A run of three favourable home fixtures over the next five gameweeks for Blackburn Rovers has lifted Yakubu up the rankings in our recently updated Watchlist. Having recovered from a knee injury that slowed his progress in mid-October, “The Yak” is now back and -judging by his display at the DW Stadium last weekend- getting fed, too.
With Everton anything but prolific in front of goal, a look at his scoring record since moving to Ewood Park questions David Moyes’ decision to allow the Nigerian to leave Merseyside. Yakubu has started six league games for Rovers and scored 5 goals, picking up 6 bonus points for his Fantasy owners along the way, too. The longest he’s endured without scoring is just two games, both tricky fixtures against Newcastle and Manchester City, with doubles against Arsenal and Wigan and a single away to Norwich.
Yakubu’s spot-kick duties undoubtedly help and at 5.5, he’s looking considerably better value for money than David Hoilett. The Canadian is classified as a 6.0 forward in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game but tends to be fielded mainly out wide by Steve Kean and despite playing every minute of Rovers’ season thus far, has returned 3 goals and 3 assists in comparison.
In a struggling team sitting second-bottom of the Premier League, Yakubu has averaged 5.4 points per game- this is better than the likes of Samir Nasri and Nani, who have both averaged 5.2, and is the ninth best tally for any forward so far this season, leaving players such as Daniel Sturridge (5.1) and Javier Hernandez (4.5) trailing in his wake.
With 27 goals conceded so far, it’s Rovers’ back-line that’s been their Achilles heel – Kean’s side have the second worst defensive record in the division but in terms of goals scored, have found the net the same number of times as Liverpool, scoring in every match on their travels to date.
Given their potential going forward, then, the next five gameweeks offer hope for more Blackburn goals. Showdowns with (sto, SWA, sun, WBA, BOL) should offer Yakubu further chance to improve his tally, regardless of how many points his side managed to muster.
