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Not surprisingly the double fixtures warp the results, with unlikely candidates topping in defensive areas. Elsewhere however, you can find some differentials simmering away which seem set to break up our double Gameweek templates in a fortnight’s time.
Ben Foster and Roger Johnson are the major benefactors of Birmingham’s two double fixtures in Gameweeks 27 and 29 – both climb to the top of the Goalkeeper and Defender rankings respectively. Fantasy Managers will obviously need to bench there Brum contingent for the blank in Gameweek 28, but both go into their doubles with strong form and proven Fantasy pedigree over the season to warrant their high ranking.
Joe Hart and Brad Friedel – the latter with outstanding long-term fixtures, are ready to supersede Foster once his fixtures flatten out. Eveton’s Tim Howard is also a consideration given his run of opponents and Gameweek 29 double fixture. Howard’s defensive team-mates – Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines, are of course high ranking players in the Defenders table; their attacking threat continues to detracts from the Howard option between the sticks.
Asmir Begovic and Robert Huth of Stoke also benefit from double fixtures in the forthcoming Gameweek; Huth’s brace of goals against Sunderland reminded us as to his potent goal threat and has seen him leap into our top five Defenders. City’s Aleksandar Kolarov holds in that top five following his double figure return against West Brom from City’s left-wing – justification at last for his prolonged endorsement in our Watchlist rankings.
Villa’s Kyle Walker is the name to watch for amongst the Defenders – his outstanding value at 4.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game ousts team-mate James Collins (who could still be a Bonus magnet) as Villa approach their friendly run-in. Just below him, Rafael flies the flag for a United defence that seems likely to come under significant threat over the next few Gameweeks – the Brazilian’s superior value replaces Nemanja Vidic in our rankings.
The Midfield rankings get a major overhaul with the previous top three all looking vulnerable. Nani holds firm despite rough opponents after his goal contribution in the 2-1 defeat to Wolves. Rafael Van der Vaart drops due to his recent calf injury however, while Cesc Fabregas is also in decline despite his double fixture, but just about holds off the double Gameweek surge of Kevin Nolan, Chris Brunt and Charlie Adam. The latter is hampered by his 9 bookings (confirmed by OPTA and the FA), which has him teetering on the edge of a two-match ban and the possibility of missing Blackpool’s second fixture against Spurs, should he pick up a booking in the weekend meet with Villa.
Tim Cahill is the big mover – he will surely threaten the top five Midfielders once the trip to Bolton is out of the way and he’s reinstalled in Everton’s starting XI. As mentioned in this weeks’ “Frisking the Fixtures”, the Toffee’s have four home matches in 5 coming up, including a double fixture in Gameweek 29. Cahill will be a choice cut in a fortnight’s time then.
Amongst the Forwards it’s no surprise to see Robin Van Persie and Carlos Tevez dominate after further big returns in Gameweek 26. Van Persie could be a rest and rotation risk against Wolves at the weekend but, ironically, the points dropped at Newcastle may well see Wenger shy away from preserving the Dutchman ahead of Wednesday’s date with Barcelona. As for Tevez, he visits Old Trafford this weekend to earn a predictable round of jeers but, following that, has three home games in four which threaten to cement him as the top Fantasy points earner.
Peter Odemwingie’s debut season form and a double home fixture in the coming Gamweek has him climb to third – a clear favourite as your mid-price option up front going into the weekend. Surprisingly perhaps, Nikola Zigic is not far behind in the reckoning. His recent form has seen him emerge as a crucial component of Birmingham’s attacking ploys and there’s now some consistency to the Serbian’s Fantasy scoring. With two double fixtures in Gameweek 27 and 29, here’s a clean differential contender, despite his blank in Gameweek 28.
Like team-mate Tim Cahill, Louis Saha is set to benefit from Everton’s kind run of opponents to come – the Frenchman has outstanding form coming out of a four-goal Blackpool blitzing, and will surely see steady investment once the distraction of the Gameweek 27 doubles clears up.
Darren Bent is another differential consideration for those looking to break up a template trio up front – he’s not yet exploded in a Villa shirt but consistent scoring is often his game and that could well continue at a faster rate over his forthcoming run of opponents.
