Gripping drama in the Premier League over the weekend translated into an intriguing contest in our PPP/CTN fantasy league. The outcome of the Merseyside derby rewarded those who backed Everton, especially their defenders, while Wigan’s sizzling striker Charles N’Zogbia netted twice against his former club Newcastle to find himself MVP in the dream team on 15 points.

Gameweek 8 also saw its first tie, with the spoils shared between Kevin Buckley’s Bucks Babes and Thearin Wenger’s Fabregas FC. Both managers bagged 78 points to collect a US$10 phone voucher and T-shirt each from sponsors Cellcard. Although failing to field N’Zogbia, the managers came up trumps with dream team trio Nani (10 points), Chamakh (12 points) and Tevez (12 points) as well as cooking on Cole in defence – Kevin picked Everton’s Seamus Coleman and Thearin chose Chelsea’s Ashley Cole for nine points a piece.

A change at the summit sees Mick Wade with his squad Phnom Penh Villa claim first place on 473 points. The top hundred managers are spread out over a 90-point difference and the league has now swelled to 374 competitors, although most have declined the chance to collect on weekly prizes by not registering their teams by email to [email protected].

With midweek games in Europe, it’s probably best to make your transfers shortly before the 5:30pm deadline Saturday and avoid any injury traps.