PlayON Picks – Gameweek 9 – £1,000 Guaranteed Pot

Didn't manage to submit my article in time this week - been pretty busy, so just going to post it here and it might get published as a proper article tomorrow. 🙂

The three differentials below are my pick of the attacking punts for this weekend’s fixtures. They all have great potential to score well this week and will hopefully be able to catapult you up the overall rankings.

Christian Benteke - Aston Villa - FWD - 0.3% Ownership - 7.9m

This spot was previously reserved for Saido Berahino, but considering the West Brom forward’s popularity on the site, and his high ownership, I’ve decided to look for an options that’s a little more “punty”, and thus I’ve gone for the, extremely out there pick, Christian Benteke.

“Tekkers” started for the first time this season in game week 8, after being deemed fully fit for a start since his achilies injury that had ruled him out for 5 months. The forward hasn’t had much time to show us what he’s got this season, but he’s been prolific up front for Aston Villla in the last 2 seasons. Benteke scored an impressive 19 goals in his first season for Villa, and managed to hit the back of the net 10 times last season, which is quite impressive considering injuries restricted much of his playing time last season. The big Belgian definitely has the potential to score big this season, if he can stay injury-free, and is no-doubt an already proven FPL option for the coming weeks.

Aston Villa haven’t scored in their last 4 games, and Benteke could provide exactly what they need up front in goals. Although, he was afforded 80 minutes against Everton, Villa and Benteke didn’t manage to score. I believe the reason for this was the shift from Benteke’s usual position. The forward was shifted to a role on the left, and was fairly ineffective in that position with Seamus Coleman keeping him in check for most of the game. He did manage to get 2 shots off despite being played out of position and having just come back from injury. Paul Lambert should see the fault in his system against Everton, and chances are will shift Benteke to his preferred central role up front this weekend. If this likely event occurs, the forward could be absolutely deadly during the kind run of fixtures the Villains have in the next few.

In game week 9, Benteke faces a QPR defence that managed to score against themselves twice last game week. The QPR defence have conceded 18 goals this season - league highest, and have the worst defensive numbers in the league, which both translate into the single clean sheet they have kept this season. The fixture couldn’t be any better for Benteke this week, and he’s a fantastic differential at 0.3% ownership. I back the forward to bag a goal at the minimum against QPR this weekend and to send FPL managers scrabbling to grab the reasonably priced forward for his kind run of fixtures.

Emboaba Oscar - Chelsea - MID - 3.0% Ownership - 8.3m

This was another contested spot, with Barkley the other player looking to grab it. He looked like a fantastic option this week but having played the full game just last night, he might not be afforded his 3rd start this week after just recovering from an injury. Going off that, I have chosen to go with a man who has been in fine form the past few weeks, and that’s Chelsea’s Oscar.
The Chelsea man has notched twice in his last 3 games, picking up an assist and 4 bonus points along the way. He’s been in brilliant form recently, and will look to continue this run against Manchester United this week. The Brazilian has the 3rd highest number of shots on target over the last 4 weeks, and is also on set pieces to add to his appeal.

Chelsea are also the top scoring team in the league at the moment with an impressive 23 goals. They have fired shots into the back of the net like nobody’s business this season, and look like one of the best if not the best attacking side in the league. Now with Diego Costa’s potential absence, Chelsea might need players like Oscar to step up and contribute more in terms of goals - not that they haven’t done so already with their midfielders having scored a combined total of 9 goals this season. That’s more goals scored than 6 different teams in the league.

This week, Oscar faces an average United defence at Old Trafford. The United back 4 or 3, earlier in the season, have conceded 12 goals this season - 5th highest number in the league, and have just come off a game where they conceded 2 goals to West Brom. Considering Chelsea are a much better side going forward, having notched 13 more goals than West Brom this season, it’s quite likely that Chelsea will bag more than 1 goal in this game, with Oscar looking to be heavily involved wether it be an assist or goal. A top punt for this week and a handy differential for those looking to rise up the ranks.

Kieran Gibbs - Arsenal - DEF - 2.3% Ownership - 5.3m

I normally don’t include defenders in my Punts trios, with my punts mainly focusing on attacking players, but after some prompting from Wakey, I’ve decided to include my 1st defender in my punts trio.
Kieran Gibbs already has an assist and bonus in 4 starts for Arsenal this season, and will be brimming with confidence after a mid-week goal for Arsenal in the Champions League. The Englishman has had a number of impressive numbers in the last four weeks. He is currently on top for Touches In The Penalty Area over the last 4 game weeks with 16. He’s also just behind Baines for Passes Received in the Final Third and Touches In The Final Third - 2nd highest in the league, which shows just how far Gibbs is getting up the pitch. It’s only a matter of time before his forages down the left flank translate into FPL points, as it already has in the Champions league.

This week, the defender not only looks good for attacking points but also a potential clean sheet. He faces a dire Sunderland side that have just come off a 8-0 thrashing from Southampton. Sunderland have also failed to score on 3 separate occasions this season, and haven’t been the most prolific team this term. With Arsenal’s defensive numbers from the recent weeks looking pretty solid I fancy the Gunners to keep a clean sheet against Sunderland, and Chambers return from suspension can only help this cause.

At 2.3% ownership, Gibbs presents himself as an excellent differential and punt for this week, and I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a punt in defence for this week and the coming weeks considering Arsenal’s kind run of fixtures in the next 6.