The Watchlist – Wildcard Midfielders

Continuing our series of Watchlist Wildcard articles, it’s time to turn our attentions to the engine room, to discuss the midfield targets who we feel have the potential to deliver on your investment over the next couple of months.

With Gareth Bale remaining a hugely popular target, in many cases there are just four spots up for grabs in our Fantasy squads. While United’s stuttering form and a demanding fixture list casts doubt over the wisdom of putting faith in the likes of Nani and Antonio Valencia, there is an abundance of targets across the price brackets that appear to have the form and fixtures to enjoy a step up to fill in the gaps around Tottenham’s Welsh flyer.

Clint Dempsey
We’ve earmarked Fulham’s raiding American as our top wildcard target amongst the midfielders. Fulham’s form, whilst inconsistent for much of this season, has shown signs of recovery of late – most notably in the 2-1 victory over Arsenal. Martin Jol appears to have settled on an attacking lineup, with Moussa Dembele and Bryan Ruiz providing plenty of creativity from midfield and wide areas. That will surely benefit Dempsey who, consistently presents the biggest goal threat within the Cottagers squad. With fixtures firmly in his favour over the next ten gameweeks, his 8.5 FPL price tag looks like money well spent.

David Silva
You might consider Silva as an obvious pick given that he’s currently the top-scoring midfielder in the FPL rankings. Even so, we’re seeing Silva’s name amongst the top ten transferred out statistics – indication perhaps that some have grown impatient with fairly modest returns that have seen just one double-figure score in 11 Gameweeks. Silva has suffered his first price drop of the season this week – indication again that some folk are choosing to shed the Spaniard. Looking forward, however, City’s fortunes look strong, with a fixture list that hands them just one serious test (Tottenham at home) in the next seven Gameweeks. The loss of Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations will come as a blow but will perhaps give Silva more responsibility to get forward and start fetching goals again, having scored just once in nine matches.

Stephane Sessegnon
His goal and assist return at Wigan this week will have brought him to the attention of many, not least several Premier League managers if the paper talk is to be believed. In Fantasy terms, Sessegnon has always had the potential to deliver. His performance statistics hinted at more goals and assists, but only once Martin O’Neill had instilled new belief has the Benin international begun to deliver. In truth, Sunderland’s fixtures are far from sparkling. They face some stern opponents over the next two months that will test the revitalising powers of O’Neill to the full. Sessegnon looks set to remain a key figure in the Black Cat’s ascendancy and, at 6.4 in the FPL, we’re seeing plenty of interest already – only Yakubu has seen more transfers in this week. With Swansea and Norwich next at the Stadium of Light, profit in the short-term, at least, looks likely.

Jon Walters
Another player who will need to fight against some tough fixtures, Walters is a mid-price “out of position” prospect who has consistently delivered at the Britannia. Deployed up alongside Peter Crouch, Walters has scored all five league goals in home matches, with just two assists to his name on his travels. This is a home banker if ever there was one. While the Potters face some testing away trips, home clashes with West Brom, Sunderland, Swansea and Norwich in the next seven Gameweeks would indicate that Walters has plenty of potential to go on offering profits from both open play and the penalty spot.

Yohan Cabaye
A superbly flighted free-kick against United brought Cabaye back to our attention as a midfield prospect in the mid-price bracket. In truth, the former Lille man has disappointed in terms of raw output. Just two goals and four assists is a modest return for a player who has featured in all but one of Newcastle’s matches and who has been a consistent performer throughout. Cabaye has perhaps been somewhat shackled by Alan Pardew, leaving it to Demba Ba to provide the goals as the Magpies climbed to heady heights. With the Senegal striker now departed for the African Cup of Nations, Cabaye may well be called upon to support the attack that little more. Hatem Ben Arfa looks set to come in to replace Ba – perhaps offering more fluidity between midfield and attack. The alternative view is that, with Cheik Tiote also absent, Cabaye could find himself anchored to a deep, defensive role in the engine room. If that transpires, his acquisition may be a gamble but, with QPR, Villa, Wolves and Sunderland next in line for visits to Tyneside, Newcastle could well remain prosperous, even without the talents of Tiote and Ba; their absence may just see Cabaye come to the fore.

Stiliyan Petrov
Much like Cabaye, the Villa skipper has earned the reputation as an all-round midfielder whose main duties involve protecting the back four. That’s changed rather markedly under the stewardship of Alex McLeish and, this season, we’ve seen the Bulgarian recapture some of the goalscoring form which made him so productive for Celtic in the Scottish top flight. The return of four goals is his best since he moved south of the border and, with Villa enjoying a kind passage over the next ten gameweeks, Petrov looks odds-on to boost his tally further. While Stephen Ireland and Charles N’Zogbia also offer options the Villa midfield, there could be a Fantasy renaissance in the offing; Petrov has been their most consistent force and looks the most likely to go on delivering into 2012.

Victor Moses
Having failed to live up to his pre-season billing, the knives were out for the Wigan winger by October. Shoots of progress in December, which saw Moses notch two goals and even earn bonus recognition, have reignited interest in a midfield prospect who can be acquired for just 4.8 in the FPL. At that price, it’s hard to find an asset who can rival his potential. We can talk all day about his performance statistics, his attempts on goal and blocked shots, the facts are however, that Moses, along with Hugo Rodallega, will hold the key to Wigan’s survival and, given his price, he remains a decent Fantasy prospect. In the same price bracket there is also the intriguing possibility of James McClean. The Sunderland winger has came to the fore of late under Martin O’Neill- he has started the Black Cats’ last two games and picked up bonus on each occasion, in addition to bagging a goal. One to consider for those Fantasy managers looking for a way into the Sunderland midfield and, at just 4.5, almost 2.0 cheaper than Stephan Sessegnon. It’s perhaps not a certainty he will remain in the first XI when O’Neill has a full squad to choose from but at that price, can be easily benched.

Joey Barton
The red card received against Norwich will take Barton out of action for the next two Gameweeks but Fantasy managers would be wise to keep the Rangers skipper on the radar. Barton will sit out the trip to former club Newcastle, in addition to the potentially profitable Loftus Road meeting with Wigan, but the kind run of fixtures continue to flow after that. Indeed, Neil Warnock’s side look to have the smoothest ride of any team up until Gameweek 30 and we’d expect to see a rise in profits from the Rangers squad, particularly if Warnock continues to add quality. Barton will surely be restored to the lineup once his ban is served and he will continue to offer the best value within a Rangers midfield – unless we suddenly see both Shaun Wright-Phillips or Adel Taarabt spark into life.