Our Monday lunchtime regular is served up once again, with Tottenham’s tactics under their caretaker boss, the increasing number of budget midfield options and City’s set-piece expert amongst the main ingredients:

The budget midfielders are on the rise again….
As we edge ever-closer to the winter wildcard, the number of cut-price midfield options worth considering is starting to expand. Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling and Adnan Januzaj all grabbed a goal apiece over the weekend, whilst Peter Whittingham picked up the points despite Cardiff’s defeat at Anfield. All are priced between 4.9 and 5.2 in the FPL game and all bar Barkley are owned by less than 9% of FPL teams – an indication that, as we look to freshen up our 15-man squads, there may well be a little more variety to our selections in the New Year, helping us to move away from the template set-up that still resides in the majority of Fantasy squads.

Direct Free-Kicks are a key weapon….
City’s win at Fulham once again saw Yaya Toure benefit from set-piece duties, with another expertly-taken dead-ball situation finding the net. The Ivorian has now scored four times from free-kicks alone – incredibly, only one team (Norwich) managed to mirror this tally over the entirety of 2012/13. So far, there have been 22 goals from direct free-kicks compared to 34 over the whole of last season. City have scored five times from set-pieces alone – they mustered just two last term, while over in the red half of Manchester, United’s tally of three is already far superior to a single free-kick in their title-winning campaign. With a couple of spot-kicks also converted, the “casuals favourite” may have notched just three of his nine strikes from open play but his dead-ball ability is showing just why we have to reassess his Fantasy potential. Yesterday’s match at the Liberty also highlighted Ross Barkley’s ability. Leighton Baines may be fit and available for the Toffees’ home clash against Sunderland but he clearly has a rival for free-kicks after the youngster’s superb match-winner steered the Toffees into fourth.

A deeper role won’t deter Rooney…
Recovered from the groin problem that forced him out of the midweek cup match against Stoke, the England international was again stationed in a withdrawn berth for the visit of West Ham. Danny Welbeck led the line in a 4-4-1-1 again but despite rarely finding himself in the opposition area, Rooney’s creativity proved key for the champions as he served up a pair of assists and maximum bonus. Granted, his goal threat may not be quite the same when playing in “the hole” but a total of 16 points over two games in the position is still more than almost any other frontman over the same period.

Home comforts are becoming impossible to rely on….
With a single match left of the Gameweek, Sunderland are the only home side to have picked up a clean sheet over the current round of matches. Indeed, it’s a pattern that has extended over the last three Gameweeks now – aside from the Black Cats, only Palace, Fulham, Cardiff, West Ham and Hull have managed a shut-out in front of their own support across the last 29 Premier League matches. The fact that the above list includes five of the current bottom six is indicative of the lack of certainty afforded by teams at the top right now – while premium defenders find clean sheets hard to come by as their teams go on the attack, those scrapping for survival near the bottom are proving more reliable. None more so than the Wearsiders, who have now earned four clean sheets in seven; frustratingly, though, with Wes Brown now suspended for the next three, their prospects look a little diminished.

Adebayor is suddenly a viable option…
Tim Sherwood’s first league selection raised more than a few eyebrows yesterday afternoon but the caretaker Spurs boss deserves credit for such an attack-minded approach. Big money signings Christian Eriksen, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela were all handed a chance in a 4-4-2 as but the day belonged to Tottenham’s forgotten man, Emmanuel Adebayor. Previously afforded a single sub appearance in the first 16 Gameweeks by Andre Villas-Boas, the Togo international has started both of Sherwood’s two matches in charge, also netting against West Ham in the cup last midweek. With Sherwood clearly determined to go on the offensive in his audition for the manager’s role, Adebayor suddenly looks vital to his prospects and with three home games in the next four (WBA, STOK, CPL) the 7.7 priced forward could be a real points contender this Christmas.

Dzeko could be good for Negredo’s game time
There was uncertainty over Manuel Pellegrini’s preferred set-up in light of Sergio Aguero’s absence as City rolled up to Fulham on Saturday. The Chilean’s decision to start with a 4-4-2 allowed Edin Dzeko a rare spot in the first XI and whilst the Bosnian was hauled off for Jesus Navas as his manager moved to 4-4-1-1 on 58 minutes, it was noticeable that Alvaro Negredo stayed on the pitch against Rene Meulensteen’s side. With Aguero in the side, the Spaniard had failed to manage 90 minutes in any of his side’s previous five road trips but, regarded as the main forward while his strike-partner is sidelined, he played from start to finish. An encouraging sign for the 294,000 Fantasy managers who drafted him in last week – backed up further by his assist for James Milner’s goal on 84 minutes, with Negredo clearly benefitting from those extra minutes on the pitch right now.

The Britannia is still a fortress…
A win over Villa took Stoke’s tally to 16 points accrued at home this term – only the current top five have picked up more points in front of their own fans. The Potters have been beaten just once in nine games at the Britannia and already racked up four clean sheets– joint-top for home shut-outs. With Peter Crouch picking up the points in three of the last four games in front of the Staffordshire faithful, Mark Hughes’ side are starting to find their feet after a difficult settling-in period – Everton, Liverpool and United are up next at the Britannia but, having already drawn with City and beaten Chelsea at home, Hughes’ men have shown they are no pushovers.

Pulis still has plenty work to do…
Palace welcomed Newcastle to Selhurst Park on the back of three home clean sheets and with Loic Remy misfiring for the visitors, another shut-out seemed on the cards. Instead, the Magpies served up a 3-0 hammering to highlight the gravity of the task facing Tony Pulis as he attempts to steer his side to safety – upcoming home games (NOR, STO, HUL, WBA) still offer hope but Fantasy faith in the Palace defence certainly slipped a little, with some perhaps considering alternatives in the January wildcard in light of such a resounding defeat.