With the Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 13 deadline less than 24 hours away, we examine the cases of three overlooked FPL assets in our regular Friday feature.
Ivan Cavaleiro (£5.2m)
FPL ownership: 0.2%
While the likes of Matt Doherty (£4.9m), Raul Jimenez (£5.8m) and Rui Patricio (£4.6m) are – understandably – the most popular Fantasy options in this Wolves squad ahead of an appealing double-header against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City, those seeking a differential from Nuno Espirito Santo’s side or wanting to avoid a defensive double-up may consider a short-term punt on Ivan Cavaleiro.
While Helder Costa (£4.9m) has yet to register an attacking return this season, Cavaleiro has two goals in less than a quarter of the time that his countryman has played on the opposite flank – including the opening strike in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal a fortnight ago.
Cavaleiro’s rate of chances and penalty box touches is better than that of Costa’s this season, too.
Huddersfield Town will be without the sidelined Chris Lowe (£4.4m) at right wing-back this weekend, while the injury to Jonny (£4.5m) might prove to be beneficial to Cavaleiro’s cause: the right-footed Spanish defender not offering the same touchline-hugging width that natural left-footer Ruben Vinagre (£4.3m) hopefully will in his absence.
Vinagre playing wider than Jonny, who had a tendency to drift infield, has the potential to push Cavaleiro inside and into more dangerous positions in the opposition area.
A concern about Cavaleiro is his pitch-time, however, with the midfielder having been substituted on the hour in his first two starts of the season in Gameweeks 11 and 12.
Leroy Sane (£9.2m)
FPL ownership: 4.5%
The news that Benjamin Mendy (£6.3m) is set to miss 10-12 weeks of the season with a knee injury is a major blow to Manchester City, but it could be a boon to Leroy Sane‘s chances of featuring more prominently for the league champions over the coming weeks.
Any punt on a City midfielder is laced with risk, such is Pep Guardiola’s predilection for rotating his midfield assets.
Sane started all three of the Premier League fixtures that the French left-back missed earlier this season, however, and made the starting XI in 25 of the 28 Mendy-less matches in which he himself was not injured in 2017/18.
With Kyle Walker (£6.5m) tucking inside more this campaign rather than bombing forward from right-back, the need for width down the left flank is something Guardiola has stressed on several occasions this season and last.
Fabian Delph (£5.3m) certainly can’t offer the same attacking threat as Mendy from left-back, while Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.8m) and Danilo (£5.1m) are also limited in that regard.
While the summer acquisition of Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m) was a blow to Sane’s security of starts, it could be that the German winger becomes more of a regular (if not permanent) feature in City’s starting XI during Mendy’s prolonged absence.
Certainly when Sane does start, he delivers: in five league starts this season, he has posted attacking returns in all of them (three goals, four assists).
Michael Keane (£5.0m)
FPL ownership: 3.2%
While Lucas Digne (£4.8m) has attracted plenty of interest over the last few weeks, Everton’s towering centre-half is another viable route into this ever-improving Toffees backline.
Michael Keane has three attacking returns to his name (one goal, two assists) already this season, while Matt Doherty and Marcos Alonso (£7.1m) are the only FPL defenders to have registered more attempts on goal.
All of Keane’s efforts have been from inside the opposition box and every one of them came from his head, with all but one attempt on goal stemming from a set play.
Everton have created more chances from dead-ball situations than any other Premier League club this season.
The Toffees could easily rack up a clean sheet in two of their next three games too, with Cardiff and Newcastle having scored fewer goals away from home than all other sides in the division.
Only two clubs have conceded fewer efforts on target and shots in the box in home fixtures than Everton this season.
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