As an Everton fan, I struggle to get excited by transfer deadline day. David Moyes’ top signing of the day was finalised just minutes before the transfer window slammed shut at 11pm last night, but while Apostolos Vellios may turn out to be one of the stars of the future, it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed, especially considering the mayhem across Stanley Park.
Deadline day did throw up a couple of potential bargains for the coming weeks though, and as always, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the less prominent players to see if they have the potential to be the top differentials for the second half of the season.
We’ve avoided the new arrivals this week to allow us to see how they might slot into their new teams, but there are still plenty of existing options to mull over….
Raul Meireles
Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez will surely dominate the headlines, but it is in midfield where we find the most promising differential in the Liverpool lineup for this week’s home game against Stoke. Raul Meireles has been a revelation in recent weeks since being returned to his preferred centre midfield role, and along with Martin Kelly, looks to be one of the key fantasy targets in the Liverpool lineup now that Dalglish’s preferred formation has become clear. Meireles was excellent against Everton and Wolves, but Gerrard was missing through suspension for both of these games so it was unclear how Dalglish would arrange his team when everyone was available. Against Fulham however, Gerrard was back in the side, and thankfully Meireles was kept in his advanced position, taking it in turns with Gerrard to bomb forwards. The introduction of Carroll and Suarez threatens to disrupt this partnership with the inevitable shift to 4-4-2, but until Carroll is fully recovered from his hamstring injury at least, Meireles will be a key part of Liverpools attacking game plan.
While Gerrard remains a decent option, Meireles offers just as much potential going forwards and is available at a fraction of the price. What’s more, he has been hogging the Bonus Points, and picked up the maximum in the Fulham match while Gerrard didn’t get any, taking him to 8 Bonus Points in his last three games. With Meireles available for just 6.8m, Gerrard owners will clearly be looking to cash in, and with a home game against Stoke tomorrow night, Meireles could be an excellent differential for this week.
Johnathan Spector
West Ham currently hold the unfortunate honour of being the league’s leakiest defense, with 43 goals conceded in just 24 games. Picking one of their defenders when they don’t even have a double Gameweek coming up may seem pretty crazy but don’t write him off just yet, there may still be enough potential to justify his inclusion as a wildcard budget option.
Despite being listed as a defender, he has actually been playing in an advanced midfield role since November, and in that time he has scored 4 goals in nine games including a brace against Man United in the Carling Cup. He was only picked against United due to the absence of Scott Parker, but his performance in that game and the subsequent league game against Arsenal were enough to earn him another start against Everton, despite Parker returning to the team. He was excellent again in that game, getting on the scoresheet once more with a composed finish from Luis Boa Morte’s cutback, so it looks like Spector could be set for a run in the team going forwards and at just 4.1m and an ownership of 0.3% he could be a decent, if somewhat risky differential.
Moussa Dembele
Dembele showed glimpses of what he was capable of at the start of the season, when he picked up 28 points in Fulham’s first four games of the season. Two injury spells and Fulham’s general lack of form mean he has been out of the limelight in recent weeks, and his value has plummeted as a result. Dembele is fully fit once again however, and with Fulham enjoying a mini revival in recent weeks, he is firmly back on our radar.
After missing eight league games with his latest injury, Dembele has been eased back into the side slowly but managed 90 minutes against Liverpool in their last league game, and his lively performance suggest he is back to full fitness. His two Bonus Points in that game, as well as his stunning solo goal and assist in the 4-0 thrashing of Spurs in the FA Cup make him an interesting fantasy prospect in any circumstances, but when you consider his price has dropped to just 4.8m and has just 0.6% ownership across the FPL game, he could prove to be an excellent value pick over the next few weeks.
Fulham’s home form has always been strong, but they have looked outstanding in their last three games at Craven Cottage, scoring nine goals without conceding, so they will go into their tie against Newcastle on Wednesday full of confidence, and eager to continue their winning streak.
Edin Dzeko
The addition of Dzeko is an interesting one, as it not only gives us an extra option in the Man City attack for their kind run of fixtures, it also has a knock on effect on Carlos Tevez, one of the most popular players in the game with 34.4% ownership. While Tevez’s deeper role did not affect his returns against Wolves, it should be noted that in a game where City scored four goals, Tevez only had three attempts on goal and made just one key pass. Dzeko was quiet in that game from a fantasy perspective but his potential is obvious, and looks more confident with every game. He managed six shots against Villa and five against Notts County, so it’s only a matter of time before those attempts get turned into goals and he racks up a huge score.
Dzeko’s goal scoring abilities are well known after his 26 goals in 32 games at Wolfsburg last season, but a common misconception is that he is a fox in the box type striker, that will not get assists or bonus points. On the contrary, he is just as good at setting them up, and managed 10 assists over the same period for Wolfsburg. His ability to play with his back to goal and hold the ball up while the likes of Tevez, Silva and Toure join the attack means he is bound to get a few assists for City as well, and a look at the filtered OPTA stats available to members proves just how effective he can be in this role; in his last league game against Aston Villa he won 4 aerial duals and made 15 layoffs, nearly twice as many as the next top striker in the same Gameweek.
City face a Birmingham side that are still reeling after their 5-0 walloping by United, and will be looking to put a few past their unsettled defence. Tevez sat out the FA cup tie on Saturday and is still rated as a doubt at the time of writing, so at 9.4m and an ownership of just 1.5%, Dzeko could be a big differential for this Gameweek.
Best of the rest
The long term injury to Adam Johnson makes David Silva’s place in the side much more secure, so at 8.5m and an ownership of just 1.6% he looks like another solid pick from the City lineup. Blackpool made a couple of interesting signings yesterday in Andy Reid and James Beattie, but it would take a brave (or insane) choice to go straight in for either of those despite their home tie against bottom of the table West Ham. Carlos Vela arrived on loan at West Brom on Friday so is more likely to play a part this week, and as West Brom play tonight we also have the luxury of seeing if he makes the starting lineup before the 7.30pm deadline. At just 4.4m and with a very attractive run of fixtures coming up, he could be an excellent last minute differential to the popular Peter Odemwingie.
