He's fast and furious
Just last week we prepared for Manchester United’s double gameweek with a little Berbatov vs Rooney post – a debate on the value and merit of the two United strikers and their form. Not at all unexpectedly, Rooney ended up winning big over the two fixtures as Berbatov was relegated to a bench role.
So now, with the likes of Berbatov potentially benched again at Liverpool this weekend (could Sir Alex really bench the Bulgarian who scored a terrific hat trick the last time these teams met?) and Arsenal’s Robin van Persie out injured for 2-3 games with a knee problem, fantasy managers are left with a real quandary across their forward line.
Enter in some cheap alternatives, Nikola Zigic and Obafemi Martins.
Zigic, of course, was the man of the month for Birmingham in February. 3 goals in 4 league games and 90 minutes per match in the last 4. Consistency. He’s tall. Priced at just 5.4M, he will be looking to continue his goalscoring exploits against West Brom and Everton (double gameweek) this week.
But Zigic isn’t the type of scorer who will score 2 or 3 a game and go on a streak. He can head the ball, sure. He can poke it in around the box, yup, but he’s no Obafemi Martins when it comes to pace and trickery. Martins, even cheaper than his Birmingham teammate, comes in at just 5.3M in the Fantasy Premier League but has yet to score in the league. His place is a bit under threat from the likes of Cameron Jerome, but the loan signing should continue to pick up starts alongside Zigic.
Martins scored exactly 1 goal every 3 games for Newcastle during his time there, exactly 1 goal every 3 games for Inter Milan when he played at the San Siro, and yup, you guessed it, 1 goal in every 3 games for Wolfsburg as well. He’s scored a superb 18 goals in 34 international appearances for Nigeria and if fit and starting all season, would surely be a 10 – 14 goal scorer in the Premier League – superb in the 5.5M price range.
Fantasy managers don’t have too many fit options heading into this weekend with the likes of fantasy studs Cesc Fabregas, Joey Barton, Raul Meireles, Tim Cahill, Robin van Persie, Martin Kelly, Charlie Adam, and others all out or doubtful due to injury or supsension, but perhaps they can take some of those funds and invest them on the cheap – the extremely cheap – with one of Birmingham’s front-men this weekend.
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good post, good thoughts.
on the exact opposite side of the cost spectrum, how does tevez look this week/in the future…considering bringing him in this week.
Very good article. I’ve got Tevez, Berb and RVP. I was thinkinng of RVP for Sturridge. But I might go for one of these two instead. with Adam, Barton, Vidic and Kelly also out I’m going to have to look at a 2nd transfer too.
Tuff decision between those two. Considering the opposition, perhaps Martins would be the best choice. In the same price tag i think Sturridge is a very good option too. And what about Beckford? Do you guys think he’ll be on the first team in both matches (Newcastle and Birmingham)?
I will give it to Niko, he has more experience and his scoring ability is much above Martins. I would love to see a pairing of Anelka and Torres.