A truly woeful run of recent form has seen Sunderland surrender their position in the heady heights of the top half and slip to the lower reaches of mid-table mediocrity. It’s no surprise that their downturn has coincided with a set of fixtures that pitted them against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City and subsequently, in the words of Steve Bruce, found the Black Cats players “sadly lacking in confidence”.
But a top ten finish is certainly still the aim for the Sunderland boss and with a good run of fixtures on the horizon, (bir WIG FUL bol WOL whm) it’s well within their grasp:
“We have got six games left, we have got on paper a fantastic-looking run-in. It’s up to us. I know we are capable of winning two or three of those. If we win two or three of those games, we could finish in the top 10, which was always our aim.”
With the remaining six gameweeks favouring Sunderland more than any other team in the league, a couple of their players flash up on our radars, despite current form and results. As their defence continues to flounder and offer dubious points returns, much focus will be on the firepower of Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck, a pair who certainly have all the talent required to fill a hole that still at times resembles the silhouette of Darren Bent. For Fantasy Managers, acquiring one of the duo to complement more luxurious assets elsewhere, could well be an ideal transfer strategy.
Asamoah Gyan
Currently Sunderland’s top goal scorer with 9 goals to his name, the Ghanaian has proven to be a decent purchase in his first season in the Premier League. He is without doubt a gifted individual with a belter of a shot on him and, given their upcoming opposition, you would certainly expect a few more goals added to his tally before the season draws to a close.
With 5 assists and 10 bonus points on top of his penchant for finding the back of the net, Gyan has fetched a respectable 106 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points. The fact he is on spot-kick duties also adds some extra points-grabbing potential. Priced at 7.0 he is a decent mid-range acquisition and holds a fairly low ownership of 4.4%, which could class him as something of a differential, a key factor at this point of the season for those Fantasy Managers looking for a punt as they chase down a mini-league leader.
Danny Welbeck
Coming in at 4.6 in the FPL price range, Welbeck is more of a budget option ideal for those penny-pinching Fantasy Managers out there. An injury kept the Manchester United loanee out for much of January and February, hampering the goal-scoring form he found in the last two months of 2010. With glimpses of his old self shining through over the last couple of fixtures, you expect the recent England cap to add to his 6 Premier League goals.
A haul of 76 points includes an assist and evidence of a favourable habit of catching the eye of the Fantasy Premier League Bonus point judges, having gathered 11 so far this season. That’s a decent overall return in a top-flight breakthrough season interrupted with injury and you can understand why Steve Bruce has admitted he would be very keen to keep Welbeck at the Stadium of Light.
There’s no denying that Welbeck is a steal at his price and he also offers great differential potential with an ownership of just 1.2%.
