Those of a certain age will remember those thunderous howitzers John Arne Riise used to unleash on unsuspecting opponents during his time with Liverpool. After a three-year stint in Serie A with Roma, the Norwegian has returned to the Premier League and is now a permanent fixture in the Fulham back-four.
He may have lost some of his thunder but Riise is still very much a solid prospect for Fantasy managers; having missed just two matches this season, his starts are assured. As one of Fulham’s free-kick takers he has also notched up four attempts on goal in the last four gameweeks, showing that the 31-year-old still offers plenty attacking threat.
The real factor in his allure, though, is in Fulham’s upcoming schedule. Putting it bluntly, it is delicious. In the next six game weeks Martin Jol’s side travel to Blackburn and QPR and play host to (NEW, WBA, STK). A trip to the Etihad to face Man City in gameweek 24 sticks out as the only bad egg in this fine platter of fixtures. Clearly, the potential is there for Riise to add to his six clean sheets and single assist, with the Norwegian also edging closer to notching his first Premier League goal of the season.
Investment in the Cottagers defence seems a smart move for the next two months and, as the joint top scoring Fulham defender (along with Brede Hangeland) on 58 points, Riise is sure to catch the eye. He’s also something of a bargain these days compared to the start of the season. Beginning the game at 6.0, he has dipped to 5.7, making him 0.3 cheaper than Hangeland.
Granted, he’s still more expensive than others in Jol’s back-four, most notably Philippe Senderos at 4.3 and Stephen Kelly at 3.9 but, given they have scored just 36pts and 23pts respectively, it appears you get what you pay for when it comes to Fulham’s back-line. Both Kelly and Senderos will earn new owners in January but Riise arguably has greater security and certainly offers stronger attacking potential.
