Everton vs Southampton - Ones to Watch by @evertoniandy
Being an Everton fan, you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m biased. I’m not. I’m very fair and very honest when it comes to my football opinions. Or at least I’d like to think so! I was asked to give a short preview of this fixture with regards to potential FPL points providers and pick out 3 players. I’ve decided to go for 3 from each side instead (if it makes the final edit!) and I think any of them could be in with a shout of bringing home a sizeable haul of points this weekend...
Everton
Leighton Baines - Defender - £7.3m
The Premier League’s most creative player – he has created more chances than the likes of Cazorla, Hazard, Mata, Silva and Kagawa. And he plays left-back. One of the most consistent performers in the league, you’re always guaranteed a performance from Leighton Baines. He’s expensive, but take a look at what you get - Everton have become a formidable defensive unit at Goodison Park. Since the end of January, Everton have conceded just 5 goals in 11 games at home, and that’s having played Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham – keeping clean sheets in 4 of those 5 games. Not only that but Baines takes penalties, free kicks, corners, and gets forward at every opportunity alongside Steven Pienaar, with whom he arguably has the best full-back & winger partnership in the league. I think I’ve made my point.
Marouane Fellaini - Midfielder - £7.2m
Since Sunday, the towering Belgian’s FPL price has risen by 0.3 – that’s a huge increase which reflects the demand for the big man. I’m one of the 120,000+ people who have brought him in this Gameweek. It’s certainly not a knee-jerk reaction either. Fellaini has been in sparkling form this season, already matching his goals total for the whole of the previous campaign, and with David Moyes persisting to play him as a support striker, he’s looking like a very promising FPL prospect this week. Simply unplayable on his day, he is up against a Southampton team who are yet to keep a clean sheet, but more worryingly have conceded an average of 3 goals per game in the Premier League this season. Everton on the other hand, have had more attempts on goal than any other team in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Steven Pienaar - Midfielder - £6.7m
I could’ve picked any number of players for my third Everton player. Jelavic, Mirallas and Howard all deserve looking at but I have to go for Steven Pienaar. Along with Baines and Fellaini, he really makes Everton tick. When he was re-signed on loan it transformed Everton, who put a spectacular run of form together to fire themselves up the table. Of the midfielders who have scored more FPL points than him this season, only Nolan (one more point) and Duff (4 more points) are cheaper than Pienaar. Don’t expect his price to stay below £7.0m for too much longer if he keeps up his current form though. Fellaini might be taking all the plaudits at Everton right now, but Pienaar only has 4 points less than him. Capable of both goals and assists, Pienaar is a very good value for money option in the midfield market.
Southampton
This is going to sound crazy, but I don’t think Southampton have been that bad so far this season. Yes, defensively they’ve been atrocious on a couple of occasions, but they should’ve got something away to Man City, for long periods being the better side, and were also a bit unlucky not to take anything from their home game against Man Utd. Going forward they always look a threat and it seems to me like their best chance of survival is a Kevin Keegan-esque philosophy of scoring one more than their opponents. Last season they had the 3rd best defensive record in the Championship so I would expect them to tighten things up at the back eventually too. All-in-all, I think there are 3 worse sides than Southampton in the division. Let’s have a look at some of their players then, shall we?
Gaston Ramirez - Midfielder - £6.0m
This kid looks class. Only 21 but Southampton smashed their transfer record in order to sign him. Quite a coup for the Saints when you consider all the other clubs he was linked with over the summer. Already you can see why they paid the money, Ramirez has taken no time at all to settle into life in the Premier League and will only continue to get better. He managed 8 goals in Italy last season, don’t expect it to be too long before he gets off the mark on these shores.
Rickie Lambert - Striker - £6.2m
The Championship’s top scorer last season looks at home in the big league too. With 4 league goals to his name, he’ll be looking to add to his brace against Aston Villa last weekend at Goodison Park. Despite Everton’s strong defensive record at home, Southampton shouldn’t be discouraged. They managed to score twice against both Manchester clubs, and even notched at The Emirates before putting 4 past Villa last week. Bizarrely, Wigan at home is the only fixture in which they have failed to register. Everton have looked suspect at the back in recent games too. Twice sloppily relinquishing the lead again Newcastle a fortnight ago, and they also were lucky to come away from Swansea with a clean sheet - mainly thanks to some heroic last-ditch defending and majestic goalkeeping. It’s worth noting that only 3 strikers have more FPL points than Lambert - Ba, Tevez and Van Persie. The average price of those 3? Over £10.4m - Lambert is a mere £6.1m. He also has a phenomenal record from the penalty spot too - 26 from 26.
Adam Lallana - Midfielder - £6.0m
The Saints’ captain has had a decent start to the season, without being spectacular - at least not from a FPL point of view. He’s playing well and I think we can expect him to start delivering some points sooner rather than later. In the past 3 seasons, Lallana has averaged more than 11 goals per season from midfield. Pretty impressive, consistent too. He notched 11 times last time around and I don’t think it will be long before he picks up where he left off. At £6.0m he may seem expensive right now, but there’s every chance he could turn into a FPL bargain before you know it.
An honourable mention goes to Jason Puncheon - an excellent cheap midfield option if you’re after one, priced at only £4.4m - he could quite easily have been one of the 3 Southampton players I selected. He’s provided an assist in each of his last 3 games and always looks a threat when Southampton attack.
So there you have it. If none of these players perform then it’s probably my fault. I’d be amazed if they didn’t though, they’re either right on form, or are close to announcing their Premier League arrival with a bang.
Good luck!
By @evertoniandy
