Spot the Differential – Gameweek 13

Today marks the start of a hectic festive period which treats Fantasy managers to eight Gameweeks over the upcoming 34 days. As we head towards this morning’s deadline, we roll out another trio of overlooked alternatives for your perusal – after a slow start to their respective seasons, each of our contenders is starting to find their form ahead of some encouraging fixtures.

Rickie Lambert

A dream move from Southampton back to his hometown club began to look more like the stuff of nightmares as the 32-year-old quickly slipped down the Anfield pecking order. It’s taken an injury to Mario Balotelli to finally persuade Brendan Rodgers to allow Lambert a starting berth and the summer signing has been quick to justify his first-team inclusion – firing goals in back-to-back matches against Palace and Ludogorets.

With his manager’s praise ringing in his ears, Lambert’s displays look to have secured him that role up front as the Reds prepare for a kind run of three matches over the next week.

Home clashes against Stoke and Sunderland sandwich a midweek trip to Leicester, and with all three opponents struggling defensively, Lambert will be optimistic of extending that streak as the festive schedule heats up. Available for a mere 6.9 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), he looks, at the very least, a viable short-term contender as the Reds attempt to get their stuttering season back on track, and with 29 goals and 19 assists in the previous two campaigns, he’s more than capable of producing the goods if his manager affords him playing time.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The former Southampton starlet is set for his sixth consecutive league appearance as the Gunners travel to troubled West Brom later today. With the Arsenal treatment room rarely empty, Oxlade-Chamberlain has benefitted from a spate of injuries in recent weeks and turned in a series of impressive displays which have helped cement a spot on the right.

Although he’s failed to pick up the Fantasy returns his performances have merited, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s underlying stats suggest he shouldn’t be overlooked. From Gameweek 8 onwards, he sits fourth amongst midfielders for chances created (16) and touches in the box (32), whilst his total of 12 attempts is just three fewer than Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, for example.

With Theo Walcott still sidelined through injury, the 6.4-priced Oxlade Chamberlain will be unleashed against a Baggies backline that has conceded twice in five of their last six tomorrow. Following that, showdowns with Stoke, Newcastle, Liverpool and QPR in the subsequent five suggest he could be the ideal solution for those on the search for a mid-price alternative in the centre of the park.

Jefferson Montero

The summer signing looks to have finally established himself as a regular in Garry Monk’s first-team over the last few matches. Montero initially found himself behind Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge in the Swansea pecking order, but after starting each of the last four, he arrives on the radar ahead of a very kind schedule which hands the Welsh club four home fixtures (CPL, QPR, TOT, AVL) in the next six.

While Gylfi Sigurdsson is likely to garner most of the attention in light of that run, Montero could be a real under-the-radar option. The South American has earned an assist in each of his last two starts at the Liberty, and as evidence by his recent display against Arsenal, his trickery out wide looks a key weapon in the Welsh side’s armoury.

Encouragingly, over those last four appearances, Montero’s total of 18 touches in the penalty box equals Sigurdsson’s seven and Wilfried Bony’s 11 combined. If he can step up his close-range menace and fire off attempts with a little more regularity, Montero, at just 5.7 in FPL, could be a canny mid-price acquisition as Monk looks to cement a top-six spot over the festive period.