Out: Fantasy-relevant players who have been confirmed out for the week, either through injury or suspension
Doubt: Players facing the dreaded fitness test, rotation concerns and those who are out of form/favor
In: The likeliest replacements for the Outs & Doubts or those returning from injury
Win: Fantasy player to watch / my hunch pick of the week
Note: Game Week 35 begins this weekend for Official BPL and Togga, while Fantrax is already in the midst of GW35.
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Arsenal
Out: Santi Cazorla
Doubt: Mathieu Flamini, Olivier Giroud (rotation), Per Mertesacker (rotation), Aaron Ramsey (rotation), Tomas Rosicky (fitness), Jack Wilshere (fitness)
In: Francis Coquelin, Gabriel Paulista, Danny Welbeck (all rotation)
Win: Alexis Sanchez
Coming off Thursday starts, Giroud, Mertesacker and/or Ramsey could be rotated out in favor of Welbeck, Gabriel and/or Coquelin, respectively. Alexis is simply on fire and there's no reason to think that will not continue at the Stadium of Light, though it would certainly be nice to see Mesut Ozil return to form.
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Out: Gabriel Agbonlahor (suspension), Jordan Amavi
Doubt: Ciaran Clark, Kieran Richardson
In: Micah Richards, Jack Grealish
Win: N/A
If there's something that absolutely sums up this season for Aston Villa, could there be a more apropos combination than Agbonlahor's laughing gas and alcohol-related suspension? One was not enough, not this year! Even though the game's at Villa Park and there's a limited number of games, there's no reason to pretend you don't have loads of better options than anybody from Villa.
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Out: Benik Afobe, Harry Arter, Tyrone Mings, Adam Smith
Doubt: Josh King (rotation)
In: Callum Wilson
Win: Junior Stanislas
After coming off the bench against Liverpool, early season hat trick hero Wilson could start for the first time since his September injury. If so, King would likely make way. However, a starting pair of Stanislas and Wilson may be asking too much given that Stanislas fairly recently returned from injury as well. Even so, with Chelsea's issues at the back end combined with the locale, the offensive side is probably the way to go here.
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Out: Thibaut Courtois (suspension), Loic Remy, John Terry, Kurt Zouma
Doubt: N/A
In: Asmir Begovic, Eden Hazard
Win: Diego Costa
Eden Hazard is fit to play, but probably not enough to earn a start. Begovic will take over the keeper spot with Courtois out for a two game red card suspension, but otherwise the squad should remain the same. Costa, who served his own suspension recently, will look to make more positive headlines at Dean Court while the defense could struggle again with Terry and Zouma still out injured on top of the keeper switch.
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No Game
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No Game
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Out: Matty James (fitness), Jamie Vardy (suspension)
Doubt: N/A
In: Leonardo Ulloa
Win: Kasper Schmeichel
Ulloa is not quite a like for like replacement for the speedy Vardy, but he's not exactly chopped liver either. Still, that should make it easier for the Swans to clamp down on Riyad Mahrez. Given the visitors' lack of offensive prowess, a 1-0 win that the Foxes have been so fond of in recent weeks seems pretty likely which would leave Schmeichel and the defenders as beneficiaries.
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Out: Christian Benteke, Emre Can, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Danny Ings, Divock Origi
Doubt: Martin Skrtel (injury); Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and/or James Milner (possible rotation)
In: Joe Allen, Jordon Ibe, Sheyi Ojo, Kevin Stewart, Daniel Sturridge
Win: Daniel Sturridge
Origi's injury against Everton midweek should leave Daniel Sturridge taking over his spot in the starting line-up. Given the looming Europa tie at Villarreal amidst a ridiculously congested string of 13 (!!!) fixtures from early April through the end of the season in mid-May, several Liverpool cogs could be rested, with recently injured Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino seeming the most likely contenders.
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Out: Samir Nasri
Doubt: Aleksandar Kolarov, Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala, Jesus Navas and/or Pablo Zabaleta (rotation)
In: Gael Clichy, Nicolas Otamendi, David Silva, Raheem Sterling
Win: Sergio Aguero
Manuel Pellegrini has indicated that he will field a strong team ahead of the Champions League semifinal tie, easing concerns that red hot Sergio Aguero and ever dangerous Kevin De Bruyne will be rested against the Potters at the Etihad. However, the back line is even more up in the air than usual; Kompany looked very rusty on his comeback from injury as the Kompany/Mangala combination struggled against Newcastle, leaving the door open for Otamendi to nab a possible start, while Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna return from injury and could replace Kolarov and/or Zabaleta (whose defensive efforts also left a lot to be desired midweek) as wing backs. David Silva is fit to play, though possibly not enough to start; either Silva or Sterling could slot in for Navas and improve the offensive outlook.
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No Game
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Out: Fabricio Colloccini, Paul Dummett, Robert Elliott, Daryl Janmaat, Massadio Haidara, Tim Krul, Steven Taylor
Doubt: Vurnon Anita (rotation), Yoan Gouffran (fitness)
In: Kevin Mbabu
Win: Andros Townsend
Newcastle has plenty of players on the shelf, and Rafa Benitez may look to Kevin Mbabu on his return from injury to take over at the back for out of place Vurnon Anita. After all, with a tough visit to Anfield, it may be wise to play four proper defenders rather than continuing with a page from Louis Van Gaal's midfielder-as-defender playbook. Liverpool is far more dangerous on offense than defense, hence the pick of Townsend who is not only shooting plenty, but actually converting a fair share and mixing in the odd assist as well.
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No Game
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Out: Charlie Austin, Gaston Ramirez
Doubt: Florin Gardos (fitness)
In: N/A
Win: Graziano Pelle
With little in the way of injury concerns or recoveries, an unchanged starting 11 could easily be in order and those 11 will be ecstatic to be facing Villa. Take your pick among the usual stars Sadio Mane, Pelle and Dusan Tadic, while Fraser Forster and the back line should provide handsome return on investment as well.
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Out: Jack Butland, Glen Johnson, Eric Pieters (suspension), Xherdan Shaqiri, Jonathan Walters, Marc Wilson
Doubt: Marc Munesia (rotation)
In: Phil Barsley (rotation), Joselu
Win: Marco Arnautovic
Xherdan Shaqiri's injury leaves Joselu the likely replacement in attacking midfield. It would not be a surprise to see a defensive shake-up following the 4-0 shellacking at the hands of Hotspurs, with Bardsley perhaps replacing Muniesa. There may not be much joy at the Etihad, but Arnautovic is usually a decent roll of the dice.
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Out: N/A
Doubt: Jeremain Lens, DeAndre Yedlin
In: Billy Jones, Jack Rodwell
Win: Jan Kirchhoff
DeAndre Yedlin will face the dreaded game time fitness test, with Billy Jones the likely replacement if he cannot go. Jack Rodwell is available, but it may be difficult for him to crack the starting line-up.
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Out: N/A
Doubt: Jack Cork or Jefferson Montero (rotation)
In: Leon Britton
Win: Ashley Williams
Leon Britton is available and may come in for Jack Cork or Jefferson Montero, neither of whom has locked down a starting spot. I would be more surprised to see Swansea score than I would to see Leicester not score, so I feel better about Ashley Williams than Gylfi Sigurdsson this week.
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Out: Nabil Bentaleb
Doubt: N/A
In: N/A
Win: Christian Eriksen
Spurs have their fixtures well spaced out, so the starting 11 seems pretty set in place. With Alexis Sanchez scoring off a set piece on Thursday against West Brom in Arsenal's comfortable 2-0 home win, Christian Eriksen seems like as good a choice as any, but you really can't go wrong with anyone among Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld, Harry Kane, Erik Lamela and Hugo Lloris.
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No Game
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Out: Chris Brunt, James Morrison
Doubt: James Chester, Craig Gardner, Sandro (all rotation)
In: Jonas Olsson, James McClean, Salomon Rondon
Win: Jonny Evans
From the Emirates to White Hart Lane, Albion's travels do not get any easier. Rondon and McClean were rested midweek and could return to the starting lineup, displacing Sandro and Gardner, respectively. Meanwhile, James Chester's hold on the starting spot may have vanished with Olsson perhaps grabbing it back after the Gunners failed to score in the second half on Thursday after Olsson replaced him.
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No Game
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My fantasy teams (named Stallone Wall) at the moment:
Schmeichel / Bellerin, Fuchs, Monreal, Otamendi / Alli, Mahrez, Ozil / Aguero (C), Kane (V), Pelle / Bench: Evans, Payet, Antonio, McCarthy [Official BPL]
Cech / Chester, Koscielny, Lascelles, Otamendi / De Bruyne, Iwobi, Townsend / Aguero, Sanchez, Welbeck [Fantrax]
Schmeichel / Fuchs, Rose, Van Dijk, Walker / De Bruyne, Eriksen, Ozil, Townsend / Aguero, Kane [Togga Perfect XI]
How are your squads coming together?