Dimitar Berbatov continues to rack up the goals for United as the Yak feeds on the champions’ defensive frailties to spark an astonishing victory. Jonathan Walters rescues many a gameweek in Stoke’s home draw with Wigan, while Robin Van Persie comes up with the goods once again:
Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian continues to prove his worth to United, with his brace against Blackburn adding to a hat-trick against Wigan the previous gameweek. While Nani and Wayne Rooney failed to land the anticipated points hauls over the past couple of games, Berbatov has come in from the cold in a return to the form of last season. With 5 goals in three starts this season, he’s surely justified his further inclusion in the United first XI going forward and, at 8.9 with a 1.5% ownership, will be picking up in ownership when the wildcard comes into play at the close of gameweek 20.
Antonio Valencia
The winger is proving to be a viable, cut-price alternative to Nani in the Man United midfield. While many gave the latter the armband, Valencia’s assist helped him outscore Nani for the third time in the last five gameweeks. He has now provided an assist in each of his last five appearances- an impressive run of consistency, given that Nani has never assisted more than two games in a row, in comparison.
Yakubu
An unexpected double at Old Trafford proved the catalyst for Blackburn’s shock win. Yakubu has now netted 10 goals in his last ten starts and with a current Fantasy haul of 10 points for the gameweek, has now hit double-figures on four occasions. With Stoke, Fulham, Newcastle and QPR all to visit Ewood Park in the next six, the Nigerian, priced at 5.8, is another forward likely to see plenty immediate investment.
Robin Van Persie
He didn’t quite manage to overhaul Alan Shearer’s Premier League record but the Dutchman still brought a smile to his Fantasy owners, notching the only goal in Arsenal’s slim win over QPR. Since bagging a brace against Bolton back in gameweek 6, Van Persie has never gone more than one game without scoring and he popped up when the Gunners needed it most in a tricky London derby. Arsene Wenger has admitted he’ll be monitoring his skipper’s fitness ahead of Monday’s trip to Fulham but with Arsenal having climbed to fourth after a dismal start to the season, Wenger may well choose to start his captain and rest him for the FA Cup clash with Leeds next weekend, which would afford him a thirteen day break before the next league game at Swansea.
Steven Fletcher & Matt Jarvis
There’s just no stopping Steven Fletcher right now. Mick McCarthy’s side have scored 8 goals in total throughout December and the forward has notched 5 of them, as he almost single-handedly spearheads Wolves’ hunt for goals since returning from injury. After a 4-5-1 at Arsenal, Big Mick returned to a 4-4-2 with Sylvain Ebanks-Blake again preferred over Kevin Doyle to start but it was Fletcher who again saved the day, his equaliser just after the break helping Wolves pick up a point and mirroring his contribution at the Emirates last Tuesday. Matt Jarvis is another player who is stepping up for the Midlands outfit over the last months- the winger’s assist for Fletcher’s goal is his fourth in the last six matches.
Stephen Ireland
In only his second full appearance of the season, the midfielder helped Villa shock Chelsea at the Bridge as Alex McLeish’s side picked up their second win on the road this season. Big Eck fielded a 4-2-3-1 with Ireland tucked in behind lone forward Gabby Agbonlahor and he revelled in the role, grabbing a goal and assist for a current haul of 10 points. Given he previously had 8 for the season, it’s something of an understatement to say that Ireland has failed to perform thus far. His display against Chelsea may go a long way towards persuading McLeish he’s now worthy of a continued run in the first XI.
Stiliyan Petrov
The Villa skipper once again stepped up for his side with another crucial performance. The Bulgarian edged Villa in front in the eighty-third minute, scoring his fourth goal of the season to continue his increased attacking threat under Alex McLeish. Petrov’s previous seasons at Villa have seen him given a less-offensive role and as a result, he started this season priced at 6.0. Despite those 4 goals, a couple of assists and 8 bonus points, he has slipped in price to 5.8. Petrov now sits on 69 points, just 4 points behind Theo Walcott, for example, or 3 behind Yaya Toure; it’s clear his consistency has been perhaps overlooked, with an ownership of just 2%.
Jon Walters
With a single goal in his previous eight appearances, the goals had dried up for the Irishman of late but a return to form helped salvage Stoke a point at home to a battling Wigan. Walters’ penalty duties came to his aid, as he grabbed the equaliser from the spot before setting up Cameron Jerome for his side’s second. Currently sitting on 10 points for his performance, Walters has now delivered double-figure points hauls in three of his ten home appearances. Given that his next four Britannia clashes are against (WBA, SUN, SWA, NOR), he’s looking good for further investment over the weeks ahead.
Victor Moses
Slowly but surely, he’s coming into form. The Latics have performed admirably over a horrendous batch of recent fixtures, losing just one of their last five in a run that saw them face Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United, while yesterday’s trip to the Britannia was also anything but straightforward. Moses’ opener was his second in that five-game streak and while he might not be producing explosive returns, as a fifth midfielder, he’s clearly proving worthwhile. He is top of the list for cut-price midfielders, with no player priced 5.0 or under scoring more than his 59 points.
Scott Sinclair
The winger once again plundered the points at the Liberty Stadium to dent Spurs’ charge in a 1-1 draw. Sinclair has returned just a single assist on his travels this season but yesterday’s goal was his fifth at home in ten matches. Brendan Rodgers’ side have scored just 4 times in the last five fixtures in front of their own fans and with Arsenal and Chelsea the next visitors, they’ll be relying on Sinclair yet again for a pair of testing fixtures.
Rafael Van der Vaart
There’s nothing like a goal prior to a double gameweek to grab the attention of Fantasy managers. Van der Vaart’s opener at Swansea ended a barren run for the Dutchman, who had previously failed to find the net since gameweek 10. It brings him to prominence once again ahead of Spurs’ pair of home clashes with West Brom and Everton; Van der Vaart, with just 7.4% ownership, may well prove to be a deadly differential over gameweek 20.
