With our first postponement at the season arriving courtesy of a frozen Bloomfield Road surface, the pool of players for this week’s Scout Picks was somewhat reduced. In truth, only Nani was likely to force his way into my thinking from that fixture and, in a Gameweek which appears to favour an expensive forward line, he may well have been sacrificed for a cheaper option.
With Chelsea, City and Liverpool all facing decent home opposition, we have a situation where the likes of Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez are all lining up potential goal hauls. Ironically none of that trio will go into the weekend with convincing form, although, in the case of Tevez, that has more to do with tactics and team-mates than his own failings.
It was difficult to deny two of these heavyweights a place in my selection, which meant pinching some pennies in other areas. Fortunately, with midfield casualties aplenty and a trend towards mid-price defenders, this wasn’t too much of a difficult task.
Soak up the justification for my eleven that follows then, and look out for Big Dunc’s “Spot the Differential” for some alternative selections later this evening…
The Defence
Lukasz Fabianski
Arsenal’s Polish keeper remains a much-maligned figure and the Arsenal defence is certainly far from secure. Having said that, the alternatives look thin on the ground this week and Arsenal’s potential to shut-out a struggling Fulham just nudges out Ben Foster at home to a Spurs side who I expect to notch at St Andrews. Arsenal continue to have few viable options within their back four that offer true attacking potential while Thomas Vermaelen remains sidelined; the Arsenal keeper is always likely to benefit from time to time while that remains the case. One of those times is now.
Ashley Cole
There are cheaper options in the Chelsea back four of course but none offer quite so much security over attacking verve as England’s left-back. Carlo Ancelotti’s defence have found clean sheets hard to come by in recent weeks but they will be facing an Everton side robbed of the creative talents of Mikel Arteta and badly lacking a cutting edge in front of goal. If they can keep Tim Cahill tightly marked then Cole and colleagues should be in line for a belated shut-out at the Bridge this week.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos
A beneficiary of Jamie Carragher’s recent shoulder injury, the imposing Greek centre-back is now due a prolonged run in the Liverpool back four. That’s good news for Fantasy managers who can find a new bargain route to potential clean sheets from Roy Hodgson’s side ahead of a run of decent opposition that all starts with the visit of Villa this weekend. Gerard Houllier makes his return to Anfield then, but with Ashley Young suspended and a string of injuries in midfield, his side won’t carry the threat of previous seasons. Even an out of sorts Liverpool should have enough to seal the points. Kyrgiakos may not fetch a clean sheet but his physical presence at set-plays looks likely to be a factor and his dominant style always puts him in the hunt for Fantasy Premier League Bonus Points.
Chris Samba
Like the Liverpool defender, Samba’s Fantasy potential benefits from a substantial threat from set-plays and the tendency to dominate his striker enough to attract Bonus attention. Samba will skipper Rovers against a Wolves side who will likely keep things tight with a 4-5-1, but who have demonstrated a new willingness to attack in recent weeks. A shut-out is a possibility then, but Samba may well have to rely on attacking points to reward investment.
Aleksandar Kolarov
Are we going to see a City clean sheet against Bolton? It seems unlikely. Then again, with defensive points so hard to come by, it makes perfect sense to back a defender who at least offers some threat going forward. No other full-back in the league, including Leighton Baines of Everton, can compare to Kolarov in terms of attacking intent right now. Sooner or later that attacking threat is going to bring returns for his owners. To compound matters, Kolarov looks a very strong option at 5.7 in the FPL, as City prepare for a run of games that appear to offer clean sheet potential.
The Midfield
Chris Brunt
So central to everything good that comes from Roberto Di Matto’s side, Brunt returned to the West Brom starting lineup in devastating style at Goodison last weekend. This Gameweek he will come up against a Newcastle side that has been horribly inconsistent on their travels. If the Newcastle from the 5-1 thrashing at the Reebok turn up, then we should see a home win with Brunt again involved. Be wary of his four bookings however – in the mid-term, Brunt has a suspension coming.
Morten Gamst Pedersen
Ignore the 7-1 drubbing at Old Trafford and Blackburn display a strong spell of form (3 wins in 4) going into a kind run of opponents in the coming Gameweeks. Gamst-Pedersen missed the United thrashing and has been the key component in the Rovers success story over recent weeks. Four goals in his last four starts, with 9 FPL Bonus Points thrown in, have alerted Fantasy Managers to his potential, at a time when so many expensive options have fallen to injury, suspension and now match postponement. There could be goals in the encounter with Wolves at Ewood and if the home team profit, Gamst-Pedersen is again likely to be in the mix.
Samir Nasri
The French trickster justified his inclusion in the Picks last weekend with his sixth goal of the season and I’ve no qualms about keeping him for a second week running. Passed fit for the home fixture with Fulham, Nasri will surely be a key figure and with heavy set-piece involvement, including spot-kick duties (while Robin Van Persie remains benched), looks a very strong option for returns once again.
Gareth Bale
While I toyed with the likes of Charles N’Zogbia, Dirk Kuyt and even Craig Gardner, the lure of Tottenham’s flying Welshman just proved too strong. There’s a slim chance that Harry Redknapp may wish to rest Bale ahead of a potential group-winning Champions League clash in midweek but, with injuries biting, Harry’s options look limited. Spurs will travel to St Andrews without the guile of Rafael Van der Vaart but they have scored 10 goals in their last four games and only Bolton have fired in more goal attempts. The Birmingham defence, while strong, was fortunate to claim a clean sheet in their last home encounter with Chelsea and I just see Spurs and Bale leaving the Midlands in profit.
The Forwards
Didier Drogba
The Ivorian has suffered a run of seven league appearances without a goal but has remained a major threat, particularly in recent weeks. The drought has to end at some point and a home fixture with Everton looks to be as good an opportunity as any, particularly if Phil Jagielka fails to shake off an injury for David Moyes’ men. Drogba has only today, acknowledged that he’s still fighting his way back to health following a bout of malaria, but has shown enough in recent weeks to suggest that he can inflict the damage on Everton this weekend.
Carlos Tevez
City continue to struggle to score goals, cut loose and put opponents to the sword. They’ve suffered a series of drawn matches of late but against Bolton this weekend they seem unlikely to be given the opportunity to grind out a result. I can easily see the visitors notching a goal or two and that surely will draw the sting from Roberto Mancini’s side. When City score, the instrumental Tevez has surely got to be involved. Be wary again, like Brunt, Tevez currently sits on four bookings – a yellow this weekend and he faces a one-match ban; he looks worth a gamble this Gameweek however.
