Caught your breath after that roller coaster of a Manchester derby? Good. Settle down at the back. Let’s start the week with some lessons learned from another fantasy gameweek…
Nugent will start and is a prospect…
Off the bench with half-hour to spare and the Portsmouth loanee crops up with a brace to win the points for Owen Coyle’s men. The Burnley boss has indicated that he considers Nugent to be a super sub while he builds his match fitness, but surely he’ll start him at White Hart Lane next weekend? If so, then suddenly we have ourselves another decent budget option. At just 5.3 in the Fantasy Premier League and with decent Burnley fixtures to come (tot BIR bla WIG HUL), he is well worthy of consideration.
Wade Elliot is also on the radar…
If you don’t fancy the slight gamble on Nugent, how about Wade Elliot? An inspiration again in the Clarets midfield, although this time he had two assists and maximum FPL bonus points to prove. Again, Burnley have strong fixtures to come (tot BIR bla WIG HUL), making Elliot worth a look as another budget midfield buy. Elliot has already been bought by over 10,000 FPL managers so far this gameweek.
Hines could be the biggest bargain of all…
The young striker put the frighteners on the shaky Liverpool defence and won more praise from Zola in his post-match comments.
“He is very good and he is making himself established in the team and that is down to his work and his attitude.”
Zola kept his 4-3-3 and slotted Hines and Diamanti either side of Cole against Rafa’s side, so there’s every chance that we’ll see the youngling keep a starting role and start earning fantasy points. At a rock bottom price throughout the fantasy games (4.5 in the FPL), Hines could be the ultimate money-saving bench striker in your squad. West Ham’s short-term fixtures are a little on the stiff side though (mcy FUL stk ARS sun).
Diamanti starts will kill Noble’s potential…
Talking of Diamanti, he is a confirmed set-piece specialist so, when he starts, he’ll hog direct free-kicks. He also took and scored the penalty against Liverpool. The net result of this being that Mark Noble’s potential as a reasonable fantasy points scorer is now massively reduced. Starts and potential returns for Jimenez are also in question when he recovers from injury, given the form of Hines and competition for starting roles form Dyer and Behrami.
Milner is a Young alternative…
On my bench in the picks, I went with Ashley Young instead. Milner duly hoovered up 14 Fantasy Premier League points with a penalty and two assists, along with the maximum FPL bonus. Guaranteed starts in O’Neill’s side, Milner stepped up this week as a genuine and cheaper alternative to Ashley Young. Straight swaps will be on the cards for many in the next few days, although Villa’s forthcoming fixtures are patchy (bla MCY CHE wlv eve).
Ben Foster is on borrowed time….
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. We saw another costly error today for the Barry goal so Foster and his fantasy owners must surely know, deep down, that he’ll be benched as as soon as Van der Sar is fit. Start planning your replacement candidates now.
Hetinga has the right-back spot…
Moyes slotted his new Dutch signing into his lineup against Blackburn on Sunday, dropping Hibbert to the bench. With Heitinga ineligible for Europe, it’s likely his stay on the teamsheet for league games will be a long one.
Giggs has still got it…
An incredible performance from the United man saw him notch four assists against City. Giggs has started the last three league games for United and, on this form, looks likely to continue to get the nod. Ferguson’s European lineups need monitoring. If Giggs is rested for those in midweek, it’s a good bet he’ll start in the league and offer strong potential returns for a mid-price outlay.
Ashley Cole is indispensable…
Stooping to score his second goal of the season against Spurs, Cole must surely hold the left-back spot all season, even when Zhirkov is fit. Florent Malouda has recently revealed details on Cole’s attacking role down the left and his two goals so far this season confirm his importance to Ancelotti’s side going forward. While Terry is more expensive and Carvalho, Bosingwa and Ivanovic rotate amongst themselves, Cole has cemented his place as the key fantasy option in the Chelsea back defence.
Drogba continues to drain Lampard returns…
A goal and assist continued Drogba’s outstanding start to the season. In the FPL, the Ivorian also claimed his third maximum bonus point haul, as he continues to divert returns away from Lampard. The Chelsea midfielder figured again with an assist and a single bonus point but, given that you can currently grab Drogba for 1.5 less in this game, the temptation to swap your distribution of cash from the Chelsea midfield to their attack is becoming stronger by the week. Further investment in Drogba looks inevitable, although having limped off against Spurs, would-be investors will need to hold fire whilst news on the injury breaks later this week.