Pulisic a high risk pick with potential for high reward

The unpredictability of Fantasy Premier League in 2019/20 continues to baffle many of us in the game.

Each passing Gameweek brings more and more differentials to light as the tried and tested options largely fail to deliver.

Gameweek 10 started with Southampton conceding nine at home and ended in ghoulishly bizarre fashion with Tim Krul (£4.5m) registering 16 points, despite conceding three goals. 

We also saw three hat-tricks being scored, two of which were by players owned by 5% or less. 

A shout out must also go to this column’s picks as we saw a clean sweep of Fantasy returns in Gameweek 10, Marcos Alonso (£6.3m), Youri Tielemans (£6.5m) and Benjamin Mendy (£5.9m) all delivering. 

Let’s hope for some more luck this time around. Here are three differentials to consider for Gameweek 11. 

Christian Pulisic 

Price: £7.2m

Ownership: 4.4%

GW11 Opponent: Watford (A)

It may be somewhat of a risky recommendation to tip a player that has only made four league starts this season but Christian Pulisic (£7.2m) clearly has talent.

Since making his debut for Chelsea, the United States international has at times looked jaded and arguably not played to his very best. 

That’s not surprising, especially when his pre-season was interrupted with Pulisic featuring in all of his country’s knock out games during the CONCACAF Gold Cup over the summer.

This may partly explain why it’s taken him longer to adapt to life in the Premier League.

However, among all midfielders in Gameweek 10, he had the joint-fifth most touches in the penalty box (nine) and the joint-second most amount of goal attempts (five). 

With plenty of creativity to boot, he completely ran the show against Burnley and was comfortably the best player on the pitch, hat-trick aside.

That was a remarkable turnaround for a player that had only scored 18 FPL points before last Saturday. 

Pulisic has done more than enough to warrant another Premier League start in Gameweek 11 when Chelsea face Watford.

On average, the Hornets have conceded 2.1 goals per game since the start of the season and have largely struggled against top-six sides.

Quique Sanchez Flores may have finally stopped the rot at Vicarage Road, with back-to-back home clean sheets, but I think they will struggle against a free-scoring Chelsea team inspired by a determined Pulisic.

Anthony Martial 

Price: £7.6m

Ownership: 4.8% 

GW11 Opponent: Bournemouth (A)

At the start of the season, Anthony Martial‘s (£7.6m) out-of-position status seemed too good to be true.

FPL managers had been handed a midfielder from a top-six club, priced under £8.0m and playing as a centre forward. 

Martial then duly delivered Fantasy returns in each of the first three Gameweeks of 2019/20, before injury ruled him out of the next six in a row.

However, the French international finally returned to the starting line-up against Norwich – celebrating that fact with a goal. 

Of course, Martial did also missed a penalty, but it’s good to know that he has become a viable option again with United’s run of generous fixtures.

During the 3-1 win at Carrow Road, Martial had more touches in the final third (33) than Pulisic did at Burnley and received more passes in the opposition half (23) than Mohamed Salah. 

This strong involvement for United bodes well for him and, provided he stays fit, he should retain his place as a first-team player, whether that’s playing out wide or straight through the centre. 

United next face a Bournemouth side that has improved defensively in recent weeks. After going the first eight league matches without a clean sheet, the Cherries have kept two back-to-back against Norwich and Watford.

However, Manchester United, despite some criticism of their attack of late, have six goals in their last three matches in all competitions and have scored eight times in their three previous meetings with Bournemouth. 

Therefore, I would not be surprised if this match was also marked by another attacking display.

Sébastien Haller

Price: £7.4m

Ownership: 4.8%

GW11 Opponent: Newcastle United (H)

It might seem hard to justify a player that has only scored one goal in his last six league games. 

There is no doubt that the early stages of a bandwagon were being formed when Sébastien Haller (£7.4m) scored three goals in two games. 

Yet despite his lack of goals, he remains West Ham’s second-highest FPL points’ scorer (41) for the season and for a player within his price bracket that seems fairly respectable when considering that Raúl Jiménez has 43 points and Ashley Barnes has 36 points. 

It may sound cliché but I think there is still more to come from Haller.

He is currently averaging an attacking fantasy return for every 162 mins played which doesn’t seem unreasonable for someone during his debut campaign for a mid-table side.

No doubt this could have been better had he not missed two big chances since Gameweek 1 as well. 

Up next for the Hammers at the London Stadium are a Newcastle United team that currently reside in the relegation zone. 

It’s just the kind of match that Haller needs for his confidence. After all, two of his last goals have come at home and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s able to unlock the Magpies defence and get back to scoring ways.