Benzema vs Adebayor vs Ronaldo

How their average weekly scores have changed

Week 28 roundup: hunting with cats

Benzema is the top scoring fantasy footballer of the week, thanks to his dominance in Real Madid's 2-0 defeat over Hercules. The french striker netted a brace and perhaps should have had more with 5 shots on target and scoring 35.5 points. Real's no.9 has scored 7 goals in his last 5 games since the arrival of Adebayor. He had managed 2 in 18 previous to the arrival of the Togalese.

The 2-2 draw between Almeria and Atletico Madrid was a points feast: Aguero (30.5) with two for Atletico and Crusat (19) for Almeria were 2nd and 3rd highest scoring strikers respectively. Atletico's Jose Reyes impressed and was 3rd top scoring midfielder with 14, without scoring a goal. Jesus Navas scored the equaliser and registered an overdue double figure score (15) as Sevilla held Barcelona 1-1. Ex-Chelsea midfielder Jiri Jarosik was the top scorer for Zaragoza in their surprise 4-0 demolition of third placed Valencia. Duda returned to Malaga's starting 11 and registered a magnificent 23.5 as the relegation threatened side leapt off the bottom of the table with a shock 2-0 win at Real Sociedad.

In defence, Espanyol's David Garcia represented super value scoring 13.5 from a market price of 4.99. Mallorca's Ivan Ramis made another appearance in the top scoring defenders list with a goal and 12 points at Levante. Real Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa (12) and Iker Casillas (18) complete the line up: Spain's number one surprisingly busy with 4 saves in the 2-0 victory over Hercules.


Team of the week 28



My team


Benzema, Real, 35.5

Aguero, Atmad, 30.5

Crusat, Almeria, 19

Duda, Mga, 23.5

Navas, Sev, 15

Reyes, Atmad, 14.5

Jarosik, RZG, 14

David Garcia, ESP, 13.5

Arbeloa, Real, 12.5
Ramis, Mallorca, 12

Casillas, Real, 18

Results:

Getafe 2- 2 Athletic BilbaoG: Manu (58, 85) AB: Manu (og 71), Vera (90+4)

Espanyol 2-0 Deportivo La CorunaIvan Alonso (62) Verdu (82)

Levante 1-1 MallorcaL:Gomez Juanlu (37) M: Ramis (60)

Osasuna 3-1 Racing SantanderO: Kike Sola (20), Nekounam (pen 25), Soriano (49)RS: Rosenberg (52)

Real Sociedad 0-2 MalagaM: Duda (25), Jose Rondon (58)

Sevilla 1-1 BarcelonaS: Jesus Navas (49), B: Bojan (30)

Villarreal 1 -1 GijonV: Rossi (29) SG: Diego Castro (pen 90+2)

Almeria 2- 2 Atletico MadridA: Crusat (49) Goitom (77) AM: Aguero (39, 61)

Real Madrid 2 - 0 HerculesBenzema (24, 56)

Real Zaragoza 4-0 ValenciaJarosik (5), Herrera Ander (40), Fernandez Gabi (pen 66, pen 76)

Week 28: Early thoughts

Marcelo: exciting

Early thoughts on this weekend's matchups:

Picking as many as you can from Real represents the biggest temptation this weekend - their match features the biggest disparity between two rivals with Los Blancos at home to struggling Hercules. With injuries still lurking for Ronaldo and Higuain, it makes Fantasy selection a lot more straight forward.

Benzema has been in fine form since the arrival of Adebayor and Mourinho started the two together against Santander. With Kaka perplexingly out of favour, there's every reason to expect the front four of Ozil, Di Maria, Benzema and Ade will start and amass a wanton load between them. If money allows, it would be prudent to squeeze in fullback Marcelo - sensational in the 7-0 drubbing handed to Malaga at home a fortnight ago.

On paper, Villarreal v Sporting Gijon should be a reliable source of points for the home side. However, since Sporting love an upset and Villarreal have been in such stumbling form, it could easily be a damp
squib. Nilmar at 18 and Rossi at 23 feel off-puttingly overpriced. Cazorla at 16 feels plausible, while Cani has dropped to 9 and in goal Diego Lopez has dropped nicely in price to 12.

Levante v Mallorca should be an exciting game for goals. Levante have been in fine fettle, especially at home, and it feels like Caicedo always scores at home. It is tempting to go for the Ecuadorian (14) and AN other. Perhaps the mysterious goal scoring wing-wizard Valdo - in midfield at just 8. Maybe Juanlu - highest scoring midfielder for LEV with 125 enjoys an SOT and an SC.

The rest of the ties feel murky and unpleasent. A standard routine win for the increasingly unlikeable Barca at the expense of Seville (missing Luis Fabiano for 6 weeks now). Almeria could upset the easily upsettable Atletico Madrid. Interesting to see what Piatti can do in this one for Almeria. Valencia look increasingly good and will surely triumph at Zaragoza. Never know where points are coming from with Los Che though. Not tempting enough to invest in this week.

Espanyol will surely get back to winning ways at home to the obdurate Deportivo. Looks like a good time to bring in Kameni in goal. Priced just 11. Also Galan is a perpetually good value defender at 1.

Sociedad will surely triumph over stinky Malaga. The only certainty is that Sociedad will score. Xavi Prieto is a temptation at 13. Agirretxe is the only fit striker and should start in place of injured Tamudo. Bravo in goal at 8.24 looks excellent value. Griezmann takes corners and scores goals. Valued 12.5. Expect Osasuna and Racing to be tight with a clean sheet for Ricardo. Getafe v Bilbao feels dreary.

Sat, Mar 12 ALM versus AMR
Sat, Mar 12 RZG versus VAL
Sat, Mar 12 MAD versus HER
Sun, Mar 13 SEV versus BAR
Sun, Mar 13 VIL versus SPO
Sun, Mar 13 LEV versus MAL
Sun, Mar 13 ESP versus DEP
Sun, Mar 13 RSO versus MGA
Sun, Mar 13 OSA versus RAC
Mon, Mar 14 GET versus BIL

Week 27: Easy Games

Early thoughts on Player Picks this weekend.

Barcelona v Zaragoza

Could see Barca doing a number on Zaragoza in the style of Real Madrid against Malaga. All their attacking players are worth a pick. Xavi is back to fitness. Pedro's value has dropped nicely to 17. Although, Adriano had a great game in his place at Valencia. (2nd top scorer for Barca behind Messi with 15 pts). Pinto has to stay in goal.


Racing Santander v Real Madrid

Real have been making a meal of it, especially away from home, until last night. The 7-0 mauling of Malaga should get them flowing freely again. But Racing are a stubborn side. Raul Albiol is the stand out bargain. Valued at just 4, he has started to pick up consistently good points in recent weeks. Naturally there's few other bargains to be had. It's a question of whether to hold on to the increasingly unreliable Adebayor.

All the othe fixtures seem painfully close once again. Several of the top 10 are facing each other and everyone immediately below Real Madrid are all in patchy form. Only Sevilla seem to be on the rise. Hercules v Almeria should be a safe bet for Trezeguet goals. Sporting Gijon should do well against ropey Getafe. David Barral has to be worth a go at 7.

Sat, Mar 5	Mallorca v Valencia
Sat, Mar 5	Barcelona v Zaragoza
Sat, Mar 5	Athl Madrid v Villarreal
Sun, Mar 6	Athl Bilbao v Sevilla
Sun, Mar 6	Sporting v Getafe
Sun, Mar 6	HER v Almería
Sun, Mar 6	LEV v Espanyol
Sun, Mar 6	Malaga v Osasuna
Sun, Mar 6	Racing v Real Mad
Mon, Mar 7	Deportivo v RSO

Week 25 preview: The Outsiders

Barca youngsters Pinto (left) and Bojan (right) playing baseball

A look at some of the tempting fantasy football selections from La Liga this weekend in each position.

In Goal

The most tempting GKs have to be - in descending order::

1. Pinto, 9.66 - BARCA @ mallorca (playing in the place of injured Valdes)
2. Kameni, 10.46 - ESP v rso (get him while he's cheap!)
3. Catalyud, 10.11 - HER v get (Getafe v poor away from home)
4. Cuellar, 10.68 - SPORTING GIJON v zaragoza
5. Casillas 14.66 - RMAD @ dep. (Returning from suspension in what should be a routine week. A bit boring though)

Really, its hard to look beyond Pinto. Consider he is the cheapest keeper likely to start as well.

In Attack:

A lot depends on who you're holding on to, but for arguments sake, imagine you're starting from scratch this week:

Top outsider picks

1. S. Fernandez, 11.08, MALAGA v alm
Games involving Malaga tend to involve goals. Fernandez has 11 pts two weeks running from a range of areas (corners, shots, assists, yum)
2. David Barral, 6.59, GIJON v zaragoza
Why not reward this impish striker with a run out? Barral is Gijon's second highest scorer with 3 and 2nd highest SOTer with 11.  Zaragoza are rubbish too. If you're feeling really brave, why not Nacho Novo too. Valued 4.96!
3. Caicedo, 12, LEVANTE v Osasuna
Caicedo didn't get a sniff at the Bernabeau but the lanky Ecuadorian is solid at home. He has 9 goals in 17 overall. Osasuna are poor away.
4. Trezeguet, 14, HERCULES v getafe
The elegant frenchman has 8 in 14 this season. The scoring onus is on the striker with Nelson Valdes missing.

Midfield

1. Valdo and Juanlu for LEVANTE vs Osasuna.
Both at 8 and Levante's most effective attacking options from midfield.
2. Farinos, 7, HERCULE v getafe
A legend who is being legendary. 16 and 5 in his last two games makes this bargain player a massive temptation.
3. WHOEVER replaces Xavi for BARCA @ mallorca
Could be Affellay, but probably Keita. Both a bargain at 3.

Defence
1. Adriano, 7.33,  BARCA@ mallorca
Always does well when he replaces Alves.
2. Botia, 2.66, GIJON v Zgza
3. Ulfalesji, 7, AMAD v sev
4. Any Sporting Gijon or Levante guys.

My team?

GK. Pinto

D. Adriano - Barca
D. Del Horno - Levante
D. Jose Angel - Gijon

M Ozil (5.45) Impossible to drop at this value
M Di Maria (6.11) " " "
M Koke (4.69) a bargain, and a lot of fun
M Reyes (15) solid

(Despite his 400% return (4pts), Almeria's Mbami has to go I'm afraid)

F Adebayor can stay. (at 8.51) He shoots a lot even if he doesn't score. Just hoping Benzema's sudden determination to be good doesn't see the Man City loanee benched.
F Tamudo (11.5, now 15.) An outsider to score at Espanyol but doing a great job up front for RSO and deserves some faith. It will be all about the ex-ESP man.
F Trezeguet (14)

Team of the week 23: Joaquin - phoenix from the flames

Player, team, position, value, points.
The highest scoring team possible this week in la ligafantasy football

Joaquin - return to form

R. Tamudo, RSO, Forward, 11.19, 24.50
D. Trezeguet, HER, Forward, 10.06, 16.00
Ronaldo, Real Mad, Forward, 43.83, 16.00

Joaquín, Valencia, Midfielder, 9.99, 27.00
J. Reyes, Athl Madrid, Midfielder, 14.49, 20.50
Farinós, HER, Midfielder, 3.06, 16.50 11.00
M. Arana, Racing, Midfielder, 7.09, 13.00

Marcelo, Real Mad, Defender, 13.57, 26.50
A. Lopo, Deportivo, Defender, 7.37, 21.00
Arbeloa, Real Mad, Defender, 6.21, 11.00

A. Adán, Real Mad, Goalkeeper, 8.43, 20.00


szólj hozzá: atlético-valencia 1-2


Special mentions:
G. Munúa, LEV, Goalkeeper, 12.30, 16.50
Toño, Racing, Goalkeeper, 8.46, 14.50


Key Points:

Adan - saved the game for Real

• Real Madrid have 4 in the top scoring XI
• 3 are defensive players, including a keeper. Espanyol gave them a good battering but they held on!
• 23 yr old Antonio Adan made his league debut in goal after Casillas was sent off. He made 5 saves - more than any other keeper this weekend - to help secure all three points for Mourinho's men.
• Nice to see Joaquin top score in a very mediocre period for him
• Amazing to see former multimillion pound man, Farinos register a mighty score for Hercules, and valued at a measly 3. This will need further investigation

My team?

• I got a high scoring front 3 with Adebayor, Tamudo and Rondon but was a bit disastrous elsewhere. 
• Prieto was suspended, Di Maria was substituted early on, and Barca had a defensive mare.
• Also Trezeguet had a great week despite my reservations

Team of the week 22: Valdo sinks Yellow Submarine!

Colunga - goals

L. Messi, Barcelona, Forward, 49.82, 38.00
C. Ronaldo, Real Mad, Forward, 43.83, 34.50
A. Colunga, Getafe, Forward, 16.36, 27.50

H. Bernardello, Almería, Midfielder, 10.59, 25.50
J. Gavilán, Getafe, Midfielder, 16.50, 18.50
D. López, Athl Bilbao, Midfielder, 17.59, 17.50
Kaká, Real Mad, Midfielder, 15.29, 17.50

M. Silva, ALM, Defender, 5.44, 11.50
M. Flaño, OSA, Defender, 8.70, 11.50
Weligton, MGA, Defender, 9.56, 11.00

G. Munúa, LEV, Goalkeeper, 12.30, 18.00

On the bench:
G. Toquero, Athl Bilbao, Forward, 15.28, 18.00
Miku, Getafe, Forward, 12.44, 18.00
Valdo, LEV, Midfielder, 11.65, 17.50

Round 22
5 Feb 11 Athletic Bilbao Sporting Gijon 3 - 0
5 Feb 11 FC Barcelona Atletico Madrid 3 - 0
5 Feb 11 Zaragoza Racing 1 - 1
5 Feb 11 Getafe Deportivo 4 - 1
5 Feb 11 Villarreal Levante 0 - 1
5 Feb 11 Almeria Espanyol 3 - 2
5 Feb 11 Osasuna Mallorca 1 - 1
6 Feb 11 Valencia Hércules 2 - 0
6 Feb 11 FC Sevilla Malaga 0 - 0
6 Feb 11 Real Madrid Real Sociedad 4 - 1

Total goals 28
Goals per match 2.8
Home wins 6
Draws 3
Away wins 1

(http://www.soccerstats.com/)

Team of the week in YFF: Alfonso FC

The boring news out the way: Barcelona 3-0 Atletico Madrid - Messi hattrick. Ronaldo gets brace, and Adebayor scores on first league start in Read Madrid 4-1 Sociedad.

Far more intriguing; the continuing excellence of Atletico Bilbao and Levante's Valdo.

Levante pulled off the shock result of the week, winning at Villarreal in the Valencian derby. Levante were 19th; Villarreal were unbeaten at home and on an excellent run of form with 5 wins in their last 7 games.

Somehow Valdo popped up to score in his second game in a row to steal the points. Super show.



Also Getafe got back to winning ways at long last against plummeting Deportivo. Deportivo are the out of form team in La Liga at the moment - a far cry from the days of Albert Luque and Juan Valeron in his pomp.

Week 21 preview: Barca's achilles heal - Hercules

Hercules (12th) v Barca (1st) - sat

Xinhuanet reminds us this week that "FC Barcelona travels to Alicante to face the only side to defeat them this season in Spain' s matchday 21 on Saturday."

Dani Alves has been training and could be back so Adriano may disappear back to the underworld before he is called upon again. Pedro should continue for me in attack. It doesn't seem necessary or tempting to splash out on expensive wonders such as Villa or Messi. Hercules main worry is Royston Drenthe. The dutch flanker has been in great form but since the recent pay dispute he and and his side seem to be in freefall.

Tempting players: only Pedro, maybe.

Osasuna (17th) v Real Madrid (2nd) - sun

Ade checks in

Real's new signing Emmanual Adebayor may be a boon for Jose Mourinho but the arrival of the Togolese striker only adds more uncertainty to the Real Madrid forward line for fantasy pickers. He's rumoured to be a certain starter but will Benzema be ditched after his match winning performance last week? Much aspersions have been cast about the French no.9 Benzema, who, it turns out, isn't a no.9 at all.

Tempting players: after recent disappointments, none feel safe.

Mallorca (9th) v Sporting Gijon (15th) - sat

Pierre Webo

This fixture would seem to offer the most juicy returns with Mallorca surely set to get back to winning ways against the league minnows. Forwards Tereja, Nsue, Perreira and Webo (all valued around the 10 mark) all started at the Bernabeau and any of these will surely be a profitable selection.

I'm tempted by Webo, if only because he's their top scorer and I haven't given him a run out before. It seems prudent to give him a run out at the expense of Benzema. I've also drafted in Nunes in defence after his glowing recommendation by Goal.com.

Tempting players: anyone who's fit at Mallorca, especially defensive line (GK Aouate) and forwards.

A.Madrid (7th) v A.Bilbao (6th) - sun

The clash of the Atleticos is one of the ties of the round. Madrid are stumbling along but could welcome back Reyes and Aguero. Bilbao however are flying and should be well in the mood to score an upset.

Tempting players: A.Madrid bargain defenders A.Lopez (2.46) and Perea (2.62).

Espanyol (5th) v Villarreal (3rd) - sun

Another exciting and hard to predict tie. It seems worth hanging on to baby Ruben up front for Villarreal, especially as Espanyol have just sold one of their best defenders. It would be nice to draft in a couple of Espanyol forward players such as Sergio Garcia or Callejon, but Villarreal's defenders and keeper will have to go.

Tempting players: Espanyol forwards, Garcia (a bargain at 11), Callejon (18) and Luis Garcia (16)

Tamudo

Real Sociedad (11th) v Almeria (18th) - sat

Could be an apt time to draft in superstar Xavi Prieto from the Sociedad midfield. The young buck has dropped in value to 12.76 and is surely likely to do the business for a Sociedad side who seem to be finding some form.

Also, veteran striker Tamudo comes in up front in the place of injured Javier Llorente and represents a tempting replacement for Villarreal's Ruben at 6.64.


Other games to consider:

Sat, Jan 29 Malaga v Zaragoza: a first win for newly moneyed Malaga against struggling Z?
Sat, Jan 29 Deportivo v Seville: a turgid but likely win for Seville.
Sat, Jan 29 Levante v Getafe: A good opportunity for Getafe to get their season back on track
Mon, Jan 31 Racing Santander v Valencia: Surely a win for Los Chos.