Our weekly focus on player recommendations for the next four to six Gameweeks is rolled out once again this afternoon. As always, we focus on the main movers and shakers, with the upcoming blank Gameweeks playing a major part in this week’s assessment. The full listings per classification are available on the sidebar on your right:
The Defence
Norwich budget duo John Ruddy and Martin Olsson continue to rise in our estimations. It’s four home clean sheets in a row now for Chris Hughton’s side and with Stoke (in Gameweek 29), Sunderland and West Brom the next three visitors, there’s every chance that streak could be extended. The Canaries also face fellow-strugglers Villa, Swansea and Fulham in the next seven and have one of the best schedules around before the fixtures turn nasty in Gameweek 35.
Tim Howard and Seamus Coleman also edge their way up the rankings. Everton may not have a Gameweek 29 but are very much worthy of our attention – three home games (WHM, CAR, SWA) and a trip to Fulham in the next five, in addition to the fact they have two as-yet-unscheduled doubles to factor in, means Roberto Martinez’ team will be on many a radar. The Toffees will be hoping that upcoming schedule can improve upon a disappointing defensive record which has harvested just single clean sheet in 12 league matches, whilst Coleman’s eye for goal could well benefit from that run of matches.
Palace are the only side with a match in both Gameweek 28 and 29 who also have a double still to be scheduled. Cut-price pair Julian Speroni and Joel Ward climb in the rankings, then, while the next eight Gameweeks hands Tony Pulis’ side five favourable road trips (swa, sun, new, car, whm) and a home clash with Villa to boost their prospects of beating the drop.
Stoke’s Asmir Begovic and Erik Pieters are also elevated due to their Gameweek 29 duties. Look beyond that, though, and the schedule is definitely favourable to the Potters – from Gameweek 29-35 they have six matches (nor, WHM, avl, HUL, NEW, car) which suggest Fantasy points could be on the menu.
Jan Vertonghen’s return from injury has tightened up the Tottenham back-four. Tim Sherwood’s side have conceded just twice in four matches with the Belgian back at the heart of defence and with a home game against Cardiff followed by a Gameweek 29 fixture (albeit away to Chelsea), Vertonghen’s goal threat earns him the nod. The downside, though, is the following fixtures- after the trip to Stamford Bridge, Spurs also square up to Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool and will struggle to attract much investment.
A number of options take a fall this week as we factor in the blanks over the next couple of rounds, though Cardiff pair David Marshalland Steven Caulker suffer the ignominy of dropping in spite of the fact they feature in both Gameweek 28 and 29. Quite simply, the Bluebirds’ dire defensive form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is anything but convincing and, as Saturday’s 4-0 home thrashing by Hull showed, is enough to negate any apparently strong fixture.
The Midfield
Back-to-back blanks take City out of the equation here, though Eden Hazard and Adam Lallana both retain their spots in the top three in light of their upcoming schedules. Hazard has been a little inconsistent of late – only one set of return in the last six, whilst Lallana has scored or assisted in four appearances over that period. The Saints face a testing home clash with Liverpool this weekend but have Palace, Norwich and Newcastle in the subsequent four.
A weekend match-winner against Spurs continued Robert Snodgrass’ fine form. The Scot has scored in two of his last three appearances now and, at just 5.9 in FPL with an ownership under 4%, has some very strong underlying statistics to suggest he can maintain his current displays.
As mentioned above, Stoke’s Charlie Adam also has the schedule on his side. The Potters playmaker has struck three times and produced a pair of assists in the last seven league matches and, at 5.8, is Snodgrass’ main rival for our attention – having notched seven times already this term, though, Adam has certainly been far more prolific than his compatriot.
Tom Ince is our Palace midfielder of choice. One point of note is that, after grabbing a goal and assist from the role in “the hole†on his debut, he was moved to the right wing against United last time around. Nonetheless, with the return of Glenn Murray set to knock Jason Puncheon down the spot-kick pecking order, Ince, at 5.5, grabs our attention as a real differential on offer.
Craig Noone’s security of minutes earns him the nod as we assess the Cardiff midfield for potential. Wilfried Zaha’s prospects took a dive after he was subbed off at the break against Hull last weekend and, whilst Magnus Wolf Eikrem turned in an eye-catching display in the same game, it’s yet to be established whether he can nail down a regular role. Noone, at 4.3, looks the safest and most budget-friendly option for now if you reckon Solskjaer’s side can break out of their current malaise.
Two goals in his last four appearances since returning from injury keeps Paulinho in our thoughts. With Christian Eriksen reduced once again to role of bench-warmer, the 6.7-priced Brazilian looks the one form option in Tottenham’s midfield ahead of that plum home clash with Cardiff, though as mentioned above, the short-term schedule isn’t the best for the north London outfit and somewhat tempers our enthusiasm.
The Forwards
The “SAS†continue to lead the way up top, with Daniel Sturridge more than justifying his spot ahead of Luis Suarez at the summit. Granted, a weekend trip to Southampton isn’t the easiest, whilst a blank Gameweek 29 will stretch many benches to the limit due to the pair’s popularity, but yesterday’s announcement of a double Gameweek 31 for the Reds (car, SUN) ensures they stay firmly in the forefront of our thinking.
An average of 7.2 points per game under Tim Sherwood keeps Emmanuel Adebayor in third spot. Now up to 8.3 in FPL, the Tottenham forward has scored or assisted in seven of his 11 appearances under the new man in charge, offering us a real a source of consistency for our third forward slots.
Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez hold steady in light of Southampton’s blank-less run, whilst Peter Crouch moves up in the reckoning. Available for just 5.5, the Stoke forward has notched three times in seven and offers guaranteed game time for those looking to navigate the next couple of weekends.
Nikica Jelavic and Loic Remy are both without a fixture in Gameweek 29, though have the form to keep our attention. The Croatian has now notched three times in as many matches for Hull and has a home clash with Newcastle and double Gameweek 31 (WBA, whm) in the next four. Remy grabbed Newcastle’s weekend winner over Villa after returning from suspension and, in addition to his KC trip, squares up to Fulham and Palace in the upcoming four Gameweeks.
Olivier Giroud takes a tumble – ironically on the back of his highest haul of the season. Arsenal’s dire upcoming schedule (sto, (blank), tot, che, MCI, eve) looks enough to bring any bandwagon to a halt and persuade the Frenchman’s owners to seek pastures new. Robin Van Persie also drops due to this weekend’s blank but, having scored in four of his last five league appearances, the United forward looks set for a climb in next week’s refresh.
