The Digest – Gameweek 35

Our last look back at Gameweek 35 assesses the relentless form of Villa’s Belgian talisman and Arsenal’s assets ahead of the double, whilst Chelsea’s title triumph hands Fantasy managers a potential headache for the run-in.

The Player

Having scored two goals in 16 appearances over the opening 25 Gameweeks, Christian Benteke was in danger of slipping into the Championship on the back of his worst Premier League season to date.

The installation of Tim Sherwood to the Villa hotseat has changed all that, though. Under the former Tottenham manager’s guidance, the Belgian has ran riot – scoring ten times in as many league matches, with all of those arriving in the last eight rounds of fixtures.

Benteke’s brace against an Everton side that had hammered United 3-0 in the previous Gameweek and conceded twice in six league outings says everything about his confidence. Sherwood’s arrival has reinstalled the forward’s self-belief and has not only swept Villa into the FA Cup final, it also looks likely to seal their top-flight survival.

At a time when double Gameweek 37 should be paramount in our thoughts, Benteke’s showings are increasingly hard to ignore. The Villa frontman has already been snapped up by over 50,000 managers – five times any other forward so far – yet remains a real mini-league differential, sitting in just 7% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams. With three sets of double-figures (12, 17, 13) in his last four home clashes, Benteke also looks a ready-made captaincy contender. At a price of just 7.7, and with home clashes against West Ham and Burnley in Gameweek 36 and 38 respectively, the bandwagon looks set to continue as Sherwood goes on the attack to help his side climb the table.

The Team

After serving up a pair of impressive wins in their recent double, Hull would have fancied their chances of taking something from last night’s home clash with Arsenal.

Instead, the Tigers never had a look-in as their visitors turned on the style in a dominant display to chalk up an eighteenth win in 21 outings in all competitions. The 3-1 result underlines Arsenal’s form ahead of double Gameweek 37 and brings their main attacking assets onto our radars.

Alexis Sanchez’ brace took his tally to three goals and an assist in the last four league matches. With an FA Cup semi-final double against Reading also thrown in for good measure, the Chilean seems poised to wreak havoc over the final three Gameweeks, as Arsene Wenger’s side prepare for a trio of home clashes (SWA, mun & SUN, WBA) and trip to United.

Aaron Ramsey, meanwhile, threw his hat in the ring with a goal and assist over 67 minutes and looks to have clambered ahead of Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla in our thoughts. The Welshman’s price of 8.7 is a major plus, though Sanchez’ display suggest Ramsey is perhaps best acquired as a supplement to the Chilean, rather than as an alternative. Forced off with a knock, last night, the Welshman is expected to be fit for Monday’s visit of Swansea, with Arsene Wenger confirming “it shouldn’t be too bad”.

Whilst Olivier Giroud has now blanked in each of his last three matches, the Frenchman still has seven goals and an assist in nine and bearing in mind that Arsenal scored 25 goals in eight home matches prior to their goalless draw against Chelsea, it remains a risky tactic to overlook the focal point of their attack.

Having conceded just twice in their last seven at the Emirates, Wenger’s side are in fine form at both ends of the pitch right now. Encouragingly, with last night’s teamsheet showing no signs of rotation, the Gunners look poised for major investment right across the park from here on in.

The Talking Point

With the title now wrapped up, there’s a concern that Jose Mourinho may choose to make alterations to his personnel over the final three matches as he hands some of his regulars a well-earned rest.

When the Chelsea manager last won the title in Gameweek 36 of the 2005/06 campaign, he made eight changes to his starting line-up for the following league clash, then rolled out a further six alterations for the final match of the season.

It’s worth noting that these were trips to Blackburn and Newcastle, though, whereas Chelsea play twice at home in the final three Gameweeks and Mourinho will surely want to maintain his side’s unbeaten record at the Bridge.

This weekend’s visit of Liverpool certainly seems the least likely match to make too many alterations, whilst the Blues boss will be out for revenge as Sunderland roll up in Gameweek 38 – let’s not forget it was the Black Cats who finally ended his 77-match unbeaten home record at Chelsea last season.

There’s a chance that Mourinho could roll out the changes for the Gameweek 37 trip to West Brom, though – considering that Arsenal are set for two fixtures that week, some are considering transferring out their Chelsea players to take advantage of the Gunners’ schedule.

For some, the Eden Hazard-to-Alexis Sanchez swap looks on the cards as a straightforward solution, though bearing in mind that the Belgian has served up three goals and two assists in six Gameweeks – at a time where Mourinho has chosen to grind out results – others will be reluctant to part company.

For those holding Chelsea backline options, the real issue is – will Mourinho be quite so cagey now that the race is over?

Aside from their 3-1 win over Leicester, when Nigel Pearson’s side stung them into action after opening the scoring, it’s fair to say that the champions’ recent displays have been exercises in containment. The Blues have conceded just twice in the last six matches, with their defence serving up a steady supply of points, but Mourinho’s men can now afford to play with the handbrake off and take chances.

Nonetheless, given their remarkable consistency, shedding our sides of Chelsea players remains a risky option but with many a mini-league still on the line, some will feel it’s one worth taking.