Luis Suarez stutters again at home, with Michel Vorm defiant. Chelsea grab their first clean sheet since gameweek one after dropping Jose Bosingwa, Man United defensive rotation causes headaches all round and Thomas Vermaelen serves a reminder of his goalscoring potential from the back:
Ryan Taylor
The makeshift left-back’s sublime winner in the 2-1 victory over Everton was his second league goal of the season, firmly instating him as the leading points scoring defender in the FPL. While Davide Santon’s arrival at the club appeared to put initial doubt over Taylor’s selection at left-back, the former Wigan man has held off any talk of being dropped and looks firmly established in the flourishing Newcastle lineup. Having proved a popular Fantasy signing, further investment over the international break looks inevitable. Fixtures are against further defensive returns in the short-term, but Taylor’s ability to strike a ball could yet reward even with City, United and Chelsea on the horizon.
Gabby Agbonlahor
After a lull of three gameweeks that saw just a single assist against West Brom, Agbonlahor exploded in the 3-2 win over Norwich to reward his 16% ownership. Often found patrolling the flanks and channels, the Villa striker is proving to be a key provider of assists, earning two more yesterday to take him to six for the season. His fifth goal of this term took his FPL points tally on par with the much-fancied Demba Ba, he is also a full 17 points ahead of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. There’s food for thought here though – Villa now face three away games in the next four gameweeks – Agbonlahor has so far returned just a single goal and assist in five away trips.
Darren Bent
Four goals in his last five league starts marks a return to form for the former Sunderland striker. Significantly however, all of Bent’s goals so far this season have come at Villa Park. As mentioned, Villa now have a run of three away games in four.
Shay Given
The Villa stopper remains the second most popular keeper option in the FPL with an ownership of 23%, but Alex McLeish’s side have kept just a single clean sheet in eight games. With the run of away trips to come, Given is looking vulnerable to sales – perhaps saved only by more pressing transfers elsewhere.
Antony Pilkington
The former Huddersfield winger continues to impress in the top flight, providing a strong budget consideration for Fantasy managers. Pilkington’s superb free-kick handed Norwich the lead and gave him his fourth league goal in his last seven gameweeks. Having emerged from a pack of midfield prospects in Paul Lambert’s squad, he looks destined to attract further investment over the international break as Fantasy managers clear the decks for bigger investments elsewhere. Certainly Norwich are displaying enough attacking verve and determination to suggest that they will cause any opposition trouble, which may well see Pilkington’s returns continue.
Chris Samba
The Blackburn skipper has been on top of the FPL form charts as a result of two recent strikes. He was, however, a casualty in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea with Steve Kean sounding pessimistic about the centre-back’s hamstring injury which saw him replaced just before half-time.
“Chris has pulled his hamstring which is disappointing,” revealed the Rovers boss. He’ll have intensive treatment on that but it is going to keep him out for a few weeks.”
Kean hopes to have Scott Dann and Ryan Nelsen back to fill the void following the international break.
Jose Bosingwa
Dropped from the Chelsea lineup, the Portuguese right-back could only watch on while Andre Villas-Boas’ side earned their first clean sheet in nine league games. Having been ousted by Branislav Ivanovic, the omens for a return to the lineup for the visit of Liverpool after the break don’t seem great. The recent sales in the FPL look set to continue as a result and, having already dropped in price, we can expect further declines before gameweek twelve. Alex came into the starting lineup alongside John Terry to earn his first start since gameweek two. At 5.6 he could yet provide some value but has some way to go before he can be classed as a secure Fantasy option.
Daniel Sturridge
Another blank for the Chelsea striker but, a missed opportunity given that Andre Villas-Boas handed him the central role, dropping Fernando Torres to the bench. We’ve seen sales of Sturridge in recent weeks, with his price falling to 6.7 having reached a peak at 6.9. Despite options up front, Sturridge would seem likely to go on earning opportunities although he could well find himself back on the right when Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge after the break with Didier Drogba back from suspension.
Wayne Rooney
Again handed a midfield role, Rooney and United struggled for fluidity on Sir Alex Ferguson’s big day. Having exploded in the early stages of the season, Rooney has now delivered just seven FPL points in his last four gameweeks – in the same spell, Van Persie has provided 54 points. The significant swing, combined with Rooney’s new role, has seen his ownership begin to decline. Rooney’s FPL price is now back to it’s original 12.0 valuation – something that was unthinkable when it climbed to 12.5 just five gameweeks ago. Those holding on to Rooney can at least look to improved fixtures for some comfort, but Rooney will surely need to be restored up front to convert them into returns. Should injuries to Tom Cleverley and Anderson subside over the break, we can perhaps expect a switch back to a more familiar role.
Nani
Currently awarded the assist for the Wes Brown own-goal, this is set to be reviewed in the FPL with the possibility of Danny Welbeck earning the credit for a glance on Nani’s cross. We can expect that to be resolved in the next 24-hours. Nani has failed to notch a goal or an assist since gameweek six.
David De Gea
Rested to the bench having been called into duty for the midweek Champions League tie, clearly De Gea’s potential as a secure option in the United back four has been diminished. Fantasy managers will be even more reluctant to consider the Spaniard given his price tag and the apparent lack of security around Champions League matches.
Jonny Evans
Having kept a second consecutive clean sheet in the league, Fantasy managers will be searching for an option in Sir Alex Ferguson’s rearguard. With Jonny Evans dropped to make way for Rio Ferdinand, there now appears to be little security available outside of the expensive Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Phil Jones is perhaps the best option but, with Rafael expected to be in the frame for a right-back spot after the break and Chris Smalling an option when he’s returned from injury, even the impressive Jones has a rotation threat hanging over him. He has however, started nine of eleven league games so far.
Sergio Aguero
While the Argentine’s quality is undoubted, his Fantasy owners will be beginning to fidget in frustration at his recent returns. Aguero’s blank in the 3-2 win at Loftus Road now means he’s provided just a single goal in five appearances – having missed gameweek eight, that’s just one goal in six gameweeks. Like Rooney, this decline has coincided with Van Persie’s rise and, having enjoyed an incredible start to the season, we could now see Aguero’s ownership diminish as Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli continue to flourish as options in the City attack.
Edin Dzeko
Four goals in his last three league games, with two assists thrown in, has suddenly lifted the Bosnian back into our thinking. While Aguero can be considered the more secure option, at 8.4 in the FPL, Dzeko is clearly back on the radar as a mid-price consideration who, even from the bench, offers the potential for goals.
David Silva
While the City forward line shifts to give Fantasy managers a headache, the Spaniard remains a consistent force in midfield. His goal in the win at Loftus Road was his fourth of a hugely profitable season. Silva has only failed to deliver at least a goal or an assist in two of his 11 appearances and one of those blanks was in a 25-minute appearance from the bench.
Luis Suarez
It’s two goals in his last nine games for the Uruguayan after yesterday’s blank against Swansea. Despite his recent poor league form, many Fantasy managers kept faith in Suarez with Brendan Rodgers’ side hardly the most potent on the road – some were bold enough to even hand him the armband ahead of Robin Van Persie. Liverpool seems incapable of breaking teams down at Anfield of late, though – this was their third home draw in a row, with just two wins in front of their own fans this season. Suarez has scored a single home goal since the opening day of the season and with (che, MCY, ful) up next, you’d imagine his owners will be offloading at a fairly swift rate during the international break.
Michel Vorm
The Dutchman returned his first away clean sheet of the campaign yesterday. Defying Liverpool with 6 saves, Vorm has broken away from the pack and has an 8 point lead as the top-scoring Fantasy goalkeeper after eleven gameweeks. Swansea now have three of the next four games at home (MUN, AVL, bla, FUL) and, given the way they are performing at the Liberty Stadium, you wouldn’t bet against them grabbing a couple more clean sheets from those four fixtures – at 4.4, Vorm is the best “Value” player in the game so far this season.
Scott Sinclair
The winger had played every minute of the season prior to the trip to Anfield but was benched due to a tight hamstring. Sinclair managed 17 minutes as a second half sub late on – positive news, then, for his Fantasy owners ahead of the aforementioned run of home games, particularly in light of the fact that Sinclair has scored in each of his last three games at the Liberty Stadium.
Robin Van Persie
The only surprise is he scored just once at the Emirates yesterday. At present, the Gunners skipper sits on 12 points for yesterday’s display, with a goal and a pair of assists to his name. Over the last twenty-four hours, though, we’ve been told that his assist for Thomas Vermaelen‘s goal in the 3-0 win over West Brom will be reviewed- watching the linked clip, it definitely appears that Gervinho gets the final touch before the Belgian sweeps home.
Thomas Vermaelen
His selection for yesterday’s game was perhaps unexpected – given that Vermaelen had played against Marseille in midweek, we’d expected Arsene Wenger to handle him with care but it was Per Mertesacker who sat out the game against the Baggies. Having played out a goalless draw against the French side on Tuesday evening, the Gunners picked up their second clean sheet on the trot, with the Belgian adding a definite solidity to their back line. Yesterday’s goal served a reminder of the form that saw him score 7 times in his debut campaign a couple of seasons back – if he can stay clear of injury, there’s potential for more, given his obvious eye for goal.
