The Digest – Gameweek 8

Our last look back at a sensational Gameweek 8 assesses Man City’s formidable frontman, Southampton’s ascent under Ronald Koeman and the ongoing issue of Diego Costa’s hamstring problems.

The Player

In a week where Diego Costa sat out Chelsea’s win at Palace, Sergio Aguero ran riot as City swept aside Tottenham at the Etihad. Handed the lone striker role as Manuel Pellegrini opted for a 4-2-3-1 set-up, the Argentine bagged all the hosts’ goals in a 4-1 win which elevated him to the top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) standings.

There’s no doubt that Aguero’s previous injury record goes against him when assessing the Fantasy landscape. Last season, for example, he managed just 20 starts and earned 22 the year before, but with Pellegrini determined to manage his star striker’s fitness more efficiently, Fantasy managers are being richly rewarded.

Furthermore, as mentioned in Sunday’s Big Numbers article, Aguero looks a different animal in the attacking third this season. The Argentine is firing shots at a quicker pace and is producing more efforts inside the box that the previous campaign – a downturn in creativity merely underlines a more selfish streak which has seen him score nine times already, or 69.% of his side’s goals, compared to having a hand in 46.9% of City’s strikes in 2013/14.

Bearing in mind the champions have produced more overall shots and efforts inside the box than any other team in the top-flight, the case for Aguero is becoming increasingly water-tight. Still only owned by 17% of FPL managers, he’s set for a very obliging run of fixtures which pits him against West Ham, United, QPR, Swansea, Southampton and Sunderland in the next six alone – a schedule which looks near-impossible to ignore and could see many happily hand him the armband in light of his extraordinary form.

The Team

An 8-0 home win over Sunderland shook the Premier League and Fantasy football world alike as Ronald Koeman’s side richly rewarded those who chose to invest in their main assets.

In every area of the pitch, the Saints racked up the points in a sensational display against the Black Cats which merely maintained their early-season form. A fourth clean sheet of the season took Fraser Forster into second spot for keepers in the FPL game, whilst Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne earned their place in the top four defenders.

Dusan Tadic’s stunning 23-point haul elevated the Serbian into second amongst midfielders and finally dished out the returns his previous displays had long-hinted at, whilst Sadio Mane needed just 26 minutes off the bench to get amongst the goals. Up top, Graziano Pelle’s exploits continue to tear apart top-flight backlines – the Italian is joint-second in the overall standings after returning 15 points against the beleaguered Wearside outfit.

With Stoke, Hull, Leicester and Villa up next for the St Mary’s side, Southampton couldn’t be better placed to wreak havoc yet again. Loading up on their chief protagonists looks a canny short-term tactic, then, though with the schedule turning against Koeman’s side in Gameweek 13, planning an exit route may also be wise.

The Talking Point

We touched on the problem in Saturday’s Preamble article and, when the teamsheets were rolled out at Selhurst Park, our worst fears were realized when Diego Costa was omitted from Chelsea’s squad to face Palace.

Prior to the weekend clash, there’d been more than one occasion when Jose Mourinho had questioned Costa’s availability heading into a Gameweek – we’d almost become accustomed to the Spain international rated a “75% doubt” in the FPL game as a result of his manager’s Friday press conferences.

This time, however, the Special One stuck to his guns and left out his star striker, leaving those who handed Costa the armband dependent on their vice captains to do the business.

Already, the mind games have begun ahead of the weekend. Mourinho has insisted Costa has “very little chance” of making it in time for the trip to United. The Blues boss also aimed another sarcastic barb Del Bosque’s way, going on to say:

“He will be in great condition in mid-November to be back for the national team. That’s for sure. He will play for me when he has free time from the national team.”

That’s the problem we’re facing just now. Given that there’s an international break between Gameweeks 11 and 12 in the middle of next month, the uncertainty hanging over Costa is unlikely to go away any time soon.

The issue, though, is whether we can really afford to part company with a player who has quickly proven himself to be Fantasy royalty. Costa was a doubt before racking up 12 points at Everton, a doubt for the home clash with Swansea which saw him rack up 17 points and has scored in all but one of his seven appearances.

With Aguero fit and firing on all cylinders, we’ve an obvious armband alternative to Costa; the Argentine looks in the form of his Premier League career right now. Going forward, many may feel the safest approach in dealing with this situation is to simply have both on board for now – obviously, if Costa continues to be hampered by his hamstring we’ll reassess the situation, but surely you’d think if Mourinho has serious intentions of wrestling the title from City’s grasp, there are only so many times he can out-bluff us.