Spot the Differential – Gameweek 3

As always, Saturday morning serves up a trio of overlooked contenders for Fantasy managers to mull over as the deadline draws nearer. This week, we opt for a defender, a midfielder and a forward who all go in to weekend home encounters in fine form.

Daryl Janmaat

The Dutchman has hit the ground running at Newcastle with a series of encouraging displays which suggest he’s a natural replacement for Mathieu Debuchy in the right-back berth. Janmaat arrived with an attacking reputation after serving up two goals and five assists for Feyenoord last season, and whilst he’s failed to earn the returns, he has already signalled his intent with three attempts on goal over the opening two Gameweeks.

Available for 5.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Janmaat is pricier than his fellow Magpies defenders and has resultantly remained under the radar ahead of a very favourable run of matches. Having picked up a couple of bonus points from last week’s clean sheet at Villa, the Dutchman has home matches with Palace, Hull and Leicester, in addition to Stoke and Swansea in the next six Gameweeks to boost his climb up the defender rankings.

Nacer Chadli

Ahead of the new season, many assumed our Tottenham midfield affections would be limited to Christian Eriksen or Erik Lamela, with hopes high for the latter after the arrival of compatriot Mauricio Pochettino. In Spurs’ first home match of the season, though, the duo were overshadowed by Chadli in the 4-0 rout of QPR as the Belgian – in his first start under the new manager – bagged a brace and 15 FPL points against Harry Redknapp’s side.

In light of his devastating display, Chadli looks to have leapt to the top of the pecking order for the left flank role right now, with Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend likely to be resigned to bench-warming duties. After scoring just once last season, Chadli started the season with a lowly price tag of 6.0 but last weekend’s display underlines the potential value offered by the wide man compared to 8.0-priced Eriksen and Lamela. A home clash against Liverpool’s porous defence offers encouragement this Sunday, as do showdowns with Sunderland, West Brom and Southampton in the subsequent four Gameweeks.

Mauro Zarate

An unused sub for West Ham’s first match of the season, the Argentine was handed the chance to impress after Kevin Nolan sustained a shoulder injury last week. Fielded in “the hole” behind Carlton Cole, Zarate grabbed his chance with both hands by turning on the style and firing the opener in a 3-1 win at Palace.

Tasked with introducing a more attractive style of play at Upton Park this term, the early signs are encouraging for Sam Allardyce – the Hammers have registered more shots inside the box than any other side. With the 6.4-priced Zarate on board, there’s a chance they could start to deliver in the final third, and with Southampton, Hull, QPR and Burnley in the upcoming six, they have the fixtures to enable them to fulfil their attacking potential.