Fantasy Premier League

Ake the pick of Cherries backline

By The Scout 16 Dec 2016
Nathan Ake, AFC Bournemouth

AFC Bournemouth defender offers double-figure potential for the Gameweek 17 visit of Southampton, says The Scout

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Cherries defence offers unbeatable FPL value

A home encounter with Southampton offers AFC Bournemouth's Nathan Ake (£4.3m) the chance to play his way into the plans of Fantasy Premier League managers.

Handed only two substitute appearances in the first 11 rounds of fixtures, the versatile defender has since cemented regular starts under manager Eddie Howe.

Ake has been in Howe's starting line-up in each of the last five Gameweeks, producing 32 points over those matches, courtesy of two goals, a pair of clean sheets and five FPL bonus points.

Stationed at centre-half for Tuesday's victory over champions Leicester City, Ake underlined his budget appeal by helping the Cherries to a fifth shutout of the season. 

Howe's men have now kept out their opponents in four of eight home matches ahead of a visit from a Southampton without top scorer Charlie Austin (£6.7m) through injury.

There is no shortage of options among the resilient AFC Bournemouth rearguard.

Charlie Daniels (£5.0m) and Steve Cook (£5.1m) are the top two FPL value defenders in terms of points per million and both have found the net twice this season.

Meanwhile, a recent defensive reshuffle, coupled with an injury to Junior Stanislas (£5.3m), has allowed Adam Smith (£4.8m) to shift into a more advanced role on the right flank, improving his prospects of attacking returns.

But Ake is shaping up to be the best value option.

When compared with his defensive team-mates over the last five Gameweeks, he is joint-top with Smith for both shots (five) and attempts inside the box (three), though has registered double the number of touches in the opposition penalty area, by 14 to seven.

Charlie Daniels, AFC Bournemouth
Charlie Daniels is the top-scoring member of the AFC Bournemouth defence with 63 points

Indeed, only forward Benik Afobe (£5.6m) has bettered Ake for total attempts (eight to five) and efforts on target (five to three) during this spell.

Although he is ineligible to face parent club Chelsea in Gameweek 18, Ake then embarks on a promising winter schedule that promotes his potential.

According to the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR), four of AFC Bournemouth's five matches from Gameweek 20 onwards score just two.

This hands them trips to Swansea City and Hull City, allied with visits from Watford and Crystal Palace.

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