Scout Mission – Gameweek 9

As always, there’s much to consider as we head into the weekend fixtures. Liverpool and United’s issues up front, Arsenal and Tottenham’s midfield options and the Hammers’ burgeoning form at home to champions City are amongst this lunchtime’s menu.

Eriksen and Chadli at home to the Magpies…
With last week’s trip to City now out of the way, Mauricio Pochettino will be optimistic of a climb up the table. Spurs are set for some excellent upcoming fixtures – Sunday’s clash with Newcastle precedes showdowns with Villa, Stoke and Hull – and as the season unfolds, Christian Eriksen is starting to rival Nacer Chadli for our affections. Granted, the Belgian is the cheapest at 6.4 to 7.8 and offers the greatest close-range threat but Eriksen has prospered since being shifted back into the centre – with three goals in the last five and the majority of set-pieces, this weekend seems the ideal time for him to arrive on our radars.

Rodgers’ plans up front…
Undeserved scapegoat or not, there’s no denying Mario Balotelli is struggling to adjust to life on Anfield. The decision to haul off the Italian at half-time against Real afforded Raheem Sterling the chance to operate up top, giving the Merseysiders a much-needed pace and movement in the absence of Daniel Sturridge. At home to Hull, Rodgers badly needs a result after the manner of Wednesday’s defeat – could we see him continue with Sterling as a false nine in order to find a better balance?

Van Gaal’s tactics as Chelsea come calling…
The decision to shift to a 4-2-3-1 raised a few eyebrows as the new United boss continues to tinker with his preferred formation. Having rolled out a 3-4-1-2 and 4-4-2 in previous matches, Van Gaal’s side is clearly still a work in progress but with Robin van Persie looking so out of sorts and Wayne Rooney still suspended, can the Dutchman really afford to utilise Radamel Falcao as a sub again? For all their away toils, United have won three on the spin at Old Trafford and there’d no better way to make a statement by defeating the unbeaten league leaders – given their defensive woes, though, United need goals to stand a chance.

The Diego Costa situation..
Jose Mourinho’s press conference will, once again, be eagerly awaited as Chelsea prepare for their Old Trafford visit. From a Fantasy perspective, this is all getting a little tedious – Mourinho’s mind games are playing havoc with our plans, with almost 130,000 FPL managers already parting company with Costa this week. If Jose sticks to his guns and insists Costa is out, only for him to then play, it’s clear that we’ll have to take his pre-match messages with a pinch of salt from this point onwards.

Mane as the Tadic alternative…
Late back from international duties with Senegal, the wide man was handed a sub role as Southampton hit Sunderland for eight. Despite a brief 26-minute sub appearance, Mane still found time to get amongst the goals for Ronald Koeman’s side and looks set to be unleashed from the start against Stoke this weekend. Whilst Dusan Tadic has earned almost 100,000 new owners after a 23-point haul, Mane has been snapped up by less than 200 FPL managers this week – ensuring he remains under the radar for the Potters clash.

Hazard’s Rising Star…
A starring role in the midweek thrashing of Maribor suggests the Belgian is finally rediscovering the form that tore apart defences last time around. Hazard now rolls up to face United’s dodgy defence and has the chance to impress prior to next week’s home encounter with QPR – only 0.2 more expensive than Cesc Fabregas now, a strong display against the Red Devils may well strengthen his claims as the Chelsea midfielder of choice.

Siggy’s display against The Foxes…
With four blanks in five, the Swansea playmaker has struggled to justify the heavy investment in recent matches and is offering next to no goal threat, with just two attempts from Gameweek 4 onwards. A plum home clash with Leicester hands Sigurdsson the chance to plunder the points but another failure may well have some of his 46% owners thinking twice – with back-to-back clashes against Everton, Arsenal and City to follow, some may be contemplating a way out to smash the template.

The Hammers attack at home to City…
Sam Allardyce’s side are firing on all cylinders right now and sit pretty in fourth spot but a home clash against the champions looks a real test of their mettle. Stewart Downing and Diafra Sakho are given the chance to stake a claim for our consideration this weekend – having racked up the points in the previous few Gameweeks, the budget pair are brace for an excellent run of fixtures following this one and another fine performance will surely spark the bandwagons into overdrive.

Ramsey at the Stadium of Light…
The Welshman lasted from start to finish in the midweek win over Anderlecht and his return to action coincides with an excellent upcoming schedule. While Alexis Sanchez’ 10.3 price tag is proving a real deterrent for most, Ramsey has now dropped down to 8.8 in the FPL game ahead of a trip to struggling Sunderland – with Burnley, Swansea and West Brom in the subsequent four, he looks perfectly poised to come back into consideration.

Villa’s backline at Loftus Road…
The midlands outfit have emerged from a dreadful run of fixtures which has seen them ship three goals in all but one of their last four. Let’s not forget, though, that Paul Lambert’s side conceded just once in the first four Gameweeks before the schedule took a turn for the worse – away to QPR on Monday evening, Villa have the perfect opportunity to arrive back on our radars, with Alan Hutton, Ron Vlaar and Brad Guzan the likeliest candidates for Fantasy Watchlists should they rediscover that early-season resilience.

Naismith’s prospects with Barkley back in the mix..
The Scot was immediately shuttled out to the right wing to accommodate Everton’s fit-again playmaker at home to Villa last weekend. Despite scoring just once in the last five, Naismith remains the second most popular striker in the FPL game, sitting in over 26% of squads right now. In part, the Toffees fixtures have afforded him a stay of execution but it’s clear that Barkley’s return is set to have an effect – rested from this evening’s Europa League clash with Lille, Naismith looks likely to return to the starting XI away to Burnley but with the competition for minutes increasing, another peripheral display may well be the final straw.