The Technical Area – Trinity Alternatives

The last few gameweeks have turned into something of a source of frustration for many a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) manager, with the newly-heralded “Holy Trinity” of Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and -once again- Fernando Torres all spending time on the sidelines as injuries play their part at the tail-end of the season.

Given how cagey their respective managers have become regarding selection, perhaps it’s worth running the rule over some alternatives. In particular -for the purpose of this piece- certain injury/rotation-free forwards who still have upcoming Double Gameweeks, thus ensuring at least 90 minutes more game-time than the above-mentioned trio.

With the likes of Spurs, Aston Villa and Man City chasing after the final Champions League place -and now with no FA Cup fixtures in their way- there should be no likelihood of rotation in these final few weeks. With that in mind, here’s a look at the likeliest contenders…

Carlos Tevez

His form has been phenomenal since settling in at the City of Manchester Stadium, and upon returning from Argentina following the birth of his daughter, Tevez has shown just how important he is to City.

Nine goals, two assists and ten Bonus Points in his last seven games shows why he’s not far behind Rooney and Drogba in the points for FPL forwards. Although City’s formation is down on paper as a 4-4-2, Tevez is much more than a penalty box striker, and as this heat map shows, much of his time is spent well outside the opponent’s box, buzzing around the final third of the pitch, as he links up time and again with the midfield.

At 9.5m, Tevez is owned by 35.5% of FPL managers, so -as the fourth most popular player in the game- is hardly something of a differential. His form, however, makes him hard to ignore, regardless of fixtures; a fact recently backed up by the two goals and three Bonus Points plundered at Stamford Bridge as City took Chelsea apart.

City’s remaining fixtures are: MUN, ars, AVL TOT, whm.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Since returning from a four-match ban, his performances have emphatically put paid to the suggestion that he cannot operate alongside Tevez. The past three league games have seen City bag fourteen goals and the Togolese has been an integral part of their performances.

Four goals, two assists and two FPL Bonus Points in these three games have helped cement Roberto Mancini’s side as clear favourites in the race for fourth.

As this heat map shows, Adebayor plays much further forward than his strike partner, and with this positioning, it’s easy to see why the goal attempts chalkboard against Birmingham shows he had eight shots at goal to Tevez’s four.

Priced at £9.5m, Adebayor is definitely something of a “differential”, with just 3.6% of FPL managers currently owning him. City’s fixtures do look tricky, but given that they still have three home games to play in the final four gameweeks, Mancini’s side -with just one defeat at home all season- have shown they can be more than a match for just about anyone.

John Carew

An extended run of starts since the beginning of March has made all the difference to the big Norwegian’s output. Villa’s last five league games has seen Carew help himself to four goals, one assist and three Bonus Points as he proves himself to be Martin O’Neill’s main provider of goals.

Given that Gabby Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey have managed a total of four goals between them in Villa’s last fifteen league games, there’s little doubt that Carew is the one forward who could be expected to find the net above all others.

These chalkboard stills are indicative of how Villa’s play has revolved around Carew of late; eight attempts against Wolves and five against Sunderland -all inside the box- explain just how and why he’s the man most likely.

Priced at just £7.7m and with only 2.3% of FPL owners, Carew could be another “differential” that could give teams an edge as the end of season approaches.

The next gameweek is a double fixture for Villa, with their remaining matches reading: por hul, BIR, mcy, BLA.

Jermain Defoe

Despite the recent good form of Roman Pavlyuchenko, Defoe is a Harry favourite and having recovered from injury, he resumed his place as a first-choice starter at the Russian‘s expense in yesterday’s FA Cup semi-final line-up.

Before his hamstring injury, Defoe was in good form in the league, scoring three goals and picking up two assists in his last six starts. With seventeen Premier League goals to his name this term, he’s a good bet to break through the twenty mark.

Defoe has dropped from a high of £9.2m and sits at the reasonable price of £8.5m, with just 14.5% of FPL owners. Spurs remaining fixtures are: CHE, mun, BOL mcy, bur.

Roman Pavlyuchenko

Undoubtedly a bigger risk than the above-mentioned options as he is by no means guaranteed to start, though his recent league form has been fantastic. The past six league games have seen Pavlyuchenko score five goals and pick up six FPL Bonus Points, despite playing over 60 minutes in only half those matches.

Significantly though, Defoe’s last league start saw Pavlyuchenko partner him in a three-one home win over Blackburn. Defoe scored one and Pavlyuchenko netted a brace and picked up three Bonus Points.

As this Average Position Map shows from that game, Pavlyuchenko (number 9) played further forward than Defoe (number 18), an indication of their respective roles should ‘Arry choose to play them together again.

At just £6.2m in FPL and with only 1.9% of owners, he could prove to be a worthwhile addition, but due to his manager’s selection policy he may well be too risky, regardless of recent form and potential returns.