This Barn-Door column is most likely the penultimate one, with the feature returning after the January transfer window. I know many of you have emailed me positively about this and my Tuesday stats-based column but I think that it’s probably starting to duplicate some of the excellent work in both Steve and Nik’s columns. Of course, when January hits we have the perfect storm of new transfers and second-string players moving into the first 11. Personally, I think that it’s at this point that you can really benefit from thinking ahead and choosing the best players in advance to maximise your budget.
This week is a little strange because, with the exception on Arsenal playing Chelsea, I think that the home team is the favourite in every game. That’s not to say by much, it’s a very balanced group of games but I would suggest that you look there for your defensive picks.
So who should you be looking at?
Southampton
I won’t wax lyrical about their performance compared to how many great players they let go over the summer – everyone has discussed it and by week 8 I think it isn’t a fluke to why not pick up:
Mane – Averaging nearly 10 points over the last two weeks he looks to easily cover his £7.31m price. Although most managers seem to keep their faith with Tadic, I think he could give you some key differential.
Wanyama – He costs just £6.48m and has scored 13, 8 and 7 over the last three weeks – That looks like good business to me.
Swansea
Swansea on the other hand haven’t really set my world alight after their week one performance against Manchester United. I’m happy to be proved wrong though, especially by Sigurdsson who is an excellent point scorer when he wants to be, otherwise have a look at:
Carroll – I have faith in Tom but it’s early to see if the position (he may or may not get) suits him. If it does then £3.34m seems an extremely cheap price!
Bony – Was last week an indicator of things to come? I especially like that he scored 18 points when a goal scored gives you 10 – that’s plenty of other point scoring activity. If he performs well during this weekend’s match against Stoke you should look a little closer.
Spurs
I have found much to my detriment that I find it very hard to be subjective about my beloved Spurs. I find it hard to choose their players and equally hard to choose their opponents. Newcastle however have shown themselves to be “leaky” so their forwards could prove a good source of points (if I can dare pick them!)
Lamela – He’s still got an average 7 points per week against a cost of £4.75m so if you’re looking for funds to spend elsewhere and you want a player with plenty of upside then look no further.
Eriksen - It’s true, Spurs have hardly been scoring goals for fun and I for one am missing good old Defoe. Eriksen however plays in a great position for all sorts of fantasy points and the potential for the odd goal. His price is a little high but he might be worth it.
West Brom
I’m beginning to feel like West Brom are my guilty pleasure; I had absolutely no faith in them at the start of the season and I’ve only got a little bit more now but they haven’t been the abject walkover I suspected. I can’t help but like teams who fight against what’s expected of them (even if it did include beating Spurs). Of course, you have to like:
Berahino – He’s averaged 19.5 points over the last two weeks and although I don’t suspect that this will happen this week against United, he could surprise us and he’d be a great shout against Crystal palace in week 9.
Gamboa – He’s most likely to play having impressed last week – expect a massive score in the unlikely event they keep United’s massively impressive attacking force out but I can see a good return in week 9 even if his price doesn’t drop.
