst the defenders and he, along with Mikel and Essien is in the top 3 Chelsea players over time.

So, there are two big factors to consider today. One, which Newcastle and which Chelsea will turn up today? And so, based on that, which team will dominate - it really looks like to could go either way and I wouldn't be surprised by any top 5 combo winning.

The second factor is how many goals we'll see - if you think there will be very few then you should probably concentrate your picking around the Newcastle full-backs and central midfielders plus the Chelsea defensive 6 and Malouda. If you think there will be goals aplenty then Nolan and Carroll become more attractive picks as do the remaining Chelsea players.

Good luck!

BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Burnley/Derby County

Austerity Britain and all the belt-tightening that implies has hit FC Roger and this Pickive Big Game prediction will be suitably short. This catergorically has nothing to do with me having a raging hangover and not being aware that there is some tasty Championship/Picklive action on today until ten mintues ago. Not at all.

Due to their blistering recent form, I think Derby will win this (but it will be close) and I will be picking mainly Derby players as a result; namely four from Savage, Commons, Brayford, Cywka (a definite in my team), Moxey or Barker.

For Burnley I might be tempted by John Guidetti, a striker on loan from Man City who will be keen to impress. Iwelumo might make it, but I am not particularly fond of picking strikers for the big game. So I will actually go for either Tyrone Mears or Bikey.

Good luck!

Warriors (Robin Warr)

Villa/Arsenal

Pires or not Pires. That'll be the question this lunchtime for the Big Game. The ex-gunner could well dictate the play for Villa. He scored 20 points in 21 minutes against Blackburn so should rack up a big score if he can maintain that pace for an hour or more.

Otherwise, with Warnock, Luke Young & Downing their top 3, picking down the flanks seems the way to go for Villa. Richard Dunne had a stand out game against Blackburn with a 75 but may not get the same aerial workout against Arsenal. Friedel scored a strong 58 in that last match but then only 10 against Man Utd. in the previous Picklive match so would be a very risky pick.

How many Villa players to pick is the trickiest decision today I feel. They had 4 of the top 5 against Blackburn but I can't see them having enough of the ball to get that same result. No more than 2 would seem a balanced approach considering what a good Picklive side Arsenal are.

Nasri is a must pick, having racked up some huge scores recently, Wilshire starts and usually posts a good score. Narrowing the rest down to fill the other spots is difficult - Sagna, Clichy and Song are all reliable choices. Arshavin and Rosicky are capable of big scores.


Tips: Pires, Nasri and Wilshire. At least 3, probably 4 from Arsenal in total.

Rangers - player picks

McCulloch - Would've been joint top for Rangers if he hadn't got a yellow card. Might be worth the punt if you fancy the risk.

Davis -  Second highest Rangers scorer at Old Trafford and regularly the most frequent passer (44 completed passes against Bursaspor). Solid pick.

Bougherra - Usually pushes Davis in the passing stats and should be involved a lot tonight.

Honourable mention: Whittaker was top for Rangers last time out.

Man Utd. - Player picks

Scholes - Picklive legend and surely everyone's first name on the sheet. Has scored over 50 in 7 of his last 9 Picklive matches including a 97 and a 122. Slight sub risk. Very real card risk.

Carrick - A smaller range than Scholes and often overshadowed but Carrick is more than just a dependable pick. His range in matches he's started runs from 56 up to 80 so is capable of some serious scores.

O'Shea - Any of the back four are good picks for Man Utd. but I fancy O'Shea to have a good night. Usually gets around 50 when he starts. Has been known to score important goals.

Honourable mentions: last time out against Rangers the midfield two dominated the points, followed by the back four. Outside of those 6 Nani may be worth a shot - especially if you fancy him to score.

FC Copenhagen - ones to watch

Claudemir - Central midfielder made most passes for the away team at the Nou Camp and usually well involved. Sub and card risk though.

Kvist - partners Claudemir in the centre and should be well involved. Hasn't missed a minute of Copenhagens 8 Champions League games thus far.

Wendt - Left-back who usually sees a lot of the ball. Takes the odd corner too. Usually plays the full 90.

Rubin Kazan - the ones to watch

Rubin Kazan

Kaleshin - Made the most passes in the matches away to Panthanikos and Copenhagen, although a bit quiet in the last Picklive game at home to the Greeks. Picked up only 43 points that night but should normally be psoting 50+ scores. Can play at right-back or right-wing.

Noboa - Captain, likes a shot, takes free-kicks & penalties, highest scorer last time out on Picklive.

Natcho - Noboa's partner in crime in the middle of the park. Completed 51 passes last time on Picklive which was 12 more than anyone else on the pitch.

Honourable mention: Bocchetti - Italian defender racks up plenty of passes so should be a dependable pick.

Braga/Arsenal

Arsenal were so dominant in the reverse fixture that it's hard to make a case for picking any Braga players tonight. That night at the Emirates saw Arsenal come away with 10 of the 11 highest point scorers in the match, one of the most lop-sided results in Picklive history.

Arshavin and van Persie have been left at home, Clichy is out and Fabregas unlikely to play but even so it's hard to think past the likes of Nasri, Denilson, Sagna, Eboue, Gibbs, Song etc. who are all very strong Picklive points scorers.

But yet I get the feeling that Braga will be better (if not great) tonight and may deserve 1 pick? Silvio has a 58 and 53 to his name which is excellent considering the nature of the two Picklive games they were in (i.e. total passing domination by Sevilla and Arsenal) and is perhaps the only stand out player in Picklive terms.

Tip: wait for the line-up but Nasri, Gibbs, Denilson, Song and Silvio would be a good start.

Good luck!

BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

SpartakMoscow/Marseille

Spartak Moscow have been impressive in Picklive terms in their two defeats against Chelsea. They had 4 of the top 5 points scorers in Russia and 2 in London. That would suggest leaning towards the Russians for tonights make or break match.

The best 3 Spartak players were Ibson, Sheshukov and Makeev, in that order, for both matches. Apart from those three, Parshivlyuk and Ivanov are out and so previous Picklive form suggests Komborov may be worth a shout if you fancy a fourth Spartak player. He scored a respectable 56 in the away match and would've been their third highest scorer in the home match were it not for a yellow card.

Marseille are a bit less predictable and have fielded very different teams in each of their 4 Champions League matches so far. In their one Picklive appearance they did match Spartak Moscow in getting 2 of the top 5 against Chelsea but they went further than that and had 5 of the top 8 - in fact picking their top 5 (Cisse, Heinze, Gonzalez, Kabore and Mbia) would've won the Big Game quite comfortably.

The change in personnel complicates the tips for Marseille tonight. I would consider Heinze if he starts at lef-back, Mbia if he starts at centre-back and whoever starts at the base of midfield should also be strongly considered. Ayew and Valbuena started on the bench at the weekend and are capable of being explosive from wide.

In summary I fancy Marseille to do ok tonight, as they have slightly better recent form, so would recommend at least 2 picks from them. I think the left flank of both teams will do most of the damage going forward and will score more points than the right side. Hence my tip is to pick 5 players from the middle and left side of both teams, 3 from Spartak, 2 from Marseille. Makeev (and possibly Komborov) from the Spartak left, Ibson and Shesukov from the centre. Ayew and Heinze from the Marseille left , Mbia and Kabore from the centre (depending on the line-up). Any 5 from those 8.

Good luck!

BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

Sunderland/Everton

Sunderland have had a strong showing on Picklive this season. They had 4 of the top 5 against Chelsea, the same against Blackburn and 3 against Arsenal. Those impressive results were tempered slightly by the hammering they took from Newcastle but to more than hold their own against both Chelsea and Arsenal seems a good reason to fancy at least 3 Black Cats tonight.

Everton on the other hand have only had 1 player in each of the last three games (although they had 3 against Man Utd. in the game before that). Baines and Arteta are the only two players to have made the hallowed top 5 in those 3 games. Jagielka, Distin and Pienaar have been the most consistent players after them.

So, who to pick from Sunderland then and how many? The first decision is easy, to include Henderson or not? He's been the top point scorer for Sunderland in 3 of the last 4 Picklive games (and second in the other) so I think he should be first on your list for tonight. Who to accompany him is a very different story though. Bardsley, Cattermole, Onuoha and Bramble have all featured twice in Sunderland's own top 5 over the last four games but none stand out as a definite pick. Gyan, Wellbeck and Zenden all made the top 5 in the match against Chelsea but it would seem that the first two need a goal and so should be picked only if you think that will happen. Zenden would've been the top pick in that match if you take away the goals & assists and so could be a strong candidate.

According to the Telegraph passing stats Malbranque and Cattermole are the second most frequent passers after Henderson. Further down the list are Bardsley and Richardson who both have good pass/minute ratios.

So, in summary, Henderson would look like the strongest pick, followed by Arteta and/or Baines. The main decision then is who to fill the other 2 or 3 spots. I can't stomach the risk of Cattermole getting sent off so will be avoiding him. I'll try and balance my selection so will go for either Zenden or Malbranque in the midfield plus either Bardsley or Onuoha from the defence. The only remaining decision for me is whether to go for a fourth Sunderland player or picking both Arteta and Baines. At the moment I fancy Gyan to score so may go for him if he starts.

Good luck!

BensBulls

Fulham/ManCity

With no recent Picklive stats for Fulham I'm using a combination of Telegraph and Guardian data to work out where most of the passing happens. And it seems it'll be the midfield that will decide this match. Danny Murphy and Jonathan Greening average 56 and 57 successful passes per match, well clear of Chris Baird with 43 in third. This shows that Fulham like to build through the middle of the park and those two players are my main recommendation for this match.

In contrast there are plenty of stats for Man City and the Team page on Picklive shows Barry, Kompany and de Jong have the best average across 9/10 games. Those three average 49, 43 and 47  passes per 90 minutes according to the Guardian/Telegraph stats and I think that shows why Murphy and Greening are my main tips for this match.

Of course passing alone does not decide a Picklive game. However, it does give a very strong indicator. A look at, say, de Jong's player page shows that passes make up between approx. 50 and 80 percent of his points, with an average of around two-thirds. Again not a perfect indicator but a strong one.

If you don't fancy simply going with the stats above then I would suggest trying Kolorov if he starts. He scored 15 points in 15 minutes (including time added on) against Man Utd. and 25 in 46 against Spurs so could be capable of a big score. He also had 4 shots against Birmingham in his last game, 2 on target.

If you fancy a bit more glamour then Tevez or Silva would be the sensible choice. Both score points regularly which makes them a strong choice even if they don't score a goal or get an assist.

So, in summary my recommendations are: Murphy, Greening, Barry, de Jong, and Kompany to start with then add a pinch of Tevez, Silva or Kolorov to season!

Good luck!

BensBulls

Update: with Greening not starting I would suggest Baird (mentioned above) but with a lot less confidence. Maybe picking 4 Man City players is the way to go?

Blackburn/Villa

Blackburn and Villa are only two points apart in the table which suggests a tight game this lunchtime. Their recent Picklive history suggests that the amount of points scored today could be low. Blackburn had only one player (Pedersen - 57) in the top 5 in their last Picklive match, Villa have had only 2 players (Albrighton - 66 & Downing - 65) out of a possible 15 in their last 3 matches.

With 3 games since the Big Game began there are just enough stats for Villa to make some analysis. Out of the 15 players in their top 5 for those games 2 were Brad Friedel, 4 were playing at centre back, 5 attacking/wide midfield, 3 at full-back and 1 was Reo-Coker. So what does this tell us? Well possibly that the Villa like to build through the centre-backs and then quickly out to the flanks?

With less data on Blackburn we need to look elsewhere. The Telegraph has stats on completed passes which is a decent indicator of Picklive potential. Pedersen has completed the most (258) this season followed by Phil Jones (218) and El Hadji Diouf (213). However, cross checking these passing stats with minutes played on the Guardian shows up a few other options. N'Zonzi, Grella and Chimbonda all have a higher pass per minute rate than Pedersen. N'zonzi and Grella are out injured today so it's only Chimbonda that makes it to the shortlist from this exercise. A fraction behind Pedersen is Emerton who would be also worth picking if he starts.

With Pederson, Emerton and Chimbonda on the Blackburn list we can see a similar pattern to Villa emerging i.e. they're strongest down the flanks. So, my recommendation today is start with the three Blackburn players mentioned and add, say, Warnock and Downing. After that check the line-ups to see who's starting for Villa. Houllier has been playing several youngsters recently so the first XI is uncertain.

Good luck!

BensBulls

P.s. just been doing looking at passing/minute stats for Villa and Bannan & Clark have the highest of the entire squad - could be worth a punt if they start!

Liverpool/WestHam

This looks like a home banker for Liverpool, even without Gerrard. 

This is why…

· West Ham are without a win in their last 24 PL away matches and only kept one clean sheet in their last 23.


· West Ham have failed to score in 12 of their last 15 PL visits to Anfield and only scored four in those matches.

· Liverpool are without a defeat in their last 38 matches at home to the Hammers since September 1963. This is the equal-second longest ever unbeaten home run by one top flight club against another. The record is Liverpool’s current 47-match unbeaten home run against Stoke City.

· West Ham have won only one of their last 16 PL matches against Liverpool (14 defeats) – 1-0 at home in January 2008. Mark Noble scored a 90th minute penalty.

Lucas is out through suspension so two of Liverpool’s top picklive scorers won’t be playing! Konchesky is Liverpool’s 2^nd highest points scorer with an average of 55points and should get a spot in most BG teams. I think Kuyt will score well without Gerrard and could get a goal or two against a West Ham defense that have conceded 22 goals this season (only Blackpool and Wolves have conceded more). Kuyt was their third highest scorer in the match against Chelsea with 50points.

Meireles will also benefit with Gerrard not playing – in his last five matches he has been averaging 51pts. Poulsen will play I think and he has done well on picklive with an average of 61pts (not including his 2pts against Bolton). Glen Johnson has scored more than 60 in half of the matches he has played this season and has a low of 42. Torres could get a couple so it may be worth giving him a go in your BG team? 

Looking at the Man United-West Ham match earlier in the season when they lost 3-0, Parker still got 74points – the 5^th highest score in the match. If you’re going with any West Ham player it has to be him – he is averaging 52pts at the moment. If you think Liverpool will struggle and West Ham put up more of a fight then I would also go with Mark Noble who got 62points including a yellow at Old Trafford.

I will be going with four or five Liverpool players – a choice between Konchesky, Meireles, Poulsen, Kuyt, Johnson and Torres. Then Parker if I decide to go with a West Ham player.

A few stats to finish with!

· Hodgson has won three of his five PL matches at home to West Ham but lost two of his last three.

· Liverpool have scored 13 PL goals this season – only Wigan (10) and West Ham (11) have netted fewer.

· Torres has scored three goals in the club’s last two PL home matches. In total, 44 of his 61 PL goals have come at Anfield (72.1%). He has netted five PL goals against West Ham. If he scores today he will have scored more PL goals against them than any other club he has faced.

· Avram Grant was unbeaten in four matches against Liverpool in all competitions during his spell at Chelsea in 2007-08 – winning two and drawing two.

Good luck!

Simon G (grunny27)

Arsenal/Spurs

The North-London derby. A couple weeks ago the Manchester derby was on Picklive and it produced a pretty tame goalless draw with both teams playing very negative football. I can’t see that happening here. The four PL matches at the Emirates between the two have produced 17 goals (4.25 per game) – Arsenal scoring 12 of these. It’s not really in either sides nature to sit back, so I think there will be goals again today.

Tottenham have a pretty miserable record at Arsenal recently (and the rest of the ‘big four). They have not won in their last 17 at Arsenal (losing three of their last four) since a 3-1 win in May 1993 and last 68 visits to the big four teams (drawn 20 and lost 48). Surely sometime this run has to end?!

Arsenal are a good picklive team, they keep possession well and pass the ball plenty. Sagna top scored last week’s match against Everton (77) including a goal followed by Fabregas (75). In total they have had 19 of the top five places in their last five. In their 2-0 defeat at Chelsea they still managed to get Clichy (66), Nasri (64) and Wilshere (62) in the top 5. Nasri put in 75 points against England mid-week and Sagna put in a respectable 64. Nasri has had a very good recent picklive record averaging 70pts in his last six for Arsenal including an amazing 141 in the Carling Cup match against Spurs. I think Nasri is a must for your BG team.

Song and Sagna have also been putting in good numbers and I think they will have a good day against Tottenham. I like Fabregas for this match, can see him scoring and he puts good numbers together anyways. Wilshere might not play in the match so you may want to look at Clichy instead or Rosicky if you want 5 Arsenal players. You may be tempted to go with Clichy over Sagna as he didn’t play mid-week against England?

It’s hard to say how many Spurs players you should go with. When they went to Old Trafford they still put together some good numbers. Gomes was the best player for them (73) followed by Van der Vaart (63) and Assou-Ekotto (56). Modric would have scored 60 if it wasn’t for a yellow card. Bale is their top player with an average of 62pts from 8 matches and I wonder whether he will go past Sagna as easily as Maicon? He only got 35pts against Bolton but did score twice against Blackburn. Huddlestone is out with an ankle injury. Gallas could be an interesting pick, he got 71 against Bolton and returning to his old club – a gamble but could pay off. Assou-Ekotto is pretty consistent when it comes to picklive – his last seven matches scoring 57, 63, 56, 62, 65, 78 (vs Arsenal), and 67.

I can’t really recommend picking any of the strikers. Even though RvP has scored in last three starts against Spurs and Crouch has scored four against Arsenal. If you want to go attacking-minded go with Fabregas and Van der Vaart.

I think I will go with four Arsenal players – Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Sagna. For my Spurs player I am undecided between Assou-Ekotto and Modric. If you don’t like those I would go with Clichy, Rosicky (if he starts) or Van der Vaart if you think Spurs will do well.

I will probably play only the first couple of games in this match with the Man United match being a 3pm k.o! So I will give you a few stats now….

· Arsène Wenger has drawn three of his last five PL meetings with Harry Redknapp – winning only once. Over the last nine years Wenger has won only three of his three of his 13 PL matches against him, drawing on nine occasions.

· Wenger is unbeaten in all 10 PL home matches against Redknapp – winning seven and drawing three.

· If Arsenal lose today it will be the first time they have lost consecutive PL matches at the Emirates Stadium, and first time at home in almost 13 years – since losing 1-0 to Liverpool (November 1997) and 3-1 to Blackburn Rovers (December 1997).

· Tottenham have lost their last two PL away matches. If they lose today it will be the first time since in almost two years they have lost three consecutive away matches – since a four-match streak from December 2008 to January 2009.

Enjoy!

Simon G (grunny27)