Spot the Differential – Gameweek 7

Our Saturday morning regular arrives once again as we roll out a trio of overlooked alternatives for your perusal. We turn to West Ham and Leicester’s front men ahead of home clashes with promoted pair QPR and Burnley, whilst Palace’s in-form wide man also comes into consideration as the Eagles head to Hull.

DIAFRA SAKHO

The Hammers forward has hit a real purple patch during his start to life at Upton Park. With Sam Allardyce’s onus on attack this term, Sakho has been quick to benefit and has scored in each of his last four starts across all competitions, with his performance against United last weekend earning him top spot for Threat in our ICT rankings for Gameweek 6.

West Ham face a QPR side this Sunday who have shipped eight goals in their last three fixtures, with Sakho looking the most likely to find the holes in the R’s leaky defence. Despite all this, the former Metz forward’s ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) still resides under 1%, a remarkable figure considering his current form. With Allardyce’s men aiming to build on their previous home victory over Liverpool, and with Stewart Downing still pulling the strings in the middle of the park, Sakho’s goal spree could be set to continue tomorrow afternoon. Bearind in mind The Hammers also square up to Burnley, Stoke and Villa in the following four, the 5.5-priced forward has the platform to deliver further.

JASON PUNCHEON

It’s been a steady outlay from the Crystal Palace winger so far, with three assists and a goal ensuring that he has only blanked in one of five appearances. However, despite this reliability of returns, Puncheon sits in only 3.5% of teams in FPL. Having faced a price drop after his Gameweek 1 red card, he is currently available for just 5.9 and comes up against a Hull side who have conceded ten goals in their last four fixtures and have just lost their first choice keeper Allan McGregor to injury.

Puncheon’s displays towards the end of last season ensured that the midfielder was present in a fair number of managers’ pre-season sides this time round, but his opening weekend dismissal and subsequent one-match suspension naturally saw his ownership diminish. The winger has certainly redeemed himself since then, however, as his underlying stats reveal – 12 chances created is equal with the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Dusan Tadic, whilst four shots on target is the joint highest total for any Palace player. Neil Warnock’s men face Hull, West Brom and Sunderland in their next four – all fixtures which could offer Puncheon the opportunity to press home his credentials as one of the best mid-price midfield options around.

JAMIE VARDY

Whilst Leonardo Ulloa has been drafted in by another 136,000 managers this week, Leicester City teammate Vardy has acquired just over 11,000 new owners and currently resides in a mere 1.8% of FPL teams. The former Conference star is available for 5.0, which is 0.9 less than Ulloa, and having started the last two for Nigel Pearson’s outfit, looks set to continue on the left of a front three when The Foxes welcome Burnley later this afternoon.

Vardy’s pace and drive came to fruition in Gameweek 5 as the forward left Man United’s backline in shreds on his way to a 21-point haul. Whilst there is fear his starting berth may suffer after last week’s 2-0 loss to Palace, Vardy’s threat in that match shouldn’t go unnoticed – six touches and two attempts in the opposition penalty box was far superior to Ulloa’s threat in the area. Burnley shipped four goals in their last fixture, and should Vardy carry on that form he has the opportunity to cement his spot as a viable, and more budget friendly, alternative to Ulloa as Leicester embark on an enticing set of fixtures (BUR, new, swa, WBA, sou, SUN).