Manchester United 1 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Game of the Week

For a considerably exciting matchup to kickoff the Premier League season, it was the opening game that arguably was the most boring of the weekend’s bunch. The two squads were facing each other without their respective first-team goalkeepers and considering how beleaguered the defenses were last season, I’m sure fans and fantasy owners alike were expecting more of an offensive display. Tottenham, who were the better team in the first half, were short on scoring chances outside of a 5^th minute miss by Christian Eriksen. New hero, Harry Kane, was quiet for the full-90, rarely getting a touch in a scoring position. He attempted to withdraw into more of a playmaking role mid-game but couldn’t connect with his wingers.

For Manchester United, despite impressive displays from Juan Mata, Memphis Depay and Wayne Rooney, the story of the day was the defense. Throughout the entirety of the match the Red Devils pressed Tottenham allowing virtually no space for playmaking. Specifically, Chris Smalling and summer-signee Matteo Darmian looked superb, marking, tackling and distributing quite well. All in all, it was a 22^nd minute turnover by Nabil Bentaleb and a poor Kyle Walker atttempt to strip the sure-to-score Wayne Rooney that was the difference in the game, as the Englishman kicked the ball into his own goal. Despite the mistake, both squads looked quality and should each push for more convincing results this weekend.

Editor’s Note: be sure to check out all of our articles, and read more about the English Premier League (EPL, BPL) fantasy analysis and European football news.

Next Fixtures: 

Manchester United at Aston Villa – Friday, August 14^th

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Stoke City – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: Manchester United’s defense, to the surprise of many, looked superb. Matteo Darmian, in just his first career Premier League game looked fantastic. Costing just 5.5m, Darmian is a bargain talent, proving his worth neutralizing the wing pressure by the Spurs and pressing forward during offensive attacks. Darmian’s defensive counterpart, Chris Smalling, excelled on Saturday, especially considering he had the tall-task of marking Harry Kane. With Phil Jones sidelined two months with mild thrombosis, Smalling should hold off Marcos Rojo to be a regular inclusion in the starting XI.

AFC Bournemouth 0 – 1 Aston Villa

 Saturday marked an historic day in the small South-England resort town. In their 100-plus year stint in English Football, this was Bournemouth’s first ever appearance in the top-flight, and despite the result, was a day to remember. The newly promoted side showcased new signings Josh King (Blackburn), Artur Boruc (Southampton), and Sylvain Distin (Everton) and looked to control the game for most of the 90 minutes. However, Villa, parading six new summer signings of their own, netted the deciding goal midway into the second half. Rudy Gestede, a summer arrival from Blackburn headed in a 72^nd minute corner kick. With Fabian Delph (Manchester City) and Christian Benteke (Liverpool) booking it for greener pastures the Birmingham club will have to rely on old stalwarts Gabby Abonglahor and Scott Sinclair to offer any offensive creativity this season.

Next Fixtures:

Aston Villa vs. Manchester United – Friday, August 14^th

Bournemouth at Liverpool – Monday, August 17^th

Fantasy Notes: Once again Aston Villa relied on the steady presence of Brad Guzan between he posts. If not for the American keeper, Bournemouth’s historic appearance would have earned the squad its first ever Premier League victory as well. The former Villa Player of the Year earned a clean sheet and at a price of just 4.5m, Guzan is a bargain.

Everton 2 – 2 Watford

Much like their fellow promoted side Bournemouth, Watford narrowly missed out on a magical return in their most recent top-flight debut. Starting six new summer signings, Watford looked like a squad comfortable and confident against Premier League talent. The Quique Flores’ squad was too much to handle for the Everton back line, netting goals from Miguel Layun and substitute Odion Ighalo. Despite a Ross Barkley screamer, the Hornets still held onto a 2-1 lead until late into the game. Everton sealed the draw with an 83^rd minute equalizer by Arouna Kone set up by Romelu Lukaku. Everton is lucky to have secured a point in what was a lackluster performance by the Toffees.

Next Fixtures:

Everton at Southampton – Saturday, August 15^th

Watford vs. West Bromwich Albion – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: The Everton defense looked downright dreadful this weekend. Jose Mourinho’s crush, John Stones, looked as though he never played next to his counterpart Phil Jageilka before. The two couldn’t find any spacing or chemistry in the backline, providing their opponents with several opportunities to seal victory. In addition, Tim Howard looked terrible, seemingly not rebounding well from his poor form from the previous campaign. Keep an eye for backup keeper Joel Robles, who found success when Howard was out with injury last season. Costing just 4.5m, Robles could be a bargain insertion into a starting lineup if Howard continues to struggle.

Leicester City 4 – 2 Sunderland

Saturday was a display of two fringe Premier League squads clearly heading in opposite directions. Much like the previous two seasons in top flight, the Black Cats of Sunderland opened the season in traditional floundering form, allowing three goals, and thus giving away the game with just 25 minutes gone. Captain Lee Cattermole personified the team struggles. Traditionally, a bastion of steadiness in an otherwise chaotic team, Cattermole fell victim to a class Riyad Mahrez fake-out, tackling the striker in the box, allowing a penalty kick the Algerian international expertly converted.   The Foxes debuted their new boss Claudio Ranieri in stylish fashion, netting four goals and dominating play from start to finish.

Next Fixtures:

Leicester City at West Ham United – Saturday, August 15^th

Sunderland vs. Norwich – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: For Leicester, everything seemed to go right, and is proving to be a fantasy buyers market. Riyad Mahrez had himself quite a game, netting two goals and assisting on another. A point output of that caliber is extremely rare, especially from the midfield position. At a cost of just 5.5m, Mahrez is a player with an unknown ceiling, and at such a low cost, looks like a risk worth taking.

Norwich 1 – 3 Crystal Palace 

Truly the game of the weekend. Palace spent most of last season floundering before the hiring of Alan Pardew. After the addition of the former Newcastle boss, Palace surged, finishing well out of the relegation zone. This season, with the exciting summer additions of Yohan Cabaye and Patrick Bamford, Palace have arguably become one of the deepest offensive attacks in the league. Norwich, back in the BPL after a one-year stint in the Championship, looks to be a team ready for a long stay in the top-flight. After going down 2-0, the Canaries struck back. Substitute Nathan Redmond scored a masterful 25-yard strike to pull within one in the 69^th minute. Just five minutes later, Cameron Jerome appeared to have provided the equalizer but had his goal disallowed by the referee, citing a high kick. Palace held on tight, adding insult to injury with a Cabaye strike in extra time to seal victory.

Next Fixtures:

Norwich at Sunderland – Saturday, August 15^th

Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal – Sunday, August 16^th

Fantasy Notes: Palace appear to be rich with affordable offensive options after their convincing attacking display on Saturday. Most owners were smart enough to pick up record-signing Cabaye before the season but other intriguing options like Patrick Bamford, Charlie Austin, Wilfried Zaha, James McArthur, Yannick Bolasie, Frazier Campbell, and Jason Puncheon can provide owners an economic addition to their offensive output. The latter, Puncheon, is an especially intriguing option, due to his surprising role handling the corner kicks. Based on Pardew’s squad’s traditional success in set pieces, Puncheon could be an assist machine this season. 

Chelsea 2 -2 Swansea City

Chelsea will obviously cite the Thibualt Courtois red card as the reason for the home draw, but the Blues’ concerns should run deeper. Traditional midfield stalwarts Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic had horrible games compared the traditional elite form to which fans have become accustomed. Willian, despite impressive offensive moments, doesn’t seem to be the right player to man the wing for Chelsea. With Cesar Azpillicueta repeatedly making runs down the wing, Chelsea just leaves itself too vulnerable to counter attacks, a weakness to which Swansea took full advantage. Swansea should hope to continue this form against the other top clubs in the league, something they struggled with last season.

Next Fixtures:

Chelsea at Manchester City – Sunday, August 16^th

Swansea vs. Newcastle – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: Bafetimbi Gomis continues to fill the Wilfried Bony offensive void quite nicely. After converting his well-deserved penalty kick, Gomis almost netted a game winner but was ruled offside. Ki Sung-yeung, Jonjo Shelvey, Andre Ayew, Nathan Dyer, and Gylfi Sigurdsson make for a very talented assembly behind Gomis, The ensemble should provide the Frenchman with plenty of scoring chances this season, and costing just 7.0m, Gomis is an economical option compared to rest of the league’s marquee strikers.

Arsenal 0 – 2 West Ham United 

The season couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start for the Gunners. The Emirates has never been short of star power, but in 2015, for the first time in years, all key players began the season fit. Needless to say, expectations are high for Wenger’s crew. Despite a myriad of first half chances, Arsenal couldn’t find the back of the net. Right before the break, Petr Cech, very uncharacteristically misjudged a free kick, leaving his line, allowing in an easy header from Cheikhou Kouyate. Just before the hour-mark, the Hammers doubled their lead. After a costly turnover by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, forward Mauro Zarate streaked down the pitch, and laced a ball into the bottom corner, beating the the once again off-balanced Cech. Despite outshooting their opponents 22-8, the Gunners couldn’t find the back of the net and conceded their first loss to West Ham since 2007.

Next Fixtures:

Arsenal at Crystal Palace – Sunday, August 16^th

West Ham vs. Leicester City – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: West Ham keeper Adrian had himself quite a game. The Spanish international took on a barrage of Arsenal shots, parrying or saving six of the Gunners’ attempts. On the other side of the ball, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, despite his costly give-away, looked exquisite. Chamberlain is an exciting midfield option, especially due to his inexpensive 6.5m price tag. After two games (including the FA Cup), Chamberlain looks to finally be coming into the elite form his injuries have hampered in recent seasons. Speaking of young-guns, 16-year old Reece Oxford got the start for the Hammers. Clearly raw, the defender shows promise and costs just a measly 4.0m.

Newcastle 2 – 2 Southampton 

Despite losing yet another important player in Morgan Scheiderlin, Southampton go into a new campaign hoping to be a top-six club for the third straight season. Traditionally relying on their stalwart defense, the Saints could very well be a budding offensive powerhouse. Graziano Pelle and Shane Long both scored this weekend, giving credence to the theory that they may be the best striking duo in the BPL. Newcastle provided their own excitement, netting a pair of goals, one by Papiss Cisse on a set piece, and the other from new signing Georgino Wijnaldum.

Next Fixtures:

Newcastle at Swansea – Saturday, August 15^th

Southampton vs. Everton – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: Finally healthy, Jay Rodriguez looked superb on Sunday. With two top-flight strikers to pair with, look for the English winger to be heavily involved in scoring plays this season. We all know what Graziano Pelle can do, and that is score goals. His counterpart, Shane Long, looks to be just as effective this season. Costing just 6.0m pounds, compared to Pelle’s 8.0m, Long may be a more economic option for owners looking to boost their cost-per-goal ratio.

Stoke City 0 – 1 Liverpool

Liverpool should feel lucky to have escaped the raucous Britannia Stadium on Sunday with three points. The Reds, for all intents and purposes, looked flat and uninspired for most of the 90-minutes. It took a masterful Phillip Coutinho strike in the 86^th minute to break the deadlock and deliver three points to the Merseysiders. Fans should expect much more from a team that spent 67 million pounds during the summer transfer window. Things weren’t much more exciting on the Stoke side of the ball. The only real chance for the Potters came late in the first half, when former Red, Glen Johnson skied an opportunity over the bar, just six yards out from net and uncontested. Despite the loss, Stoke kept things competitive with the top-tier squad and should find no difficulty earning back the points they lost against less-talented opposition.

Next Fixtures:

Liverpool vs. Bournemouth – Monday, August 17^th

Stoke City at Tottenham – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: After watching the games from the stands on Sunday, Swiss-International Xherdan Shaqiri, passed his physical and completed his transfer to Stoke on Monday morning. The former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan attacking midfielder is a record signing for the club, costing 12 million pounds. The inclusion of a world-class playmaker should awaken a stagnant offense and increase the value of strikers Mame Biram Diouf (6.5m) and Peter Crouch (6.0m). Shaqiri most likely wont see the field Saturday against Tottenham, but look for the Swiss-master to make his debut the following weekend.

West Bromwich Albion 0 – 3 Manchester City

Well… this one wasn’t even close. From the first whistle, City was the far better team, looking like they could have taken down Barcelona, let alone lowly West Brom. Yaya Toure put in two goals, including a world-class strike from the top of the box. The Vincent Kompany-led defense was as well spaced as they were aggressive, leaving West Brom little-to-no opportunities on net. The Belgian skipper even netted a goal of his own in the second half to put the game out of reach. Nothing much of note from the West Brom side, however. Tottenham target Sadio Berahino looked fit and creative but couldn’t find many opportunities for goals. Monday was a display of two teams that are very clearly in different echelons. Manchester City very much looks like a team poised to compete for the league title.

Next Fixtures:

Manchester City vs. Chelsea – Sunday, August 16^th

West Brom at Watford – Saturday, August 15^th

Fantasy Notes: The second half delivered great news to fantasy owners. Speculatively, not yet rested from his Copa America stint, Sergio Aguero took the field as a second half sub. Despite the rumors surrounding his fitness, the appearance of the Argentine suggests that he could make a start this Sunday in an important clash against Chelsea. If so, Aguero and his new #10 kit, should continue the goal-scoring prowess he exhibited last season.

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