Can Man United’s Anthony Martial continue his hot streak after the international break? (CC by 4.0) by Ardfern

Gameweek 12 was a delight for those FPL managers who like to punt on differential players every now and then. While traditional heavyweights like Eden Hazard, Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failed to register any attacking returns, less-owned and less expensive options such as Bernardo Silva (£7.5m, 10 points), Lewis Dunk (£4.4m, 9 points) and Salomon Rondón (£5.7m, 12 points) all brought home big hauls for their owners. With the international break upon us now and with the likelihood of heightened wildcard activity in the run-up to gameweek 13, we’re listing a few budget-friendly FPL assets that could be delivering big over the coming weeks and months.

Anthony Martial – Midfielder (£7.6m)
First on the list is Anthony Martial. Why? Because we even adjusted this article’s title, just to be able to fit him in. The Man United forward, who’s listed as a midfielder in FPL, is in fantastic form and saw his price rise by £0.1m to £7.6m already since last weekend. Our threshold was originally going to be £7.5m, but the Frenchman seems too good to ignore at the moment. He has regained a place in José Mourinho’s starting eleven and he was even on penalty duty against Man City last Sunday, though Pogba is expected to take over again once he’s back from injury. Martial has scored 6 goals and provided 1 assist over the past 5 gameweeks, with a mouthwatering 54 points as a result. United seem to be slowly recovering from their abysmal start to the 18-19 Premier League campaign and Anthony Martial is one of the main reasons for their improving performances. Though the Red Devils are still far from their best form, games against Palace (home), Southampton (away), and Fulham (home) in the next four gameweeks should reap full points for Mourinho and nice returns for FPL managers.

Marcos Alonso – Defender (£7.1)
Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso is the only defender on this list, partly because £7.6m is not a relevant differential threshold for defenders and partly because he plays more as a winger than a left-back most of the time. As a matter of fact, Alonso is the official game’s most expensive defender, but also the player with the most points per million of all regular first-team players. For each million of his price tag, the Spaniard has so far returned 12.11 FPL points, which is why we decided to include him in this list. What’s more, the Chelsea full-back is currently the highest-scoring player in the entire game (86 points). He has provided his owners with at least a clean sheet or an attacking return (assist or goal) in 9 out of this season’s first 12 games, with a total of 6 clean sheets, 7 assists, and a single goal to his name so far. Thanks to his clean sheet points, Alonso outscores many similarly-priced midfielders and forwards in the game, including Gylfi Sigurdsson, Marko Arnautovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic. It might seem a lot to invest £7.1m in defender, but in the case of Marcos Alonso, it’s really not.

Glenn Murray – Forward (£6.6)
Despite having already netted six times in the Premier League alone this season, Brighton’s number-one striker Glenn Murray is still owned by just 5.5% of all FPL players. The hard-working forward is manager Chris Hughton’s first choice up front, as he confirmed that age (Murray turned 35 this year) won’t be a reason for him to rotate Murray, as his fitness is up there with the best in the squad. The Englishman scored 2 goals in his last 5 Premier League games, though one of those games only lasted 15 minutes for him due to a head injury, and it seems likely that he’ll be adding to his tally after the international break. With games versus Huddersfield (away), Palace (home) and Burnley (away) coming up over the next four gameweeks, Murray could be bringing home the bacon for his FPL owners. At his current price tag, he presents an excellent option for the position of third striker in your squad.

Kenedy – Midfielder (£4.9)
Life in the Premier League is hard and unpredictable. Up until two weeks ago, things were looking grim for Newcastle as they found themselves bottom of the league. Now, two gameweeks and two victories later, the Magpies have found some room to breathe in 14th place. Scoring goals has been a problem for Newcastle this season and the lack of creative minds in the team is a major reason for that. One of the few players who seem capable of delivering that crucial bit of creativity is midfielder Kenedy, who’s listed as a midfielder in the official game, but who often operates higher up front, either behind the strikers or on the left wing. The Brazilian has so far returned just 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 games, but keep in mind that Newcastle have had an unforgiving opening schedule of the 18-19 campaign. With two wins on the trot, and home games against West Ham, Wolves and Fulham on the calender over the coming six gameweeks, things could be looking up for the Magpies. If they do, expect the very kindly-priced Kenedy to play a key role in the process.

Marko Arnautovic – Forward (£7.1)
Many FPL managers will be discarding West Ham assets in the build-up to gameweek 13, because the Hammers are hosting a rampant Man City. Overlooking the East Londoners completely would be a mistake though, because after playing the reigning champions at home, the fixture schedule turns very kind. In the four weeks after the City game, West Ham are playing Newcastle (away), Cardiff (home), Palace (home) and Fulham (away), which seems like a run that was cut out for Hammers striker Marko Arnautovic. The extremely confident Austrian forward has scored 5 goals and given 2 assists in just 10 games this season, with a total of 52 FPL points as a result. His blank versus Huddersfield last weekend was somewhat of a disappointment, but he was one of the stand-out performers the week before that, when he bagged one and prepared another to bring home 12 FPL points. This also illustrates the inconsistency with which Arnautovic is still associated from time to time. Nonetheless, with the Hammers improving their form and attractive fixture list for the Hammers after gameweek 13, the team’s attacking focal point is expected to provide attacking returns for some weeks to come.