We call upon Stoke and Norwich’s wide men in our search for some overlooked Fantasy gold this Saturday morning. City’s Ivorian frontman also gets the nod as Manuel Pellegrini’s men look for a vital victory at Carrow Road.
Nathan Redmond
In the event that Norwich harvest enough points to stave off relegation this season, one would imagine that Nathan Redmond (5.0) will have played a key role in that narrative. The ex-Birmingham City winger – who’s still top of the scoring charts (five) at Carrow Road – followed up his composed finish against Chelsea with a lively performance in a 1-0 defeat at Swansea, alerting us to his blossoming confidence.
In terms of his influence over the last two Gameweeks, no midfielder amassed as many shots inside the box (six) as Redmond. Even when extending that range to encompass the previous four Gameweeks, only Alexis Sanchez managed more efforts in the penalty area (11) than the England U21 international (eight), demonstrating his current propensity for drifting into dangerous areas.
Notwithstanding the fact that Norwich drew blanks in four of their last six outings, it’s worth keeping in mind that they’ve only failed to score at Carrow Road on one occasion since Gameweek 10 – incidentally, that fruitless afternoon came against the league’s tightest defence (Spurs). Furthermore, only five sides have accrued more big chances in home matches than Norwich (26), so it would be remiss to assume that Man City’s rearguard will enjoy a relaxing encounter.
Beyond this weekend, though, the schedule smiles kindly on the Canaries. With proverbial six-pointers at home to relegation rivals Sunderland and Newcastle and a trip to struggling Palace in the subsequent four, the Norwich winger has the platform to help fire his side to safety.
Wilfried Bony
Following a trio of defeats, Manuel Pellegrini switched to a 4-4-2 system for Manchester City’s home tie against Aston Villa last Gameweek, affording Wilfried Bony his first start of the calendar year. Bearing in mind that City had failed to score more than once in each of the previous four, Saturday’s 4-0 win may well persuade the Chilean to retain a two-man frontline for the trip to Carrow Road.
Furthermore, with a Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev in midweek, Pellegrini may also look to utilise the depth of his squad, starting Bony this weekend before switching to a lone-striker system against the Ukrainian outfit in order to protect a 3-1 first-leg away lead.
Delving into the data, although Bony failed to grace the scoresheet at Villa Park, he supplied an assist and was heavily involved during his 62-minute stint: among all forwards that clocked at least 20 minutes last Gameweek, the Ivorian ranked third with regards to shot frequency (one every 12.4 minutes). Moreover, only Aguero chalked up more shots inside the box (seven) than his strike partner (five) in the previous round of fixtures.
This weekend’s hosts Norwich rank joint-third for goals conceded (22) and joint-top for big chances conceded (28) in home match-ups. In addition, no side has tallied fewer clean sheets (three) than the Canaries this term, illustrating their inability to batten down the hatches. Couple that with David Silva’s recent resurgence (two assists against Villa), and Bony emerges as an enticing differential for seeking out a short-term gamble.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Despite turning out the occasional virtuoso performance in his debut top-flight campaign, Xherdan Shaqiri (6.4) has lacked the consistency to establish himself as a key player on the Fantasy market. Having delivered attacking returns (one goal, two assists) in three of his last four outings, though, the Switzerland international is certainly addressing that shortcoming, elevating our confidence in his attacking potential prior to Southampton’s visit.
Looking at the underlying statistics, four of Shaqiri’s total tally of shots on target this term (10) arrived in the last four Gameweeks, with only three midfielders mustering more during that time frame. As for his creative output, the former Bayern Munich recruit also charted joint-fourth for key passes (12) in his last four, underlining his capacity for assists.
In an abridged Gameweek where most Fantasy managers will be focused on securing their Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Man City coverage, exploring the Potters’ attacking potential could separate many from the pack. Saints are far from pushovers, but they’re winless in three matches and have to contend with the absence of the suspended Jose Fonte, reducing their chances of stifling the hosts.
