This article is part of our Ball Watching series.
Ivanovic Risk
Branislav Ivanovic is a risky option, considering the price. As pointed out by my podcasting partner Andrew Laird (who I'm sure took no pleasure in pointing this out), Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet with Thibaut Courtois in net since Boxing Day. This includes games against Aston Villa and Burnley, two of the bottom-five clubs in terms of goals scored. With fixtures upcoming against West Ham and Southampton, it's hard to show the same confidence in the Blues' ability to keep a clean sheet in either of those. Buy into the Serb's offensive explosion at your own risk.
Manchester City's Crowded Attack
Edin Dzeko tallied a goal in City's 5-0 demolition of Newcastle. It was only his third of the season, but it comes at a time where many other City options are also firing. David Silva netted twice and assisted on another, while Sergio Aguero had a "meager" goal and assist. The two Ivorians, Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure, left with no offensive output. Going forward, manager Manuel Pellegrini is going to have to provide valuable minutes to all of those options plus Stevan Jovetic, James Milner, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri. Is it time to fear the dreaded rotation?
Consistent Gunner Fire
French striker Olivier Giroud has tallied three goals and two assists in his past four Premier League games. Mesut Ozil has two goals and two assists in the same time frame. This newfound consistency between the two of them should only get stronger when Alexis Sanchez starts firing as well. All three are worth owning, if the price is right.
Scott Sinclair's Resurgence
New Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has put his trust in the former City striker and was rewarded with a goal in two consecutive matches. This also spells bad news for former podcast favorite Christian Benteke. Plan accordingly, especially with Sinclair being the less-expensive option.
Buying Hull Stock
The time to buy back into Hull is now. The new strike partnership in manager Steve Bruce's 3-5-2 reboot of Dame N'Doye and Nikica Jelavic are getting on the scoreboard and their fixture list is ripe with potential with Stoke, Sunderland, and Leicester on the horizon. The time to consider these low-priced options would be now.
