Spot the Differential – Gameweek 28

Friday’s final article has one eye on this weekend and another on the Gameweek 29 schedule, with six fixtures currently set to take place next time out. As a result, we’ve made sure our trio of overlooked alternatives all have two games on their respective agendas over the next couple of weeks – a crucial factor when we assessed their potential.

Adam Lallana

Eased back into the action with a trio of sub appearances following a knee injury absence, the Southampton skipper earned his first start since Gameweek 16 last weekend. Lallana’s return to the first XI saw Jason Puncheon drop out and with Gaston Ramirez also utilised as a sub in the 4-2 defeat at Newcastle, question marks are starting to emerge over the latter two’s game time under new boss Mauricio Pochettino.

While Rickie Lambert very much remains the headline act for the St Mary’s club, Lallana’s contribution is also likely to be crucial if they are to avoid the drop. An assist at St James’ Park last Sunday means he has now supplied two goals and five assists this term; more impressively, he has produced attacking returns in seven of his 17 starts and offers a decent source of consistent returns. Now down to 5.6 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and priced at 4.9 in the Sky Sports game, Lallana plays host to QPR tomorrow before making his way to Norwich next weekend and with three home games (LIV, CHE, WHM) and a trip to Reading in the following four, he could well be worth our consideration, with a mere 1% in FPL right now.

Danny Graham

Sunderland’s new signing started life on Wearside with a handful of late second-half sub appearances but Martin O’Neill’s decision to shift to 4-4-2 afforded Graham his first start alongside Steven Fletcher at West Brom last weekend. With Stephane Sessegnon flourishing on the right flank and supplying plenty creativity, the Black Cats boss admitted that, in spite of both his forwards drawing blanks in the 2-1 defeat, he was keen to give their partnership time to develop:

“It’ll take a bit of time. This was the first time that the two have played together competitively and I think they’ll improve as time goes on and they get a proper understanding. I think they will do well, but Danny Graham is still working on getting his match sharpness. Because he hasn’t played a lot this season compared to last, he feels he needs a game or two to get fully match-fit. And that’s fine – he worked hard for the side and he didn’t have a great deal of luck – but he’ll do fine for us.”

Having lost three back-to-back league matches, Sunderland are now handed a trio of kind looking fixtures to aid their chances of survival. O’Neill’s side welcome Fulham to the Stadium of Light tomorrow and, with a trip to basement-dwellers QPR next weekend preceding the visit of Norwich, the Black Cats look set to go on the attack in order to pick up the points. Coming in at a mere 5.4 in FPL (compared to a steep 8.4 in the Sky Sports game), Graham, with a FPL ownership of just 2.5%, looks to have game time guaranteed and could offer us an intriguing cut-price solution up front over the next three Gameweeks before the schedule turns nasty again.

Peter Crouch

Having lost his front teeth and first-team place after a boot to the face in the Gameweek 14 clash with Newcastle, Crouch has reclaimed his starting berth once again. Manoeuvring himself ahead of Kenwyne Jones in the pecking order for the lone forward role, he has now started the last five for Tony Pulis’ side and with three stand-out Britannia ties on the horizon (WHM, WBA, AVL) in addition to a trip to Newcastle next weekend, he comes into our consideration.

It’s his home form that’s the main attraction for Fantasy managers. Crouch has started nine times in front of his own fans and has scored or assisted on five occasions, in a run that has harvested four goals, two assists and 10 bonus points for an average of 5.3 per home start. Despite their lack of defensive returns, Stoke have tasted defeat just once at home this season and will be looking to take advantage of a Hammers side that may well be devoid of Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble tomorrow. If Pulis’ troops are to prosper over that next trio of home fixtures, Crouch – at just 6.0 in FPL and 8.8 in the Sky Sports game, looks pivotal to their progress.