Just nine weeks left to go, and things are getting desperate for Fantasy football managers around the world; even the sensible, play it safe type managers are starting to look around at their rivals teams looking for a way to gain an edge. This is exactly where “Differentials” come in; does your rival have a stack of City and Liverpool players? Why not go all in with United and Everton for a few weeks. Is he still clinging onto Dempsey and Sessegnon? Take a punt on Mata or Walcott.

Mixing it up is essential at this stage if you want to close the gap and as always, we’re here to help guide you through the quagmire of the damned, the overlooked and the forgotten, in an effort to scout out the alternative picks that might just give you that edge you’re looking for.…

Javier Hernandez

With no cup distractions and an appealing run of league fixtures coming up next (FUL, bla, QPR, wig, AVL), maxing out your allocation of United players seems a no brainer. Jonny Evans at 4.6 looks a shoo-in for the first slot, and Antonio Valencia at 7.7 in midfield is also rightly tempting investment. The problem here is that Wayne Rooney is the obvious target for a striker spot in our squads, but priced at an eye watering 12.6 and owned by over a third of all managers in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, the talismanic striker might be a luxury too far for some.

Hernandez at 9.9 offers a viable alternative route into the United attack, whilst presenting the tantalising option of ignoring Valencia and going with a twin United pairing up front. The Mexican may not be quite as rotation-proof as Rooney, but has now played every minute of their last two games despite Danny Welbeck also being on the pitch. Injuries aside, he looks fairly assured of a starting role from this point on.

As a Fantasy target, Chicarito’s appeal is obvious. Hernandez has scored or assisted in four of his last five appearances, picking up the maximum bonus twice and it is only his lack of consistent starts that has hampered his overall returns this season. In fact, if we compare his average points return per 90 minutes of pitch time with that of Rooney, we get an almost identical result – 7.32 for Rooney and 7.26 for Hernandez. Value wise, Hernandez look like a great pick then, and with just 3.2% ownership he could give his investors a great differential boost over the next few weeks.

David (Junior) Hoilett

Steve Kean has tinkered with a few different formations this season, but Blackburn have never looked as settled as they have in the last few matches. Their 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal clearly made an impact on the players; they have since picked up 10 points from 5 games and their previously shoddy defence has even managed to earn their first and second clean sheets of the season.

Key to their recent upturn in form was the decision to move Junior Hoilett off the wing into a support striker role, behind Yakubu. Hoilett has always had a tendency to come inside and run at defenders but the pint-sized forward is relishing his freedom in the middle of the park, picking up three goals in his last two outings.

It’s impossible to predict how Bolton will react to the shocking events of last weekend; one hopes they will stand strong and put in a big performance, but, realistically, they’ll find it very difficult to contain a resurgent Blackburn side when hearts and minds are focused elsewhere. Looking beyond this weekend, fixtures toughen up considerably for Rovers: they face Man United, Liverpool and West Brom in the next three but don’t let that put you off, Kean’s side have proven more than capable of scoring anywhere this season and priced at just 5.5, Hoilett offers strong value.

Samir Nasri

Although Man City’s home form shows no sign of slowing, their recent away record has been patchy at best. With a difficult trip to Stoke this weekend, the City ranks aren’t the most obvious of places to start looking for a Fantasy pick, but there’s something about Samir Nasri that appeals right now. Maybe it was his vital goal in midweek or his recent fighting talk towards their title rivals, but, suddenly, Nasri seems on his game. If he can carry that form enthusiasm into the game at the Britannia, he has a great chance to put together a run of points with Sunderland, West Brom, Norwich and Wolves up next.

Nasri’s improved displays in recent weeks has, so far, only fetched the one goal and FPL bonus. However, the signs are definitely encouraging and with David Silva’s performance statistics indicating that he’s heading in completely the opposite direction, now could be a great time to plump for the ex-Arsenal man. Nasri is currently available for a pretty reasonable price of 9.1 in the FPL game, and his ownership of 3.7% to Silva’s 40%, makes him a strong differential.