AM's Week 14 Fantasy Player Picks

It's a quick turnaround for Week 14 with a full Premier League midweek schedule starting on Tuesday and concluding on Wednesday. This means a Tuesday deadline - at 12:00 GMT for some reason - so you have very little time to sort out your fantasy team/s.

PREDICTED WINS
MANCHESTER CITY @ Wigan
CHELSEA v Fulham
MANCHESTER UNITED v West Ham
TOTTENHAM v Liverpool
SOUTHAMPTON v Norwich
SUNDERLAND v QPR

I don't see any clear stand-out fixtures this week but I feel all the teams in upper-case above have a good chance of picking up 3 points, with home advantage obviously playing a big part in that (with the exception of City @ Wigan).

PREDICTED DRAWS
Swansea v West Brom
Everton v Arsenal
Aston Villa v Reading
Stoke v Newcastle

If all 4 of the games above end 1-1 I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. I don't see any of the teams holding a major advantage over their opponent so it's difficult to favour too many of the players from these fixtures.

These are the players I'm recommending.

KEEPERS
Lloris - He's played 3 games in a row now and is slowly starting to look the part. It's harsh on Brad Friedel but Hugo Lloris is the future, he's still cheap and I think Spurs will beat Liverpool.
Mignolet - The Sunderland man had a nightmare against West Brom and this has led to his price dropping significantly but he's a quality keeper and has a clean sheet chance as QPR come to visit.
Guzan - His price remains low despite a good performance and clean sheet against Arsenal and I'm expecting Villa to be up for the Reading game - a game they really must win.

DEFENDERS
Shorey - The fullback is on fantasy-fire with shots on targets, successful crosses and assists negating the fact that Reading won't keep many clean sheets.
Nastasic - Keeping Joleon Lescott out of the Mancester City side, looking very solid in defence and a threat from set pieces
Vertonghen - Continues to look a threat going forward; I imagine the majority of our readers are holding him below 6 and at that price he is a season keeper if he avoids injury.
Bassong - The man sold to clear room for Vertonghen is having a superb season at Norwich and remains a solid defensive pick despite an away match.
Shotton - Should keep his spot after a fine performance against Fulham and remains affordable.
Fabio - Expected to return to the QPR line-up this weekend and is a good filler option.

MIDFIELDERS
Bale - Quite magnificent against West Ham and unlucky not to score twice, he's very expensive but quite capabale of returning 20-25 points against Liverpool.
Sessegnon - Neal and myself agree that he's starting to look like his old self and now has 2 goals in 2 games. He was Sunderland's best player against West Brom and will get chances against QPR.
Lallana - I dropped him on Saturday morning to bring Hitzlsperger in which proved to be a massive mistake. Southampton's captain is one of this season's most consistent point scorers and the Lallana-Ramirez-Puncheon-Lambert attacking quartet looks really exciting.
A.Johnson - Settling in nicely now and on the majority of set pieces for Sunderland.
Ramirez - If you can't afford Lallana but want a Southampton representative in your midfield then Gaston Ramirez is your man, playing just behind the main striker.
Cazorla - He's already in your team and should remain there.
Sterling - I really enjoyed his performance at Swansea and he seems to be improving game by game. Returned double figures without a goal and remains nicely priced.
Oscar - Fulham's poor away record is well documented and Oscar is the cheapest way to get a Chelsea representative in your team.

STRIKERS
van Persie - I've noticed almost everyone dropping him after poor returns against QPR but West Ham aren't great on the road, were very poor against Spurs and Robin van Persie rarely has two quiet games in a row. I may keep him.
Defoe - It's safe to say I regret sticking with Luis Suarez in Week 14. Defoe looked sharp, scored a wonder-goal and a tap in to delight fantasy manager who picked him for the West Ham game and is guaranteed to start the next two league games while Adebayor completes his suspension.
Tevez - Rested at Chelsea until the last 20 minutes, he'll return to the starting line-up for City's trip to Wigan and has looked sharp in recent weeks.
Rooney - If you think Manchester United will beat West Ham but would rather not spend 26+ on RvP then Rooney looked pretty good against QPR and will save you a few dollars.
Mata - Chelsea should beat Fulham quite comfortably and Mata is due a big performance and a goal.
Fletcher - Had a quiet game against an in-form West Brom but we know his quality in front of goal and as mentioned earlier I'm expecting lots of chances for Sunderland against QPR.
Benteke - If you're looking to do something different then the Villa powerhouse could be a good option against a Reading side who leak goals.

I haven't started looking at my team yet and missed the Saturday afternoon barndoor so I'll post an update it in the comments section as soon as I've made some decisions. How's your team shaping up?