Our Friday night regular returns with a trio of overlooked alternatives for your consideration ahead of tomorrow morning’s deadline. We’ve turned to a pair of London-based protagonists with strong upcoming schedules on the horizon and scoured the bargain basement for a cut-price defensive option at the DW…
Shaun Wright-Phillips
No more than a mere bench-warmer in Mark Hughes’ last few matches in charge at QPR, the winger has made his way into the starting lineup under Harry Redknapp. With Jamie Mackie moved to the lone frontman role in favour of the ineffectual Djibril Cisse, Wright-Phillips has been handed a berth on the right of the R’s midfield as the new man in charge looks to engineer a climb out the drop zone.
While the likes of Esteban Granero and Junior Hoilett have been peripheral in Redknapp’s thoughts, Wright-Phillips seems to have his manager’s faith and justified his inclusion by producing an assist in last week’s 2-2 draw at Wigan. It sums up QPR’s season under Hughes that this was the winger’s first attacking returns of the campaign but with three home games in the next four (FUL, new, WBA, LIV) he’s afforded a chance to build on last weekend’s output.
Priced at 4.9 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and 5.1 in the Sky Sports game, it’s no surprise that Wright-Phillips has an ownership of around the 1% mark in both games but, if Redknapp is to work his magic, he could be an integral figure in his side’s battle against relegation.
Jan Vertonghen
The Belgian’s start to life at the Lane has been a distinctly underwhelming one. Vertonghen arrived in the Premier League with a goal-getting pedigree – 14 strikes in his last two seasons at Ajax is indicative of his attacking sensibilities but so far, he’s found the net just once, with a single assist also accrued.
Two clean sheets in 16 games sums up Tottenham’s lack of resilience at the back but with Benoit Assou-Ekotto soon to return from a knee injury, Andre Villas-Boas’ side could be set for an upturn in defensive returns. With a superb run of fixtures to follow (SWA, STOK, avl, sun, REA, qpr) Vertonghen looks a decent differential shout not just for this weekend but all the way up to the winter wildcard in Gameweek 22.
Priced at 6.3 in FPL and 7.2 in the Sky Sports game, he’s far from cheap but as his Eredivisie stats suggest, Vertonghen has the class to prosper as Villas-Boas looks to take advantage of the festive schedule and boost his side’s chances of a top three finish.
Ronnie Stam
A raft of injuries and suspensions at the back for Wigan has afforded the Dutchman a run of starts in recent weeks. With the treatment room at the DW still seemingly packed to the rafters, Stam looks set to continue on the right of Roberto Martinez’s midfield four, with Emmerson Boyce dropping into the back-three to cover for the likes of Gary Caldwell and Ivan Ramis.
Over his four consecutive starts, Stam hasn’t exactly propelled himself onto Fantasy radars. No goals, assists or clean sheets hardly offer too much hope but his out of position berth and rock-bottom FPL price of 3.8 may appeal to those Fantasy managers looking for a cheap defender who would free up budget further up the pitch. Priced at 4.0 in the Sky Sports game and with an ownership of under 3% in FPL, there are few, if indeed any, players who come cheaper with the guarantee of a start this weekend as the Latics look to put the brakes on Norwich’s recent unbeaten run.
