A hectic transfer window and the International break has thrown up a whole host of interesting options for this gameweek, and although Edin Dzeko has seemingly cornered the mainstream market with a staggering 390,000 transfers in the FPL game so far this week, there are still plenty of alternative options available if you’re looking for a ‘Differential’. As we gear up for another gameweek then, it’s time to take another look at the stand out options that have been missed by the masses and pick out our three favourites for this week…..
Daniel Sturridge
Juan Mata was the alternative this week and although the Spaniard looks to be on top form and will surely attract substantial investment over the coming weeks, it is Daniel Sturridge that most catches the eye as a differential. He was outstanding in pre-season and would surely have been involved in Chelsea’s first three games were it not for his suspension, so at just 6.5m he looks great value and his current ownership of 0.9% should soar if he can get on the score sheet this weekend.
The obvious question mark over his starting role may be enough to put some off, but with Drogba definitely out of action against Sunderland, many respectable pundits have been backing a Mata/ Torres/Sturridge front three. Despite his indifference, getting the best from £50 million signing Fernando Torres has to be the number one priority for Andre Villas-Boas if he wants to get on at Chelsea, and Malouda, Kalou and Anelka have all been disappointing in this respect so far. With Villas-Boas and John Terry both commenting recently on how highly rated Sturridge has become at Chelsea, it certainly looks like he will get his chance this weekend, and at such a bargain price he looks like a perfect differential.
Per Mertesacker
Picking an Arsenal defender after their 8 goal mauling at Old Trafford might seem a bit odd, but with Arsenal expected to make wholesale changes to their back four for the weekend’s tie and Swansea still looking for their first goal of the campaign, they will be confident of picking up a clean sheet. The bookies certainly agree with this sentiment too – Paddy Power have them at evens for a clean sheet, the second lowest odds of any side. Their next six fixtures are also the easiest of any side according to our next six ticker, so with such an attractive run of fixtures to come, spending 6.0m on an Arsenal defender might just be one of the most sensible transfers you could make this week.
We covered the key facts and stats about Mertesacker earlier in the week with our Window Watch article, but a few key things have changed since then. Firstly Thomas Vermaelen has been ruled out making the big German an almost dead cert to start, and will also by default make him a key target for corners and crosses. With Gibbs and Sagna also returning to fitness, Arsenal should also be a lot more solid at the back than last week adding to his clean sheet potential. Fellow new arrival Andre Santos is definitely one to keep an eye on, but recent reports suggest he is still short of match fitness and so Mertesacker looks like the strongest pick, despite his low ownership of just 1.1%.
Bryan Ruiz
After signing for Fulham in the final hour of the transfer window, Bryan Ruiz will be looking to settle into the Fulham side as quickly as possible and with a home tie against stuttering Blackburn, he has a great opportunity to make an immediate impact. There is still a doubt over whether he’ll play the full 90 minutes, but reports suggest he is expected to start as part of a two man attack alongside a fit again Bobby Zamora. A detailed look into his statistics and history is given in another of our window watch articles from last week so further analysis is unnecessary here, but suffice to say, if he can recreate the form that made him such a key player at FC Twente then he looks good for goals, assists and bonus, and should go on to become a great value pick.
Despite coming in at a very affordable 7.0m in the FPL game, just 5000 managers have picked him up since his introduction to the FPL game last week. Although relatively unknown having played much of his career in the Eredivisie, this still seems like a very slow uptake for such a promising player and probably has much to do with Edin Dzeko’s unprecedented popularity – if you don’t buy into the hype however, Ruiz looks an excellent differential and his much lower price should help free up funds to use elsewhere.
