Peter Crouch notches a double to send Blackburn spinning to defeat, with their win at Old Trafford already a distant memory. Frank Lampard comes to the rescue for Chelsea at Wolves, while Wayne Routledge has plenty reason for celebration, after the winger scores a Premier League goal at long last…
Anthony Pilkington
If only there was more certainty to the Norwich midfielder’s game time, he’d be a far more popular Fantasy asset than his current 6.5% indicates. Pilkington had seemed to have nailed down a first-team place earlier in the season, starting all but one match from gameweek 2-14 but Paul Lambert’s rotation policy saw him miss out the following three matches completely. Pilkington has returned to the first XI over the last couple of games, though, and his equaliser at QPR means he has now netted 4 goals in his five full appearances for the Canaries this season. With 5 goals in total, he’s returned 65 points, only 5 behind Grant Holt, and at 5.1, still represents strong value amongst the low-priced midfield market.
Steve Morison
Prior to today’s game, Morison has gone two games without scoring or assisting for Norwich- the longest barren sequence since he established himself as a first-team fixture back in gameweek 5. The Welshman was benched by Paul Lambert for the trip to Loftus Road, with Simeon Jackson starting alongside Grant Holt after the former had bagged 2 goals in a couple of recent, brief sub appearances. Perhaps a rest done him good; Morison came off the bench to replace Holt midway through the second half and notched the Canaries late winner to once again demonstrate his remarkable Fantasy consistency.
Stephen Ward
Mick McCarthy made as many as six changes for the visit of Chelsea but Ward was, as always, on the team sheet- he is one of only two outfield players to play every minutes of the season so far for the Midlands outfit. The left-back grabbed Wolves equaliser in the 2-1 defeat, finding the net for the third time this season; he has now scored as many as Kevin Doyle and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake combined. His eye for goal perhaps accounts for Ward’s 10.6% of Fantasy owners, though with Wolves failing to chalk up a clean sheet since gameweek 3, he’s offering next to nothing defensively.
Steven Fletcher
Given that he’d suffered a knock in the previous game at Bolton, Fletcher was treated carefully by Big Mick and started the game on the bench. The Scotsman was afforded a half hour second-half sub appearance and found enough time to lay on an assist for Ward’s goal; he has now played a part in 6 of his side’s last 9 goals. Bearing in mind the above-mentioned poor form of the other Wolves strikers, Fletcher’s importance to the Wolves cause is increasing by the gameweek.
Ramires and Frank Lampard
With Daniel Sturridge unavailable, the Brazilian showed his versatility by playing wide right in the trip to Molineux. While Fernando Torres continued a run of games that has seen him fail to find the net since Gameweek 6 and with Juan Mata yet to score away from home this season, Ramires stepped up to the task by opening the scoring against the Midlanders. He has now grabbed 4 league goals this term, the same number as Mata. Lampard’s last-ditch winner means he is now Chelsea’s top-scoring FPL player, with 89 points to date. Despite his failure to establish himself as a first-team pick under Andre Villas-Boas, Lampard’s eye for goal is far from diminished- he has 8 goals for the campaign, only one less than Sturridge.
Wayne Routledge
We couldn’t fail to mention the Swansea winger after he finally broke his Premier League scoring duck after years of trying. Scott Sinclair dropped to the bench for the trip to Aston Villa, as Routledge –in his fourth start in the last five- joined Nathan Dyer on the wing. The duo vindicated Brendan Rodgers’ decision, scoring a goal apiece to bring Villa back down to earth after their win at Chelsea and no one will be happier than Routledge, who scored his first ever goal in the top flight at the 116th attempt.
Peter Crouch
Blackburn’s win at Man United was quickly forgotten after a Crouch double at Ewood Park clinched victory for Stoke. The former Tottenham man is starting to produce the goods with consistency for the Potters and has now bagged 5 goals and 4 assists in his last ten starts. Despite Jonathan Walters grabbing most of the attention, Crouch is as capable of finding the net at home or on the road- 4 of his 6 goals this season have been away from home, whereas Walters’ 5 have all come at the Britannia. With the maximum bonus points expected, he’d have also notched 9 from those ten games and at 6.8, he has just 1.8% Fantasy owners. Stoke have some strong fixtures on the horizon, particularly at home (WBA, SUN, SWA, NOR) and Crouch may prove a decent differential, for those looking for an alternative to Walters.
Stephen Kelly and Philippe Senderos
Kelly played his third full appearance in succession in Fulham’s win over London rivals Arsenal. The right-back provided an assist in the 2-1 comeback win and priced at 3.9, could prove to be a valuable Fantasy asset over the next few gameweeks, providing he keeps his first-team place. Martin Jol’s side have an incredible upcoming run of home games (NEW, WBA, STO, WOL, SWA, NOR) which will surely see their defensive options come under serious consideration, given their strong form at the Cottage. The same applies to Philippe Senderos; the centre-half now seems to be nailed-on as a first-choice pick alongside Brede Hangeland and comes in at 4.3. Fulham have conceded more than 1 goal in just 3 of Senderos’ twelve starts; without him in the side, they have conceded more than 1 goal on five of eight occasions.
Bobby Zamora
While rumours abound over his possible departure from the Cottage in this month’s transfer window, Zamora served a reminder of his capabilities by snatching all three points against Arsenal with a dramatic late winner. Recently sidelined with an Achilles problem, Zamora had played just six minutes of the previous five gameweeks, but when given the game time by Martin Jol, he has clearly produced. The forward has made a mere seven full appearances for the Cottagers this term and has now picked up 4 goals and 3 assists over those games; it’s an impressive record and one that only raises further questions as to why he’s not regarded as integral to the first-team.
