This Much We Know – Gameweek 22

As the dust settles on another weekend’s action, we take a moment to consider the lessons learned over the nine matches played out so far:

Özil’s Appeal is on the wane…
His first five appearances in the Premier League brought two goals and four assists – 39 points in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) terms – and sparked huge Fantasy interest, but Mesut Özil’s explosive introduction seems a distant memory right now. Another blank against Fulham compounds a run of performances which harvested a single assist in the last five as the German’s owners begin to reassess his value. Already, over 32,000 FPL managers have sold the Arsenal playmaker since the weekend, with many drafting in a cheaper option in order to facilitate Sergio Aguero’s acquisition up front. Yes, he may have five sets of double figures this season and is capable of explosive hauls but a real lack of consistency has seen him blank in nine of 17 appearances now. With Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere offering Arsenal alternatives across the price brackets and Aaron Ramsey hopeful of a return for the Gameweek 23 trip to Southampton, Özil looks suddenly expendable.

Adam Johnson may just save Sunderland and earn himself a summer in Brazil…
In a game where his side’s proverbial ship looked to be sinking, the mercurial winger grasped the helm to steer Sunderland from dangerous waters and rescue a morale-boosting point. Perhaps inspired by his manager’s midweek comments (highlighted in last week’s ‘Say What’), Johnson’s assist and game-saving strike took his tally to four goals and a couple of assists in the last two appearances, or 35 FPL points to you and me. As Gus Poyet’s side look for inspiration and Roy Hodgson seeks an alternative to Theo Walcott on the England right, the 6.5-priced Johnson’s exploits bring him onto the Fantasy radar ahead of three encouraging fixtures (STO, new, HUL) for the Wearsiders. With wildcards in play, expect his stock to rise.

Trust Tony. New side, old system…
Having spent 10 years at Stoke forging one of the Premier League’s meanest defences, Tony Pulis knows a thing or two about clean sheets. Since taking over as Ian Holloway’s successor, the new Palace boss has helped his side deliver a Fantasy-friendly four shut-outs in 10 league matches as his philosophy of hard work and iron discipline has steered the Eagles out of the relegation zone. Palace have now kept out their visitors in three of Pulis’ five home games in charge, and with the likes of Joel Ward, at 4.2, delivering 3.9 points per game under the new manager, Pulis’ arrival at Selhurst Park has made freeing up budget at the back that little bit easier.

Navas can flourish to offer a City midfield differential…
City’s FPL options are looking very healthy indeed. Yaya Toure ended Saturday as the league’s top-performing midfielder, while David Silva furthered his case as a premium investment option with another assist against Cardiff. Between the lines, Jesus Navas is building a portfolio of his own. In securing City’s second, Navas furthered an astonishing home record – the Spaniard has now returned points in seven of his last eight appearances at the Etihad for Manuel Pellegrini’s free-scoring side. The downside is that Navas has scored just a single goal on the road all season but, with Samir Nasri laid up for a couple of months, he has the chance to better his away day woes with a series of regular starts and offer us a tempting City alternative to the premium-priced Toure and Silva.

Pellegrini isn’t likely to freeze Dzeko out just yet…
Much of the pre-match ramblings centred on the “will he, won’t he” over Sergio Aguero’s anticipated return. Despite being handed just half an hour off the bench, the Argentine didn’t disappoint with a goal and assist against the Bluebirds, ensuring the weekend bandwagon picked up in pace. Alvaro Negredo’s owners will be a little worried by Saturday’s turn of events, though. Manuel Pellegrini chose to reward Edin Dzeko with the full 90 minutes and hauled the Spaniard off for Aguero instead – with the Bosnian’s strike taking his tally to nine goals in the last 10 across all competitions, it seems Pellegrini will surely continue to reward the 6.7-man with game time as he battles for silverware on four fronts.

Benteke is back on track…
For a long while, Christian Benteke had cut a frustrated figure in an Aston Villa jersey. The big Belgian’s goalscoring drought stretching back to Gameweek 5, when a hip injury forced him off early on at Norwich, with his FPL price plummeting from 9.3 to 8.7. But with two goals in two games – against sides with title ambitions – the bruising Benteke appears to have rediscovered his swagger. It remains to be seen whether he can reach the heights that produced 14 goals from January 1 onwards last season, but with a strong run of fixtures over the next six Gameweeks (WBA, eve, WHM, car, new, NOR) and his self-belief on the up, the Villain could be setting off on another bountiful run.

Swansea are in free-fall…
A home defeat at the hands of Tottenham puts the Welsh club joint bottom of the league’s form table with one point from six games. With key first-team players such as Michu, Michel Vorm and Pablo Hernandez stuck in the treatment room and an ever-increasing injury list that saw back-up centre-half Jordi Amat taking his place in central midfield yesterday, Michael Laudrup has it all to do. The Swans sit just three points off the bottom now and have managed a single clean sheet in 13 – although the fixtures now fall in their favour (FUL, whu, CAR, stk), investing in the Laudrup’s side looks risky business right now, with only Wilfried Bony showing any sign of promise amidst their current slump.

The battle for the third striker spot is heating up…
With Luis Suarez an undisputed essential and Aguero’s bandwagon approaching full speed, the third forward slot looks our one chance for a differential as the template starts to narrow up top. Benteke and Bony threw their names into the hat at the weekend, whilst Daniel Sturridge has now registered 18 points in his last two appearances since returning from injury. Tim Sherwood’s decision to move to 4-2-3-1 and field Emmanuel Adebayor boosted the Spurs forward’s prospects yesterday afternoon – a brace and maximum bonus took his tally to 49 points in six appearances under the new manager. Fernando Torres’ knee injury lessens the options at Stamford Bridge and the 0.6%-owned Samuel Eto’o is the very definition of a differential, with a hat-trick against United highlighting his eye for goal. With more popular picks such as Olivier Giroud and Romelu Lukaku misfiring, there are a number of lesser-owned options that could prove the difference – getting that third forward choice correct is becoming ever more crucial to our chances of mini-league success.