Last week’s article saw Stephane Sessegnon produce the goods to follow up on Jose Enrique’s 18 point haul in Gameweek 12. Our trio of overlooked alternatives have a lot to live up to ahead of this evening’s deadline, then:
Charlie Adam
Recently hailed as Stoke’s answer to Dimitar Berbatov by Tony Pulis, the Scot is starting to become accustomed to life at the Britannia after an underwhelming first few months of the season. A change in formation has seen Adam shifted to the role in “the hole” behind Peter Crouch, with Jon Walters’ out of position appeal taking a dent after he was shuffled out to the right wing in a 4-4-1-1.
With the Potters supplying crosses aplenty for Crouch, Adam’s position in and around the box saw him notch the winner against Berbatov’s Fulham last weekend – indeed he has scored in each of his last two home games as Pulis’ side ground out back-to-back 1-0 Britannia victories. While he won’t quite hit the heights of his 2010/11 season with Blackpool, where 12 goals and seven assists helped the midfielder to 192 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points, Adam’s potential has clearly taken a turn for the better.
Priced at 6.6 in FPL and 5.8 in the Sky Sports game, Adam is currently owned by around 1% Fantasy managers in both games and looks a decent punt this Gameweek as injury-hit Newcastle roll up to the Britannia tomorrow evening.
Adel Taarabt
Having first loaned then sold the Moroccan from Tottenham to QPR, Harry Redknapp’s appointment at Loftus Road earlier this week raised question marks over the player’s likelihood of game time under the new regime. Redknapp has quickly moved to smooth the waters, however, and revealed he will be leaning heavily on Taarabt to help turn things around as the R’s battle for points in their bid to climb off the foot of the table:
“Adel has a big future. He’s an amazing talent with the ball. He can still do more without it, but there’s no doubt he’s a match-winner for us. He can turn things for us. He’s the player who can do something special, so we’ll be looking to get the best out of him. I never really wanted to sell him at Tottenham to be honest. I had a good relationship with him. I never had a problem with Adel. He was a player I was always wary of letting go because I knew he could come back and haunt me one day.”
With this in mind, we’re backing the midfielder to prove instrumental as Redknapp looks to kick start his tenure with a win at Sunderland this evening. The following couple of matches see QPR also face fellow strugglers Wigan and Villa – a perfect opportunity for the new man in charge to make an instant impact. There’s no doubt Taarabt has the talent and potential to be a game-changer for QPR, though Redknapp’s man-management skills are likely to be given the stiffest of tests, having previously labelled the player a “fruitcake”.
Priced at 5.5 in FPL and 5.6 in the Sky Sports game, and with an ownership of around 1% in both games, Taarabt is something of a maverick pick but one that could really produce over the short-term, at least.
Grant Holt
The arrival of injury-hit Newcastle afforded Southampton the chance to register their first clean sheet of the season last weekend but Nigel Adkins’ side may struggle to replicate such returns as Norwich roll up to St Mary’s. Granted, the Canaries have been anything but prolific in front of goal but have, nevertheless, managed to net against four of the top seven sides in recent Gameweeks.
Holt has suffered a goal drought of late but has already demonstrated his top-flight potential with strikes against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in consecutive matches earlier last month and with Chris Hughton’s side looking to extend their unbeaten run to seven, his contribution could well be key. Priced at 6.0 in FPL, with an ownership of less than 4%, Holt has the potential to put the brakes on Southampton’s recent resurgence tomorrow evening.
