Sunday’s performance at old club Bolton bullets Daniel Sturridge up the new Watchlist rankings. We already had a keen eye on the winger’s weekend progress- Sturridge was on the bench for our Gameweek Seven Scout Selection Committee picks and returned our faith in his abilities with two goals, an assist and a couple of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bonus points in the 5-1 Reebok rout.
Suspended for the first three Gameweeks due to a straight red card picked up in his loan period under Owen Coyle last season, Sturridge grabbed a goal in his first appearance of the new campaign; an impudent back-heel helped Chelsea to a 2-1 win at Sunderland before he made way on the hour mark.
The following week at Old Trafford harvested just a couple of FPL points and when a knee injury, picked up in the Carling cup win over Fulham, sidelined him for the 4-1 home win over Swansea, Sturridge had fallen slightly off the Fantasy radar. When available, though, Andre Villas-Boas has started the forward in every league game and a return to full fitness allowed him a place back on the right of the Blues front three last Sunday afternoon.
Only last week, the Chelsea boss was talking up the player, confirming he sees Sturridge as a strong contender for the wide right spot, rather than a central role:
I am not sure how Daniel’s career will evolve but I think he has natural ability to play on the right flank. He offers me a little bit of the characteristics that I had with Hulk playing in that position last season when I was at Porto. We count him at the moment as a winger and he competes for that position with the others. He might play there but for this season we don’t plan to use Daniel in the striker position.
It’s 25 FPL points from three games, then, an average of 8.3 per game; the fourth-highest ratio so far this season, behind Wayne Rooney, Bobby Zamora and Sergio Aguero. With Villas-Boas clearly full of faith in the youngster’s abilities, his game time seems promising and priced at a mere 6.5, playing in a top-three team, his Fantasy prospects clearly look enticing.
Four home games and two favourable away trips in the next six Gameweeks (EVE, qpr, ARS, bla, LIV, WOL) looks a kind run of fixtures for Villas-Boas’ side and if Sturridge can maintain the displays that have seen him pick up more Fantasy points than any other Blues forward already, he could well prove to be integral to their Premier League fortunes, as Chelsea tuck in nicely behind both Manchester clubs at the top of the table.
