Dare To Be Different — Gameweek 12
In a topsy-turvy and ever changing season it’s hard to rotate your squad with a good, in form differential. The obvious choice to get in this week is the insatiable Eden Hazard, who has already been selected by 28.3% of managers. Although, that’s quite modest compared to the likes of Philippe Coutinho (46.9%), Sergio Agüero (46.4%) or Diego Costa (41.0%).
At this point of the season the popular 3–4–3 formation has been ousted for a 3–5–2 lineup to maximise the midfield scoring potential. Coutinho has improved remarkably under Jürgen Klopp, Hazard is revived under Antonio Conte and Sánchez was relishing his front line duties.
Competition for midfield spaces is fierce. Knowing who to add in and when to do so is a challenge all on its own. In this article we will be ignoring Hazard, if you haven’t noticed his recent run of form then the differential opportunity has long gone. Instead, we’ll look for some potentially forgotten gems that could prove helpful when you need to find some points.
The Picks
Nemanja Matić
We brought up the potential promise of Nemanja Matić in our Gameweek 10 Picks of the Week. Since partnering N’Golo Kanté in the middle of the park the Serbian has enjoyed a bit more attacking freedom. He has turned provider 5 times and has been cruising on the extra clean sheet points as Chelsea continue their run of not conceding to 5 games.
Now, Matić isn’t going to be a point-for-point scoring alternative to rival Hazard or Costa. But, with both of them being shown to have a 75% chance of playing he may see you through a week. As it stands, he is 7th in total points table for Chelsea and as a £5.1 player he offers a good option to save funds to get another midfielder in with your next free transfer. Next up for Chelsea is Middlesbrough away.
Kevin De Bruyne
With a selection percentage of 10.2% it would appear that Kevin De Bruyne is out of managers minds. That or they have run out of funds to cover the £10.8 needed to get him in. Man City are struggling to get out of their “slump”, if you can call it that, having drawn 3 of the last four games 1–1.
KDB (4.3) sits third in City’s form table behind Agüero and Ilkay Gündogan (both 7.7) but is top of the points table. He has chipped in with 6 assists and undoubtedly more on the way with Agüero scoring 3 in the last two games. Gameweek 11 saw De Bruyne edge Agüero from the top of Man City point scorers, which makes the 10.2% selection look even more appealing. An away day against Crystal Palace is next for City as they look to make it back to the top of the table.
Yannick Bolasie
Yannick Bolasie has made a strong start to his Everton career, however, those performances haven’t directly related into fantasy football points. Everton had a dismal outing when they visited Stamford Bridge where they ended up on the wrong side of a 5–0 thrashing.
Gameweek 12 sees Everton face a poor Swansea side who have conceded the second worse total goals in the top flight. A tantalising fixture for an Everton front line looking to bounce back to form with a win. Bolasie himself has helped his team mates this year by providing 4 assists and a goal. Those 4 assists sees him closing in on his best assist total (6) in the premier league.
Bolasie’s highest goal total came with Crystal Palace last season (5). He is a little of that at the moment but with well over half a season left, you can’t rule him out to reach that number again.
If you feel this picks are too mainstream then why not check out our Risky Business picks for GW12 instead?
Originally published at THREE AT THE BACK.
