Having splashed on the wildcard Chubby Alonso’s pretty confident that he’s got it bang on the buck. It ought to be a little less sweat and a lot more to savour this week, so Chubby has sussed this week’s picks into Fixtures and Fo ‘Shizzles:

Fixtures

Leighton Baines (Crystal Palace v Everton): The sentimental choice. The expensive defender has set pieces and (definitely) penalties in his locker, and duly scored from the spot the last time both sides met. In a game against Palace that spells goals, he’s got as good a chance as any, and there are few better feels in Fantasy football than a goal from his sweet left foot.

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea v Manchester City): Benching him against Swansea was a failed gamble, and his record of a goal and three assists in his last five games means dropping him against City would a foolish. It will be interesting to see just when the tireless defender will finally wear out: his extra-time outing in midweek was his 30th game this season and alongside John Terry is the only player to have clocked 90 minutes in every league game this season. He comes into this game on the back of a slight niggle and a little less blood, but who would bet against him pulling through unscathed and ever-ready to tame a rested but restless Sergio Aguero, who has now gone over 200 minutes without a goal.

Eden Hazard (Chelsea v Manchester City): Mourinho will take a draw from this game but knows that Chelsea will have to score to get any results. Cue, Eden Hazard – Chelsea’s brightest star. The Belgian is an untouchable in Mourinho’s side and is the same in mine. He’ll be even more valuable following the repurcussions of Costa’s stamp-collecting efforts, but will need Didier Drogba dancing to the same beat to create the space for Eden to be a real Hazard.

Charlie Austin (Stoke City v QPR): It hit me last week that I feel much more uncomfortable with Charlie Austin out of the side than with him in it, no matter the opposition. The stats speak for themselves: 4.2 shots a game, 13 goals in 20. Harry Redknapp’s surprising silence in the transfer market suggests that little ought to change in QPR’s approach to the game, making the outing at Britannia rather predictable: an empty endeavour, but chances for Charlie nonetheless.

Fo’ Shizzle

David Ospina (Arsenal v Aston Villa): It should speak volumes of Arsenal’s visitors on Sunday that Ospina’s biggest threat to his clean sheet bonus is not Villa’s ambling attack but Szczesny’s competition for the first team spot. Of course, in Christian Benteke, Aston Villa boast a man who has perennially been a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh, with three goals in his last two games against them – but without the right sort of service, it’s hard to see him regaining his colour just yet. If he starts, Ospina’s third clean sheet in a row looks a mere formality.

Oliver Giroud (Arsenal v Aston Villa): There’s almost no chance that Arsenal won’t score, and highly unlikely that it’ll stop at one. Even with Alexis likely rested, there’s too much firepower in this Arsenal and chances aplenty will be created – ergo, plenty for Giroud to gobble up.

Angel Di Maria (Manchester United v Leicester City): I’m putting my neck out to say that there’s absolutely no way that Di Maria will draw a blank against Leicester. No matter how poorly and stubbornly LVG sets United out, surely Di Maria is too quick, too good, and too trigger-happy to do nothing against one of the league’s least convincing defence. Perhaps Carrick’s injury will push the cause for Di Maria’s creativity in midfield, and perhaps Wilson’s goal against QPR can prompt a place alongside Falcao, necessarily pushing the Argentinian deeper. Perhaps, but surely?

Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace v Everton): It’s all party at the Palace these days until the new headmaster starts getting real uptight about things, which means it’s all crystal with a good chance of goals. I don’t think much else needs to be said about the selection of Jason Puncheon, who – like Dwight Gayle – is a man in some form, but unlike his counterpart, can score in a greater variety of ways. Of course his streak can’t go on forever, but boy will he try, especially in front of the raucous Selhurst crowd.

Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton v Swansea): Swansea’s loss is Southampton’s gain. Sigurdsson’s sending off means the Swans are without him and Ki Sung-Yeung for the first time this season, and the signing of Jack Cork from the south coast has come a day too late for him to face his newly-former club. Southampton should easily control the midfield and therefore the game, allowing Nathaniel Clyne the chance to pour forward and heap potential points on top of his assured clean sheet.

Graziano Pelle (Southampton v Swansea): Southampton will understand that there are few better ways to command a game than to score, and Graziano Pelle must know there are few better opportunities to get the season going again. The last time the two sides met, Pelle had six shots at goal without scoring, and will look to put things right this time round. Saido Mane might make a cameo appearance after returning from AFCON, and it will be interesting to see how much of his form has been lost through his recent injury.

Victor Moses (Stoke City v QPR): QPR’s incredible return of a ZERO points in all their travels this season means that Stoke’s win should be a formality. Bojan’s cruel injury may make this a slightly more tricky than necessary, but Victor Moses is a man keen to pick up the pieces. The Nigerian’s good form early in the season was halted by an injury, but sparkled again against Rochdale in mid-week. On average, Moses still leads the club in key passes made, and is second only to Bojan himself in shots taken. Jonathan Walters‘ energy and spot kick responsibilities makes it a tough choice between the two to share the load – meaning a fifty-fifty for Fantasy managers, but a win-win for Mark Hughes at the Britannia today.

Also worth a shot…

Jermain Defoe (Sunderland v Burnley): Choosing Charlie Austin ahead of my man Jermain was a crying call and one I’m hoping I won’t end up regretting. Defoe has had a significant impact not just on Sunderland’s shape, but also their swagger. The team are attacking with great confidence, and I know Defoe’s will peak when – not if – he starts scoring. Against a porous Burnley defence, in front of the Stadium of Light, Defoe will surely do what he’s done all these years. Reservations only remain as to just how many and how often Defoe can do it because unlike China, one’s not quite enough for me.

Adam Lallana (Liverpool v West Ham): My vote for the biggest revelation thus far is not how lost Liverpool look without their ‘SAS’ strikeforce, but how astute a tactician Big Sam actually is. Sterling, Coutinho and even Sturridge play to their flowing best when Liverpool pour forward with last year’s reckless abandon, but Allardyce will surely know better than to allow that to happen. Enter Adam Lallana, a man capable of driving both on the fast lane and the slow, a man primed to unpick an oragnised defence with grace and without glamour. If Alex Song fails to overcome that niggling knock, a rested Lallana may be the one to get Anfield on her feet this time.

Nikica Jelavic (Hull City v Newcastle United): Hull City may have failed to score in their last three games but Newcastle have not kept a clean sheet since November and have leaked 12 goals in their last in the league. Something’s obviously got to give, and my cheeky money’s on the returning Nikica Jelavic to be the day’s hero.

Jermain’s back, and so are we!

Unfazed by going another week without Alexis Sanchez, Chubby Alonso hopes you’ll sweat it out with him again. Chubby Alonso keeps the faith with his current crop and by doing so has been forced to make a few bold decisions, none more so than starting Gylfi Sigurdsson and Moussa Sissoko ahead of Branislav Ivanovic and Charlie Austin. Andy Carroll and Winston Reid will be certainly shown the door after this week, so here’s to hoping for the perfect adieu from the big pair. Let’s have a look at some of Chubby’s choices, as well as some other players he might have the eyes for…

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa v Liverpool)

I’ve decided to stick with Brad this week primarily because I’m saving up my transfers, and also because I’m expecting goals aplenty everywhere else this weekend. But my bet remains an educated one: Villa have been poor but remain hard to beat at home, conceding just three goals in their last five home games, including 1-1 draws with Southampton and a then-rampant Manchester United. Liverpool should and will dominate possession and will welcome the returning Raheem Sterling, which might spell a reduced role for either Coutinho or Markovic, two players who were excellent last week. Yet in Sterling, Liverpool also has a player with a goal per shot ratio of 8%, a stat that primes Brad Guzan to make a healthy handful of saves, or dare I say, a shut out.

Winston Reid/Andy Carroll (West Ham United v Hull City)

There may be some tired legs after West Ham’s lengthy midweek duelwith Everton, so Big Sam will be happy to know that it’s a rather rudderless Hull side he’ll come up against tomorrow. Hull City have failed to score in 5 of their last 7 matches and will enter this game without Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez, both of them pulling up injured in last weekend’s loss. If their midfield can withhold the tiny threat of Tom Ince, the in-demand Winston Reid should have a rather peaceful time at the back and might instead focus his efforts up front, joining forces with Andy Carroll at set pieces to rack up a morale-boosting win before The Hammers hit the rough road. They play Liverpool, Manchester United, Southampton and Spurs in their next four games, so nothing less than three points will do for Big Sam.

Kieran Trippier (Burnley v Crystal Palace)

At the start of the season, one might have looked at the fixture list and struck this one off as a bore nil-nil. Yet six months down the road and we have a duel between two teams who will go at each other. Burnley are finding their feet and the net, playing like conscientious collective that won them promotion, and can reliably rely on Danny Ings, Ashley Barnes and even Sam Vokes to get in amongst the goals. Crystal Palace are hoping to catch the same wind Burnley has with their atmospheric win over Spurs and have now picked up a Yaya Sanogo to add to their collection of half-decent strikers. While this gives them proper options up front, Palace only kick-started into life against Spurs when the orthodox Glenn Murray was replaced by Wilfried Zaha, effectively operating a strikerless system that created chaos in attack. If Padrew sticks with a conservative Plan A and leaves Zaha on the bench, Burnley – and Kieran Trippier – might just get away with it; otherwise, I’d expect this to be quite a shootout.

Leighton Baines (Everton v West Brom)
With eyes on Kevin Mirallas

The last time Martinez’ Everton faced a Tony Pulis team at Goodison Park, they found themselves muted out of the game by a well-drilled and hard working Palace side. Everton at that point were at their Martinez-best, making the result doubly surprising; this time though they are escaping from a long slump and should emerge with some hard lessons learnt. Everton’s futile FA Cup exertions in midweek – playing nearly 90 minutes with just ten men – means they will have to draw on their reserves to grind out a result here, though the Monday evening fixture fortuitously gives them slightly more time to catch their breaths. Martinez should refrain from making many changes, but I would be surprised though if the eager Kevin Mirallas wasn’t granted a start, and equally surprised if he’s not amongst the goals. If Muhamed Besic operates as efficiently as he did against Manchester City last week and tames the tempermental Sessegnon, Leighton Baines and Co. should be home and dry on what will be a cold, snowy day.

Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United v Southampton)

Southampton come into this game as the favourites but Newcastle are an unusual side to play against, as seen in last week’s game of two halves. Remy Cabella also had his own two halves of sorts, looking lively in the first against a Chelsea defence visibly caught off-guard, but tame in the second after some Mourinho-wisening up. He’s on a quest to prove that he’s more than a flash in a pan though, and will have to do so against Southampton’s excellent set of fullbacks. The instrumental Moussa Sissoko hit the post last week and has the slightly easier task in the middle –  Victory Wanyama’s hamstring-ing against Ipswich means he partners Morgan Schneiderlin on the injury table. Southampton will surely miss their presence in midfield and could surprisingly struggle against a fired-up Newcastle in front of a raucous St. James Park.

Angel Di Maria (QPR v Manchester United)

Angel Di Maria was played as United’s most forward target against Southampton and was accordingly snuffed out by some intelligent defending. Van Gaal will likely mend that by shifting United’s chief attacking impetus further down to run at QPR, especially with regular left-back Yun Suk-Young out injured. Richard Dunne also came under fire at Burnley last weekend and fights an uphill battle against Falcao, who will want to prove a point in Van Persie’s absence. Falcao has shown great work rate and movement whenever played and should also take advantage of QPR’s lacklustre defence. At the other end, Charlie Austin may be good value for a goal at Loftus Road, but with QPR’s full backs pegged back, he will probably find his supply of crosses cut short. In any case, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have always looked more comfortable dealing with the classic centre-forward than the speedy striker and should be able to deal with the more rudimentary stuff that QPR have put up of late.

Nacer Chadli (Tottenham Hotspurs v Sunderland)
With eyes on Jermain Defoe

It seems like just yesterday that I was sat in White Hart Lane, watching Jermain Defoe making his last lap around the ground after Spurs’ 1-0 win over Everton, fans in full adulation of the last striker to have made a real mark for the club – until Harry Kane that is. Today’s match should be a straight shootout between the returning master and his flourishing apprentice. While Spurs have the stronger supporting cast (not since the opening day have Spurs won a game in which neither Chadli nor Eriksen have contributed), Sunderland have the more resilient and less dramatic defence. Spurs should prevail, even if just, but see if the Lane faithful will begrudge good ol’ Jermain a goal.

Gylfi Sigurdsson / Eden Hazard / Diego Costa (Swansea v Chelsea)

What can be said about this match up? A traditionally tight affair was taken apart in the return fixture when a Diego Costa hat-trick put him on the map and sent Swansea on a five match winless streak. That day marked Bafetimbi Gomis’ first start of the season; he failed to score with any of his five shots at goal and was duly replaced by Wilfried Bony, who within 10 minutes had set up Jonjo Shelvey. The sceptre still looms over Gomis, who hungers for his first goal in the Post-Bony era having seen last week’s header chalked off as an own goal. He’ll be thankful, then, to have Glyfi Sigurdsson playing just behind him. No team is ever guaranteed a clean sheet when up against Sigurdsson (explaining Ivanovic’s place on my bench), but thankfully for the fans the same can be said for Eden Hazard. There will be goals, and I wouldn’t bet against either Diego Costa or Bafetimbi Gomis being amongst them.

Other Punts of Interest:

Bojan Krkic (Leicester City v Stoke City)

Stoke may have looked terribly flat against Arsenal, but that’s probably because they were visibly on their last legs after an incredibly testing set of fixtures that stretched to the start of December. The squad will look to put that to bed and recover some semblance of joy against Leicester. Bojan Krkic, for one, has sometimes flattered and often deceived, but in the next three matches will come up against three of the league’s five worst defences, and will need to start picking up some momentum at the King Power. On form, Leicester may fancy themselves but Stoke are one of those sides against which your best laid plans can fall to the wayside. The teams face each other without Dean Hammond, Esteban Cambiasso and Steven N’Zonzi, who would have been three of the most prolific passers on the pitch, so I would expect the midfield to be bypassed fairly often, and Bojan to profit from this extra time on the ball.

Oliver Giroud (Manchester City v Arsenal)
With eyes on David Silva

Arsenal badly need a win today to prove that their destructive victory over stoke was more than a mere mismatch of talents. Wenger might be secretly confident of a result, and why wouldn’t he? In Alexis Sanchez he has arguably the Premier League’s most feared player, and with Walcott and Ozil waiting in the wings they have quality in depth too. Yet it could be Olivier Giroud to make all the difference at the Etihad. The stylish French forward has been much maligned but remains a terrifically difficult player to mark. With some clever runs and touches he is the closest thing Arsenal have to Dennis Bergkamp and probably their best chance of unlocking a well organised defence. He might not get in amongst the goals all the time, but his mere presence up front releases Sanchez and Chamberlain to run at the defence; it is telling that Sanchez’ mini-drought against West Ham and Southampton coincided with Giroud’s absence altogether.

But of course to have a chance of winning, Arsenal must first stop Manchester City’s mechanically powerful attack – a job that falls on the shoulders of a young Francis Coquelin. He will know that he can spare Mertesacker’s blushes by cutting off the supply to Aguero; the better he does this and the more David Silva is marked out of the game, the greater Arsenal’s chance of snatching their first victory at the Etihad since a certain Samir Nasri scored and set up another back in 2010.