Last week’s picks were an unprecedented success with O’Hara, Zigic and Best all getting onto the score sheet, and Szczesny bagging two clean sheets. Confidence restored then, I’m approaching this weekend with a fresh air of optimism and have even revisited one of my worst picks of the season in Daniel Sturridge. Let’s hope he gets more than a 4 minute cameo this time.….
Stewart Downing
Aston Villa have clearly underperformed this season and have at times looked a shadow of the side that saw them finish sixth last year. Despite this, they have shown signs recently that they are finally starting to gel under Gerrard Houllier and with possibly the kindest run in of any premier league side, it is definitely worth considering them as a source of fantasy targets once again. Until their defence tightens up a bit and Darren Bent settles in, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young are probably the best options available and of the two, Downing just edges it on recent performances.
A quick look at the OPTA stats available to members confirms just how influential Downing has been this season, he currently averages 7 crosses and 2.2 Key Passes per game, which puts him up there with the likes of Nani and Malouda in terms of assist attempts. Downing has played on the right wing in his last two league games, and he has linked up well with attacking full-back Kyle Walker, while playing as an inside out winger. As a result of playing on his weaker foot, he has been cutting inside a lot more and running at goal rather than just chucking cross after cross into the box.
Players of the Metro game will be well aware of Downing’s potential with him consistently hitting around the 60 point mark week in week out, but in FPL his ownership is still sat at just 6.0%. He has returned 2 assists and 5 bonus points in the last three games and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet against Blackpool, so with a good fixture against Blackburn at home this weekend, he could easily add to his points scoring run.
Jonas Guttierez
The Argentine International has been a revelation on the left wing since Newcastle shifted to their new 4-2-3-1 formation and has been the subject of plenty of attention around these parts, featuring in last weeks Scouting the Doubles series, in Sir Paulos’ Numbers Game article, and as a ‘Best of the Rest’ pick in the differentials picks last week. He duly provided the goods last weekend, with 2 assists and 3 Bonus in their 2-0 victory over Birmingham.
Gutierrez has often been criticised for lacking an end product in the past, but that has certainly not been the case recently; he has linked up very well with Jose Enrique down the left side and the two deliveries for his assists against Birmingham were truly world class.
With a price tag of 4.8m and three home games in the next four, Gutierrez looks like an excellent trade for the suspended Charlie Adam. He is currently owned by just 2.0% of all FPL managers so also offers good differential value.
Daniel Sturridge
I had a crack at breaking Daniel Sturridge back in gameweek 23 and was so confident he would do well in Chelsea’s game against Blackburn, I made room for him in my own side by dropping Drogba. Seven goals in the previous two games and heavy hints from Ancelotti that he would play were all the reason I needed to bring in the exciting youngster. Cue a start on the bench, and a 4 minute sympathy run-out. Sigh.
At least at Bolton he looks sure of a starting role, and while Ancelotti seems no closer to figuring out how to get two of the best strikers in the world to score at least one goal between them, Sturridge has been banging them in for fun. He has scored in each of his three league games so far, and pulled in an amazing 8 bonus points in the process. Early season favourites Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander are going through a particularly dry spell with just 1 goal between them since gameweek 15, so Sturridge’s strikes have come at a vital time for Bolton, and he looks set for a sustained run in the side.
Fixtures look decent between now and the end of the season, with just two games against the top six to play, and this weekend’s trip to St James Park should be another good chance to get on the score sheet. Sturridge is priced at just 5.3m and has a current ownership of just 1.8% making him a good value differential.
Luis Suarez
Suarez played his first full 90 minutes for Liverpool in the league against Wigan last week, and he will consider himself desperately unlucky not to get on the score sheet. He managed 5 goal attempts in that game including one of the post and another off the bar, and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of him struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League, like so many other foreign stars have done.
Despite being more widely known for his goal line antics in the World Cup, Suarez is a proven goal scorer that will undoubtedly become a hugely popular figure with the Liverpool fans. Before coming to Liverpool, his goals per game ratio was an incredible 0.61 (nearly 2 goals every three games), which puts him right up there among the world elite such as Lionel Messi (0.68) and ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (0.50) and Fernando Torres (0.47). His final season at Ajax was even more impressive, he managed 35 goals in 33 league matches for Ajax in 2010.
There is no doubt then, that if he can recreate that kind of form, he will become an essential fantasy pick and his current 4.5% ownership will surely shoot up, so despite his steep 9.0m price tag he could still prove to be good value going into Liverpool’s fixture against struggling West Ham.
It is not totally clear how Dalglish will choose to deploy Suarez when Andy Carroll finally makes his debut, but he seems to be happy with a two striker formation going forwards, either as a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2, so it is unlikely to negatively affect his points returns.
Best of the Rest
Kyle Walker has been excellent since arriving at Villa during the January transfer window, and his attacking runs down the right flank should see him pick up attacking points, to make up for Villa’s poor defensive form. He is still priced at just 4.0m and is owned by 1.0%. Marouane Fellaini has been in outstanding form of late, picking up a goal, 3 assists and 5 bonus in Everton’s last two home games. He is a slight injury doubt going into today’s match with Sunderland but if he shrugs that off he could be a decent investment with Everton’s double next week. Finally, John Carew looks to have nailed down a place in the Stoke line up, and with West Brom at home, he has a strong chance of adding to the goal he scored in the FA cup last week.
