Supplying two assists on his return to the starting line-up in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Hull City, Raheem Sterling (£7.6m) has restored his Fantasy Premier League reputation.
The winger had played only 57 minutes over the previous two Gameweeks before Saturday's win, but was back in form with nine points against Hull to take his tally to 135 points for the season.
A thing of beauty! 😍 #mcfc pic.twitter.com/rsFdTu7aOG
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 11, 2017
Sterling has six goals and 14 assists this term and is closing in on his previous best FPL campaign, when he totalled 158 points in 2014/15.
Given that premium forwards such as Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.4m), Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane (£11.3m) and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku (£10.4m) look key to success for the rest of the season, the need to unearth value in midfield looks more crucial than ever.
In terms of points-per-million value among Man City players, Sterling leads the way with 17.8, yet his ownership currently stands at a modest 11.7%.
Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Southampton on Saturday, while their run-in, which features seven fixtures over the remaining six Gameweeks, includes five matches that score two in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR).
Although Southampton have kept two clean sheets in their last four matches, Claude Puel’s side have conceded two or more goals in four of their previous eight encounters.
That erratic defence could be exploited by a City attack who have registered the most shots (93) and created the most "big chances" (18) over the last six Gameweeks.
While Sergio Aguero (£12.8m) has excelled of late, scoring in each of his last four Gameweek starts, the return to fitness of Kane and the upcoming Double Gameweek for Ibrahimovic has persuaded FPL managers to snub the Argentinian as a forward option.
Having been a popular transfer target over the last six Gameweeks, Aguero is losing ownership ahead of Gameweek 33.
The forthcoming return to fitness of Gabriel Jesus (£8.7m) could be another factor in this recent decline.
The Brazilian could threaten Aguero’s pitch-time over the run-in, with the value offered by Sterling presenting the wisest route into Guardiola’s attack.