Nathan Dyer plays a pivotal part as Swansea come from behind to see off Arsenal. Gylfi Sigurdsson impresses on his debut, setting up Danny Graham to down the Gunners. Leon Best grabs the winner for Newcastle, while Tim Krul excels in goal to give Mark Hughes a QPR debut to forget.
Ryan Taylor
He certainly seems to have lost his position at left-back to Davide Santon but Taylor continued on the right flank for Newcastle yesterday in the 1-0 win over QPR. The second most popular defender in Fantasy Premier League, with 34% ownership, Taylor’s out of position role looks set to see him pick up more Fantasy suitors after his assist and clean sheet contribution against Mark Hughes’ side helped him to 3 bonus points. Newcastle face three away fixtures in the next four (ful, bla, AVL, tot) and while their clean sheet potential may drop, Taylor’s more attacking role, in addition to set-piece duties, could see him flourish further over the next few gameweeks.
Leon Best
While Hatem Ben Arfa once again started from the bench, Best was handed his fourth start in six games by Alan Pardew, lining up alongside Shola Ameobi. With Demba Ba unavailable due to international commitments, Best vindicated his manager’s faith by netting the game’s only goal, his first since gameweek 5 away to Aston Villa. He seems set to feature in the first XI while Ba is absent and, at 4.6, is a handy cut-price option, though the Magpies’ above-mentioned schedule may deter Fantasy managers from acquiring his services.
Hatem Ben Arfa
As mentioned, the Frenchman was named amongst the subs in spite of his FA Cup wonder goal last weekend. Clearly, many had expected him to start- an influx of over 11,000 transfers in prior to yesterday’s clash was the most he has attracted in any gameweek this season. An early first-half ankle injury to Yohan Cabaye afforded him a place in midfield but it’s becoming apparent Ben Arfa is far from a certain starter under Pardew, even in Demba Ba’s absence. Cabaye will undergo a scan in the next couple of days and with Cheik Tiote also away at the African Cup of Nations, Newcastle’s midfield will be severely diminished if he’s ruled out for any period of time.
Tim Krul
Mark Hughes will no doubt be cursing the Dutchman after a defiant display in the Newcastle goal prevented QPR from finding the net at the Sports Direct Arena. Krul helped his side to a fourth clean sheet in six matches but while his Fantasy owners will be delighted with the 6 saves that saw him return an 8 point haul, it’s noticeable that he has only made more saves in one of the previous 20 gameweeks- an indication of how less secure Newcastle are without Tiote and Cabaye in the centre of the park.
Robin Van Persie
The FPL top scoring player opened his 2012 goal account with the opener in yesterday’s 3-2 defeat at the Liberty Stadium. Having been rested for last Monday’s FA Cup win over Leeds, Van Persie took only five minutes to get back to goalscoring ways with a smartly taken effort against compatriot Michel Vorm. While many opted for Nani and Gareth Bale as captaincy options, Van Persie seemed a solid pick- he’d returned double figures four times on the road- but failed to add to his tally and faces a tough test at home to Man United next weekend.
Scott Sinclair
The winger’s spot-kick duties once again helped boost his Fantasy tally against Arsenal. All 6 of Sinclair’s goals have come in front of his own fans- he has returned 67 of his 89 points at the Liberty Stadium, an average of 6.1 per home game in comparison to 2 on the road. In spite of his woeful away form though, Sinclair, at 6.3, has now crept ahead of Juan Mata in the overall standings and is second only to Michel Vorm for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Nathan Dyer
A goal and assist from the winger continued his recent upturn in attacking output. Dyer, who also picked up the maximum bonus, has now netted in three back-to-back matches for the Welsh club- he scored in the gameweek 20 win away to Villa and also grabbed a goal in last weekend’s FA Cup win at Barnsley. Brendan Rodgers’ side seem to have picked up their attacking threat in recent weeks- that’s 5 goals in their last two league games from GW 20-21, compared to 6 goals in the nine games (GW 11-19) prior to that. They have only two home games (CHE, NOR) in the next six, but are clearly firing on all cylinders as the season starts to unfold and, at 4.7, Dyer certainly looks a more than decent cut-price proposition right now.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
The on-loan Icelandic international wasted little time in announcing himself to the Swansea faithful. On as a sub at half-time, Sigurdsson provided an assist for Danny Graham’s winner just over twenty minutes later and looked at home in Brendan Rodgers’ outfit. Having already played under Rodgers at Reading, he is clearly a player the manager has great faith in – he was immediately in charge of Swansea’s set-pieces and his delivery looking menacing throughout. At just 5.0, he looks set to become a pivotal part of the Swans midfield and looks an enticing Fantasy prospect already.
Danny Graham
The former Watford man is another who is stepping up in performance for Swansea of late. Graham’s winner against the Gunners took his recent returns to 2 goals and an assist in his last three league starts- factor in his FA Cup brace last weekend and it’s clear Graham is on something of a roll just now. With Swansea’s afore-mentioned increased goal threat and a price of only 4.7, Graham will no doubt have appeared on many Fantasy radars with the winter wildcard in full effect. He’s now grabbed 7 goals, all from open play- with 5 of those at the Liberty Stadium and a couple on the road, he’s able to vary his returns a little better than the likes of Sinclair.
