With the deadline just hours away, we bring you another trio of overlooked alternatives to ponder over. All three had standout seasons last time around and whilst a couple of our protagonists have arrived back on the radar after recovering from injury, another is looking to a kind run of fixtures to help improve a disappointing start to his second season in the top-flight.
Christian Benteke
Having signalled his return from injury with a second-half sub appearance at home to Tottenham last weekend, Villa’s star forward looks set for a recall to the first XI ahead of the visit of Everton. Prior to limping off at Norwich in Gameweek 5, Benteke’s impact had been instant – a brace against Arsenal, followed by strikes against Chelsea and Newcastle, earned the Belgian one of the biggest bandwagons around before a hip injury at Carrow Road forced him onto the sidelines.
Further analysis of Benteke’s displays shows how crucial he is to Paul Lambert’s side. From January 1 onwards, he netted 14 times in 17 league appearances for the midlands outfit – factoring in this term’s game time, that’s 18 goals in 22 starts in the top-flight, a quite sensational scoring record. With Villa now failing to score in each of their last two, Benteke’s return against the Toffees will be welcome relief for a side that have already put three past Arsenal and City this term.
Now down to just 8.8 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) after being sold by over 900,000 managers , the Villa forward (9.0 in the Sky Sports game and 5.5 in the Sun Dream Team,) has an enticing run of games on the horizon. With West Ham, Cardiff, West Brom and Sunderland following directly after the Everton clash, he looks poised to become a real contender for our three-man frontlines all over again.
Santi Cazorla
A sensational debut season for Arsenal saw the little Spaniard rack up 12 goals and 13 assists last time around. After succumbing to an ankle injury back at the start of September, Cazorla has spent more time on the treatment table than the Emirates turf but, having returned to action in last week’s win over Norwich, he’s firmly back in our thoughts as the Gunners head to stricken Palace in the early kick-off.
Rested to the bench for the midweek Champions League clash with Dortmund, Cazorla replaced Jack Wilshere just before the hour mark and looks set to return to the starting line-up at Selhurst Park. While team-mates Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey currently sit in 33% and 52% of FPL teams, the 9.6 priced former Malaga man resides in just 2% by comparison – coming in at 8.7 in the Sky Sports game and 6.0 in the Sun Dream Team, Cazorla also has Southampton, Cardiff and Hull in the next six to serve a reminder of his explosive potential.
Robert Snodgrass
The former Leeds man took the top-flight by storm last term as his playmaking skills served up 152 FPL points in his first year at Norwich. Snodgrass’ six goals, nine assists and 23 bonus points proved outstanding value for the Canaries – in spite of those heroics, he was handed a starting price of just 6.5 this term, with plenty snapping up his services prior to the season getting underway.
After eight Gameweeks of the season, Snodgrass has yet to produce a single goal or assist and has slipped to a modest 6.0 but as the stats show, he has perhaps been a little unlucky. In terms of goal threat, for example, a total of 14 shots is just one less than City’s Yaya Toure, whilst 11 chances created foe team-mates puts him on a par with Chelsea playmaker Oscar – if he continues in the same vein, a turnaround is surely on the cards.
Price at 7.3 in the Sky Sports game and 3.0 in the Sun Dream Team, Snodgrass entertains Cardiff this weekend but with games against West Ham and Palace in the next five, in addition to a trip to Newcastle, the schedule certainly holds promise for the 5% owned prospect.
