Michael Turner provided strong value last season, returning four goals to help mask the porosity of the Hull defence. This season’s move to Sunderland looked set to help Turner build on that first Premier League season and establish him as a potential bargain in fantasy terms. It hasn’t turned out that way. Sunderland have returned just five clean sheets so far this term, while Turner has only found the net once with two assists thrown in.
Crucially, while Turner stood out in the Hull defence allowing him to return an impressive 23 bonus points in the Fantasy Premier League game, this season he has failed to catch the eye and brought in just two bonus points.
Why be tempted to look at Turner now then? Quite simply because Sunderland have four home games in the next five gameweeks, plus a double fixture in gameweek 31. Bolton, City, Birmingham and Spurs visiting the Stadium of Light over the course of the next five gameweeks. Those first three opponents arrive in consecutively, starting this weekend with the woefully out of form Bolton in town…
Sunderland’s own form is far from electric but it’s worth noting that they have lost only one in the last five home games, conceding just four goals in the process. Indeed, in the last three games at the Stadium of Light, Steve Bruce’s side have let in just a single goal having kept clean sheets against Stoke and Fulham.
While investment in Sunderland in their current run of form can only be considered a gamble, Turner is available for a budget price (4.4 in the Fantasy Premier League game) and brings clean sheet potential in addition to his goal threat from set-plays. With Andy Reid currently laid low and Darren Bent struggling to find a place in our lineups with Drogba, Rooney, Torres and even Bendtner to consider up front, Turner in the Black Cats defence, could well emerge as the best option for those looking for a differential to capitalise on Sunderland’s decent run of games.
There is one caveat to consider however. Turner has picked up bookings in his last two matches, giving him a total of eight for the season. He is therefore just two bookings away from a two-match suspension. With the curfew for ten bookings set for April 11, Turner has seven games between now and that date to navigate without picking up two yellows. This looks unlikely although before the defeat to Arsenal on February 20, Turner had gone nine games without a caution.