The January wildcard meant many managers ended up with very similar teams, but with injury doubts, tougher fixtures and the promise of double Gameweek profits, we’re starting to see those broken up and a host of new names being thrown about. With just 12 weeks to go, if you’re going to make a move on your mini league leader then it’s probably now or never; playing safe simply isn’t an option any more…..
Peter Odemwingie
As the hottest player in the FPL game over the last two weeks Peter Odemwingie is hardly an undiscovered talent, but with an ownership of only 3.5% the Nigerian International still very much falls into the ‘Differential’ category. An early season knee injury and subsequent fallout with manager Roy Hodgson saw Odemwingie increasingly marginalised in the West Brom setup, but that all seems to be behind him now; he looks like a new player recently and his confidence is overflowing.
West Brom are on fire at the moment; their 4-0 thrashing of in-form Sunderland followed a completely dominant victory over Wolves a week earlier, and Peter Odemwingie has been at his clinical best. Five goals and 30 points over the last two Gameweeks may flatter the Nigerian slightly, but it was no fluke either. Odemwingie has simply relished his new role on the right-flank, enabling him to cut in and threaten opponents – something he’s done more effectively than any other striker over the past two Gameweeks.
Pavel Pogrebnyak
In stark comparison to last year when injuries meant they were often forced to play without a recognised striker, Fulham fielded five at once at QPR last weekend; Moussa Dembele, Clint Dempsey, Bryan Ruiz, Andy Johnson and Pavel Pogrebnyak all started with the latter two playing in the formal striker roles. Andy Johnson offers an interesting option priced at just 4.7 in the FPL game, but it is new signing Pogrebnyak that most caught the eye last weekend and priced at 6.0 and with an ownership of 0.4%, the Russian could be a great third striker option. He recently admitted that he has found the frantic pace of the Premier League exhausting, but that hasn’t seemed to have stopped him banging in the goals so far.
Fixtures continue to fall Fulham’s way over the coming weeks, with home games against Wolves, Swansea and Norwich in the next five and having some representation from the Fulham attack looks almost essential right now. Clint Dempsey has been one of the most popular picks in recent weeks and still offers a strong threat, despite being relegated to a wide midfield role but at 9.2, many will be questioning the value considering the wealth of alternatives in midfield. Pogrebnyak offers an interesting “Differential” then, and if he can keep his starting role up front then he would be a much better value route into the Fulham attack.
Ryan Shotton
We’re always on the lookout for potential “Out Of Position”(OOP) defenders, and have been keeping a close eye on the progress of Ryan Shotton at Stoke, with Tony Pulis seemingly preferring the local youngster to Jermaine Pennant on the right flank. Now that he has shaken off the injury problems that were causing him problems last month, Shotton looks set for a continued run of starts in the team and with Pulis suggesting this week that playing in midfield is “very much a long term option for him”, we’re backing him to bring in the points this weekend.
With a home tie against Norwich up next, Shotton looks like great value at 4.0 considering his potential at both ends of the pitch. He had a great game against Swansea last weekend picking up an assist and a clean sheet, and although Norwich have a pretty good record on the road this season, they will find it hard to break down a full strength Stoke side and another home shut out looks a real possibility.
