This Much We Know – Gameweek 34

There may be two matches still remaining in the Gameweek but we’ve much to mull over this lunchtime. The battle to beat the drop sees Leicester, Hull and Sunderland’s strikers flourish. Garry Monk’s tactical switch brings Gylfi Sigurdsson back onto the radar, Brendan Rodgers’ tinkering is proving detrimental to Liverpool’s attack, whilst owners of Charlie Austin, David Silva and Palace’s main men could be set to revise their plans for the run-in.

Leicester have justified the hype…
A fourth straight win, a clean sheet and a goal from Jamie Vardy – we could barely have asked for a better start to Leicester’s double Gameweek. Having climbed out of the bottom three, Nigel Pearson’s side can afford to take the match to Chelsea on Wednesday evening knowing the final four Gameweeks smile kindly on their survival bid. With Newcastle, Southampton and QPR still to pay visit, in addition to a trip to Sunderland, the likes of Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel may well have played their way into our starting line-ups from this point onwards.

N’Doye may yet save the Tigers…
As Christian Benteke and Charlie Austin showed in double Gameweek 31, investing in relegation strugglers can reap reward at times like this. Whilst Chelsea and Liverpool both drew blanks and Leicester’s Vardy continued his recent run of returns, Dame N’Doye ripped up the form book to open his double with a 13-point haul away to Palace. Since being handed his first start in Gameweek 25, N’Doye has played a part in six of his side’s ten goals, courtesy of five strikes and an assist. Bruce’s men face Arsenal, Spurs and United in the final four and if they are to beat the drop, the Senegal striker looks vital to their cause.

Rodgers’ tinkering isn’t helping…
Against Newcastle in Gameweek 33, Brendan Rodgers rolled out a 4-3-3 set-up with Philippe Coutinho as a false nine. In the subsequent cup loss to Villa, it was a 3-4-2-1, with Raheem Sterling leading the line, whilst for Saturday’s goalless draw at West Brom, the Reds boss switched to 4-2-3-1, with the misfiring Mario Balotelli afforded a rare start up top. Although the Reds registered 22 attempts against West Brom, their manager’s chopping and changing is clearly affecting their fluency in the final third and there’s a real feeling that, as Rodgers continues to experiment, we could be left sorely disappointed by Liverpool’s attacking assets over this double.

Time to bail on Palace…
Back-to-back home defeats against West Brom and Hull – without a singe goal scored – look set to bring the curtain down on our interest in the Eagles main men. Yannick Bolasie and Glenn Murray blew the chance to justify the recent heavy levels of investment against a Tigers side that had shipped eight goals in their previous three and with their safety secured, it seems Alan Pardew’s side have lost interest. With Chelsea, United and Liverpool in the next three, there could barely be a stronger reason for jumping ship now.

Siggy’s back in contention…
With Wayne Routledge joining Bafetimbi Gomis on the sidelines, Garry Monk’s decision to ditch his midfield diamond brought the Icelandic international back onto our radars with a bang. Sigurdsson had managed just a goal and assist over his previous ten appearances but managed to mirror that output in the 3-2 win at Newcastle – a 13-point haul was his joint highest for the season, equaling his tally in the Gameweek 1 win at United. With lone striker Nelson Oliveira also bagging a goal and assist at St James’ Park, Monk’s change of formation looks to have reignited his side’s attacking potential for the run-in.

Wickham loves a relegation battle…
The Sunderland striker’s five goals and an assist in the final six matches of last season were key to their great escape under Gus Poyet. Handed a central role alongside Jermain Defoe in light of Steven Fletcher’s injury absence, Wickham grabbed the opener at Stoke to take his tally to two in as many matches as he makes a late surge onto our radars. With a double Gameweek still to follow, he’s starting to suggest he could be in line to replicate last term’s late heroics and offer us another differential option (5.6, ownership under 1%) for our three-man frontlines.

Austin looks in line for an exodus…
The R’s top scorer fluffed his lines when it mattered most after missing a vital spot-kick at home to West Ham. Chris Ramsey’s side have now failed to score in each of their last two and are in danger of being left behind by a number of their rivals as the relegation trap door edges ever-nearer. Whilst showdowns with Newcastle and Leicester in the final two fixtures offers a crumb of comfort, QPR now have back-to-back trips to Liverpool and City and there’s a real chance they could be down and out by the time the Magpies roll up to Loftus Road in Gameweek 37.

..as does Silva…
Sold on by a massive 230,000 ahead of City’s home clash with Villa, the little Spaniard recovered from his cheekbone injury in time to make the starting XI. Silva’s failure to get amongst the points in the 3-2 triumph means he’s played a part in just two of his side’s 11 goals over the last six Gameweeks and with Sergio Aguero netting four times in three since the move to a lone striker system, a double-up on the City pair no longer looks so viable. With Arsenal set for some kind fixtures ahead of their double Gameweek 37, Silva certainly looks the more expendable of the two at a time when our attentions turn to the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey.

Clichy’s injury allows us the ultimate in differentials…
Aleksandar Kolarov continues to benefit from an injury to his fellow left-back and served a reminder of his attacking sensibilities in Saturday’s evening win over Villa. Although the champions conceded for the first time in five home outings, the Serbian’s goal, assist and couple of bonus points produced a 12-point return at a time where David Silva toiled and Sergio Aguero managed just six points by comparison. Kolarov now has 18 points in two appearances since Clichy was ruled out in Gameweek 32 and if you’ve no pressing transfer needs, his 3% ownership could well be worth considering as a differential if the Frenchman remains sidelined from here on in.

Everton will be a different animal without Europe next year…
It’s five wins and a draw in the last six for the Merseysiders after an emphatic 3-0 victory handed Louis van Gaal his heaviest defeat in charge of United. Tellingly, all but one of those triumphs have arrived since the Toffees exited the Europa League to Dinamo Kiev in the middle of last month, with the loss to the Ukrainian’s allowing Roberto Martinez’ men to focus solely on domestic matters. Their subsequent about-turn in form suggests that, with no extra distractions next term, they could be a Fantasy force to consider once again.