A change of position has transformed Joshua King's (£5.3m) Fantasy Premier League potential ahead of AFC Bournemouth’s Gameweek 25 home encounter with Manchester City.
With a knee injury ruling Callum Wilson (£6.1m) out for the season, manager Eddie Howe fielded the Norway international as the lone striker for last week’s trip to Everton.
King vindicated that decision by netting twice despite a 6-3 defeat and, allied with a recent strike at home to Watford, now has three goals in as many Gameweeks.
Assessed against his displays over the opening 21 Gameweeks, the versatile King has made significant strides having started the last three fixtures.
King's upturn in form
| Per-match average | GW1-21 | GW22-24 |
| Goal attempts | 1.1 | 3.3 |
| Penalty-area attempts | 0.8 | 2.7 |
| Goal attempts on target | 0.6 | 1.3 |
| Chances created | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| ICT Index | 4.1 | 10.9 |
His goal attempts per appearance have tripled from 1.1 to 3.3, while his efforts inside the box (from 0.8 to 2.7) and shots on target (0.6 to 1.3) have also taken a turn for the better.
Impressively, King’s total of eight efforts inside the penalty area is more than double the number of any team-mate between Gameweeks 22-24.
Among FPL midfielders, only Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino (£8.4m), with nine, has boasted a more potent close-range threat in that period.
Howe’s decision to utilise King up front also coincides with Junior Stanislas’ (£5.2m) run of five successive starts coming to an end as the winger dropped to the bench against the Toffees.
Owned by 1.1% of FPL managers, King has now emerged as the Cherries’ key FPL target, with 15,000+ transfers in since the weekend deadline.
While a visit from Manchester City provides a stern test, Howe’s side have previously scored seven goals over Vitality Stadium meetings with Liverpool and Arsenal.
The Cherries have scored 21 goals from their 12 home matches, four more than Manchester United and only two fewer than Monday night's opponents City.
AFC Bournemouth’s FPL appeal is also heightened as they are one of only six sides currently guaranteed to feature in both Gameweek 26 and 28.
They are also set for a favourable schedule over the next five rounds of matches, with upcoming matches against West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Swansea City registering scores of only two in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR).
