Six wins and a draw in their last 10 in all competitions sum up Wigan’s springtime resurgence. This term, the Latics’ annual bid for top-flight survival has been twinned with a FA Cup run which has clinched a place in next month’s final against City and, as is the norm at this time of year, Roberto Martinez’s men present some late-season options for our 15-man squads:
Having turned our attentions to Arouna Kone in the middle of last month, we shine the spotlight on Shaun Maloney this time round. The Scot made his way onto Fantasy radars with a last-ditch free-kick equaliser at QPR in Gameweek 32 and followed that up with the opener in the FA Cup semi-final as Wigan made light work of Millwall. Indeed, over the last nine Gameweeks, the little Scot has found the net three times and also chipped in with four bonus points – compare that with two goals and two bonus points in the first 24 matches and Maloney’s upturn in performance is more than apparent.
Sitting third from bottom, Wigan are three points behind Villa but have a game in hand over the midlanders – luckily for the Latics, the upcoming schedule smiles favourably as they attempt to ease themselves out of the drop zone. Martinez’s side face three home fixtures (TOT, wba & SWA, AVL) in the final four weeks of the campaign, with a double Gameweek 36 also crucial to their chances of picking up the Fantasy points.
While the likes of City and Chelsea may well be plagued by double Gameweek rotation, thus placing question marks over the game time of premium priced midfield options such as Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and David Silva, Maloney looks far too essential to warm the bench if Martinez is to avoid relegation. Classified as a midfielder in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) yet fielded on the left of the Latics’ front three, his out of position appeal, allied with guaranteed game time, makes him an enticing option – all the more so given his 5.1 price tag. While the 6.7 priced Kone is likely to earn significant investment up front, Maloney, with a mere 4% ownership, has the potential to mirror his team mate’s returns and, as Harry Redknapp will attest to, the dead-ball ability to devastate.
