The impish midfielder is probably the best player in the Premier League in the moment and he has the stats to prove it.
Fantasy Football (In association with Champion)
There was a moment during Manchester City’s 6-1 drubbing of their bitter rivals last Sunday that confirmed two things – that Roberto Mancini’s men have turned the tide to become the pre-eminent side in the city and that David Silva is the best player in the Premier League at the moment.
It was the sublime volleyed pass the Spaniard provided for Edin Dzeko’s second, and City’s sixth goal, a wonderful piece of creativity that has summed up Silva’s season so far. Many may argue that because it was so late in the game it didn’t matter, but it confirmed that Manchester United had given up the ghost, something they never ever do under Sir Alex Ferguson and something that must have been particularly galling for the purple faced one considering the opposition.
Also, nobody else, with the possible exception of Rooney on top form, would have attempted such a pass. It turns out that it was his sixth assist of the season, a stat matched only by team mate Samir Nasri and a stat that makes Silva the third highest scoring player in the fantasy standings behind Rooney and Aguero so far.
Together with his six assists, Silva has scored three goals and collected seven bonus points along the way. Although Rooney and Aguero have more points and others, like Rafael van der Vaart and Robin van Persie, are on a hotter streak than Silva, nobody can touch him in terms of consistency.
There have been only two occasions this season where he has failed to contribute more than the mandatory two points – against Spurs earlier in the season and against Villa, where he was brought off the bench for 25 minutes.
For his country, Silva might be overshadowed slightly by the imperious Xavi and Iniesta, but at club level, he is the heartbeat of City’s side and probably the single key factor in their quest to secure one of the big trophies this season.
Mancini relies on him and seemingly fantasy managers do too, with only Wayne Rooney selected in more teams than Silva, although the order may soon change after last weekend.
Over 40 per cent of managers can’t be wrong, can they?
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Sergio Aguero (£11.2 million). We toyed with giving it to Rafael van der Vaart for the second week in a row, but a rested Aguero facing a vulnerable Wolves defence at home is too hard to resist.
Mid-range: Yohan Cabaye (£6.0 million). This guy has been bubbling away under the radar all season and is one of the prime reasons for Newcastle’s completely unexpected success. He’s played more than 80 minutes in all of the Magpies’ games so far this season and has picked up 18 points in the last three. A very solid £6million shout.
Bargain Basement: Danny Graham (£4.8 million). Your humble author was made to rue a last minute decision to go with Andy Johnson ahead of Graham last week when the Swansea striker picked up 11 points against Wolves.
The Swans are adapting to the Premier league like, eh, ducks to water, in recent weeks and Graham has been at the centre of their mini-renaissance with three goals, an assist, five bonus points and 26 points in total in his last three games.
Irish Pick: Jonathan Walters (£6.1 million). Not the most aesthetically pleasing of footballers, but Walters has been effective, damn effective, so far this season and has picked up 16 points in his last two games. Walters comes with the added bonus of being classified as a midfielder even though he spends the majority of his time up front, so picks up extra points for goals and clean sheets.
Captain’s Pick: David Silva (£10.2 million). Given the night off against Wolves in the Carling Cup during the week and if City can score five away from home against Mick McCarthy’s men away from home without Aguero and Silva, how many will they put away with the deadly duo returned to the starting line-up at the Etihad? Quite a few, we wager.
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