Mark may be sitting tight on his transfers after a poor start to the season, but there are plenty of managers banging their heads against the wall over early season tip-offs such as Victor Moses and Stephane Sessegnon. A well thought-out differential might be just the tonic needed to clear away the resultant headache, then, and as we begin the build-up to another gameweek, we’ve picked out our three favourite ‘alternative’ picks once again. After the vindication of a Daniel Sturridge 8 pointer last time out, I’m feeling confident….
Shaun Wright-Phillips
The former England winger produced an eye-catching display on his debut against Newcastle on Monday night and, as an out of position midfielder playing up front alongside Jay Bothroyd, he looks great value at just 6.4m. Despite ending goalless, QPR looked as threatening as they have all season and Wright-Phillips was instrumental in the majority of their attacking play. He could have had a hat-trick of assists in the first half and managed five shots on goal in total- if he can put in that sort of performance every week then attacking returns are surely a formality in games to come.
Upcoming fixtures for QPR look decent with a home tie against Villa, a trip to struggling Fulham and a home game against Blackburn following their trip to Molineux this weekend. If you’ve been holding off on Taraabt until QPR settle into the Premier League, then you may well be tempted to invest in Wright Phillips instead and with ownership of just 1.3%, could be rewarded with an excellent differential return over the coming weeks.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Tottenham fans have been crying out for a striker of Adebayor’s quality after a toothless strike force of Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch found the net just 18 times last season. Despite the Arsenal links, the Togolese striker looks set to become a firm favourite with the fans after scoring on his debut last weekend, in an energetic and thoroughly impressive all round display. A great example of a ‘confidence player’, Adebayor’s enthusiasm has been known to wane as a season goes on, but at the moment he is full of it, and looks like a steal at just 8.0m.
At home to Liverpool this weekend will be a slightly tougher test than Wolves last week, but Tottenham will still feel confident they can pick up all three points. Redknapp fielded a virtual reserve side in the UEFA cup last night, so the usual European hangover for Tottenham won’t apply here and with no new first-team injuries to worry about, Adebayor and Defoe are expected to head up an attacking 4-4-2 formation that will be set up to attack Liverpool from the off. Harry Redknapp has indicated today that Rafael Van der Vaart could return on Sunday, but the likelihood is that Defoe would be the one to drop out if the Dutchman makes his comeback.
Gervinho
Gervinho returns to action this weekend after his three match ban for slapping Joey Barton, and the Ivory Coast striker will be looking to hit the ground running as Arsenal face a Blackburn side struggling for form. Priced at 8.9m in the FPL game, he isn’t the cheapest pick but at 3m less than Robin Van Persie and owned by just 1.3%, he could still be a great way into Arsenal’s attractive run of fixtures if you’re looking to save some cash.
Comfortable on the right or left flank, Gervinho is expected to start on the left against Blackburn but with the freedom to roam as part of a fluid front three, as was the case against Udinese in their Champions League qualifier. In this role, Gervinho can play a key part in the Arsenal attack against a poor Blackburn team, and stands a great chance of picking up some decent points. Considering his current total of minus one, it can only get better from here.
