There’s a lot of pressure on Fernando Torres this evening. While the burden of scoring against Portsmouth and continuing to provide the goals to steer Liverpool to fourth place will be palpable to him, he won’t be aware that fantasy managers are actually looking to him to provide a much-needed differential and break up what is rapidly becoming a fantasy forward line template.

The weekend saw two goals for Didier Drogba. Two goals for Wayne Rooney. Both trail injury-victim Robin Van Persie for points-per-game but are doing more than enough to maintain their “essential” status in fantasy terms. Then we have Nicklas Bendtner, much-maligned amongst football fans and on these pages but with a record that shows three league goals in his last four starts after his late winner at Hull. Add that to five Fantasy Premier League bonus points, a budget price tag and the fact that Bendtner is set to be a the sharp-end of an Arsenal side with kind fixtures and consistent attacking intent and you have your third striker. You haven’t even had to think about it…

Making an effort and searching for a differential is beginning to look like a futile and doomed-to-failure exercise. Yes we’ve flirted with Darren Bent and yes he’s delivered goals. But his hat-trick against Bolton last week came off the back of one league goal in his last six starts. Sunderland continue to falter for form and Bent is a considerably more expensive option than Bendtner who, let’s face it, will prosper from far more goal opportunities than his Black Cats rival.

Then of course there’s Jermain Defoe – a striker who will get and gain opportunities to score with Modric and Bale serving him, but one who only appears to be able to keep the fantasy pot simmering rather than boiling over like a Rooney or Drogba. Defoe is doing just enough but four goals in his last ten starts but cannot compete with the big-hitters. With a mid-price value – it’s also hard to justify his selection over Bendtner. Added to this, there’s even a chance of rotation with Crouch and Pavlyuchenko options for Redknapp. The latter might even be considered by some as an option – cheaper than Bendtner, Pavlyuchenko is shining with five league goals in his last three starts but, at this crucial stage in our seasons, can we really rely on the Russian to maintain this form and on Redknapp to give him sustained opportunities if he blips?

Similarly you can perhaps choose to dabble in budget options when fixtures fall their way – Bobby Zamora, Carlton Cole, Hugo Rodallega – they’ve all had attention over the season but their inconsistency in fantasy terms just doesn’t appear to offer a viable alternative right now when you can gamble on cheaper options in midfield areas.

It appears that the only real threat to the Rooney/Drogba/Bendtner template is City’s Carlos Tevez. His impressive goal tally this term has been reinforced by assists and bonus points and City have a double fixture in this coming gameweek and to come, with the home game with Spurs still to be scheduled. Having said all this, his price tag is well beyond that of Bendtner, while his goal-getting abilities still don’t stand up to those of Drogba and Rooney. Tevez is a potential differential then but a risky one.

It leaves us needing Torres to spark just as much as Rafa. The Liverpool striker might just break up what is rapidly becoming an unholy trinity up front and actually give us a decision to make when it comes to selecting our forwards. That’s the chink of light that those chasing a fantasy gap desperately need.