'Give poor old Raheem Sterling a break'

Richard Lenton (www.richardlenton.co.uk) is an experienced journalist and broadcaster. He won Best Sports Presenter at the 2013 Asian TV Awards, and, despite being in his late 30s, still believes that he can make it as a professional footballer.

Twitter: @richardlenton

What I learnt last weekend…

 FOOTBALLERS ARE FAIR GAME

Poor old Raheem Sterling has taken a fair bit of flak this week, simply for admitting to being tired.

The Liverpool star, just 19 years of age, has been lambasted in the press, with gnarled old hacks who haven’t kicked a ball since they were at school hammering him, insisting that it’s not possible for a teenager who earns millions to be fatigued.

And that’s the crux of the problem; money – and peoples’ perceptions of those who earn lots of it.

“How dare you be tired when you’re doing a job you love and are trousering thousands of pounds a week…” Give the lad a break.

I’M LOST WITHOUT THE PREMIER LEAGUE

I’m repeating myself, I know, but this is exactly how I feel when those pesky international fixtures come around. An ideal Saturday would involve playing football in the afternoon, sinking a couple of cold ones with my teammates while watching the early EPL kick-off, then heading home in time to catch an 11pm game. Bliss.

WEEKEND PICK: Man City to beat Spurs by two clear goals

Tottenham have been linked with all manner of players over the past couple of weeks, which suggests that new manager Mauricio Pochettino is far from happy with the squad at his disposal.

The big plusses for the Argentinian this season has been the resurgence of his fellow countryman Erik Lamela and the Belgian winger Nacer Chadli, as well as 23-year-old midfielder Ryan Mason’s belated emergence as an established Premier League player. However, Spurs are still very much a work in progress – as they have been for about 30 years…

So where does that leave the north London side in terms of Saturday’s potentially mouthwatering early kick-off at Manchester City? If Spurs perform at their optimum level, they can give the champions a hell of a game. Having said that, when you’re talking about inconsistent Tottenham, the word ‘if’ should be written in enormous letters. Block capitals as well.

City have won their last four home games against Spurs and scored an impressive 12 goals in the process, including six last season when their aggregate score against the Londoners was an embarrassing 11-1.

Spurs’ last win away from home against a high-flying EPL team was way back in September 2012 when they secured a dramatic 3-2 victory at Old Trafford, but since then they have lost seven and won none of nine encounters. For whatever reason, Spurs allow themselves to be bullied by the big boys.

Elsewhere, if you’re looking for a ‘value’ prediction, then Stoke should avoid defeat at home to a Swansea side who began the season fantastically well, but who have tailed off in recent weeks. Having said that, the Potters must keep a close eye on Gylfi Sigurdsson who notched twice in Iceland’s midweek win over Holland.

Selection dilemmas

If you’re looking for a Yahoo Fantasy Footballer from within the City and Spurs ranks then the value pick has to be James Milner.

He’s not everybody’s cup of tea, and is certainly more graft than craft, but Milner has completed the full 90 minutes in each of City’s last four EPL matches, and should keep his place in the starting line-up after being rested for England’s clash against Estonia in midweek.

Milner is a snip at £7.40m, and is the fourth highest scoring City player in the game with 39 points thus far. Only 2.10% of players have selected him.

Another player to keep an eye out for on a short-term basis is Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse. I’ll be honest, I’m not really a fan – he’s far too hit and miss for me. But when he does hit a purple patch and exudes confidence he takes some stopping; think back to when he first moved to St James’ Park in January of 2012 when he took the EPL by storm, scoring 13 goals in his opening 12 matches.

So far this season the Senegal hit-man has notched four times in three games, despite only starting one of those matches.

He’s a little pricey on Yahoo Fantasy Football at £10.78m, but only 0.66% of players have picked him, so you could steal a march on your rivals if he continues to make hay in front of goal.

Keep a close eye on his form though – as soon as he goes two matches without a goal, give him the boot.