Gameweek 27 Preview

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur’s involvement in Sunday’s League Cup final leaves us with just eight Premier League games to get excited over for Gameweek 27. The stand-out fixture is at Anfield as in-form Liverpool take on a resurgent Manchester City side, while Manchester United and Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from respective league and champions league disappointment, with both having the luxury of favourable home fixtures.

Fixtures

West Ham United host Crystal Palace in Saturday’s early kick-off, with the hosts looking to bounce back from the previous week’s disappointment of losing a stopping-time lead at London-rivals Spurs. Hammers’ midfielder Morgan Amalfitano (5.0) serves his second game of a three-match suspension, striker Carlton Cole (4.6) is unavailable (hamstring), while Andy Carroll (6.5) looks set to miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Diafra Sakho (5.5) and Enner Valencia (6.4) will no doubt partner each other up front once again, as they are now currently Big Sam’s only available forwards. Palace will hope to continue their recent impressive away form, after picking up seven points from their previous three on the road.

Burnley’s draw at Stamford Bridge last week will give Sean Dyche’s side fresh hope in their bid to beat the drop; the Clarets will be furthermore boosted by the news that striker Ashley Barnes (4.4) will face no retrospective action for his challenge on Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic. Swansea will be looking to build on last week’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United and in doing so cement their place in the top half of the league table.

Manchester United welcome recent bogey-team Sunderland to Old Trafford, with the hosts hoping to make up for last week’s frustration in South Wales. Louis Van Gaal is expected to confirm today that striker Robin Van Persie (12.1) will be out of action until April, after the Dutchman left the Liberty last weekend on crutches. However, youngster James Wilson (4.4) is available for the Reds after overcoming a knee injury, while midfielder Michael Carrick (5.4) remains side-lined for at least another week with a muscular injury, however he is reported to be back in training. Sunderland left-back Partick Van Aanholt may have forced some FPL managers into re-thinking their budget defensive options this week, after featuring for just three minutes in the Gameweek 26 stalemate against West Bromwich Albion.

John Carver’s Newcastle United will hope they can respond in the right way to their 5-0 mauling at the Etihad as they host struggling Aston Villa at St. James’ Park. The Magpies will have to do so without midfielder Jack Colback (4.9) who is suspended until Match 14 after picking up his tenth yellow card of the season in Gameweek 26. Striker Papiss Cissé (5.4) is likely to lead the line for the hosts – can he add to his impressive 10 goals in 17 appearances so far this campaign? With Villa having registered a mere four goals on the road all season, Newcastle defenders Daryl Janmaat (5.3) (who has been declared fit for Saturday’s game) and Fabricio Colloccini (4.5) would appear to be attractive defensive options for Gameweek 27.

Stoke City host Hull at the Britannia Stadium, with Potters’ defender Ryan Shawcross (5.3) still not fully recovered from a back injury that has kept him out since the end of January, and left-back Erik Pieters (4.6) doubtful with a knock sustained at Aston Villa last weekend. Hull will be looking to add to just two wins on their travels all season, after beating fellow-strugglers QPR last week. One man who might help do this is striker Nikica Jelavic (5.7) who has scored two goals in as many games for the Tigers.

Saidi Berahino (5.6) has a 50% chance of featuring for West Brom after picking up a knock, meaning striker Brown Ideye (5.6) could be a decent alternative for FPL managers, with two goals in his last three for the Baggies. With only one goal in their last four gameweeks, visitors Southampton appear to be lacking imagination going forward of late, with top-scorer Graziano Pellè now having failed to find the net in his previous nine, which must be a real cause for concern for Saints manager Ronald Koeman.

After dramatically crashing out of the Europa League in Turkey on Thursday night, Liverpool welcome second-place Manchester City to Merseyside on Sunday lunchtime. The hosts look to continue in their push for a top-four spot after excellent recent league form, while City can potentially cut the gap on league-leaders Chelsea to just two points with victory at Anfield, with the Blues taking on Spurs in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley. Midfielders Steven Gerrard (8.6) and Lucas Leiva (4.3) are definitely out for the home side, while in defence Mamadou Sakho (5.2) and Glen Johnson (5.2) are both doubts, whereas City have the luxury of having a fully-fit squad to choose from.

The final match-up of Gameweek 27 sees Arsenal, whose defensive horror-show saw them go down 3-1 to AS Monaco on Wednesday night, host Everton, fresh after their 7-2 aggregate triumph over BSC Young Boys. The Gunners’ decent league form of late saw them leapfrog Manchester United into third-place last week – Wenger will hope this sort of form can continue against Roberto Martinez’s inconsistent Toffees side.

Captaincy Contenders

Despite a tricky game away to a Liverpool side who have conceded only two goals in their last six, keeping five clean sheets in the process, City striker Sergio Aguero (12.9) is topping the weekly FFScout captain poll, backed by 26.27% of voters. Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez (11.3) is in second-place (17.96%), despite no returns in his last three appearances for the Gunners. United’s £59.7 million signing Angel Di Maria (9.6) is in third-place (11.27%) and, with ten assists for the former Madrid man in 2014/15, the Argentine offers a decent chance of returns against a struggling Sunderland side. It is perhaps somewhat of a surprise that Arsenal’s in-form Santo Carzola (8.6) was backed by only 5.21% of you and that David Silva (9.5) who, with his heroics last weekend making the Spaniard the top player of Gameweek 26 with 17 points in the 5-0 drubbing of Newcastle, has been backed by only 3.32% of voters in the weekly poll, meaning Cazorla and Silva could both be unlikely differentials for the armband this week.

Best Punts/Differentials

Diafra Sakho (5.5) – As one of only two strikers currently available for Sam Alladyce’s side, and the best value option of the two, the Senegalese forward is potentially a great punt for the coming weekend. Sakho has also notched a highly respectable 8 goals and 3 assists in 17 appearances this campaign for the Hammers.

Papiss Cissé (5.4) – Quite possibly the most under-rated player in the entire FPL game, and selected by only 1.1% of managers, the Senegal forward has racked up a highly commendable 10 goals in 16 games for the Magpies this campaign, meaning he has one of the best goal-to-game ratios (0.625) in the Premier League this season. Cissé has every chance of adding to his tally as his team host lowly Aston Villa at St. James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.

Fabricio Colloccini (4.5) – His side may have taken somewhat of a battering at the Etihad last week, however it’s doubtful that lighting will strike twice for the Newcastle captain, as Aston Villa make the trip to the North-East. With the visitors having managed just four league goals on the road in 2014/15, the Argentine Centre-back has great clean sheet potential this time round. Could be a good differential too, selected by just 4.2%.

Nikica Jelavic (5.7) – With just 1.2% ownership, the in-form former Rangers and Everton man has registered eight goals this campaign, finding the net twice in his last two gameweeks. He will hope to make that three gameweeks in a row when Hull visit the Britannia Stadium.

Brown Ideye (5.6) – At 0.6% ownership, the Nigerian striker has found the net twice in his last three league outings for the Baggies. With team-mates Saidi Berahino (5.6) and Victor Anichebe (4.9) both doubtful for the visit of Southampton, Ideye could well be played as the lone striker at the Hawthorns, giving him every chance of returns this weekend.