With Chelsea’s win over Man City signing off the gameweek, we tip our hats to Swansea’s “Penalty Killer“. United’s return to attacking form merits our attention, while Emmanuel Adebayor’s spot-kick duties give us more food for thought on the Tottenham front.
The Player
Michel Vorm is arguably the season’s Fantasy success story so far. Swansea’s £1.5 million signing from Utrecht represents incredible value, both in Premier League terms and in our own Fantasy realm. With an initial starting value of 4.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Vorm’s displays and Swansea’s possession game have helped the Dutchman rise to 4.9, with over 30% of FPL squads including him in their ranks.
In many ways that figure is surprising. Vorm is far and away the best option for a keeper spot in our squads – even at 4.9, his form and Swansea’s ability to keep clean sheets at the Liberty Stadium show no sign of waning. Saturday’s display in the 2-0 win over Fulham saw the latest round of heroics. Vorm recorded six saves – his ninth return of FPL save points this term. He also stopped his second penalty of the season – diving to keep out Clint Dempsey’s spot-kick to keep Swansea’s clean sheet intact and earn Vorm further returns in the process. Somehow FPL bonus failed to follow; revealing a flaw in the EA PPI calculation, rather than in Vorm’s display.
Swansea’s form on their travels, however, has been the one drawback in their season so far and it’s a factor that is heavily reflected in Vorm’s points distribution. The home comforts of the Liberty Stadium have seen him return 56 points from 8 games, whereas on the road, he’s picked up just 20 points in seven fixtures; a home average of 7 drops to 3 away. Vorm’s abilities looks set to be put to the test over the next few home fixtures, though, with Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea heading to Wales in three of his next four home encounters.
With the festive wildcard available after the gameweek 20 deadline, the next five gameweeks sees a number of keepers dovetail perfectly with Vorm for home/away fixtures. Tim Krul, Wayne Hennessey and Paul Robinson all stand out in the sub 5.0 bracket, with Tim Howard and Brad Friedel –given both have a double gameweek 20- also proving worthy options before we’re given the opportunity to shake things up again.
The Team
There’s no doubt the loss of Nemanja Vidic will prove significant to United’s resilience at the back. Stung by the 6-1 home defeat handed out by City, Vidic’s return from a calf injury coincided with a run of 4 clean sheets in five but Fergie’s side were producing minimal attacking returns, with a single goal in each of their last seven home matches prior to Saturday’s showdown with Wolves.
Suddenly, the shackles are off again. With Vidic sidelined for the rest of the season, Fergie may feel United’s best form of defence is to go on the attack. Stung by their Champions League exit at Basel the previous Wednesday, United provided an Old Trafford response that gave Fantasy managers plenty to mull over ahead of the festive schedule.
Wayne Rooney’s brace sees him enter our thoughts once again after an eight-game goalless streak. Nani’s double, supplemented by an assist, came courtesy of a move over to the left flank- a role that saw him end last season as top-scoring FPL player. With Antonio Valencia returning to the right wing and providing 3 assists, Ashley Young’s owners may be shifting a little nervously. Valencia, at 7.8, is 2.0 cheaper than Young and with an ownership of just 0.4%, could prove a handy differential if he establishes himself as a first-team fixture once more.
The champions’ timely return to form, ahead of a very favourable schedule, may well persuade many to invest in their attacking assets over the next few gameweeks; with Wigan and Blackburn rolling up to Old Trafford in gameweeks 18 and 19 respectively, suddenly Robin Van Persie may have competition for the armband all over again.
The Talking Point
As Tottenham laid siege to the Stoke City goal in Sunday afternoon’s showdown at the Britannia, a trip by Glenn Whelan on Luka Modric inside the box offered the visitors a chance to halve the 2-0 deficit. What happened next, though, was entirely unexpected. As owners of Rafael Van der Vaart sat back in anticipation of a converted spot-kick, Emmanuel Adebayor stepped up instead to coolly find the net.
Adebayor had taken the club’s last penalty at West Brom, prodding home the rebound after Ben Foster had saved his initial effort, but Van der Vaart had missed that game, with his troublesome hamstring playing up once again. Having previously been the number one for penalty duties, it was assumed he’d resume the mantle but it seems as though Adebayor has jumped ahead of him in the pecking order- a significant blow to the Dutchman’s Fantasy owners.
Van der Vaart has now failed to score, assist or return bonus since gameweek ten. The last five gameweeks have seen him pick up 8 points, with Gareth Bale bagging 44 and Adebayor 41 in comparison. Given that he’s the priciest of the three and with the likes of Nani and Juan Mata looking at some favourable upcoming fixtures, the sales are starting to snowball. Factor in his pesky hamstring and the form of Jermain Defoe and his owners are in something of a quandary.
Tottenham’s fixtures are undoubtedly in his favour, though; four home fixtures in the next five gameweeks, including a double gameweek 20, are supplemented by away trips to Norwich and Swansea- all offer plenty potential. Defoe’s own hamstring issues offered Van der Vaart a way back into the first-team at Stoke and, providing the Dutchman can steer clear of injury, writing off such a proven Fantasy performer ahead of a strong upcoming schedule may be a potentially perilous decision.
