So far in this series I’ve focused on West Brom’s Simpson and Stoke’s Fuller. Both shortly ended up bothering the physio and were duly sidelined. Owners of Andrew Johnson should start worrying.
For all his endeavour and unquestionable work-rate, Andrew Johnson has failed to set things alight at Craven Cottage this season. Subsequently his fantasy returns to this point have been modest. Just 5 Premier League goals in 20 appearances hasn’t caught the eye and currently he remains an afterthought next to the likes of Carlton Cole, Craig Bellamy and Zaki who keep him company in the same price bracket across many of the games. Things could be about to change in the short-term though, as Fulham embark on a second double fixture week and start a string of 5 home games in the next 7.
That’s the key factor when considering Johnson. All of his 5 league goals have come at the Cottage this season, against Portsmouth, Spurs, Newcaslte and West Ham. Looking at those five defences, they all presented Johnson with the opportunity to boost his goal tally. Take a glance at his forthcoming fixtures and you get the same warm, fuzzy feeling for the diminutive frontman.
Fulham travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday, as part of this, their first double fixture gameweek. We can discount this fixture then. After that they play host to West Brom and then, following a tough looking trip to the Emirates, they host Hull and Blackburn in another double fixture gameweek. It’s those three home games that appear to offer Johnson every opportunity to add to his humble goal tally thus far. Those three defences should all offer assistance – they all average close to, or over 2 goals-a-game conceded away from home so far this season. Fulham meanwhile, have the fourth best home record in the division, having lost just once and scored 19 goals in 11 games.
Those three attractive home games are followed by a trip to Bolton and two further Cottage encounters. These are against United and Liverpool but even so, Fulham have shown in the past that they are more than capable at the Cottage of testing the Premier League’s big boys. Investment in Johnson then could carry you through to gameweek 31 or beyond.
Admittedly, Johnson’s run-in isn’t the most attractive with Chelsea, Villa and Everton lying in wait in the final 4 games. Over the next 7 games and particularly the next 4 however, Johnson and his Fulham team-mates look worthy of investment as you can see in my current monthly picks (in your right-hand menu). At just 6.5 in the FPL, it looks likely that the Fulham striker will attract plenty of interest leading up to the Hull and Blackburn double fixtures in gameweek 28.