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Nigel French/EMPICS Sport
transfer madness

Fantasyland: Keep calm, your window is open 'til 11.30 tomorrow morning

Keep your head (and your star players) while all around are losing theirs.

AS JIM WHITE scurries his way across London and into the SkySports studio, it’s easy to get carried away and sit gazing at your team wondering, worrying who might be snapped from your grasp by a late night bid from Anzhi Makhachkala.

Don’t worry about it.

Trust that you’ve picked a decent core of players who are settled and happy (or failing that recently acquired) at their clubs. Truly meaningful signings are rare on deadline day. Unless you’ve built your team around Jay Spearing or Rafa van der Vaart you’ve no reason to let the blood boil.

With noon long past, there won’t be any further inbound deals going to effect the Premier League this week either. So keep calm, breath and pick the team like you would before any other Saturday.

Two players to pick this week

Carlos Tevez: The City of Manchester Stadium won’t have to wait as long to celebrate their win over QPR this time round. However, they are without ‘Aguerrrrroooooo!’ so the other Argentinian will shoulder the burden of finding holes in the sieve that is Mark Hughes’ defence.

Hatem Ben Arfa: Speaking of leaky defences, Aston Villa take their calamitous early season form to the north-east. Newcastle were by no means at their best in the opening day win over Spurs, but a win it was. And Ben Arfa was at the heart of everything they created.

Two players to avoid

Shay Given: I hate to do this to such a great servant to the green jersey, but I did say Aston Villa were calamitous. He’s unlikely to commit a howler like the one which allowed Marouane Fellaini to claim his second goal of the season, but he will have to return to his very best to keep a clean sheet against his old club.

Anyone from Chelsea: Take that captain’s armband off wee Edin Hazard. Chelsea are sitting this gameweek out because they play for the mythical European Super Cup.

Predictions

West Ham 1 – 2 Fulham

Swansea 1 – 1 Sunderland

Tottenham 3 – 0 Norwich

West Brom 2 – 2 Everton

Wigan 0 – 1 Stoke

Manchester City 4 – 0 QPR

Sunday

Liverpool 1 – 2 Arsenal

Newcastle 3 – 0 Aston Villa

Southampton 0 – 2 Manchester United

How my team got on this week

65 points. John Ruddy pulled off a big penalty save to set me on my way, while Tomas Vermaelen and big Bran Ivanovic earned another clean sheet. My only attacking points, though, came through Hazard and captain RVP.

Who’s leading TheScore.ie Primera Division?

80 points for Barry Lawless and Parke FC keep him top of the tree. His captain’s armband went to Michu, but that fairytale is all about to unravel – Michu’s, not Barry’s.

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