The Yak gets well and truly fed at Ewood Park, with a four goal binge against travel-sick Swansea. Gareth Bale produces yet again, while Thomas Vermaelen’s eye for goal continues to reap reward.
Yakubu
A one man demolition job in the win over Swansea saw the Yak take his season’s tally to 9 with all 4 of Blackburn’s goals at Ewood Park. Selected as our cheap striker option in the Scout Picks, Yakubu continued the form that saw him highlighted in our Budget Forwards article for members article at the beginning of November. Steve Kean’s side may be struggling for points but the Nigerian is having no issues in finding the net and with home clashes against West Brom and Bolton in the next three gameweeks, the prospect for more returns looks promising.
Juan Mata
The Spaniard produced yet another assist in yesterday’s win at Newcastle. It’s fair to say that Mata has adapted quicker to the Premier League than David Silva in his first season- Silva returned 4 goals and 9 assists in his debut campaign last time round, while Mata has already bagged 3 goals and 7 assists in his twelve appearances for Chelsea to date.
Micah Richards
The right-back vindicated his Scout Pick selection with yet another assist in City’s home romp over Norwich. City, once again, failed to record a clean sheet- that’s seven games in a row now they have conceded but Richards has now produced 6 assists this term- only David Silva and Juan Mata have managed more.
Steve Morison
His Etihad goal proved nothing more than a mere consolation for the Canaries but it underlined Morison’s recent consistency. Norwich may have won just once in their last five games but Morison has found the net in four of those fixtures, netting against the likes of Arsenal as well as Man City, and continues to look a bargain buy at just 5.0.
Heidar Helguson
Yet another cut-price option producing the goods right now, Helguson’s opener in QPR’s home draw with West Brom was his sixth goal in the last seven games. Installed up front against Blackburn back in gameweek eight, he continues to prove a crucial figure for Neil Warnock’s side- having scored against both Man City and Chelsea in that run, his chances of netting in the next two games (liv, MUN) are perhaps not as slim as previously imagined.
Joey Barton
Having missed last week’s trip to Norwich through suspension, his return to the QPR first-team saw Barton continue an impressive run of form. His assist in the 1-1 Loftus Road stalemate was Barton’s third in successive matches, with his creativity becoming increasingly potent as the gameweeks go by.
Gareth Bale
With Rafael Van der Vaart earning no more than a late sub appearance and Emmanuel Adebayor failing to fire, Bale continued his sensational attacking form. The Welshman grabbed a goal and assist and was also boosted by Spurs’ clean sheet- his last five games have produced 4 goals and 5 assists. Given his first eight games returned a single goal, the turnaround in Bale’s season has been extraordinary as Harry Redknapp’s side continue to rack up the wins.
Thomas Vermaelen
The Belgian is quickly becoming the scourge of Fantasy managers who’ve chosen to captain Robin Van Persie over the last few gameweeks. Vermaelen’s return to the Arsenal first-team continues to catch the eye- a goal, assist and clean sheet at Wigan yesterday gives him a strong chance of stealing the maximum bonus from under Van Persie’s nose. Vermaelen has returned 3 bonus points in two of the previous three games and has now scored 3 goals in his last four fixtures.
Robin Van Persie
Last week’s blank against Fulham proved nothing more to be a temporary blip as the Gunners skipper returned to form against Wigan. Another goal, supplemented by a couple of assists, means he’s scored 14 goals and produced 5 assists already this term- almost on a par of his 18 and 7 he picked up last season respectively. Granted, the first half of the previous campaign was blighted by injury but if the Dutchman can stay fit, breaching the 30 goal mark seems a realistic tally.
Phil Jones
The former Blackburn man may have missed last week’s game with Newcastle but returned for the trip to Villa Park, with Sir Alex Ferguson handing him a central midfield role in yesterday evening’s clash. Jones grabbed the game’s only goal and a clean sheet- he looks a strong contender for the maximum bonus, too. His versatility was demonstrated halfway through the second half, as Fergie’s decision to bring Ryan Giggs on allowed Jones to slip back to centre half, with Rio Ferdinand making way. While the forwards struggle to find the net, United’s defence have produced 4 clean sheets in five games and the next five games looks likely to offer further chance of returns from the back.
