The Stock Check – Gameweek 35 – Saturday

Bournemouth assets keep on producing, Southampton defenders cement their starting roles ahead of double Gameweeks while Palace assets speed their exits from our squad with 1-point returns. Here’s the Stock Check as Gameweek 35 makes a less than dramatic entrance.

On the Rise

Josh King
Not so much on the rise as through the roof, the Bournemouth midfielder just doesn’t know when to stop.

His winner at Sunderland made it 12 goals in 14 Gameweeks, his 11-point haul was his third double-digit score during that run (he’s also had two nine-point Gameweeks) and his scoring has been well distributed between home and away matches, against strong teams and weak.

Just over 32,000 managers were invested in King at the start of his run. A further 108,000+ bought into him this week to take his ownership past 800,000 and beyond, with 59,243 (1.3%) handing him the armband at the Stadium of Light.

No double Gameweek for Bournemouth, but three attractive fixtures, a 6.1 price tag and all that form make King a great option as an enabler as we prepare our Wildcard refresh.

And if that’s not enough temptation, the news that Cherries forward Benik Afobe could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury means that King could well be playing as an out-and-out striker from here on in.

Charlie Daniels
The left-back is another key asset in Eddie Howe’s side and he built on Gameweek 34’s stellar 14-pointer with a clean sheet against Sunderland.

Daniels remains sixth in the FPL defender standings and his 5.2 price means he is top for points per million, with 24.8.

He was brought in by 49,855 ahead of the weekend, making him the most popular defensive signing, and Bournemouth’s fixtures – Stoke City and Burnley at home and Leicester City away – promise further returns.

Much like King, Daniels will surely be kept or built into our Wildcard thinking, with his Burnley fixture in Gameweek 37 offering a fruitful single match hit for Bench Boosted squads.

Jamie Vardy
It’s been a case of all’s well that ends well for Vardy’s 13.7%  ownership – his winner at West Brom means he’s now scored or assisted in eight of his last nine Gameweeks (seven goals, three assists) since Craig Shakespeare took charge.

The defending champions are safe but still seemingly playing for their new manager’s future, making the striker a temptation for the run-in.

The Foxes host Watford and Bournemouth either side of a tough Double Gameweek 37 involving Man City away and Spurs at the King Power. But with Man City’s Gabriel Jesus now a major draw and distraction, Vardy looks destined to be a late-season differential.

Maya Yoshida, Jack Stephens
Investment in Southampton’s cheaper defensive assets should surely soar as the Saints prepare for consecutive double Gameweeks as part of their five-match run-in.

Yesterday’s clean sheets for both centre-halves, priced at 4.4 and 4.1 respectively, was a timely reminder of the points the pair can provide for such a minimal outlay.

Yoshida (4.1%) took home six points from the stalemate with Hull City, and was only denied an assist due to Dusan Tadic’s late miss from the penalty spot.

Stephens (3.1%) also earned two bonus points thanks in the main to 15 clearances, blocks and interceptions – Yoshida made six to finish just outside the BPS reckoning.

Southampton’s finish is both busy and tough – they still have Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United to face. But the sheer weight of fixtures and their bargain basement values make either, or even both, of the duo impossible to ignore.

In Decline

Manolo Gabbiadini, Dusan Tadic, James Ward Prowse
While two Saints marched on, three more took backward steps.

Gabbiadini’s one-point outing at St Marys was particularly hurtful. His ownership had more than doubled ahead of the Hull City clash as managers looked for an early points boost before those impending doubles.

Instead, the Italian was subbed off before the hour mark for a second time in three Gameweeks and he’s yet to score since returning from injury.

Just two efforts on goal and a measly one touch in the penalty area are not the stats his 7.0% ownership base was looking for on the cusp of such a potentially lucrative run-in.

Tadic, at least, carried a far greater threat – he had six shots and 11 penalty box touches against the Tigers. But his missed penalty was a low blow for his 2.1% of owners and he could now lose spot-kick duties for the forthcoming double Gameweeks, with Gabbiadini the potential beneficiary.

That would cap an underwhelming run for the Serbian, who has managed a meagre four points from his last three starts.

Ward-Prowse, priced at just 5.0, was looking like a tempting budget option in our Wildcard plans.

But price is immaterial if you’re not playing.

Claude Puel is not short of options in midfield and he chose to bench the Englishman yesterday. Ward-Prowse had started the previous nine matches, however, so he was arguably due a rest.

But security of starts is a key component in our Wildcard considerations, making Puel’s decision particularly untimely.

Midfield rotation and Tadic’s dip in form make Gabbiadini the most attractive, if flawed, attacking option for Southampton’s doubles.

Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha
The plan was to follow up their double Gameweek 34 with one more return from Crystal Palace assets before ditching them for pastures new.

Burnley’s first away win of the season put paid to all that.

Benteke’s 14 points last week at least softened yesterday’s 70-minute anti-climax, but Zaha treated his 16.6% ownership to a second straight one-pointer and has now returned just six points from his last four Gameweeks, with back-to-back bookings adding further insult.

Small wonder, then, that the pair are the top two most transferred-out for the Gameweek to come.

Benik Afobe
Our plans around Afobe have been similarly scuppered.

The Bournemouth striker was shaping up to be a nice little Wildcard enabler for Gameweek 37’s visit of Burnley – he’d racked up three goals and two assists in the six matches leading up to yesterday’s trip to Sunderland.

One hamstring injury later and it’s back to the drawing board, with 3.2% of FPL managers forced to look elsewhere for a 5.6-priced striker with such solid recent form.

Erik Pieters
The 8.2%-owned defender was dropped to the bench by Mark Hughes yesterday, with the Potters boss citing the Dutchman’s loss of confidence.

That’s a quality in short supply among his owners as well. Stoke City have no double Gameweek and are a side with the beach on their mind – their draw with West Ham yesterday was only the third time they’ve gained points from a match in eight attempts.