I never understood why a professional athlete can’t cope with playing more than one game of football in a week. I used to play for four hours every night then jog home. Down the park, jumpers for goalposts, isn’t it? Marvellous.

Talk of rest, rotation and jetlag has been rife this week; just when we get a side that looks capable of destroying our mini league rivals, along comes an International break and Champions League fixtures to mess with our heads. At least we can rely on some mid-table “differentials” to bypass all that nonsense…

Mauro Formica

We picked out Mauro Formica as a differential back in week one when he was still very much an unknown quantity, and despite an up and down start to the season for Blackburn, Mauro Formica has shown enough promise in recent weeks to bring him back into our thinking. Reveling in his role just behind Yakubu, Formica has been central to many of Blackburn’s attacking ploys, picking up a goal and an assist in his last three games.

At 5.0, Formica sits at the very bottom end of the market and looks a great alternative for that fifth midfielder slot, designed to free up funds. Fixtures look pretty appealing compared to alternatives like Victor Moses and Nathan Dyer. Indeed, two consecutive away trips won’t worry Rovers given that they’ve scored in every game on the road this season. After that, Steve Kean’s side enjoy a decent run of opponents, which could see Formica return further profits.

Gareth McAuley

At 4.0, defenders don’t come any cheaper than Gareth McAuley and with West Brom about to embark on a decent run of fixtures, he looks like outstanding value. He might not be the glamour signing you’ve been craving after two weeks without a fantasy football fix, but as a long term investment, he looks like a solid pick and a good differential considering his low ownership of just 0.9%.

Points wise, we expect to see a decent amount of clean sheets from Roy Hodgson’s side this season. They’ve managed three so far, which is already more than they had the whole of last season. McAuley has also suggested that he could come good with the odd goal and assist. A career average of a goal every 10 games is hardly Lionel Messi standards, but for a defender, that shows promise. A look over his EA PPI scores also suggests he should be in for a few extra bonus points to add to the three he picked up in the 0-0 draw with Fulham.

Jack Rodwell

After Royston Drenthe leapfrogged the differentials straight into the Scout Picks this week, we’re taking a look at his midfield partner Jack Rodwell as a potential alternative. At 0.7 cheaper, an almost guaranteed starter and probably Everton’s form player of the last few games, Rodwell is much more than a poor second choice. With the confidence gained from his International debut, we’re expecting a big performance from the young England star against Wolves.

Despite previously being talked up as a future centre-half, Rodwell has developed into a quality box to box midfielder, and looks a much improved fantasy prospect compared to last year. The departure of Mikel Arteta and return to fitness of Marouane Fellaini has allowed Rodwell a lot more freedom in the middle of the park, and two goals in three games are evidence of this new attacking threat. Our recent members ‘Talent’ article provides all the stats to back up our hunch this week, and with ownership of just 1.9%, Rodwell could well sneak under the radar to provide a solid differential return over Everton’s next three fixtures.