It’s amazing what a couple of Gameweek 1 goals can do for your Fantasy price. Michu’s arrival to the Premier League was relatively low-key this summer, yet the new Swansea man had racked up 15 goals in La Liga last time round – more than any other midfielder in Spain’s top-flight. Now that he’s hit the ground running with a brace at QPR, the bandwagon has been in overdrive; as a result, Michu has already climbed 0.3 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and, rather conveniently, stolen the headlines away from this week’s differential pick…
Danny Graham’s Fantasy owners have every right to feel aggrieved after last weekend’s blank. With a change in tactics by Michael Laudrup also helping Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge to two goals and two assists respectively, surely an assist wasn’t too much to ask? It wasn’t to be, however, and as the midfielders racked up the points and resultant Fantasy interest, the former Watford man has been overlooked heading into a run of games that sees Swansea play at home five times in the next seven Gameweeks.
There’s plenty of reason to be positive, though. Graham arrived at Loftus Road ahead of the season opener as the top-scoring Premier League player across the pre-season friendlies, grabbing six goals in his final three matches and, prior to the season’s kick-off, a thoroughly-impressed Laudrup revealed he expected his lone forward to comfortably pass the 12 goals accrued in the previous campaign:
“Every day the connection between Danny and Michu looks better and better and we can expect a lot from them. I don’t know what Danny’s record is, but if he stays fit I would say he can score between 15 and 20 goals in the Premier League.”
As the Swans continue their summer friendly form to find the net with a remarkable ease, Graham’s chances of producing in a flourishing attacking unit clearly haven’t diminished after a single Gameweek. Earlier today, Laudrup revealed he has spoken to his wide men, suggesting Graham was left too isolated up front at Loftus Road – a detail he’s sure his side will rectify, starting at home to West Ham tomorrow.
With (SUN, EVE, EDG, WIG) all following the Hammers to the Liberty between Gameweeks 3-8, Graham – priced at 6.0 in FPL and 8.4 in the Sky Sports game, sits with just 7% ownership heading into Saturday’s match. While over 170,000 Fantasy managers have called on the services of Michu, Graham has been transferred in by just 7,000 despite an exceptional run of fixtures. If Swansea pick up where they left off at Loftus Road tomorrow, Graham could well be off the mark and on his way to justifying his manager’s high praise.
