With Luis Suarez suspended for the first five matches of Liverpool’s 2013/14 campaign, Daniel Sturridge wasted no time in serving notice of his Fantasy credentials. After producing 11 goals and five assists in each of the previous two seasons, the former Chelsea frontman was priced at 9.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game but his early exploits ensured he was the recipient of heavy Fantasy investment.

The Statistics

Sturridge was key to Liverpool’s early progress. Grabbing a goal in each of the first four fixtures, he helped Brendan Rodgers’ side chalk up three wins and a draw before a disappointing home defeat at the hands of Southampton. By the time Suarez returned to the first XI, Sturridge had climbed to 9.5 and, in his first appearance alongside the Uruguayan at Sunderland in Gameweek 6, he continued to serve up the returns – a 14-point haul, courtesy of a goal, a pair of assists and a couple of bonus points in a 3-1 win, even outshone his fellow forward’s 13 points.

Rodgers’ decision to shift to a two-man frontline allowed Sturridge to keep pace with his team-mate as many Fantasy managers opted to bring both on board. Scoring in each of his first four alongside the South American, Sturridge had netted 10 times in the first 12 Gameweeks before a leg injury forced him to miss the busy festive period –Fantasy managers were quick to react as his priced plummeted from 10.0 to 9.1 by the turn of the year.

Sturridge returned to action in mid-January with a bang, emerging from the bench to serve up a goal and assist in a 5-3 win at Stoke. Installed to the starting XI once again for the following Gameweek, he proceeded to serve up 10 goals, five assists and 18 bonus points in his subsequent 10 starts alongside Suarez and peaked at a season-high price of 10.7 in early April.

Ending the campaign with 22 goals, eight assists and 34 bonus points, Sturridge finished fifth top in the FPL standings on 197 points – just a single point off doubling his previous season’s 99. Although he ultimately proved a far less explosive option than Suarez, delivering just four sets of double figures all season, there’s no doubt his performances were amongst the most consistent around, with attacking returns in 20 of his 29 appearances as the Merseysiders’ 101 goals helped them to second spot behind champions Man City.

The Prospects

A move into the premium price bracket is on the cards after last season’s performances. If Sturridge’s cost rises to 11.0 or even 12.0 next time around, his stock is likely to drop considerably, with many willing to fork out that little bit extra in order to acquire the more armband-friendly Suarez. An average of 6.8 points per game was far behind the Uruguayan’s 8.9 ppg, though impressively, this was more or less on a par with Robin Van Persie’s 6.9ppg during 2012/13, when the Dutchman’s displays for United made him such an irresistible force – the problem is that, certainly at the start of the season when budgets are tight, few would be willing to fork out such a hefty fee for a forward they are unlikely to captain.

Certainly, there are likely to be cheaper alternatives across the Fantasy games. Wilfried Bony and Rickie Lambert, in particular, will surely be on Fantasy radars for the season ahead, with the latter’s appeal boosted by Jay Rodriguez’ initial knee-injury absence for Southampton. Both are on spot-kicks for their respective clubs, are more than likely to remain under 10.0 in FPL and also won’t have European duties to worry us. As mentioned in yesterday’s Suarez article, United’s lack of European involvement is also a real factor in 2014/15 as Louis Van Gaal focuses on the title in his first year at the helm, with Van Persie and Wayne Rooney offering clear alternatives in the premium bracket.

Sturridge’s injury worries are also a concern. Last term, leg, ankle and hamstring problems curtailed his game time and on more than one occasion, he went into a Gameweek deadline with his owners none-the-wiser over his availability – after starting each of the first 11 fixtures, he featured in the first XI in just 15 of the remaining 27 league matches, with further three appearances off the bench. With a Champions League campaign adding to the schedule, his propensity for picking up problems may again come to the fore and persuade Rodgers to court caution with his domestic minutes from time to time.

Fantasy managers will be closely monitoring Suarez’ knee problem picked up in training for Uruguay over the past few days. If, as expected, he recovers from the minor injury to turn out at the World Cup, it’s hard to see Sturridge force his way past the South American in our Fantasy affections, with a rise in price for both likely to put paid to the successful “SAS” tactic utilised by Fantasy managers in the season gone by.