Premier League Player Picks: Three Names

This is a tough one. Neal's The Week Ahead and Nik's AM's Player Picks have both done a pretty thorough job analyzing the upcoming game-week. If you haven't read them - go ahead and do so. I'll wait.

Okay. Now, looking at those selections, who did they miss? I'm going to give you three names that you might not be considering... yet.

Stephen Ireland - I don't feel great about this pick, but Aston Villa host Norwich, who have been known to give up goals on the road. And Ireland is back, and will play through the pain of his broken wrist. Last weekend he did okay against Fulham and I expect him to kick on now that he's more used to playing with his cast. Of course, we've been waiting for Ireland to be back to his Manchester City form for years now. Hopefully, for not too much fantasy capital, we'll see some inkling of that form return.

Kyle Naughton - I seems to have gone under the fantasy radar, but Kyle Naughton started Spurs' Europa League match against Maribor yesterday. He's a natural fullback and would allow Jan Vertonghen - who I previously thought was a shoe-in fantasy team member this week - to move back into the center of defence. Hopefully for Spurs, he could replace William Gallas (who looked terrible against Chelsea) and start working on a long-term partnership with the promising Steven Caulker. I still think Vertonghen is a good pick - they are playing at Southampton after all. But if Naughton is indeed back, he is a cheaper entry to Spurs' defence and could earn some points roaming up the left wing.

Nicky Shorey - You see... I wasn't kidding when I told you that Neal and Nik's comprehensivity (Is that a word? It should be if it isn't.) has left me struggling for recommendations. But Shorey seems to have cemented the left-back spot as his own, and Reading host Fulham who, say it with me now, are notoriously poor on the road. It remains to be seen if this year's Fulham is indeed over that particular hoodoo but it shouldn't matter as far as we're concerned. Shorey will get his share of set-piece opportunities and that alone should translate into enough fantasy points to make his selection worthwile. At least in the Yahoo! game format.