Fantasy Football Tips: 6 Essential Transfers You Must Make In Gameweek 31 - Part 1

Players You Should Potentially Buy:

3. Jay Rodriguez

Team: Southampton (vs Tottenham Hotspur, away) Position: Forward Value: £6.7m Selected by: 18.1% Total score: 131 Rodriguez is one of the most consistent players churning out decent points amongst other players within his price bracket. However, that is only when you average his points out. During Gameweek 18, he scored 16 points, but then in his next three appearances he notched up a total of only six. He followed that up with an eight-point and two five-point performances, but then took a slight hit in his form that made him score only eight points in the following four weeks. He recently earned himself 16 points in the past two games, but looking at the fixture list, it might seem a little daunting for the Southampton forward to perform as well as he did against Norwich and Crystal Palace during the Saints' last two matches. Their next opponent would be Tottenham, who despite losing 1-0 at home to Arsenal the previous week, played pretty decent football against their North London rivals. A little rusty in the final third, Tim Sherwood would not make the same mistake once again and make sure his charges are clinical in their offence, especially when Everton are clipping at their heels, who are two points behind Spurs, but with two games in hand. I do not think Rodriguez would be scoring in this match, but Newcastle United might be a different story. The Magpies have taken only six points out of a possible 18 in their last six matches, conceding 12 goals during this tricky spell. With a declining defence, it is however notable that Newcastle have never lost from a winning position at half-time, drawing once and winning on the other six occasions. Should the Toon Army score some early goals, Rodriguez and his team might have trouble on the offensive throughout the match. It is equally notable though, that Newcastle have never won from a losing position at half-time. If Rodriguez can take advantage of an unsteady defence, with key defender Mathieu Debuchy out till 5 April, it should be goals galore for a side that are serious contenders for a spot in Europe this season. However, Manchester City is next, and a mauling is expected, with the men in blue expected to go all out. For me personally, you might want to get Rodriguez only after the Manchester City game, considering how relatively weak their opponents are. His stock and value might have rose by then should he play incredibly well in his next three games, but it also applies vice versa. However, in the last 15 gameweeks, his net transfers have only been negative on four instances, which saw his value increased substantially by £0.8m. If you're on a tight budget, now might be an excellent time to recruit him because it looks unlikely that his value will diminish when he plays badly. A great candidate to overcome the 200-point hurdle as well, Rodriguez is a diamond in the rough that's worth the calculated gamble.