This Much We Know – Gameweek 19

Our last look at the previous round of action looks at the upturn in Tottenham’s attack, Arsenal’s resilience, Everton’s marauding right-back and the increasingly cloak-and-dagger sound bites from a certain Scotsman:

Moyes is becoming a Fantasy pantomime villain…
On December 23, the United manager reckoned it would be a ”Christmas miracle” if either Michael Carrick or Robin Van Persie would return before New Year. Three days later, Carrick climbed off the bench at Hull and has subsequently played the full 90 minutes against Norwich. Prior to the Canaries clash, Moyes made no indication of Wayne Rooney’s groin problem – leader of the Gameweek 19 Captain Poll, the United forward’s absence played a huge part in our Fantasy fortunes as many vice captains were called into play. We’ve already been through this with Moyes – he was ”hopeful” of Rooney’s availability to face West Ham and now he ”expects” his main forward to be ready for the visit of Tottenham. Since his installation at Old Trafford, it seems that Moyes’ press conferences are becoming increasingly cagey and unreliable and used as a vehicle for mind-games, full of bluffs and double-bluffs – it’s approaching parody now, where his next injury update could quite easily be answered by a chorus of “Oh no he isn’t” by the gathered fourth estate.

Sherwood is the shot in the arm Tottenham needed…
Under Andre Villas-Boas, Spurs failed to score more than twice in 16 league matches – since the Portuguese’s departure, they’ve already achieved this twice in three games. Tim Sherwood’s more adventurous approach has handed Tottenham fans something to smile about and also increased Fantasy managers’ attacking options as the winter wildcard approaches. A move to a front two has seen Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado produce a combined 41 points (23 and 18) in their three games together, whilst Christian Eriksen, at just 7.1 now, is finally starting to settle and looks key to Sherwood’s tactics, with plenty of leeway to roam from a starting berth on the left.

Gunners defence is key to their title bid…
Newcastle have already beaten the likes of Chelsea, United and Spurs this term but the in-form Magpies couldn’t find a way past Arsenal’s rearguard at St James’ Park. It’s eight clean sheets now for the league leaders, with all but one of those shut-outs arriving in the last 11 Gameweeks – take away their 6-3 mauling at City and 3-1 defeat to Villa on the first day of the season and Arsene Wenger’s side have conceded nine goals in the other 17 matches – a sign of their overall consistency. Whilst Theo Walcott is much sought after right now in light of injuries to Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, Arsenal’s defensive assets look equally enticing ahead of a superb run of five fixtures (CAR, avl, FUL, sou, CPL). Granted, Per Mertesacker looks the premium option at 6.2 but at just 5.3, Laurent Koscielny offers a relatively budget-friendly route into the best defence around.

Palace have the resilience to prosper…
No eyebrows would have been raised if the Eagles left the Etihad on the back of a drubbing last weekend. Many an armband was thrown the way of City players, with plenty of goals anticipated against Palace – instead, a move to 4-5-1 proved a canny decision by Tony Pulis as his side limited their hosts to their least impressive victory of the season. Palace now have four standout home games in the next six (NOR, STO, HUL, WBA) to continue the resilience which has harvested five clean sheets in nine – a move to central midfield makes Joel Ward, at 4.1, as the most attractive option as Pulis looks to grind out the results and secure his side’s safety.

Black Cats are up for the battle…
Two down at Cardiff with seven minutes left, Sunderland looked down and out at Cardiff on Saturday evening. Instead, the Black Cats clawed their way to a point with a late Steven Fletcher-inspired rally that had high-trousered Bluebirds’ owner Vincent Tan infamously booing the home side. Gus Poyet, on the other hand, can take plenty optimism from a draw obtained without either of his first-choice centre-backs. The Wearsiders have now racked up five clean sheets in Vito Mannone’s nine starts, with their defence set to come under increased investment with the wildcard. Like Palace, they also have four home games (AVL, SOU, STO, HUL) in addition to a trip to Fulham in the next six and, with options such as Ki Sung-Yeung and Fletcher in midfield and up top, they have the form and fixtures to pull themselves clear of the drop zone.

The midfield template looks set for a shake-up..
First, Aaron Ramsey limped off at West Ham on Boxing Day with a thigh injury. Yesterday, it was Mesut Ozil’s turn, as the Arsenal playmaker was forced out of the trip to Newcastle with a shoulder injury. With Yaya Toure warming the bench for City’s win over Palace, only two of the five most popular midfielders in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game (Ross Barkley and Eden Hazard) took to the field at the weekend as our 15-man squads were tested to the limit. Already, over 500,000 Fantasy managers have sold Ramsey in just four days, whilst sales of Ozil have picked up pace (65,000) since yesterday’s absence. With City set for seven fixtures across all competitions in January, Manuel Pellegrini may well pick and choose Toure’s involvement with a little more care, handing his 43% owners food for thought ahead of the winter wildcard as many look to freshen up their midfields over the coming month.

Coleman is as essential as Suarez…
At the halfway stage of the season, the Toffees right-back has already racked up 110 points under Roberto Martinez – a full 18 points clear of any other defender in the FPL game. Whilst just six points separates first from second in both the goalkeeper and midfielder standings, Coleman – like Luis Suarez – looks head and shoulders above any other option in his classification. Five goals (all from open play) equals Leighton Baines’ highest goal haul over the last few seasons and, with Roberto Martinez’ tactics affording him plenty of attacking license, there’d be no surprise to see Coleman edge towards double figures come the end of the campaign. With the Merseysiders also joint-top with Arsenal for clean sheets, it’s not inconceivable that Coleman could break 200 points – food for thought for those non-owners deterred by a current 6.5 price tag that only looks set to escalate.