With just an hour left until the deadline, our Saturday morning regular serves up another trio of forgotten men. The form of a certain Spanish frontman proves irresistible as Chelsea roll up to Newcastle, while a couple of off-the-radar midfielders in the mid-price and budget brackets also come under consideration.
Fernando Torres
Time and again, the Spaniard has disappointed and frustrated since his move to Stamford Bridge but there’s no denying his impact over the past couple of appearances. Torres struck twice in the Blues’ recent Champions League win over Schalke and, with confidence flowing, retained his starting berth for Sunday’s home encounter with City.
Jose Mourinho’s faith in the former Liverpool man was rewarded with a goal and assist in the weekend win and Torres was duly rested for Tuesday’s Capital One Cup trip to Arsenal – a further suggestion he has edged ahead of both Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba in the race for the lone forward role. Up next for Mourinho’s side is a trip to injury-hit Newcastle – with Steven Taylor still sidelined and Fabricio Coloccini almost certainly out, too, Alan Pardew will turn to Mike Williamson and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to keep the visitors at bay in today’s early kick-off.
Down to 8.3 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Torres – who will set you back 9.3 in the Sky Sports game and 5.5 in the Sun Dream Team – is undoubtedly still a gamble. In midfield, Eden Hazard and Oscar are far more secure options under Mourinho but with a strong set of fixtures to follow, he could just be worth a shout for anyone prepared to roll the dice.
Samir Nasri
City’s midweek extra-time win over Newcastle in the Capital One Cup brings the Frenchman into consideration. Both Jesus Navas and James Milner played the full 120 minutes at St James’ Park, enhancing Nasri’s chances of a sixth league start in seven for Manuel Pellegrini’s side as Norwich roll up to the Etihad.
While he’s been far from explosive in producing the points, Nasri has, nonetheless, developed a strand of consistency under the new man in charge. He has scored or assisted in three of his four home appearances, with the only blank arriving in Gameweek 7 against Everton when he was handed just 12 minutes from the bench to make an impact.
With Yaya Toure remaining the popular route into City’s midfield and interest in David Silva climbing, Nasri remains firmly off the radar. Priced at 8.0 in FPL, (6.3 in the Sky Sports game and 4.0 in the Sun Dream Team,) he’ll be hoping to plunder the points as Pellegrini’s side look to maintain the attacking form that has harvested 13 goals in their first four at the Etihad.
Mohamed Diame
A somewhat unlikely option, perhaps, but one look at our members section highlights the West Ham man’s potential. So far this season, only four midfielders have registered more shots at goal than Diame – indeed, he holds the unwanted distinction of firing more attempts than any player without a goal thus far.
Nevertheless, the fact that he has produced a greater number of shots than the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Oscar and Eden Hazard at least underlines his threat to the opposition. Having started every one of the Hammers’ league games so far, Diame – at 4.7 in FPL, 5.7 in the Sky Sports game and 2.5 in the Sun Dream Team, offers a cut-price security of game time ahead of an enticing run of games for Sam Allardyce’s side which starts with a home clash against Villa later today. With the attention on either Kevin Nolan or Ravel Morrison, he’ll be hoping to finally deliver on his promise and reward his 2% owners in FPL.
