I greatly miss the Puntmaster’s regular weekly article, as I’m sure many of you do, so I thought I would give it a go and try and find some hidden, low-owned gems to bring in the points during the forthcoming Gameweek. As the Puntmaster did I too will be looking for a punt in each outfield position.
Micah Richards
Club: Aston Villa
Price: 4.4
Ownership: 4%
This defender is obviously quite a risky punt, as Aston Villa are in a complete rut as they stare relegation squarely in the face without blinking. However, they are up against a recently out-of-sorts Crystal Palace who have been hit with a spate of injuries of late, most notably in attack. In the three games Yannick Bolasie has been out Palace have failed to score. This is good news for opposition defences.
Richards has shown some promise this season, albeit sporadically. So far he has a goal and an assist to his name in 1350 minutes. I think Richards could be on for a surprise clean sheet here, and with any luck, a cheeky set-up for a Jordan Ayew goal maybe.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Club: Swansea
Price: 7.0
Ownership: 2.9%
One of the Fantasy greats, showing remarkable consistency over the years and deadly from free kicks. He also has a great eye for a pass and is an accomplished finisher. In short, he’s everything we want from a mid-priced midfielder. Nevertheless, this season his ownership has ebbed away due to erratic performances and rotation.
But as Swansea fight for their Premier League survival we have seen a remarkable upturn in both their and Sigurdsson’s performances. He is starting to shoot again and against Manchester United last week that paid dividends as he got himself on the scoresheet. Could the old ‘Siggy’ be back? On recent evidence he looks to be well on his way to being once again a staple part of our midfield five.
Andy Caroll
Team: West Ham
Price: 6.4
Ownership: 0.2%
‘Big Andy’ is back, well at least until he gets injured again. He’s been one of my favourite players in the Premier League for years, no really. There is no player like him, nobody can dominate in the air like him, in fact, nobody has a chance in the air against him. His running stride when he goes to jump to the meet the ball is totally unique in football, he looks just like an NBA forward leading up to dunk.
I have plenty of fond memories of him clattering keepers (Joe Hart really springs to mind) and flattening centre-halves. The way he takes absolutely everything with him in an attack at the ball is borderline comical, but so is the aftermath he leaves trailing in his wake. With West Ham’s playmaker-in-chief Dimitri Payet back, the big Geordie should get plenty of chances. Returning from injury and after only 135 minutes of football, it is incredible that he is already leading many of the members area shooting tables. Defenders are clearly struggling to match him in the air and considering Bournemouth are prone to conceding from set pieces, Gameweek 21 bodes well for Carroll.
