Monthly Archives: March 2012

Fernando Alonso wins thrilling Malaysian Grand Prix

Posted on by

Race Results

1st    Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 25 pts
2nd   Sergio Perez - Sauber - 18 pts
3rd    Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 15 pts
4th    Mark Webber - Red Bull-Renault - 12 pts
5th    Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus-Renault - 10 pts
6th    Bruno Senna - Williams-Renault - 8 pts
7th    Paul Di Resta - Force India-Mercedes - 6 pts
8th    Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso-Ferrari - 4 pts
9th    Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes - 2 pts
10th  Michael Schumacher - Mercedes GP - 1 pt

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso held off Sauber’s Sergio Perez to take a sensational victory in a thrilling, rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari is uncompetitive in the dry, but Alonso built a lead when the race resumed on a wet track after an early stoppage following heavy rain.

Perez caught him in the closing stages but ran wide and settled for second.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took third ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen.

Alonso built a seven-second lead after the race resumed following a stoppage after just six laps caused by a torrential downpour.

But, as the track dried, Perez closed the Spaniard’s lead to virtually nothing.

Alonso gained some respite when he switched to dry-weather slick tyres a lap before Perez, which took his lead back up to seven seconds.

After fitting the ‘hard’ tyres while Alonso chose the ‘medium’, Perez closed the gap to nothing in 10 laps and was on Alonso’s tail at the start of lap 50, with seven to go.

But no sooner had Perez caught the Ferrari than he made a mistake.

He got on to the kerb at Turn 14 and ran wide, and suddenly Alonso’s lead was back up to five seconds.

Although Perez closed in again, Alonso now had enough of a cushion to take a 28th career victory – behind only Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell in the all-time list.

Alonso, who is now leading the world championship by five points from Hamilton, said the victory was “a big surprise”.

“We were not competitive in Australia or here,” he added. “Our goal was to score as many points as possible and we did the job.

“It is an unbelievable result, a great job from the team. We maximised the potential in our hands, keeping calm in some strange conditions at the beginning with inters and the switching to dry tyres.

“The team deserve this win. It’s a tough time for us at the moment, but this is a Sunday we will remember.”

Perez said he felt he had missed an opportunity to win.

“I was catching Fernando towards the end of the race,” he said.

“I knew I had to get him soon because in all the high-speed corners I was losing my front tyres running behind him.

“Then I ran wide in the quick left-hander. I touched the kerb and I went onto the dirty side of the track. It was completely wet and I lost the win.”

It was a remarkable result considering Ferrari’s struggles with their car – and it was matched by Perez’s performance.

The race started on a damp track after a shower of rain, with most drivers on the ‘intermediate’ tyres with relatively light treads.

But heavy rain started on lap two, and Perez immediately dived into the pits to fit full wet tyres.

It worked to the Mexican’s favour. As the leading drivers pitted for wet tyres on laps four and five, he moved up the field and was lying third behind the two McLarens of Hamilton and Button when the race was stopped on lap six – when Alonso was fifth behind Webber.

But the decisive part of the race came after the re-start, as Alonso emerged in second place after all the drivers had stopped to fit intermediate tyres and immediately passed Perez for the lead on lap 16.

He pulled away in relentless fashion, the fastest car on the track for several laps, building what turned out to be a decisive lead of 7.7 seconds on lap 30, before Perez began to come back at him.

Alonso’s experience told in the end, but both men celebrated one of the most remarkable and unexpected results in recent F1 history.

Third-placed Lewis Hamilton said: “I think we can be satisfied. First of all congratulations to Fernando and Sergio, they both drove fantastically well and it was very difficult to catch them.

“I can’t really complain, I was on the podium for the second race in a row.” (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/)

Click here to go to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy F1 site and update your team before the next race!

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

F1 2012 Round 2 Preview – Malaysia

Posted on by

Circuit Name: Sepang International Circuit

Circuit Length: 5.543 Km

Laps: 56

Lap Record: 1:34.223 = 211.782 km/h – J. Montoya (Williams BMW) 2004

2011 Results

Pole Position: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault); 1:34.870 = 210.338 km/h

1st: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault) 1:37.39.832
2nd: Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes)
3rd: Nick Heidfeld (Lotus Renault)

Fastest Lap: Mark Webber (Red Bull Renault); 1:40.571 – 198.415 km/h on Lap 46

2012 Preview

From the tight confines of a street circuit to the flowing, undulating lay-out created specially by Hermann Tilke (it was his first track in F1): what will the contrast tell us about the 2012 machinery?

“Sepang will be interesting for everybody,” says Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, “because it will be the first clue to the real relative strengths of all the cars.”

If that’s the case, watch for another sterling performance from McLaren and particularly from Jenson Button. That combination looked, already, the class of the field in Melbourne and since these races are back-to-back that hasn’t given the chasing pack much margin for improvement before Sunday’s race.

And how will Pirelli’s new-for-2012 tyres cope with the Sepang conditions? It’s never really dry there: even when it’s not raining the humidity touches 80%! It’s also hot (track temperature up to 50 degrees) and the Sepang track surface is unusually abrasive.

So Pirelli will take the P Zero Silver for its first outing this year – it’s the hardest of their dry-weather compounds. The option will be the P Zero White (medium) tyre we saw in Australia. Watch for the left-hand tyres doing most of the work.

One man keen to make a big impression, after being cruelly denied the chance to do so in Australia, is Romain Grosjean. The Lotus man has raced at Sepang before in GP2 and can’t wait to get back out there. “It’s nice and wide,” he says, “with fast flowing corners and a lot of undulation which makes it great fun to drive. The last corner is a tricky one, but I enjoy everything about racing here.”

Track characteristics: two long straights with very tight corners at the ends… high-speed sections like Turns 5 and 6 as well as twisty stuff like Turns 1 and 2… a super overtaking opportunity into the left-hander at Turn 15 and the 660m sprint to the first corner, the second-longest after Barcelona.

P2 in 2010 is Mark Webber’s best Sepang result, though he has been in the points on three other occasions; Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, makes his Malaysian debut with Toro Rosso. Can the young Aussie build on his brilliant last-lap burst into the points in his home debut? Point to note: Heikki Kovalainen will pay a five-place grid penalty after being found guilty of passing Sebastian Vettel under the Safety Car in Melbourne. (Source: http://www.grandprix.com.au/)

Click here to go to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy F1 site and update your team now.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Gameweek 29 Player Analysis

Posted on by

Carlos Tevez returns to help City see off Chelsea and stay just a point behind United. Thomas Vermaelen notches again as Arsenal’s six-match winning run sees them overtake Spurs in third, Rafael Van der Vaart snatches a late equaliser at the Lane, while Liverpool continue to struggle at the back in the absence of Daniel Agger.

Carlos Tevez
A 24 minute cameo from the bench was enough for the Argentine to present evidence that City’s title tilt could depend on his contribution from here on in. Tevez was immaculate in possession and it was his intelligence and perfectly timed reverse pass into the path of Samir Nasri that opened up the Chelsea back four for the winning goal. Fantasy managers must now assess the impact of Tevez’ return on the City frontline, which now seems set for increased rotation. Roberto Mancini will surely be tempted to turn to Tevez for the testing trip to Stoke this weekend but has suggested that the striker is still some way from full fitness. From his post-match comments, we can expect to see Tevez used from the bench once again at the Britannia…

Carlos is two or three weeks away from full fitness but he showed his football brain in the minutes that he was on the pitch…He will be an important player for us. He has been back a month now and is in the dressing room happy like all the players.

Mario Balotelli
While Tevez re-introduced himself as a potential Fantasy asset, Balotelli’s stock took a nose dive with an impetuous display, epitomised by a snatched effort when put through one-on-one with Petr Cech. Balotelli’s frustration boiled over and led to him being replaced at half-time as Mancini introduced Gareth Barry to his midfield, pushing Yaya Toure up in support of Sergio Aguero. Mancini admitted…

I didn’t like the way Mario played in the first half so I made a tactical substitution.

Having emerged as a regular starter in recent weeks, there must now be doubts over Balotelli’s role in the side, with Tevez pushing for starts and minutes from the bench. Edin Dzeko also saw action in last night’s game and his height may well be called up for the Britannia visit. It seems likely that Mario will be given at least a week off, then.

Samir Nasri
The former Arsenal man has struggled to replicate his Emirates performances but last night’s display, capped by the winning goal, suggested that he may yet need to be considered in Fantasy terms. Nasri was City’s bright spark throughout and was unfortunate not to find the net with a first sublime first half effort that sailed over a hapless Cech, only to find the Etihad crossbar. While David Silva continues to struggle to produce returns, Nasri looked to offer a sharper cutting edge and, if we can be more secure about his starting role, will be a differential worth considering over the run-in. While Mancini recognised the performance of the Frenchman, he also suggested that he expected more from the playmaker…

Samir played his best game for us but he can do better. He can be as good as David Silva and Xavi. He is that type of player and still young so he can improve a lot.

Gareth Bale
While Spurs continue to struggle to find form, the Welshman does his best to drag Harry Redknapp’s side out of their slumber. A superb cross for Rafael Van der Vaart’s equaliser was the highlight of another strong display by Bale, after earlier being denied a second half goal by the woodwork. While confidence in Bale will be declining amongst Fantasy managers, his level of performance against Stoke was high and suggested that he remains a prime asset which should flourish again if Spurs can rediscover some confidence and form.

Rafael Van der Vaart
Recalled to the starting lineup, the Dutchman stooped to head a vital equaliser late on and provided a persistent threat on the Stoke goal throughout. Peppering the opponents goal, Van der Vaart looked dangerous and could well be in Redknapp’s plans for the trip to Chelsea. Like Nasri, Van der Vaart may well sneak back into our Fantasy thinking as a short-term differential if he can cement a starting role. A start at Stamford Bridge looks likely with Redknapp confirming that Emmanuel Adebayor remains a doubt, having missed last night’s game with a hamstring injury.

Thomas Vermaelen
The Belgian climbed to power home his fifth goal of the season in last night’s 1-0 victory at Goodison – proof once again of his substantial goal threat from both open play and set-pieces. While the attention of Fantasy managers has been drawn to the raiding runs of Bacary Sagna of late, Vermaelen undoubtedly offers the potential for heavier profit – it’s his hefty price tag that remains the obstacle to acquisition. However, Arsenal are showing real progress having won six league games on the trot and the back four are beginning look more resolute. Wenger took time to recognise the efforts of his back four in his post-match comments:

We were resilient, focused and showed a great desire to defend – our defence played very well tonight… We defended well on crosses – something which is not usually our strong point – and overall we never panicked.

Last night was their first clean sheet in six league games but, with some kind fixtures to come, that record may well improve. That may well tempt investment with Vermaelen emerging as a potential differential – a defender capable of fetching defensive returns with the likelihood of one or two more goals before the season end.

Liverpool Defence
With Fantasy managers loading up on Liverpool players for their Gameweek 28 double fixture, many would have gone into last night’s fixture at QPR with at least one installed in their squad. With the final quarter of the game remaining, a clean sheet looked likely, only for Kenny Dalglish’s side to capitulate and concede three soft goals. The loss of Dan Agger to a rib injury appears to have derailed the back four: they’ve now kept just a single clean sheet in the last five league games – against Everton at Anfield. A home fixture with Wigan this weekend offers a reprieve – fail to achieve a shut-out in that one and we’re likely to see steady sales of their defensive assets with the likes of Vermaelen under consideration. (Source: http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk)

Click here to go straight to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy Football site.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Did you know?

Posted on by
  • Manchester City have set a new Premier League record of 20 consecutive home wins. Only Liverpool, Newcastle and Preston North End have also done this in the top flight.
     
  • Since Fabio Capello resigned as England manager, Tottenham have picked up only 4 points from a possible 15.
     
  • Norwich have conceded in 29 consecutive top flight away games – a Premier League record.

Click here to go to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy Football website.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Gameweek 29 Results Round-Up

Posted on by

Wednesday 21st March

Man City               2 – 1            Chelsea
Goalscorers: G. Cahill, S. Aguero (pen), S. Nasri

Tottenham           1 – 1            Stoke
Goalscorers: C. Jerome, R. Van der Vaart

Everton                0 – 1            Arsenal
Goalscorers: T. Vermaelen

QPR                      3 – 2            Liverpool
Goalscorers: S. Coates, D. Kuyt, S. Derry, D. Cisse, J. Mackie


Tuesday 20th March

Aston Villa           P – P            Bolton
Postponed: no new date confirmed

Blackburn           2 – 0             Sunderland
Goalscorers: D. Hoilett, A. Yakubu


Sunday 18th March

Wolves                0 – 5             Man Utd
Goalscorers: J. Evans, A. Valencia, D. Welbeck, J. Hernandez (2)

Newcastle           1 – 0             Norwich
Goalscorers: P. Cisse


Saturday 17th March

Fulham                0 – 3              Swansea
Goalscorers: G. Sigurdsson (2), J. Allen

Wigan                  1 – 1              West Brom
Goalscorers: J. McArthur, P. Scharner
 

Click here to visit the Fantasy Football site and check the progress of your team now!

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Jenson Button wins Australian Grand Prix for McLaren

Posted on by

McLaren’s Jenson Button dominated the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton finished third.

Button, who qualified second to his team-mate, beat him into the first corner and pulled away to win.

Hamilton lost second place to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel after an unlucky break with a safety car, and the German was able to hold him off.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber was fourth, ahead of the surprisingly quick Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was on course to take a close sixth, but he lost control while chasing Alonso on the last lap and crashed at the Turn Seven kink.

That handed sixth place to Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese won out in a seven-car fight to the flag.

In a chaotic final lap, Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, impressive on his return after two years in rallying, took seventh ahead of the second Sauber of Sergio Perez.

The Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo, Force India’s Paul di Resta, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne and the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, who had been eighth until Maldonado’s crash led to frantic place-swapping, followed.

Button was serenely unaware of the drama behind him – he was in a league of his own throughout the race after making a better start than Hamilton and passing him down the inside into Turn One.

“As a team it really shows how important the winter is,” said Button, who kicked off his 2009 championship-winning year with victory in Australia.

“We had a strong winter and qualifying really shows that. It’s nice to come away with a win in the first race of the season.”

“Every win means a lot to you.”

Hamilton was slightly more than three seconds behind Button by the time of their first pit stops, which he made one lap later than Button.

That meant he came out behind Perez and in the four laps it took Hamilton to pass the Mexican, Button extended his lead to more than 10 seconds.

Button held his lead at about that margin until they both made their second stops on lap 36, but a safety car deployed on the next lap to enable the recovery of the stranded Caterham of Vitaly Petrov cost Hamilton again.

“It wasn’t my day,” said Hamilton, who started the race on pole. “I just have to keep my head down and my day will come.”

Alonso drove a strong race after a disastrous qualifying session had left him in 12th place.

The Ferrari had looked very hard to drive throughout the weekend but it showed a surprising turn of race pace.

The Spaniard drove a feisty, consistent race and although he was not able to hang on to the McLarens and Red Bulls he was able to hold off Maldonado to take fifth until the Venezuelan crashed on the last lap.

Mercedes faded after a strong qualifying. Rosberg had run fourth in the early laps, just behind team-mate Michael Schumacher, who retired with gearbox failure on lap 11 while trying to fend off Vettel. (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/)

Click here to go to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy F1 site and update your team before the next race!

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Did you know?

Posted on by
  • Steven Gerrard has now scored seven goals in Premier League Merseyside derbies, breaking Robbie Fowler’s record of six.
     
  • Before last weekend’s game, Victor Moses had attempted 72 shots in the Premier League this season but scored only two goals.
      
  • Excluding blocked shots, Nikica Jelavic scored with his first shot at goal in Premier League football.
     
  • Top African scorers in the Premier League :
    - 100 goals – Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
    - 99 goals - Yakubu (Nigeria)
    - 72 goals – Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
    - 54 goals – Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
    - 53 goals – Efan Ekoku (Nigeria)

Click here to go to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy Football website.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Don’t forget… Mortgage Brain Fantasy F1 is back for 2012!

Posted on by

Only 2 days left to submit your Fantasy F1 team!

The NEW season is right around the corner so log in now to start building your fantasy team! If you played last year you will already be registered, so simply use your existing username / password to join the fun!

Courtesy of Berkeley Alexander, this year you could be in with a chance of winning an Xbox 360 & Kinect bundle so join now. There are also bottles of wine up for grabs for this season’s 4 mini competitions.

The 2012 F1 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on the 18th of March and it’s shaping up to be an exciting year. The return of Kimi Raikkonen will renew some old rivalries and we will also see the debut of a new circuit in Austin, Texas! The stepped nose has been the talk of the F1 paddocks this pre-season. Will McLaren’s decision not to go with this new technology influence their championship chances?

To score points from the first race, you will need to submit your team by 5:00pm on 16th March at the very latest – or you’ll be playing catch up from the start.

What are you waiting for? Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!

Click here to play now.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Latest Fantasy Football player/team news…

Posted on by

Anderson injured
The Manchester United midfielder picked up a hamstring injury during training for the 2 – 0 win over West Brom. Sources suggest he could be out for a while.

Løvenkrands injured
Peter Løvenkrands will likely miss the rest of the season after rupturing a muscle in training.

Nani injured?
Nani is possibly out for a few weeks after missing the West Brom game due to an injury picked up in training.

Lescott injured
Joleon Lescott is set to miss a few games due to a groin injury.

Kompany injured
Vincent Kompany will be out for an unknown time after limping off the pitch after 8 minutes against Sporting Lisbon.

Click here to go to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy Football website and update your team.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here

Fantasy Football Fixture Analysis

Posted on by

THE STRONG

Man Utd

A return to the top of the league last weekend, followed by an incredibly kind run of fixtures, is set to see the transfers-in of Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad continue to snowball. United have now scored two or more goals in all but one of their last 14 fixtures as the goals keep flowing- compare that to City’s two goals in their last six on the road and the difference in consistency is marked.

Wayne Rooney’s seven goals in his last four are indicative of his step up in performance and, with trips to Wolves, Blackburn and Wigan, in addition to home clashes against Fulham, QPR and Villa in the next six, it’s obvious that Robin Van Persie has a clear rival for the captain’s armband.

Ashley Young, with attacking returns in each of his last three appearances, will continue to see investment, while Antonio Valencia –expected back this week- has now dropped to 7.6 in price and could find his way into plenty teams if he can return to the United right. Valencia’s price, compared to Young’s 9.8 and Nani’s 10.0 is a huge factor in his favour. At the back, the same applies to Jonny Evans- the Irishman has started the last eight and, with a single goal conceded in their last four at Old Trafford, is a real bargain at 4.7. Phil Jones’ versatility affords him a look in, while David De Gea’s improved form suggests Anders Lindegaard faces a battle to regain his first-team place when fit.

Liverpool

There’s no doubt they have the fixtures- the question is whether Kenny Dalglish’s side can scramble together a semblance of form to take advantage of their upcoming schedule. Liverpool have the second best defensive record in the league but their standards at the back are slowly slipping, with five goals conceded in the last three matches. Daniel Agger has been a definite miss and if the Dane can recover from a rib injury, faith in the Reds’ backline should be re-established. With home clashes against Wigan, Villa and Fulham, allied with trips to QPR and Blackburn in the next six, owners of Martin Skrtel and Jose Enrique will remain confident of defensive returns.

Up front, the lack of faith is obvious. Liverpool continue to have plenty of efforts- indeed, they have had more shots than the likes of Arsenal and Man United, but Luis Suarez and co have been plagued with an inability to put the ball in the back of the net. Aside from the bottom three, only Stoke and Everton have scored less and, in spite of their outstanding schedule, investment in attacking options can hardly be justified right now.

West Brom

Last weekend’s defeat at Old Trafford brought their winning run to an end but Roy Hodgson’s side are afforded plenty chances over the next six gameweeks to rack up the points once again. Home clashes with Newcastle, Blackburn and QPR, in addition to a trip to Wigan, look tempting.

James Morrison’s role in the hole has boosted his Fantasy prospects considerably and, priced at just 5.3, the Scotsman has proven to be a strong cut-price option over the last few gameweeks. Chris Brunt’s return from an ankle injury may see investment come his way, Peter Odemwingie’s move to the right has seen him step up in goal returns, while Gareth McAuley’s guaranteed game time and 4.2 price tag offers a bargain basement route into Roy Hodgson’s back-four.

Bolton

The Trotters began a favourable run of fixtures with victory over QPR last week- a result which saw Owen Coyle’s side climb out of the bottom three after a prolonged period in the drop zone. The schedule continues to look kind; trips to Villa and Wolves and home games against Blackburn and Fulham affords Bolton the perfect opportunity to maintain their climb up the table.

Adam Bogdan and Tim Ream both looked to have cemented their places in the first XI of late and priced at 4.0 apiece, offer the cheapest route into the Trotters’ defence. Ryo Miyaichi justified our recent faith with an assist for the winner last Saturday- with so few of his team mates producing, the youngster’s creativity looks key to his side’s fortunes.

Also consider…

Fulham – in the short-term, at least, the Cottagers look to have three out of four winnable fixtures. Home games against Swansea and Norwich, with a visit to Bolton also on the agenda, will surely see plenty more investment in Clint Dempsey and Pavel Pogrebnyak. With one goal conceded in the last three, Mark Schwarzer is looking a safe pair of hands right now, too.

Arsenal – games against Villa, QPR, Wolves and Wigan in the next six suggest plentiful returns for Robin Van Persie. Investment in the likes of Theo Walcott could prove dividend, while Alex Song’s steady supply of assists and the flourishing form of Thomas Rosicky continue to creep under the mid-price radar.

THE WEAK

Wigan

Roberto Martinez’s side may have tasted defeat just once in their last five but one look at the fixture list suggests they’ll be hard pushed to keep up their recent mini-revival. In-form West Brom, Stoke and United all roll up to the DW, while road trips to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal suggest the opportunities for points may be few and far between.

With a single clean sheet since December, Ali Al-Habsi will be reliant on save points to boost his tally, while Victor Moses’ recent upturn in attacking returns on the road will be severely tested by the upcoming schedule.

QPR

Without a clean sheet since defeating nine-man Chelsea back in Gameweek 9 and with just 10 goals in the eight games since Mark Hughes’s installation in the Loftus Road hot seat, QPR’s form at both ends of the pitch has been far from impressive.

Recent defeats by fellow-strugglers Wolves, Blackburn and Bolton have done little to install confidence since Neil Warnock’s departure and with (LIV, sun, ARS, mun) up next, the future is anything but bright. Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora look likely to struggle for goals, while the backline’s inability to keep out opponents is afforded little chance of a let-up as the fixture list shows no mercy on Hughes’ out-of-sorts outfit.

Aston Villa

An obliging home fixture against Bolton offers Alex McLeish’s side the chance to build on last week’s win over Fulham but, beyond that, the midlands outfit look up against it. Between Gameweeks 30-34, Villa go head to head with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United, suggesting McLeish will still have some work to do if Villa are to reach the 40 point mark in the near future.

The loss of Darren Bent up front has seen Villa score just twice in the last four fixtures but the backline has improved of late, with just two goals conceded in those four. A look at those upcoming opponents, however, suggests McLeish’s outfit may be hard pushed to rely on their defence to dig them out of trouble.

Also be wary of…

Norwich – Paul Lambert’s men have, potentially, one fairly straightforward fixture in the next six. A home clash with Wolves in Gameweek 30 looks appetising but, aside from that, trips to Newcastle, Fulham and Spurs, with home games against Everton and City, look tricky for the likes of Anthony Pilkington and Grant Holt.

Man City – City’s away form is threatening to bring their title bid to a standstill, after an outstanding first half to the season. The 1-0 defeat at Swansea was the fourth time in six games they have failed to score on the road and, with United playing at home when City are away, the points swing in certain gameweeks could prove to be substantial. With Chelsea, Stoke, Sunderland and Arsenal up next, Roberto Mancini’s side need to quickly rediscover their eye for goal or they face being left behind by a resurgent United. (Source: http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk)

Click here to go straight to the Mortgage Brain Fantasy Football site.

Mike Raybone
Chartered Marketer and emarketing specialist

Join the Mortgage Brain Linkedin group… click here