David Silva continues his hot streak in front of goal. Eden Hazard shows why he’s worth the hefty outlay, Tottenham’s own Belgian wide man scores on his return to the starting XI, Olivier Giroud inspires Arsenal to their fourth successive win, while Charlie Austin gets his double Gameweek up and running with the R’s consolation.
Hazard the Blues hero
Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the match – his fourth in five away appearances – against West Ham as Chelsea maintained their five-point lead at the league’s summit. The Belgian hot shot is living up his substantial 10.8 valuation, delivering attacking returns on a consistent basis – in the past 12 Gameweeks, Hazard has only failed to deliver a goal or an assist on three occasions, boosting his points per game average to 6.2 – second only to Alexis Sanchez among the FPL midfield roster.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho opted to retain Kurt Zouma in the defensive midfield position he occupied for the Capital One Cup final, allowing Gary Cahill to reclaim the centre-back berth. Oscar returned to the number 10 role, with Ramires lining up on the right flank in place of the benched Willian. The Blues secured their fourth clean sheet in the previous seven Gameweeks, further encouraging investment in the likes of Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry.
The Hammers made one enforced alteration to the side that wilted against Crystal Palace last weekend, reinstating Kevin Nolan for Alex Song. Despite fashioning more attempts at goal (18) than Chelsea (12), West Ham were wasteful, only forcing a save out of Thibaut Courtois on five occasions. Senegalese frontman Diafra Sakho was the chief culprit, only hitting the target with three of his seven attempted shots (the most of any forward this Gameweek) inside the Blues’ box.
Sam Allardyce’s men are now without a win in 11 outings and will be underdogs in their quest to end that inglorious streak when they roll up at the Emirates in two weekend’s time. Beyond the Irons’ fourth London derby in succession, their fixtures turn kinder (SUN, lei, STO) and more conducive to Fantasy returns from Gameweek 29 onwards.
The rising value of Silva
Manchester City kept their fading title hopes alive with a less-than-convincing, yet essential, 2-0 victory over league minnows Leicester City. David Silva was on target for the third week in six, bagging his third goal in as many appearances. The Spanish playmaker has now notched 10 goals this term, eclipsing his previous best of seven in the 2013/14 campaign. Among all the players that have made at least five starts for their club this term, Silva now boasts the fourth-highest points per game average, behind Alexis Sanchez (6.4), Eden Hazard (6.3) and team-mate Sergio Aguero (6.3).
In response to the Sky Blues’ successive defeats in all competitions, manager Manuel Pellegrini enacted a host of changes in the starting line-up, demoting captain Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Samir Nasri, Fernandinho and Edin Dzeko to the bench. January signing Wilfried Bony was afforded his first start for the club, with Jesus Navas, Fernando, Bacary Sagna and Martin Demichelis also reinstated. James Milner, who came on for Bony in the final quarter, doubled City’s lead in the 88th minute, netting his third in four appearances, whilst Aguero’s blank means he has now scored in just four of his 11 home appearances this season.
Leicester City stuck with the same XI that earned a point at Goodison Park last weekend, as the Foxes slipped to their fifth defeat in six.
Di Maria’s waning relevancy
Having been subbed off at half time in Manchester United’s match-up against Sunderland last weekend, Angel di Maria received a similar treatment at St James’ Park. The former Real Madrid star was withdrawn by manager Louis van Gaal in the 59th minute for tactical reasons, making a mockery of his £9.5m Fantasy Premier League (FPL) valuation. Despite tallying four assists in the Red Devils’ last six matches, Di Maria hasn’t found the back of the net since Gameweek 7. Ally this lack of form with the Argentine’s inability to last the full 90 in recent weeks, and his 13.2% ownership could decline rapidly in the coming days.
United named one change in their XI, as Marouane Fellaini ousted the underperforming Radamel Falcao, which allowed wayne Rooney to shift into the more advanced striker role. Likewise, John Carver made one alteration from the Magpies last league clash, drafting in Ryan Taylor for the injured Massaidio Haidara.
Both Johnny Evans and Papiss Cisse could face retrospective bans after appearing to spit at each other after the Toon striker tackled the United centre-back. For perspective, The FA handed George Boyd a three-match suspension when he was found guilty of a similar offence in March 2014.
Gunners duo on target
Olivier Giroud scored for the third consecutive match as the Gunners secured a 2-1 victory over local rivals QPR. The French forward has cemented his starting berth in recent weeks, notching five goals in seven appearances for the North London club. Alexis Sanchez supplied the second, breaking a four-match goalless run in the process.
In defence, Per Mertesacker replaced Laurent Koscielny in central defence but the latter was quickly called into action after Gabriel Paulista sustained a hamstring injury in the first half. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also lost his starting role, with Tomas Rosicky slotting into the midfield in Arsene Wenger’s 4-1-4-1 set-up.
With regards to the hosts, Charlie Austin and Matty Phillips were both in the points in the first match of the R’s double Gameweek. Austin fired six attempts against the Gunners and claimed his second goal in as many starts to take his tally to 15 for the campaign, whilst the cut-price Phillips now has four assists in as many outings under new boss Ramsey ahead of Saturday’s visit of Spurs.
Chadli back in contention
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino named the same XI that missed out on Capital One Cup glory for Swansea City’s visit to White Hart Lane. Nacer Chadli bagged his eighth goal of the season with a side-footed volley from a Danny Rose cross, while Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend rounded off the scoring in a tense 3-2 victory. Pochettino appears to have lost faith in Mousa Dembele following his error-strewn first-half against West Ham, allowing Chadli to forge a way back into the side and impress the manager. Having taken his chance against the Swans, the Belgian winger looks set to be rewarded with a run of starts as Spurs embark on a largely favourable run of fixtures (qpr, mun, LEI, bur, AVL, new).
Runaway Captain Poll leader Harry Kane drew a blank before being subbed off on 75 minutes, whilst Christian Erisken earned a somewhat fortuitous assist against the Swans. Kane’s early withdrawal bodes well for his starting chances at Loftus Road as he looks to return to scoring form.
Gylfi Sigurdsson announced his return from injury with a goal against his former employers, while Ki Sung-Yeung tallied his third strike in five starts. As evidenced by his 24% ownership, Sigurdsson is well backed by Fantasy managers but with a much lower (5%) ownership, perhaps the 5.0-priced Ki warrants greater investment ahead of Gameweek 29.
Everton plunge further into abyss
Everton are officially in the midst of their worst top-flight campaign for 88 years. In an attempt to reinvigorate the Toffees’ toothless attack, manager Roberto Martinez called up Darron Gibson, Aaron Lennon and Steven Naismith to replace Muhamed Besic, Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas. But the new line-up fared no better than last weekend’s XI, as Everton fell to a 2-0 defeat at the Britannia Stadium – their eighth defeat in nine road matches. Unless the cordial Spaniard can rekindle Everton’s season, Goodison Park looks to offer little of interest to Fantasy managers.
The hosts made two changes to the side that triumphed over Hull City last time out, rewarding Peter Crouch for his winning goal with a start up front in place of Mame Biram Diouf and drafting Charlie Adam into midfield for the injured Stephen Ireland. Victor Moses and Diouf – who replaced Crouch around the hour mark – shared the goalscoring duties, as the pair both netted their second in three matches.
The Reds’ imperious rearguard
Liverpool extended their unbeaten streak to 12 matches with a comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge returned to the starting XI and registered his third goal of the season, after Jordan Henderson opened the scoring with his second spectacular strike in as many matches. Raheem Sterling owners were left frustrated after the youngster was moved to the right wing-back berth, as Adam Lallana joined Philippe Coutinho behind Sturridge up top.
Although the Merseysiders’ attack continues to tick over, it’s their new-found defensive solidity that impresses most. Prior to Brendan Rodgers adopting a 3-4-2-1 formation for the clash at Old Trafford, the Reds had only tallied four cleans sheets in 15 attempts. Since that tactical change, however, Liverpool have accrued seven clean sheets out of a possible 13, with six shut-outs in their previous eight outings. Naturally, the stock of key figures in their defence (Martin Skrtel, Alberto Moreno) have risen as a consequence, yet upcoming duels against United and Arsenal in their next three fixtures prevent them from being standout options.
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