One to watch: Antonio Valencia

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Valencia has been very quiet of late, earning just 10 points in his late 4 outings. However, these games included trips to Liverpool, Portsmouth and Fulham who have three of the best 7 home defenses in the league. Previous fixtures had seen Valencia notch 27 points over the same period when the opposition was Hull, Sunderland, Spurs and City.

A quick look ahead sees games against Stoke, Newcastle, Everton and West Brom who all rank in the bottom 5 in total defense this season. This will hopefully see Valencia (and in all likelihood Zaki) return to top form and he should be a good producer for the next month or so.

Valencia is being sold right now (-35000) in the past few weeks so his value could fall to 6.1. However, even at 6.2 he could be a great replacement for the slumping Denilson, Ireland or Downing.

Comments

Ollycee said…
I agree with you Chris, I have kept hold of Valencia and am expecting decent returns from him over the next few gameweeks. Im a fan of his and I think he links in well with Zaki (who I have also got!)

If he doesnt produce soon though I may look to upgrade him to Modric or Bentley instead of another midfeilder.
November 7, 2008 at 6:50 AM
Chris said…
My thought exactly ollycee. I have stuck by Valencia due to this decent run of fixtures coming up but if he doesn't start producing soon I like both Modric and Kranjcar as potential replacements.
November 7, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Ash said…
Great shout Chris!

Like I said, I'm manouevring to get Lamps back, and at the moment I've got Zaki as captain!

Valencia is one of my favourite players and I loved him in the World Cup.
November 8, 2008 at 12:20 AM
Unknown said…
Awful gameweek so far. Traore benched, Cpt. Ronaldo 2, Zaki 2, Arteta 2, Turner 2, Defoe 2. And Wigan can't even beat Stoke at home. Sheesh.
November 8, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Unknown said…
Well, things looking up a little. Defoe with a late penalty, and Agger set to start. (I feared the worst, at home to WBA.) Perhaps all is not lost afterall...
November 8, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Ollycee said…
Maybe I spoke too soon about Valencia, im already looking to replace him next week, I think two Wigan players in my side is two too many! What is everyones opinion on the best possible replacement for Antonio in the 6 - 7 million pound category? Modric? Kranjcar?
November 8, 2008 at 4:25 PM
Chris said…
Ive had a disaster of a week and ive come to the same conclusion at you ollycee. With Zaki and Valencia I am too reliant on a team that is not playing well right now. I think I might sell Laursen to free up some cash to allow myself some wiggle room.
November 8, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Unknown said…
If you got Zaki at 6.0 (or close), I think he's a must-keep. (Especially with 4 pretty friendly matchups over the next 5 weeks.) There simply aren't any better replacements at that price. Being an unknown, everytime he doesn't score for one game, people lose faith! Kinda silly, really.

Also, Koumas has played the last couple of games. Zaki should definitely benefit from his passes/crosses once he finds his range. (A little "rust" resulting in a few too many stray ones so far.)
November 8, 2008 at 7:50 PM
Chris said…
jay - you're right with Zaki, there are no replacements who even come close for that kind of money. you can't even guarentee 90 mins of football with most of them. I'm gonna keep Zaki and consider Valencia's future, though I am a fn of his. I like Kranjcar as his replacement.
November 9, 2008 at 5:55 AM
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