With fantasy favourites Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney picking up mid-week injuries, many fantasy managers will be looking to bring in suitable replacements before the upcoming deadline. To make the decision that little bit easier I’m blowing the dust of The Scout Debate, and posing the following question to my fellow Scout Contributor’s; Who are the best candidates to replace Fabregas and Rooney in your fantasy line-ups?…

Akers: “Unfortunately I have both Rooney and Fabregas in my team. I’ve already made the decision that both have to go, and they have to go this week. Owned by so many, their price is going to plummet and it’s a lot of money tied up on the bench.

To replace Rooney, Torres is the easy choice for me. He’s in great form, can score against anyone, and the longer he’s not in my team the longer I’ll have nightmares of him ruining me.

I’ve a tougher choice to make when it comes to Fabregas however. Nasri is tempting me as it’s as like-to-like as possible, but the other thing I’m considering is what my rivals have. I have a reasonably comfortable lead in my mini-league, and I might just take the easy option of canceling differentials.

So my advice would be to go for differentials if you are chasing a lead, and cancel them if you are protecting one. I do fear for anyone without Torres though.”

Andy: “To replace Fabregas I am resigned to buying one player I have never really wanted in my team, and am not sure I do now – Matty Etherington – however needs must. I feel I need a midfielder who should hopefully get guaranteed starts (not another silly Aquilani punt) and preferably with good fixtures to boot over the next two weeks. I quite literally can’t think of any other player, and have funds to buy anyone I so please. Etherington it is then… sigh.

I already sold Rooney for Torres five weeks ago, a contender for one of my top trades of the season – and finally one where Rooney hasn’t (as of yet) come back to bite me on the proverbial! Were I needing to do it this week I would look at the likes of Bent, Fuller, Saha, Tevez, Torres or Zamora depending on the situation.”

greek fan: “PC damage has left me spending time on the computer-treatment table instead of searching for the best solution regarding the current injury storm that has hit my team.

I know I have many issues to settle with and I don’t have an easy answer. While Rooney and Fabregas are very difficult to replace, suddenly I have a bunch of options available and they all seem good to me. I just have to find the right combination.

I think Nasri will be central and essential to everything Arsenal produce from now on and will possibly take set-pieces. Lampard was in my thoughts ever since last week and his new position closer behind Chelsea’s lone striker. Malouda is cheaper with not much less potential. Up front, Torres looks like a must-have player now, though I think Bendtner will have supply by Nasri, Rocisky, Diaby, enough to be envied by many Premier League strikers.

I’m sorry I can’t give a definitive answer, but I hope I will read some good arguments on the Fantasy Football Scout board which will help me decide.”

I’m Not Marshal Foch: “The biggest irritation for me with this news is the fact that my experiment I provisionally entitled “The Square”, to get the three big guns (Torres, Drogba and Rooney) up front combined with Fabregas in midfield, has now been dismantled into nothing more than a “line”. Personally I’m taking Rooney out for Tevez and most probably taking out Fabregas for safe bet Lampard or risque Gerrard. Nothing particularly exciting but I’m looking to protect the leads I have in the leagues in which I’m not completely out of.”

Mark: “Fortunately I shipped out Rooney prior to last weekend in the light of his fixtures versus those of Torres. The Liverpool striker came in for me and I’m sure he is the immediate target for most Fantasy Managers seeking a replacement. Rooney’s teammate Berbatov is an interesting alternative – he’s been quietly efficient of late with four goals in five league games and will surely shoulder the burden of scoring United’s goals in Rooney’s absence.

Much depends on differentials within your mini-league of course. Drogba and Torres look essential for me – it’s the third option that could make all the difference and you either go for a long-term option here – Bent, Tevez – or shop week-to-week with fixtures – Saha, Fuller, Zamora. Right now I’m sitting on Bendtner and monitoring the Van Persie situation, although the absence of Fabregas may reduce supply to Bendtner to the extent that I’m forced to look elsewhere. If that’s the case I’d favour the second option – rotating my third striker according to fixtures. I’m chasing a lead and need constant differentials.

As for Fabregas – I’m one of thousands looking for a replacement and my attitude to that is much the same. With Malouda in my side I’m going to overlook Lampard with those two the obvious candidates. Again, I need to keep my lineup fairly fluid to stop those above me from simply covering my potential differentials. Right now then I’m considering the Everton midfield with their home fixture with West Ham and in the mid-term the likes of Etherington, Gera and Dempsey have appeal with their double fixture next gameweek. This week’s solution in unlikely to be sitting in my lineup come the final game of the season, unless I’ve somehow caught the leader.”

SIR PAULOS: “I could say “Lampard” and be done with it, but I want to keep my Arsenal midfield options open. As shown in the Champions League home game with Porto, Arsenal can still turn teams over without Cesc, and Nasri excelled in the middle that day.

Added to the fact that he is a good shout for penalties makes Nasri a more than able deputy. At £7.8m and only 1.1% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) owners, he could be a decent “differential” given that Rooney’s injury will have many managers opting for similar strike-forces.

Regarding Rooney, as I already have Drogba, Torres and Tevez, it’s not a decision that’s mine to make. As the majority of managers will inevitably turn to one of these three as an alternative to Wayne, I would maybe be looking elsewhere.

Wearing my sensible hat I’d say Bent, but with Dazza being owned by 29% of FPL managers, perhaps Zamora could be worth a cheeky punt? Three home games and a double gameweek in the next three weeks, plus he’s owned by just 8.2% of FPL bosses. Priced at just £5.6m, compared to Bent’s £7.8m, he frees up more cash, too, if budgetary concerns come into the decision.

Boring-play-it-safe-choice = Lampard and Bent.
Could-be-worth-the-risk = Nasri and Zamora.”

SUPERIOR BEING: “After such a barrage of negative team news I find myself reasonably happy with my situation. Out of the ‘big hitters’ I only have Rooney injured making my ‘transfer out’ decision an easy one. Who to transfer in is a much more difficult decision though. I already have Tevez and he looks a great option for other managers in the short term and possibly the long term too – he does face Manchester United soon but how many times have we seen players score against their old teams? The same logic applies to Bent who faces Spurs this week and then has a kind run of fixtures. For me though the decision is between Drogba or Torres. My database chooses Drogba but my head says Torres when I look at the fixture list. I think I might toss a coin to decide that one!

As for Fabregas owners, surely everyone will jump to Lampard but what if the manager requires a differential? I would look to Arteta. He is owned by just 7% of managers, has mouth watering fixtures and is involved in pretty much everything Everton do going forward. A word of warning though, at time of writing he is an injury doubt so make sure you keep an eye on Greek Fan’s tweets to keep you up to date.”

If you have a topic you would like covering in The Scout Debate, then email all suggestions to akers@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.