This Much We Know – Gameweek 5

As always, our Monday lunchtime regular assesses the lessons learned from the previous round of fixtures. United and Everton’s worrying defensive form shows little sign of abating, though the Red Devils, along with the likes of Leicester, West Ham and Palace, are still showing plenty in the final third to suggest they are worthy of investment.

Rooney’s threat in the box will be tempered by Falcao’s arrival…
A move to the role in “the hole” behind the Colombian and Robin van Persie proved detrimental to Rooney’s prospects in United’s defeat at Leicester. After grabbing a goal and assist in the previous Gameweek, he managed just an assist and was restricted to long-range efforts in the 5-3 humiliation – with Louis van Gaal remaining unconvinced over Juan Mata, Rooney may well be utilised in a withdrawn berth more often as his manager attempts to fit his trio of attackers in the same starting XI.

…on the other hand, United will need plenty of goals to win matches…
The one positive for Van Gaal is that his side look full of goals. United have now found the net seven times in the last two Gameweeks, with Angel di Maria the one consistent Fantasy performer, grabbing a goal and assist in each of those matches to take his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price to 9.8 overnight. Van Persie and Falcao’s lofty price tags are keeping both players firmly off Fantasy radars with just 2% and 9% ownership respectively, but with their defence looking incapable of keeping out opponents, both may yet benefit from an upcoming run of three homes matches in four, as Van Gaal decides attack is the only form of defence he has right now.

We need Everton out of Europe…
After a 4-1 win over Wolfsburg on Thursday, Roberto Martinez underlined his penchant for rotation as both Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith dropped out of the Toffees’ starting XI. With numerous options in the attacking midfield positions, the Everton boss – as we saw towards the tail end of last term – is keen to utilise the depth of his squad in order to cope with the schedule. For as long as their Europa League adventure survives, it’s looking increasingly likely that the Toffees’ teamsheet will be something of a lottery whenever they play directly after European matches.

Baines’ attacking forays need to go on delivering…
A converted spot-kick earned his owners attacking returns for the third successive Gameweeks yesterday. Baines may need to keep the goals and assists coming if he’s to maintain his steady rise up the Fantasy rankings, though – Roberto Martinez’s troops have now conceded at least twice in all but one of their opening five fixtures and have shipped 11 goals in their three Goodison matches this term. Next up, back-to-back trips to Liverpool and United look unlikely to bring in the defensive returns and may well curtail our interest in the short-term.

Something’s got to give at Turf Moor…
While many of the premium backlines struggle to bring in the points, Burnley are steadily racking up the returns. Sean Dyche’s side have emerged as one of the defences we can trust and have now served up three successive clean sheets, but the Clarets resilience has come at a cost, as they’ve failed to grab a goal over that run of matches. It’s only a matter of time before the need to win matches forces them out of their shell – with the onus on attack, it remains to be seen whether they can remain quite so resilient.

Ozil’s number 10 role is bad news for Ramsey’s output…
The Welshman’s Fantasy prospects took a turn for the worse in last week’s stroll at Villa. Arsene Wenger’s decision to roll out a 4-2-3-1 allowed Mesut Ozil his favoured role in “the hole”, and with the German back in the middle, Arsenal turned in their most comprehensive display of the season. As our members area shows, Ramsey’s impact in the final third certainly dropped in comparison to his previous displays this term, and as Wenger looks to bring a little more balance to his side, it’s noticeable that the Welshman is the most transferred-out midfielder this week – a sign of the collective lack of faith in light of a single assist in the last three.

The Hammers pack a punch…
Many were skeptical after Sam Allardyce was tasked with bringing a more attack-minded approach to West Ham this term. Renowned for playing the percentages and keeping it tight defensively, it seemed Allardyce would be going against his better judgement to let his players off the leash, but with a raft of summer signings helping his approach, it’s clear that the London outfit are a different animal altogether this season. Granted, the resilience that served up 15 clean sheets looks to have dissipated, with goals conceded in all five league fixtures, but with Stewart Downing pulling the strings, the likes of new boys Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia have afforded West Ham a real cutting edge which saw Liverpool dismantled last weekend. A trip to United gives Sam Allardyce’s side the chance to plunder the goals once again.

…and Palace are also a different animal…
Gone are the days of rigid, regimented football built on the foundation of a solid back four – Palace are a free-scoring force under Neil Warnock. It’s six goals in two road trips now for the Eagles as the new man in charge takes an altogether different approach from predecessor Tony Pulis – while Wilfried Zaha already looks a peripheral figure, Warnock looks to have put past difference with Jason Puncheon aside and has even managed to get Yannick Bolasie scoring. Like the Hammers, it seems that Palace will struggle to replicate last year’s resilience but are offering more than enough in the final third to suggest they are worth our mid-price consideration.

Ulloa is fixture proof…
Despite Leicester’s tough opening schedule, the Argentine hit-man has bristled with threat and delivered five goals. Strikes against Everton, Arsenal, Stoke and United underline Ulloa’s suitability to the Premier League and Nigel Pearson is clearly canny enough to base his tactics around Ulloa’s predatory instincts in the final third. Now up to second overall in the FPL standings, he faces a string of opponents which could continue his superb start to the season – Leicester may not be offering us the same defensive prospects as fellow promoted side Burnley but as the focal point in a team that are set up to win rather than avoid defeat, Ulloa is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook.

Tottenham still can’t be trusted…
In truth, Spurs were woeful at home to West Brom yesterday. Despite resting a number of key men in Thursday’s Europa League clash, Mauricio Pochettino’s side turned in a dire display and managed a single attempt on target against a Baggies backline that had shipped two goals in three of the opening four. With their form so erratic, it’s fair to say that we can’t commit to invest in the likes of Christian Eriksen and Emmanuel Adebayor, while Nacer Chadli looks to be under threat, having been hauled off on the hour-mark again.