Spot the Differential – Gameweek 3

We call upon a trip of lesser-owned midfielders for your perusal this morning as we scour the market for some overlooked weekend options. Arsenal’s home clash with Liverpool brings a certain Welshman to our attentions, whilst we have our eye on a couple of options for Norwich’s head-to-head with Stoke at Carrow Road.

Aaron Ramsey

For those Fantasy managers searching for a cheaper source of Arsenal coverage than the 11.0-priced Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey (8.5) could be the solution. Having been fielded in a deeper-lying role for the Gunners’ season-opener against West Ham United, the Wales international was stationed on the right flank at Selhurst Park, resulting in double the volume of attempts (four up from two). Furthermore, only Sanchez (six) and Philippe Coutinho (four) fired off more shots inside the box than Ramsey (three) in the previous Gameweek.

Although Arsenal’s next test is a home tie against a Liverpool side that’s yet to concede, Arsene Wenger’s troops rattled four past the Reds in the corresponding fixture last term and boasted an average of 2.15 goals per game at the Emirates. In addition, Liverpool conceded more goals away from home (28) than the likes of Hull City and Sunderland last season, so Ramsey will confident of finding space between the lines to carve out shooting opportunities.

Nathan Redmond

Priced at just 5.5, Redmond bagged two goals in as many matches, tallying 11 points in his first start of the season against Sunderland last week. The England U21 international proved to be a thorn in the Black Cats’ side, ranking fifth among midfielders for penalty box touches (seven) last Gameweek and tallying two shots inside the box.

Canaries boss Alex Neil recently spoke on the rapid improvement of Redmond over the past six months – a notion that is bolstered by the increase in his attacking output. Redmond has notched five goals in his last six appearances for the Canaries, perhaps reflecting an evolution in his game than a rare purple patch.

Norwich’s excellent run of fixtures lends greater value to the recruitment of their attacking assets. Aside from home ties against Stoke and Bournemouth in the next three Gameweeks, it’s not until a Gameweek 11 clash against Manchester City that Redmond would face one of the Premier League sides that finished in the top six last season.

Xherdan Shaqiri

After missing out last week due to suspension, Stoke’s marquee signing Xherdan Shaqiri looks in line for his debut bow away to Norwich later this afternoon. Slotting into a side that chalked up two more big chances (five) than any other side in Gameweek 2, the Swiss international could cause all manner of problems for the Premier League new boys with his fleet-footed trickery.

Notwithstanding his lack of playing time (747 minutes) at Inter Milan, Shaqiri posted some eye-catching underlying statistics. A shot frequency of one every 24.9 minutes would have bettered all midfielders in England’s top tier last term, with Alexis Sanchez (25.4) coming closest to the Switzerland international. Moreover, Shaqiri’s key pass frequency (22 minutes) would also have placed him top in the distribution charts ahead of Mesut Ozil (27.8), underlining his latent potential to deliver strong attacking returns

Beyond the Canaries match-up, Stoke embark on a quartet of fixtures (WBA, ars, LEI, BOU) that includes three favourable meetings at the Britannia Stadium. With many Fantasy managers playing their Wildcard this week and plumping for the likes of Andre Ayew and Nacer Chadli at his price bracket, the 7.0-priced Shaqiri represents an alluring leftfield alternative.