This Much We Know – Gameweek 16

Our Monday lunchtime regular mulls over the dilemma served up by Sergio Aguero’s upcoming spell on the sidelines. United’s forwards, Arsenal’s fit-again winger, Liverpool’s display without their skipper and cut-price defensive resilience are all on the menu as we look at the lessons learned from Gameweek 16:

Van Persie’s injury may not benefit Rooney after all…
A visit to Villa looked the ideal opportunity for Wayne Rooney to get back amongst the goals after sitting out the previous Gameweek through suspension. Instead, he was forced to drop deep after Shinji Kagawa was ruled out through illness once again, allowing Danny Welbeck to plunder the points in a rare outing as the lone forward – a first-half double and maximum bonus keeping Rooney’s solitary assist in the shadow. Yesterday’s lack of impact is not just a concern for his current owners – Rooney looks the obvious trade for the many holding Aguero, now the City man is ruled out for “at least one month” but Welbeck’s impressive impact may well persuade Moyes to retain yesterday’s set-up, regardless of whether Kagawa, or indeed Javier Hernandez, is fit enough to face West Ham at Old Trafford next weekend.

City’s midfield will be key with Aguero sidelined…
Despite the multitude of talents at Manuel Pellegrini’s disposal, the Argentine’s presence is vital – City have picked up a single point in the two league games Aguero has failed to start, against Stoke and Villa. When his star striker limped off against Arsenal on Saturday, it was perhaps telling that Pellegrini turned to a midfielder, Jesus Navas, rather than pair Alvaro Negredo with Edin Dzeko, forcing the Bosnian to warm the bench for the entire 90 minutes. With the Argentine now sidelined for the next few weeks, Negredo’s kind price and low ownership (9.3, 6.7%) is an obvious option but it’s worth noting that as many as six City midfielders produced a goal or assist in the 6-3 rout – it’s possible that a lone striker set-up may well be Pellegrini’s system of choice in Aguero’s absence and, with City already on 47 goals for the season, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri all look viable targets after impressing against the Gunners.

Theo’s Back…
Finally handed his first start since Gameweek 4, the Arsenal winger delivered in emphatic fashion to leap onto our radars and afford Fantasy managers a differential to consider. In a season where Aaron Ramsey is owned by 62% of FPL sides and “casuals choice” Yaya Toure by over 38%, the midfield area has never felt more in need of freshening up – Walcott’s return is perfectly timed for those looking to shake things up. A double at the Etihad helped serve up a 13-point haul and will surely see his current ownership level of 3.9% pick up – given that Olivier Giroud has scored twice from open play in the last 12 Gameweeks, Arsene Wenger looks set to hand the winger further chance to fire the goals and keep the Gunners’ title bid on track.

Mirallas looks safe for starts thanks to Deulofeu’s dodgy hamstring…
The Belgian’s game time looked questionable after the team sheets were handed out on Saturday afternoon. Roberto Martinez’ decision to name in-form Gerard Deulofeu on the Everton right for the visit of Fulham looked a real blow for Mirallas owners but the latter’s Fantasy prospects were handed a reprieve after his rival was forced off due to injury. Stretchered from the proceedings on 64 minutes with a hamstring problem that is set to keep him sidelined “for some time”, according to his manager, Deulofeu’s enforced absence hands Mirallas the perfect platform to benefit from Everton’s superb upcoming schedule. Having emerged from the bench, the Belgian grabbed his third of the season and, at 7.2 with ownership under 5%, now looks a real contender for our midfields ahead of games against Swansea, Sunderland, Southampton, Stoke and Norwich in the next five.

The cut-price defences are reaping home comforts…
Last week, Palace and Fulham were the only two home sides that managed to keep out their visitors as the premium backlines had an off-day. This time around, the likes of Chelsea and Everton failed to deliver on promising home games against the above-mentioned pair – instead, it was left to Cardiff, West Ham and Hull to produce clean sheets in front of their own fans. Steve Bruce’s side, in particular, have shown a resilience that has taken us all by surprise and have the best defensive record of any side, with a mere three goals against in eight fixtures at the KC Stadium. Cardiff’s 1-0 weekend win proved the undoing of Steve Clarke at West Brom and again highlighted the their home/away rotation with Palace – a partnership that has now registered a clean sheet in each of the last three Gameweeks and continues to look tempting for winter wildcards and beyond.

Rodriguez seems immune to Pochettino’s tinkering…
Adam Lallana was dropped for the first time this term as Southampton rolled up to Newcastle. Pablo Osvaldo’s recent upturn in form wasn’t enough to convince Mauricio Pochettino, either – the Italian international had scored in each of the last two but was hauled off at the break against Alan Pardew’s side. Rodriguez, though, now seems a vital cog in the Saints machine and continues to impress as the season unfolds, with Saturday’s leveller at St James’ Park his sixth strike in the last 10 Gameweeks. Southampton may be hit hard by injuries right now but their manager is clearly not allowing reputations to influence his team selection.

Liverpool may not miss Gerrard…
It’s perhaps more than merely coincidental that Liverpool’s most devastating display of the season arrived on the back of their skipper’s injury absence. With Gerrard sidelined due to a hamstring problem, Brendan Rodgers’ decision to opt for the defensively-minded Joe Allen and Lucas in front of the back-four helped the Reds to their first away clean sheet since Gameweek 2 and, crucially, allowed Jordan Henderson the freedom to forage forward from a central position to join up with the attack. A goal and assist helped Henderson to his first double-figure haul of the season and, at 5.9, has now arrived on Fantasy radars as a viable alternative should his manager continue with the 4-3-3 formation which tore Spurs apart so emphatically.

Hooper is key to Canaries’ survival prospects…
Handed a chance to lead the line as a result of Ricky van Wolfswinkel’s toe injury, the summer signing from Celtic has finally found his feet in the English top-flight. Hooper was no more than a bench-warmer over the first few Gameweeks as Chris Hughton opted for the Dutchman as his lone forward but, as Sunday’s trike against Swansea showed, a run of starts has worked wonders for his confidence. Four goals in his last five starts sums up Hooper’s form right now and, as the festive schedule continues to smile kindly, the 6.1-priced forward may be a real “out the box” option for Aguero owners until the winter wildcard kicks in.

It’s not only Fantasy managers who need to fear Suarez…
Fifth in this week’s Captain Poll ahead of a trip to Tottenham, the Liverpool forward was something of an armband differential amongst mini-leagues this week. Suarez’ incredible 22-point haul at the Lane not only served up a seventh double-figure haul in 11 appearances, it proved the undoing of Andre Villas-Boas, with the Portuguese manager handed his P45 earlier this morning after the 5-0 humiliation. Cardiff are next in the firing line at Anfield next weekend and Malky Mackay will be hoping Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan shows a little more festive spirit than Daniel Levy if the Uruguayan sticks to the script and runs riot yet again.