Mario Balotelli climbs off the bench to seal a last-minute victory for Man City over Spurs. Gareth Bale and David Silva get amongst the points again in a five-goal thriller as the league leaders complete the double over ‘Arry’ s boys. Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck continue to offer cheaper Fantasy alternatives in the United first XI, as Nani and Wayne Rooney fail to fire at the Emirates:

Sergio Aguero
The Argentine was handed the armband by many on the back of strong home form that had seen him fail to return attacking points in just one of his Etihad appearances this term. While Edin Dzeko provided an assist and Mario Balotelli slotted home the last-minute penalty, Aguero drew a surprise blank, leaving his Fantasy owners with just two points. With home games against (FUL, BLA, BOL) in the next five, though, he still looks enticing over the next few gameweeks as a strong captaincy option.

Vincent Kompany
City’s skipper will serve the final match of a four-game ban against Liverpool in the midweek Carling Cup semi-final and his return can’t come soon enough. Roberto Mancini’s side had conceded just four goals at home all season prior to yesterday but, with the Belgian’s replacement Stefan Savic particularly culpable, looked far from secure at the back as Spurs hit two past the league leaders. Kompany has dropped just 0.1 in price since being sidelined but will return in time for the following gameweek, away to Everton on January 31.

David Silva
The City playmaker provided the pass for Samir Nasri to fire home the opener early in the second half, bringing his total of assists to 13 for the season- 5 more than any other player. Silva had previously hit something of a dry spell, failing to return any assists between gameweeks 15-19 but has now provided four assists in his last three games and is a single point clear of Gareth Bale, on 130 points, at the top of the midfielder rankings. With that run of afore-mentioned fixtures just around the corner, Silva, and City, look primed to wreak further havoc.

Gareth Bale
His goal brought the Etihad clash back to 2-2 and continued Bale’s outstanding Fantasy campaign. He has now netted 8 times and bettered last season’s tally of seven and, with eight assists also to his name, is already comfortably ahead of his best-ever Fantasy campaign with sixteen games still to go. A home game with Wigan is up next and, while (liv, NEW, ars, MUN) follows on from the Latics clash, his performance yesterday highlighted just why he’s the one Tottenham player you can ill-afford to neglect, regardless of fixture.

Antonio Valencia
The winger grabbed a goal and assist at the Emirates and once again put Nani in the shade. Since returning to the first-team in gameweek 14, Valencia has outscored Nani by 65 to 56. He has topped Nani’s total in four of the last five gameweeks and with a home clash against Stoke next time round, it’s little wonder we’ve seen his FPL price rise overnight. Even so, currently available for 8.1, in comparison to Nani’s 10.4, Valencia looks a real bargain for United coverage right now, though with Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs to come in the next five gameweeks, United’s schedule is not the easiest.

Danny Welbeck
A third goal in his last four starts continues to highlight Welbeck’s recent promise. While Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez warmed the bench, Welbeck was again chosen to partner Wayne Rooney up top and vindicated his manager’s selection with the late winner. As the weeks go by, he’s looking more like a first-team regular and priced at 6.6, can’t be ignored. Rooney once more failed to get amongst the points- he has now scored or assisted in just six games since the end of gameweek 5, an incredible run of inconsistent form for the 12.0 priced forward.

Anders Lindegaard
David de Gea was benched once again for the trip to Arsenal, with Lindegaard earning his third start in a row- the longest run of games he’s managed this term. That’s five appearances in the United first XI in the last six gameweeks, though, and as the season progresses, he’s looking like he’s got the nod as United’s number one keeper. Granted, it’s impossible to second-guess Sir Alex Ferguson but a look at the stats perhaps back up this line of thinking- Lindegaard has shipped four goals in his eight appearances, an average of 0.5 per game, compared to De Gea’s 17 goals conceded in 14 games, or 1.2 per appearance. At 4.4, he is another promising cut-price option in the United first-team right now.

Jonny Evans
With Rio Ferdinand missing out due to a back problem and Phil Jones subbed off early with suspected ankle ligament damage, Sir Alex Ferguson’s defensive woes show no sign of abating. It’s good news for Evans’ owners, then, with the Irishman recording back-to-back appearances in the heart of defence after recovering from a calf injury. Coming in at a mere 4.5, he’s looking increasingly likely to establish himself as a first-team fixture, as those around of him continue to fall absent. United’s run of fixtures from gameweek 28 onwards look superb and a combination of Evans, Lindegaard and Valencia would currently set you back 17.0, only 5.0 more than Rooney.