No doubts about which is the biggest game in the Premier League this weekend: Birmingham City vs. Stoke City, obviously. Just kidding. It’s Manchester United versus Manchester City in the more relevant than ever Manchester derby. With United in first and City five points behind in third (and second placed Arsenal hosting Wolves) this game has a direct impact on the Premier League title race. It’s also a meeting of two of the biggest fantasy football points scoring teams, so here are three strategies for getting the most for your team out of the Manchester derby:

#1 Gamble on a Manchester United backlash
Fergie will have given his players the famous hair dryer treatment after last weekend’s surprise loss to Wolves, maybe even the full industrial blow dryer (check for quiffs when they emerge from the tunnel). So it wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see Manchester United come out and swinging and claim a convincing win. In this case I’d advise picking assists leader Nani and leading goalscorer http://fantasy.soccerlens.com/Players/Berbatov_Dimitar/stats.

#2 Back Manchester City to defend
If I was Roberto Mancini, I’d see this game as a chance to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and make up three points in the Premier League title race. But I’m not Roberto Mancini. The real Roberto Mancini is the man who took his team to Arsenal in early January and unashamedly played for a 0-0 draw. It’s not impossible that he’ll do the same again here. If you think Signor Mancini is going defensive, then stuff your defence full of Manchester United defenders like Nemanja Vidic and Manchester City defenders like Vincent Kompany and cross your fingers for a goalless derby.

#3 Steer clear of this game
Derbies are unpredictable. Anything could happen. This usually isn’t good for fantasy football. So an entirely plausible approach is to avoid picking players involved in this game and concentrate your selection around Liverpool’s inevitable win over Wigan and Arsenal’s very probably beating of Wolves.

Which approach will you be taking?

Soccerlens Fantasy Football

The Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game, powered by 11Kicks, is a weekly competition with prizes up for grabs ($40 if you play at Silver level, $80 at Gold level, or $200 at Platinum level). And as an exclusive offer for the next two rounds (12th February and 26th February), you have a buy one, get one free offer – enter a Silver, Gold or Platinum competition and we’ll credit your balance with $ 4.99 (i.e. one game at Silver level). You can use the $4.99 we give you to win up to $40!

Join the competition here.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

I’m laying down a challenge. I’ve picked my 11 players for week 11 of the Soccerlens fantasy football game. I’ll be entering the team at the Silver level and competing for the $40 in weekly prize money, but am also challenging you to try and beat me.

My team is below, and my reasons for picking the eleven I did are below that. I’m hoping these boys can come together and pick up a decent points total this weekend.

Paul Robinson – The Blackburn keeper is slowly but surely regaining his reputation. Joe Hart won’t be sweating the England goalkeeper jersey, but Robinson could be good for a few fantasy football points, especially with Blackburn at home to Wigan on Saturday.

Gareth Bale – Though I’ve highlighted Gareth Bale’s recent lack of productivity in the Premier League, and Spurs are away to Bolton on Saturday, there’s no ignoring that performance from Bale vs. Inter.

Nemanja Vidic – Wolves are visiting Man Utd at Old Trafford, making Vidic a good bet for a clean sheet, and maybe even a headed goal.

Liam Ridgewell – West Ham’s form has picked up a little, but the Hammers are still bottom of the Premier League, and not a particularly scary proposition for opposition defenders. Birmingham host the Hammers, so I’m thinking Blues defender Ridgewell has a decent chance of keeping a clean sheet.

Ashley Cole – I have no idea what’s going to happen in the Liverpool vs. Chelsea game. I’m not even confident that Chelsea will keep Liverpool out. But Cole has been a fantasy football star so far this season, so he’s in. So there.

Clint Dempsey – Two goals last week for Fulham’s American midfielder, and maybe more to come against Aston Villa.

Tim Cahill – No goals for Cahill in his last two games for Everton. So it’s about time.

Samir Nasri – Newcastle had a big win at home to Sunderland last weekend, so I’m predicting the Toon Army will crash back down to earth at the Emirates this weekend, with Samir Nasri providing goals and or assists for Arsenal. If he does, I’ll get double points because Nasri is my captain.

Steven Gerrard – Again, it’s impossible to predict Liverpool vs Chelsea. But Gerrard’s off the bench hat-trick vs Napoli suggests a man ready to perform. As with Gareth Bale, I’m hoping European form carries over into the Premier League weekend.

Javier Hernandez – Manchester United are the only unbeaten team in the country, while Wolves are the only team yet to keep a clean sheet. Javier Hernandez is lightning fast, Wolves defenders are not. So all signs point to Javier Hernandez getting on the scoresheet once again this weekend.

Carlos Tevez – I’ve weighed the pros and cons of picking Carlos Tevez this weekend, and have decided to go for it. Man City’s defeat to Lech Poznan sealed the deal, convincing me that a desperate Roberto Mancini will want his captain back in the team to face West Brom on Saturday.

Think you can do better? Pick your team and join the competition.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Fantasy football is changing. Let me take you all the way back to the ’90s, and my very first venture into fantasy football. The internet as we know it was yet to be invented, and so selecting my team involved a crumpled copy of a well known tabloid newspaper, entering player codes into a premium rate phoneline, and a cheque sent to said tabloid newspaper’s HQ in an envelope.

Substitutions were a massive hassle, so I was basically stuck with the same eleven from August until May and lost interest around October when it became very very clear my team wasn’t picking up serious points and I wasn’t going to be winning any prize money. Then the internet happened. And if the internet did nothing else, it made fantasy football a lot more interesting. Suddenly you could see how your team was performing and even make changes to your team between matchdays. Not too shabby.

The most recent trend in fantasy sports has been the weekly game, with weekly cash prizes. So rather than enduring a long hard season with a slimmer-than-Peter-Crouch chance of prize money at the end, fantasy football gamers can now play as and when they want, competing for (and sometimes winning) cash prizes on a weekly basis.

The gratification and financial rewards for a successful gameweek are now available so quickly that it’s been likened to sports gambling. This is a boon to UK and other Europe-based fans who want to wager some money on football, but not on the bookies terms where the odds are very literally against you.

The new Player Manager game is based on this weekly competition principle, with up to 15 people in each weekly league. It’s also based on the principal of social gaming, so you win money from other players (including friends) rather than lose it to a bookie. But the most interesting thing about Player Manager is the twist it offers on how your team is selected.

Rather than choosing your eleven based on players assigned values (as most games still do) Player Manager players will choose their team by bidding against each other via an automated auction. Sort of like eBay but with Premier League footballers instead of iPods and X-Boxes. Here’s how it works:

You create a master list of Premier League footballers you want on your team. A little like the wish list a manager might give to his chairman. You place the players in order of preference and then you set the maximum amount of fantasy money you’re willing to pay for each of those players. Maybe £25m for Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin, £30m for Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and £5m for Manchester United’s John O’Shea (no offence John O’Shea). And, like eBay, the price you pay may be less than your maximum bid – you simply pay £1m more than the next-highest bid.

The Player Manager game then conducts an automated auction amongst the teams in each mini- league, and whoever has bid the most for each player gets them for that week’s competition. You don’t have to be there or interact with the bidding, the game takes care of that for you. The rule to stop things getting crazy is that your eventual team can cost no more than £100m.

There is prize money for the top places (number of paid places depends on the size of the league), so success is based on predicting which players will perform in the Premier League (a la regular fantasy football) but also on predicting how much other Player Manager players are willing to bid for each player. This is key because unlike with earlier fantasy football games, if you successfully bid for a player then he plays for you and you only. If Didier Drogba scores a hat-trick for you, then the other people in your mini-league have to watch and weep. This social gaming aspect is enhanced by real time chat, so you can talk trash with friends/opponents/both.

The extra twist with Player Manager is that you can enter more than one team. Once you’ve set your list of players, you pay £1 for every team you wish to enter that week, and Player Manager will generate that many teams from your master list. So it’s minimal effort for multiple teams, because it takes the same amount of time and effort to generate multiple teams as it does to generate one. Last but not least, for those who crave the big money long term game as well as the weekly short term game, there’s an optional season prize pool of £5,000 – the size of which increases with each entry and is based on your best 20 gameweeks (so no need to worry about a few bad or missed weeks whilst away on your hols.)

So Player Manager is a genuine evolution in fantasy football, taking the game beyond the limits of picking just one XI man team each week, and combining the benefits of long term and short term games. I have no idea what’s next for fantasy football, but I know that the days of calling premium rate phone lines and sending cheques to tabloids newspapers are over.

Check out Player Manager for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments below!

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Every one loves a goal scoring midfielder. Cheslea fans love Frank Lampard, Liverpool fans worship Steven Gerrard, Arsenal fans adore Cesc Fabregas. But goals from midfield are even more important in the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game, because while a striker’s goal is worth three points, a midfielder’s goal is worth four. Eat it strikers.

If you can load up your team with goalscoring midfielders, you’ve got an excellent chance of winning the weekly Soccerlens Fantasy Football prize money if they all put one or more away. Here’s a list of the Premier League’s top goal scoring midfielders after nine weeks of play:

Florent Malouda, Chelsea – 7 goals
Tim Cahill, Everton – 4 goals
Kevin Nolan, Newcastle – 4 goals
Samir Nasri, Arsenal – 3 goals
Craig Gardner, Birmingham – 3 goals
Stewart Downing Aston Villa – 3 goals
Nani, Manchester United – 3 goals
Steven Gerrard, Liverpool – 3 goals
Rafael van der Vaart, Spurs – 3 goals

If you’re wondering which of these players to select for week 10 of the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game, then I’d say look at the two derbies: Aston Villa vs Birmingham and Newcastle vs Sunderland. Craig Gardner returns for Birmingham after a three game suspension, and I’m optimistic he’ll start against the club that sold him last January. The stage is set for a Gardner goal.

In the north-east, Kevin Nolan rediscovered his shooting boots and score for Newcastle vs West Ham last weekend. Plus he’s Newcastle’s penalty taker, successful penalties being worth three points. Sunderland’s backline has been pretty solid so far, but if anyone’s going to break down that defence it’s Nolan and his houseguest.

Week 10 starts this Saturday. As always, it’s a weekly game with weekly cash prizes. No long term commitment. It’s $4.99 to enter at the Silver level and compete for the $40 prize money, $9.99 to enter at the Gold level and compete for the $80 prize money and, if you’re feeling confident about your fantasy football skills, it’s $24.99 to play at the Platinum level and compete for the $200 prize money.

So sign up for Soccerlens Fantasy Football and pick your eleven. But remember to include some goal scoring midfielders, or you can wave that prize money goodbye.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Week nine of the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game did not go as planned. My team finished joint fifth, well outside the top three and the prize money. Chelsea’s Ashley Cole and Birmingham’s Ben Foster scored points for clean sheets and Spurs’ midfielder Rafael van der Vaart picked up points for his goal, but Didier Drogba failed to register against Wolves and my gamble on Wayne Rooney’s return to form failed when he wasn’t included in Manchester United’s squad. Must be that horrific ankle injury.

Congratulations to Cincinnati Bengoals (great name) who finished first, GeeBoyz who finished second, and Harry’s Odd Balls and Haha United, who finished joint third. Hope you all enjoy your prize money.

So my selection was less than successful. Turns out I’m much better at selecting a fantasy team after all the games have been completed. Here’s the team of the week for week nine:

That team would have scored you a nice round 100 points, and would have been good enough to win some serious prize money. Standouts include Birmingham City defender Liam Ridgewell, who scored a total of 11 points: two for playing, four for the clean sheet, and five for his goal. He gets the captain’s armband. Samir Nasri was useful too, scoring 10 points with a goal, an assist and a clean sheet (midfielders get one point if their team keeps a clean sheet).

Lukasz Fabianski, Arsenal, 6 points

Nedum Onuoha, Sunderland, 6 points
Liam Ridgewell, Birmingham, 11 points (captain)
Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Liverpool, 7 points
Leighton Baines, Everton, 7 points

Michael Essien, Chelsea, 6 points
Samir Nasri, Arsenal, 10 points
Florent Malouda, Chelsea, 7 points

Javier Hernandez, Manchested United, 8 points
Andy Carroll, Newcastle United, 8 points
Nikola Žigić, Birmingham City, 7 points

Total: 100 points

I’ll be entering a new team into week 10 of the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game. It’s $4.99 to play at Silver level with $40 prize money available, $9.99 to play at Gold level for $80 prize money, and $24.99 to play at Platinum level for $200.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Week nine of the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game is approaching. If you want to win some of the week nine prize money, then you need to know which players are likely to score points. Last week we listed the 11 players with the most Premier League assists, this week we’re listing the top scorers.

So, here are the top 10 goal scorers in the Premier League so far:

Carlos Tevez, Manchester City – 7 goals
Didier Drogba, Chelsea – 6 goals
Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United – 6 goals
Florent Malouda, Chelsea – 6 goals
Darren Bent, Sunderland – 5 goals
Salomon Kalou, Chelsea – 4 goals
Theo Walcott, Arsenal – 4 goals
Johan Elmander, Bolton – 4 goals
Andy Carroll, Newcastle – 4 goals
Tim Cahill, Everton – 4 goals

A few important points here. First of all, goals form midfielders are worth four points each, goals from strikers only three points. So the real stars on this list are midfielders Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou and Tim Cahill because their goals are worth more. In a weird way, Everton’s lack of firepower from actual strikers is fantasy football’s gain.

You may want to hold off picking Kalou just yet though. He’s set to return from injury soon, but that’s no guarantee he’ll score this weekend. Same can be said of Arsenal striker Theo Walcott.

Similarly Darren Bent has scored five goals, but three of those five have been penalty kicks, and he’s failed to score for the past two weeks. Three of Andy Carroll’s four goals came in Newcastle’s 6-0 win over Aston Villa, and the poor guy was this week ordered to stay at teammate Kevin Nolan’s house so he could stay out of trouble, only to have his car set on fire.

That leaves top four Carlos Tevez, Didier Drogba, Dimitar Berbatov and Florent Malouda as your best bets. The Chelsea pair especially so as the Blues play Wolves this weekend. But remember, fantasy football isn’t just about the predictably productive players. It’s about learning to expect the arrival of the unexpected hero, as Charles N’Zogbia proved last week.

Armed with that knowledge, you can play the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game this week with a good chance of winning the weekly prize money. It’s $4.99 to play at the Silver level for $40 prize money, $9.99 for Gold Level where there’s $80 to be won, and $24.99 to play in the high stakes Platinum level, where there’s $200 prize money on the table.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

There are certain players you can rely on in the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game. Guys you can select for your team and then all but guarantee they won’t let you down. So you just pick those players and win the weekly fantasy football cash prize, right? Wrong. Because chances are that everyone else knows about those players as well. You have to pick the dependable players because you need the points, but the key to winning some money playing Soccerlens Fantasy Football is using your powers of prediction (or dumb luck) to pick the less dependable, less obvious players, and score the points that no one else saw coming.

There were plenty of dependable players doing their thing in week nine of fantasy football. Carlos Tevez got two goals in Man City’s 3-2 win over Blackpool, while the ever reliable pair of Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta were both on the scoresheet as Everton beat Liverpool 2-0. Ashley Cole got a clean sheet as Chelsea drew 0-0 away to Aston Villa. You didn’t need a crystal ball to see any of that coming, and you probably should have had at least one of those guys in your fantasy team. I never leave home without selecting Ashley Cole as one of my defenders.

This week’s less predictable hero was Charles N’Zogbia, who scored two for Wigan in two minutes during the 2-2 draw away to Newcastle. For the first goal, 5’7″ Wigan midfielder N’Zogbia somehow outjumped 6’4″ Newcastle defender Mike Williamson before heading home, for the second goal he beat Newcastle keeper Tim Krul high at his near post.

So N’Zogbia’s brace wasn’t easy to predict. But it was possible to foresee. N’Zogbia left Newcastle for Wigan on bad terms in early 2009, and so his return to St. James’ Park was always going to be dramatic. The Toon Army booed the French midfielder, and N’Zogbia seemed to thrive on the abuse. Those two goals were no coincidence.

The Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game is weekly, so if you can spot next week’s Charles N’Zogbia then get him in your team and see if he wins you some of the week 10 fantasy football prize money. There’s $40 prize money up for grabs if you play at Silver level, $80 at Gold level, or $200 at Platinum level.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The international break is over and so both the Premier League and the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game return to action this weekend. I’m on a roll, having won $25 prize money in week seven, and am all set to win some more in week eight. Hopefully.

One thing I’ve learned about the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game is that assists are important. The points value of a goal varies by position, but assists are always worth three, and often come from unlikely sources. Like Stoke City’s left wing. So it’s worth seeing which Premier League players are the most generous. Read on to find out which 11 players have the most assists so far.

1. Nani, midfielder, Manchester United – 6 assists
Nani leads the league with six assists, but has has also scored twice himself, which adds up to an average of 5.7 points per game so far. Nani still isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo, but he’s the best performing Red Devil in the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game. United play West Brom at home this weekend, and Nani looks your best bet for points in that game. Unless he misses another penalty.

2. Didier Drogba, striker, Chelsea – 5 assists
Drogba is impossible to leave out of your fantasy football team right now. As a striker the man’s job is to score goals, and he’s doing just fine in that department: joint top Premier League scorer with six strikes. But somehow Drogba has also found time to assist on five other Chelsea goals, so he’s a genuine double threat. The downside is that the majority of Soccerlens Fantasy Football managers pick Drogba, so you either have to follow suit just to keep up, or you gamble on picking someone else and breaking away from the pack. Chelsea visit Aston Villa in the late game on Saturday, so it’s up to you whether you back Drogba in that game.

3. Matthew Etherington, midfielder, Stoke – 4 assists
The ex-Tottenham winger was in form before the international break, with an assist in each of his last two games for Stoke. Etherington wasn’t picked for England (though Potters might say he should have) which might means he’s well rested and ready to register another assist when Stoke travel to Bolton.

After that top three, there are eight players tied for fourth place with three assists each. Both Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres have three assists and one goal each. It’s hard to back Rooney, so you may have more luck with his fellow three-assist-man Paul Scholes (though obviously Nani is even better) but latest news has Fernando Torres fit to play for Liverpool vs Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday. Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas also has three and is always a fantasy football fave, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be fit to face Birmingham. Andrei Arshavin has the same number of assists and is more likely to play.

Other players with a trio of assists include young Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton, who will be dribbling at Ashley Cole this weekend, Birmingham’s Sebastian Larsson, though his three assist came in the first two weeks, and West Brom’s Chris Brunt, whose three assists came in the last three weeks.

I hope the above information comes in handy when picking your Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game for week eight. Last week I played at the Silver level, paying $4.99 to enter and winning $25 of the available $40 prize money. This week I’ll be playing at the Gold level, which is $9.9 to enter, with $80 prize money available. Any high rollers out there can play at the Platinum level, which is $24.99 to enter, with $200 prize money on the table.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game isn’t just a fun way to compete against other football fans and win some prize money. It’s also the next England manager. Or it could be.

I’ve been poking around the fantasy football stats and have selected an England team to face Montenegro based on highest average weekly score in the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game. I’ve only selected players that are currently available to play for England, so no Micah Richards (injured) and no Paul Scholes (only interested in playing for Manchester United).

Fantasy meets reality in goal, where Manchester City’s Joe Hart (averaging 4.7 points per game) is easily the best English keeper. His backup is Birmingham City’s Ben Foster.

Defence is a little trickier. Chelsea’s Ashley Cole is the obvious choice at left back, and his average of 5.5 points per game also makes him captain of this England team. The next best English defender is Birmingham City’s Scott Dann, followed by a tie between Liam Ridgewell (also of Birmingham) and Newcastle’s Mike Williamson. I’m not breaking up that Blues central defensive partnership, so Williamson becomes the world’s first 6’4″ internationl right back.

In midfield we have a very unlikely right winger in Blackpool’s Matt Phillips, who averages five points per game, OK, so he’s only ever played one game in the Premier League, but Arsenal’s Theo Walcott went to the World Cup in 2006 having played less than that. Central midfield is Wigan’s Manchester United loanee Tom Cleverley and Aston Villa’s Stewart Downing, with Downing’s Villa teammate Ashley Young cutting in from the left wing on his right foot.

Up front it’s nice and straightforward, with Wayne Rooney’s fantasy football scored holding up surprisingly well (averaging 4.8 points per game over four games) despite his recent alleged nighttime activities. Rooney is joined by Newcastle big man Andy Carroll, who will hopefully keep him out of trouble.

Here’s the starting XI for England vs. Montenegro according to fantasy football:

What do you think? Is this team better than the real thing? Should we replace Fabio Capello with fantasy football? It would certainly be cheaper…

You can play the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game yourself when the Premier League returns to action this weekend. The game is weekly, not season long, so you can join in at any point and drop out at any point. Sort of like how Dimitar Berbatov plays football. There are three levels of play: Silver, Gold, Platinum. Silver is $4.99 to enter, with $40 prize money to be won. Gold is $9.99 with $80 prize money. Platinum is $24.99 with $200 prize money.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

We recently listed the best performing fantasy players in the Soccerlens Fantasy Football Game, and the top 10 featured a lot of familiar faces. Chelsea’s Didier Drogba, Manchester United’s Nani, and so on. Not a surprise, and most players know these players will deliver value. For example, Didier Drogba featured in 66% of all teams in week five.

But if everyone in Soccerlens Fantasy Football is picking the same big name players, then everyone’s scoring the same amount of points. So to gain a competitive edge in your weekly league and take the prize money, you need to know the less heralded players who are picking up points. Below you’ll find a list of 10 unsung heroes. Players who are picking up respectable fantasy football points, but don’t have the superstar name recognition of Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and so on.

1. Carlos Salcido, Fulham, Defender
Mexico’s right back has been in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons recently, but had a solid World Cup, but after joining Fulham from PSV in late August (does that count as a step up now?) Salcido registered an assist on his debut and a clean sheet in his second appearance. He currently averages five fantasy points per game for The Cottagers.

2. Vincent Kompany, Man City, Defender
Kolo Toure may be better known, but Vincent Kompany has been ever-present in a Man City defence that’s registered four clean sheets in the first seven weeks of the Premier League. Every clean sheet is worth four points, plus Vincent Kompany’s occasional presence in midfield offers opportunities for assists.

3. Alex, Chelsea, Defender
With Ricardo Carvalho gone, Alex (pictured above, mid-strike) has been getting plenty of playing time in the heart of Chelsea’s defence. That means clean sheets galore (five in seven weeks) plus the occasional long range strike with enough power to light a city. Alex’s clean sheet plus goal combo added up to a whopping 11 points in week six.

4. Johan Elmander, Bolton, Striker
The Trotters may not be the most prolific scorers in the Premier League, but when they do make the net move, Elmander is involved. In seven games the Swedish striker has registered four goals and two assists, worth three points each.

5. Stewart Downing, Aston Villa, Midfielder
Stewart Downing might be the dictionary definition of unfashionable, but three goals from midfield in seven games is nothing to sneeze at. Flick back through that dictionary a few pages and you’ll find Downing is also listed under productive.

6. Ali Al Habsi, Wigan, Goalkeeper
Omanian goalkeeper Al Habsi replaced the injured Chris Kirkland between Wigan’s goalposts in week three, and has been so impressive he looks like keeping the gloves permanently. Those performances have translated into points with three clean sheets in the last five weeks. Clean sheets are worth four points each, though they should arguably worth more when keeping them for Wigan Athletic.

7. Peter Odemwingie, West Brom, Striker
Lokomotiv Moscow fans weren’t keen on Peter Odemwingie, but West Brom fans have every reason to love their new Nigerian-Russian striker. Odemwingie has registered three goals and two assists spread out over the six gameweeks he’s played, and there’s every reason to expect those points will keep on coming.

8. Luke Varney, Blackpool, Striker
Luke Varney has been arguably the biggest surprise in the Premier League this season. The 28 year old striker is on loan to Blackpool from Championship side Derby County, but has scored two goals and three assists in just five games, including one of each in week seven for an eight point haul.

9. Darren Bent, Sunderland, Striker
Bent doesn’t get the salivating kudos that flows the way of Didier Drogba, but that hasn’t stopped him scoring five goals in seven games. Bent is fourth top scorer in the Premier League right now, and as Sunderland’s penalty taker those goals should keep on coming. While other fantasy football managers are waiting on Rooney and Torres, you can get points by getting Bent.

10. Matthew Etherington, Stoke, Midfielder
No goals for left winger Etherington so far, but he’s been good for four assists in the last four gameweeks. It probably helps having big fellas like Kenwyne Jones and Robert Huth to aim at, but if you’re looking for a low-rent, left-footed David Beckham for your fantasy football team, Etherington’s your man.

There’s no fantasy football this weekend because of the international break. But get a good luck at the above list and start thinking about your Soccerlens Fantasy Football team for gameweek eight. You can play at the Silver level for $4.99 and compete for $40 prize money, Gold level for $9.99 and $80 prize money, or Platinum level for $24.99 and $200 prize money. Games are weekly so there’s no long term commitment.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News