The lack of Premier League football last weekend may have forced many into making their transfers early, but for anyone still clinging onto a free transfer for this Gameweek and mulling over a last minute swap, we’re about to muddy the waters even further by throwing a few curveballs at you. If you’re after a logical, carefully planned choice then look no further than the Scout Picks. The “Differentials” on the other hand are the balls out, wildcard picks that could prove to be a stroke of genius or a moment of insanity. They say it’s a fine line between the two, but hindsight is a wonderful thing…..
Gary Gardner
He may still be waiting for his first Premier League goal, but Gary Gardner has shown more than enough promise in his early career to merit his inclusion in the Differential picks this week. Arguably the most coveted of Villa’s Academy starlets, Gardner captained the Villa youth team during the 09/10 season, firing in 14 goals from central midfield in the first five months of the season before a serious knee injury ruled him out for the next year. After returning from injury in January 2010, Gardner continued where he left off, picking up another five goals for the reserves including two goals and two assists in a 10-1 thrashing of Arsenal, and this season Gardner has racked up a total of 13 goals for England U21’s, the Villa youth team and the reserves.
Moving up to the Premier League is obviously a big step but Gardner has more than held his own in his first couple of games for the senior team, and looks like an excellent prospect. As well as a great scoring record, Gardner is known as a bit of a free kick specialist, and also offers the future potential of penalties if he can establish himself fully into the first team. We can’t expect Mcleish to grant us that little bonus just yet, but seeing as Villa take on two of the leagues leakiest defences in Wigan and Blackburn next, an early punt could still pay dividends and his budget price of just 4.5 and low ownership of 0.1% could make him a great differential.
Papiss Cisse
Alan Pardew looks set to hand a first home start to Papiss Cisse this weekend, as Newcastle host Wolves. Both teams suffered five goal thrashings last time out, but the return of Yohan Cabaye, Ryan Taylor and Cheick Tiote means Pardew is able to field his strongest side, and with all due respect to Wolves, Newcastle should find it a lot easier going this weekend.
After such an impressive start to the season, overlooking Demba Ba and opting for his Senegalese strike partner would be a very bold choice. That said, it is only the presence of Ba that has prevented Cisse from being a lot more popular; Cisse actually has a better scoring record at international level and as the second top scorer in the Bundesliga last season, he looks like a very strong pick in his own right. With two home games up next, goals will surely fall to one or both strikers; priced at just 7.0 and with an ownership of just 1.2% compared to Ba’s 25.4%, Papiss Cisse would prove to be a huge differential should the goals go his way.
Mario Balotelli
The unpredictable nature of Mario Balotelli may put off the vast majority of Fantasy managers, but there is no denying the Italian’s explosive potential, and a home tie against Blackburn could pay huge dividends to anyone brave enough to take a punt. Sergio Aguero is the safe option of course, but over a third of all managers in the FPL game now own the Argentinian and if he were to have an off day, or (say it quietly) get rested, then the 1.3% of managers with Balotelli would be laughing all the way to the bank.
After sitting out the last three league fixtures through suspension, we’re putting our money on Balotelli making the starting lineup this week, but even if he is restricted to a late cameo, he’s proven more than capable of picking up points after coming off the bench; three of his nine league goals have come from appearances of 30 minutes or less. Priced at just 8.0, it’s got to be worth a pop hasn’t it?
