The Knee Jerk – Saturday

https://twitter.com/CraigNorwood/status/411949524010422272

No Nani, Januzaj's chances of starting increase then.

With the recent injury to Sergio Aguero many managers have been wondering who to replace the Argentine with. Earlier in the season the amount of great forward options were abundant and you really couldn't’t go wrong with anyone, but now due to injuries and lack of form our options have dwindled. Assuming all teams on here have Luis Suarez I will look at the best options to replace Kun.

1) Wayne Rooney (14.8% Ownership) - Wayne Rooney at 11.1 million not only would be a great replacement to Kun but his unrelenting form has made him the third highest scorer in FPL. Another positive to help boost Rooney’s case is the absence of Robin van Persie, Rooney averages about a point more in games where RVP doesn’t play at least 60 minutes compared to when the Dutchman does. Up until the January wildcard Rooney has some tasty fixtures; with Aston Villa, West Ham, Hull and Norwich as the next four. It may have even been a blessing in disguise that Rooney picked up his fifth yellow card and was forced to sit out the last gameweek, because he is now extremely unlikely to be rested during the hectic Christmas rotation. Rooney has assisted or scored in 10 of Manchester United’s last 12 goals and without him United looked woeful against a mid-table Newcastle side.

2) Romelu Lukaku (31.3% Ownership) - Romelu Lukaku has had an interesting year so far, starting off out of favor in Chelsea before being loaned out to Everton where he began picking up where he left off last year in West Brom. Lukaku at 8.5 million is mostly being courted for Everton’s wonderous fixtures until week 28 but the big Belgian tank has not looked as good as advertised for the Toffees in recent games. Lukaku has only been apart of 4 of Everton’s 10 goals in the last four fixtures with three of those being questionable as to whether he deserved to be given an assist. Nonetheless, like Rooney much of his team’s attacks go through him giving a very high ceiling for the welcoming fixtures to come. Lukaku’s next four fixtures up until the January wildcard are Swansea, Sunderland, Southampton and Stoke. Unfortunately it is likely that Lukaku will get rested for a game during the Christmas rotation now that Gerard Deulofeu and Kevin Mirallas have shown their worth when playing up front. It will be hard to ignore the Belgian especially with these fixtures to come but i’m sure those who have put their faith in him will expect a better return on their investment.

3) Alvaro Negredo (5.8% Ownership) - Many managers are looking at Negredo at 9.3 million as someone who can step into the role of Sergio Aguero and dominate defenses behind Manchester City. However, I have my doubts as to how efficient the Spaniard will be in the absence of Kun. When Negredo and Aguero are both on the pitch for City, Negredo has seven goals and three assists. But the reason I have my doubts is because when Negredo plays for City without Aguero on the pitch he doesn’t have a single goal or assist. Up until the January wildcard his fixtures are Fulham, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Swansea; decent fixtures but two of those four are away games in which City have been a shadow of their home selves. Negredo could still be worth a punt in Kun’s absence but if you were to bring him in I would not expect too much.

So you’re feeling punty:

Dimitar Berbatov (3.2% Ownership) - Berbatov’s best fantasy days are over but at 7 million he might just be a useful plug-in at least until the January transfer window. Berbatov has picked up attacking returns in the last three games and he seems to be picking up form. His fixtures until the January wildcard are Manchester City, Norwich, Hull, and West Ham.

Marouane Chamakh (3.8% Ownership) - Normally I wouldn’t want a promoted side attacker in my team but Chamakh has look very good in the last three games, scoring three goals and being at the center or all Crystal Palace attacks. At a mere 4.7 million Chamakh gives you a ton of cash to upgrade the rest of your squad which could be important now due to the emergence of expensive midfielders once again. Crystal Palace has decent fixtures leading up to the wildcard with Newcastle, Villa, Man City and Norwich.

Christian Benteke (10.1% Ownership) - Ever since returning from injury Benteke has looked disappointing and totally out of form. In fact he’s only scored in two Gameweeks this entire season. But if there was ever a time for the Belgian to recapture his form from last year it would be now. Aston Villa play Manchester United, Stoke, Crystal Palace and Swansea leading up to the January wildcard. Two positives going for the now 8.8 million man are that he is unlikely to be rested during the Christmas rotations and that Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor are both back on the pitch and statistics wise Benteke plays much better when those two are on the pitch alongside him.

I hope this helps in the decision making, good luck guys.