The Watchlist – Matthew Jarvis

Many owners have been trying to squeeze three or even four upper bracket midfielders into their lineups this season and as a result, there has been less demand for the mid and budget price options in this area of our squads. The likes of Kevin Nolan, Charlie Adam, Chris Brunt, Joey Barton, and most recently Charles N’Zogbia, have hogged the limelight when it comes to these selections to this point, and Scott Parker and Morton Gamst Pedersen have recently staked a claim as viable options at the sub-6.0 price point.

One name that is now due a seat around the cheap midfielders table is Wolves’ fleet-footed winger Matthew Jarvis. He has shown, with some consistency, form that has threatened even the most robust defence but has suffered from a fixture list that has lent him little assistance when it comes to boosting his Fantasy points tally. In addition, Wolves have hardly been the most prolific of scorers and, while Jarvis has been a reliable supplier of the crossed ball, Mick McCarthy’s side have lacked a free-scoring striker to convert opportunities.

Amidst continued talk fluttering about a possible England call-up and a potential January transfer, Jarvis is now preparing to embark on a run of fixtures that could see him emerge with his best individual totals between now and the end of the season. Jarvis has the opportunity to impress and Wolves will face a run of opposing defences that may yet see them notch a few wins and convert some of their wingers’ creativity.

Jarvis arrives at Gameweek 13 with an unspectacular but healthy 42 Fantasy points in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, having tallied 2 goals, 1 assist, and 8 bonus points for his efforts. While that total currently finds him just squeezing into the top 30 Fantasy Midfielders, his early season performance becomes slightly more respectable when you consider that Wolves have already faced Everton, Fulham, Tottenham, Villa, Chelsea, Man City, Man United, and Arsenal during their opening stretch of games.

Looking forward, the first meetings with these “stronger” teams are out of the way. As hit upon by Andy in the recent Frisking the Fixtures, Wolves now hit a very attractive stretch of 7 games through Boxing Day: BOL, blp, SUN, blr, BIR, wba, and WIG. It definitely looks like much clearer sailing ahead.

Owned by 1.1% of of the FPL teams, Jarvis is a long shot in his own right, but seems poised to take off. Alternatively, if you’re digging the Wolves’ schedule and want to gamble on an even bigger differential, you might consider joining the other 0.2% of Fantasy Managers who own Stephen Hunt. Having recently returned from injury, Hunt has yet to produce any Fantasy results in 45, 63, 63, and 83 minutes during the past 4 games, but has been a steady, if not spectacular low-priced options in seasons past.