With Monday night’s frantic Old Trafford clash bringing an inauspicious Gameweek 32 to a close, we reflect on the lessons on show to discuss United’s stuttering, City’s vibrant defiance, the force that is the end of season Southampton and the failure of Luis Suarez to take that final step towards Fantasy heavyweight status…
United are toiling their way to the title…
It’s perhaps not surprising, given the seemingly unassailable lead they’ve established at the top of the table but, from Monday night’s Old Trafford performance, it appears that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side aren’t about to blaze their way to glory – more likely limp over the line. While the back four had recorded six consecutive clean sheets up until last night’s defeat to City, United have now notched just a single goal in their last three league encounters. With Robin Van Persie unable to find the scoring habit and Wayne Rooney still recovering fitness, the United attack seemed to lack potency and, not for the first time this season, it was a set-piece that eventually brought the breakthrough to level matters. The lack of a cutting edge is not the scenario that Fantasy mangers will have been looking for heading into the double Gameweek, particularly with United facing up to two sides who, on their day, can offer a stubborn resistance. Stoke are scraping for survival and could well form a significant barrier at the Britannia, whilst West Ham showed at Anfield this weekend that they have the resolve to grind their way to mathematical safety.
City have the spirit to offer profit…
They may well be all but out of the title race but Roberto Mancini’s side showed enough last night to suggest that they may yet have a part to play in our Fantasy seasons. Sergio Aguero’s goal offered a scintillating reminder of his talents, while the prompting of David Silva and Yaya Toure, coupled with the determination and leadership of Vincent Kompany underlined the quality throughout the spine of the current Champions. Cleary Mancini had his troops up for last night’s fight – it remains to be seen whether the motivation of a local derby was the key and if they can carry the confidence gained over into their remaining fixtures, starting with Wigan next midweek.
Southampton are an end of season force…
While City could well come to the fore over the remaining Gameweeks, there’s little doubt that Southampton are already in bloom and are now the league’s form side. Mauricio Pochettino continues to earn plaudits for the speed and efficiency with which he’s imposed his beliefs and brand of football on a set of players that were once under real threat of dropping back down to the Championship. While that is still a possibility, the Saints’ form would suggest that they will go on earning results and eventually pull well clear of the trapdoor. Fantasy managers should be jumping on board, not just with the attacking potential offered by Rickie Lambert and the revived Jay Rodrguez but also with their budget back four assets which go on defying early season form to earn shutouts.
There’s no armband assurance with Suarez just yet…
Liverpool went into their clash with West Ham heavily backed to dish out a damaging defeat on Sam Allardyce’s side but found themselves huffing and puffing their way to a frustrating stalemate. Luis Suarez was backed above any other player in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), earning further investors with the majority of managers handing the Uruguayan the Gameweek captaincy. With Van Persie woefully short of scoring form and Gareth Bale absent through injury, Suarez, with five goals in his last five league starts, seemed an assured option. Sunday’s blank was, however, his third league game without a goal indicating that he hasn’t yet reached the status where he can be considered a cut and dry captaincy option that delivers with the kind of regularity that Van Persie demonstrated earlier in the season.
United’s Dutchman scored in nine of 10 straight league matches this term, Suarez has arguably been more explosive but can’t quite match that level of consistent return – after a stunning season, this is perhaps the final step before the Liverpool striker can be placed in the same Fantasy bracket as his Golden Boot rival. Suarez’s failure kept the average FPL score at just 32 points with Branislav Ivanovic the only player with over 10% ownership to fetch a double figure return. Suarez travels to the Madejski next, a scenario that could well find him back in profit. With a double Gameweek distracting us elsewhere, however, the armband will likely be distributed the way of Van Persie, Wayne Rooney or an Arsenal asset.
Di Canio’s impact showed promise…
While the Black Cats ultimately slipped to defeat amidst claims from their new manager that they lacked the fitness to compete, there’s little doubt that there was evidence of a revival as a result of Paolo Di Canio’s arrival. Sunderland’s first-half display at Stamford Bridge offered hope to their faithful that they have the determination and talent to pull clear – both of which will need to be shown in full effect in next weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby clash. Above all, Di Canio has perhaps injected passion back into a set of players that had looked dejected, bereft of ideas and almost resigned to slipping into the relegation mire. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to spark the revival required to pull clear. Fantasy managers won’t be sniffing around their ailing assets just yet but, a spirited display this weekend, perhaps coupled with a 4-4-2 and some increased attacking threat, could yet rouse interest for what looks to be a fascinating run-in.
It might just be time to think out of the box…
Facing up to a potentially pivotal double Gameweek, recent events have suddenly promoted several new names to challenge our established thinking. The form of Kevin Mirallas and Gervinho has given us plenty to chew over, having done enough to warrant starts in one, if not both of their respective fixtures. Sitting in the mid-price bracket, the duo would be available to the majority of Fantasy managers and while there will be doubts lingering on their long-term appeal following Gameweek 33, Mirallas and Gervinho could provide key differentials for those looking to bridge the gap with something different.
