With eight sides playing twice this Gameweek, it’s impossible to look beyond those teams as sources of possible transfers, and this week’s differential picks predictably focus on those with a double. Looking through this week’s comments however, it seems that almost every wildcard side has the same core of double Gameweek players. Charlie Adam and Peter Odemwingie are the obvious mid priced picks but I can’t understand all the love personally. With Adam’s suspension looming and West Brom’s upcoming fixtures as well as the inevitable bedding in period under their new manager, neither look particularly good investments after this week. If you’re feeling brave then, perhaps we can tempt you away from the obvious with one of the following differential options ….
Wojciech Szczesny
With Lukasz Fabianski ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury, the young Polish keeper looks set to remain first choice for the foreseeable future, and at just 4.5m offers fantastic value for Arsenal’s upcoming double fixture. Arsenal’s two home games makes them the pick of the doubles and with the doubt over Johan Djourou ahead of the Barcelona tie, Szczesny looks the best value option in the Arsenal rearguard for this Gameweek. Arsenal did concede four goals to Newcastle last week, but in Szczesny at least we have a Premier League player that understands the anguish suffered by the millions of Fantasy football players each week, after he hilariously apologised to his fantasy football owners. Perhaps he can have a word with his boss and make sure Van Persie and Fabregas play both games in the double too?
Despite their defensive capitulation last weekend, Arsenal have been strong at the back with four clean sheets in the previous five fixtures, and the only other goal they conceded was the controversial Louis Saha goal that was clearly offside. They would be expected to keep at least one clean sheet of the two, and with the potential for save points on top, Szczesny could prove to be the top goalkeeper of the week. His ownership is currently sat at 1.5%, making him a big differential to the 23% that will be playing Foster.
Jamie O Hara
Despite impressing on loan to Portsmouth last season, the Tottenham midfielder couldn’t make it back into the first eleven and was shipped out on loan to Wolves during January transfer window. He seems to have slotted straight into the side as an attacking midfielder, and looks like becoming influential part of the Wolves attack, making him an excellent fantasy prospect for their upcoming run of fixtures. If you look at his average position in the United game, he was the furthest forward of all Wolves players, and a look at the OPTA stats show he managed three shots in that game as well. When you consider he is on corners and may also take some free-kicks, he should pick up a few assists and goals in the run in. He was subbed on 59 minutes in that game because manager Mick McCarthy was worried that he may get sent off, rather than a lack of fitness and recent comments suggest that he will start the Arsenal game.
Last season O Hara picked up 27 bonus points, an impressive feat considering he was playing in a team that lost 24 of their league 38 games. Looking at similarly priced alternatives, Charlie Adam is one booking away from a suspension, David Bentley will miss Gameweek 28, and Joey Barton is well, Joey Barton. O’Hara looks a strong contender for top budget midfielder over the mid-term then, and if he can catch the bonus judge’s eye in a similar way this season, at 5.1m and an ownership of just 0.2%, he looks an excellent differential prospect.
Leon Best
After the sale of Andy Carroll and yet another injury to Shola Ameobi, Newcastle’s attacking options are starting to look very limited. Thankfully Leon Best appears to have shrugged off the hamstring injury that saw him pull out of the Ireland squad midweek, and will be fit to lead the line against Blackburn. Recent form and the lack of credible alternatives suggest he will be the first choice striker until the end of the season, and barring injury he will surely start both games of Newcastle’s double.
While Carroll will be sorely missed on Tyneside, Newcastle fans will be hoping that Leon Best can go help fill the void he left behind. He went some way to winning them over with a hat-trick in front of the home fans during their 5-0 demolition of West Ham, and he also picked up a goal and an assist in their incredible 4-4 draw with Arsenal last weekend, a game that saw him have six attempts on goal. While all of his goals so far have come at home, trips to Blackburn and Birmingham shouldn’t worry him too much and he will be hoping to further cement his place in the side with another goal or two. Best is available at a bargain basement price of just 4.3m, and is owned by just 0.9% of all FPL managers.
Nikola Zigic
The giant Serbian striker has netted in both of Birmingham’s last two games and is finally starting to look the real deal after an unsettled start to his first season in the Premier League. Before those two matches, he managed just two goals and four assists in 19 games but this can probably be put down to him adjusting to a new league and it would be foolish to write him off based on this early season form. If you look over his entire career, his goals to game ratio before coming to Birmingham, was an incredible 0.64. To put that into context, Didier Drogba’s career ratio is 0.43, Fernando Torres’ is 0.47 and even Cristiano Ronaldo’s is only 0.50. Ok, it is probably wrong to compare these statistics for players in different leagues, but a goal is a goal wherever you play and Zigic certainly knows how to get them.
The loan signing of David Bentley seems to suggest that crosses into the box from wide positions will be a common tactic for Birmingham going forwards, and a look at his OPTA stats clearly backs this up; the on loan midfielder has put in 25 crosses in his last two matches. As the lone front man, this will surely benefit Zigic in terms of goals and assists but It would be unfair to label Zigic as just a ‘big head on a long stick’ however, he has an unusually good first touch for someone of his height and is just as capable of scoring with his feet as his head. Obafemi Martins is pushing for a starting place, but Zigic will surely keep his place in a 4-4-2 and the two should compliment each other well.
Birmingham’s double consists of home games against Stoke and Newcastle. Both are very winnable and Zigic will fancy his chances of continuing his scoring run. Their blank in Gameweek 28 is a slight issue to potential investors, but as a third striker it would be easy to bench him for that game, assuming you do not already have too many Birmingham, Tottenham or Arsenal players. At 5.3m and an ownership of just 0.9%, Zigic looks the pick of the differentials this week and a short term punt could turn out very well if he continues his fine form.
Best of the Rest
Jermain Defoe is remarkably still looking for his first Premier League goal of the season, but looks to have fully recovered from his injury problems and could see some joy in front of goal in their two away games this week. At 8.4m he is a little pricy, however. Jonas Gutierrez looks like a new player on the wing of Pardew’s new 4-2-3-1 formation and his 6 key passes against Arsenal suggest he could be due an assist or two in their double fixture this week. You can pick up the Newcastle winger for 4.8m, and he is currently owned by just 1.7% of FPL managers. Finally, West Brom’s new manager Roy Hodgson is a big proponent of the 4-4-2, and Carlos Vela may get a chance up front alongside Peter Odemwingie in their double. There is a bit too much uncertainty around the Hawthorns for my liking, but at just 4.4m and an ownership of 0.7%, he is a risky choice that could pay off.
