This week’s regular Monday lunchtime article looks at the upturn in clean sheets further up the table, Liverpool’s consistent attacking options and the increased number of midfield differentials:

The premium backlines are starting to tighten…
With nearly 300,000 Wildcards played last week, there are likely to be plenty of budget defenders around, as we look to fund expensive forward lines. However, Gameweek 21 saw several of the top defences tighten up, with seven clean sheets in the nine fixtures played so far. As the title race moves towards the home straight, this could be an emerging trend as the contenders balance functionality with flair. The prime example is at Stamford Bridge, where Jose Mourinho has returned to his pragmatic days of old, with Chelsea earning a fourth clean sheet in five. Elsewhere, the returning Artur Boruc and Phil Jagielka helped Southampton and Everton to respective shut outs. With clean sheets for Tottenham and United as well, Fantasy managers have been provided food for thought as the likes of Leighton Baines, John Terry and Patrice Evra suggest premium defensive options could show their worth in the coming weeks.

Solskjaer does things his way…
The Norwegian will have been sorely disappointed with a home defeat against West Ham on his league debut at the Cardiff helm. Solskjaer would have fancied his chances facing Sam Allardyce’s side, given that the visitors had conceded 11 goals in two cup matches against Nottingham Forest and Man City but, whilst he failed to pick up the league points, The ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ had an immediate impact on Fantasy squads after benching centre-half Ben Turner. Having played every Premier League minute under Malky Mackay, Turner was a reliable budget starter for our five-man defences, but was omitted for Mark Hudson in the 2-0 loss as the new man in charge restructured his backline. Solskjaer started the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation but switched to 3-5-2 late on, replacing Hudson with Andreas Cornelius as he went for broke – a clear sign he isn’t afraid to shake things up in his attempts to steer the Bluebirds up the table. Dropping Turner looks the first step in his restructuring process and, with Magnus Eikrem and Mats Moller Daehli arriving to add to the midfield options, owners of Peter Whittingham may be a little worried as Solskjaer starts to tinker.

Young Januzaj looks like the real deal…
As United brought their run of three straight defeats to an end, it was Adnan Januzaj who took home the man-of-the-match award. Providing the creative spark in the absence of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, the young Belgian’s display was hailed by his relieved manager as a 2-0 win over Swansea allowed David Moyes to sleep a little easier on Saturday night. With six starts in the last seven Gameweeks under his belt, Januzaj’s game time has certainly benefitted from injuries to the likes of Nani and Ashley Young and, while he failed to return the attacking points his display deserved, future returns look likely as Januzaj becomes an increasingly influential figure in Moyes’ inconsistent side. With Ross Barkley suffering a suspected broken toe and doubts over the future game time of Whittingham and Raheem Sterling, Januzaj looks to be the Fantasy asset of choice for the budget midfielder slot.

Pellegrini finding his full-back favourites…
With Micah Richards almost permanently stuck in the City treatment room, Pablo Zabaleta’s security of starts has helped find him a place in almost one in four Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams. However, on the opposite side of Manuel Pellegrini’s back-four, Aleksandar Kolarov is starting to win the ongoing battle with Gael Clichy, with the Serbian having now started four of the last five Premier League matches. With City’s fixtures looking favourable after the Wildcard window shuts, investment in City’s defence seems a viable option, with Kolarov in particular making amends for an overall lack of clean sheets with plenty attacking returns. Both Kolarov and Zabaleta have five assists each so far this season – to put this into perspective, it is only one less than the likes of popular midfielders such as Adam Lallana, David Silva and Aaron Ramsey. As we know all too well on around these parts, attacking returns have never been a problem for Kolarov – a lack of game time has been the main issue, with his lack of defensive discipline frowned upon by the pragmatic Roberto Mancini in the past. With Pellegrini favouring offensive potential from his full-backs, the Serbian is starting to secure regular minutes and may well become the City defender of choice if he continues in the same vein.

Jose settles on a new Amigo…
Throughout the first half of the season, Mourinho made it clear that Oscar and Eden Hazard would be two of his three playmakers in Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1 formation. This left Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle and Willian to battle it out for the other spot as part of the Three Amigos. It now seems that Willian, who was slow to settle after being snatched from Tottenham’s grasp, has impressed Mourinho and, having featured in the first XI in four of the last six across all competitions, could be set to offer us a midfield differential over the latter part of the season. As each match passes, Hazard has looked more essential for Chelsea and for Fantasy managers but, if Willian can remain in favour, at just 7.5 in FPL he may be an interesting option should Mourinho look for less variation in his team selection in a bid to achieve consistent Premier League results. 

Liverpool’s main assets are more consistent than most..
Whilst many of their title contenders helped themselves to defensive returns, Liverpool again disappointed at the back. Six of the current top seven have already played this Gameweek – all but one of those sides delivered a clean sheet, with the Merseysiders’ being the odd team out. The Reds may be frustrating at the back as Fantasy options but further up the field, Rodgers’ attacking ethos continues to hand us reliable options. Daniel Sturridge’s goal and assist off the bench means he has delivered points in 10 of 13 appearances, whilst Steven Gerrard’s converted spot-kick helped maintain a run which has seen him score or assist in 10 of 11 starts in the same XI as Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan’s 13-point haul was no surprise, given his exploits so far, but, in a week where no other forward has returned double figures, it again highlights his armband superiority over virtually any other frontline option.

Sunderland have the form to beat the drop…
A 4-1 thrashing of Fulham helped lift the Black Cats off the bottom of the table as they finally brought their cup form to the Premier League. Gus Poyet’s side are starting to show the battling qualities required in their bid for survival and have now been beaten just once in the last nine games across all competitions. As wildcards continue to be flourished, the Wearsiders have arrived on Fantasy radars at the perfect time – three very favourable home games in the next four (SOT, STO, new, HUL) look ideal for the likes of Adam Johnson to thrive. The revitalised winger embodies the Black Cats’ recent resurgence and having produced a 22-point haul against the Cottagers, is clearly crucial for Poyet – at 6.4 in FPL, Johnson’s current ownership of 1.6% makes him a potentially devastating differential, whilst Ki Sung-Yeung, Vito Mannone and Phil Bardsley all offer sub 5.0 options across the classifications.

The midfield differentials are gathering…
It wasn’t just Johnson who turned Fantasy managers heads at the weekend, though. Christian Eriksen was again amongst the points as his form under Tim Sherwood continues – the Dane’s strike in the 2-0 win over Palace took his average to 7.2 points per game since the departure of Andre Villas-Boas and earned him further new suitors. Despite climbing in price, Eriksen remains in just 5% of Fantasy teams – Steven Gerrard, similarly, is owned by less than 6% of FPL managers, whilst the likes of Charlie Adam and Steve Sidwell notched their fifth goals of the season last weekend. Adam comes in at 5.6 and has less than 1% ownership and Sidwell, at 5.1, has persuaded just 4% to take a punt – there’s plenty ways to deviate from the template for those looking to restructure with their wildcards. Jesus Navas could be another name to add to that list. Samir Nasri’s knee injury has already been described as “serious” by Manuel Pellegrini and may well afford the Spaniard the chance to nail down a regular role on the right from here on in – at 8.3, with a 4% ownership, Navas offers a cheaper route into City’s midfield than either Yaya Toure or David Silva and may well find himself drafted into many a Fantasy plan if Nasri is indeed sidelined.